Production
The series features an energetic juxtaposition of comedy and drama, as the characters engage in lighthearted antics in between facing the drama of war. Many of the characters are themselves anime fans, and there is often comparison between the campy, sanitized war of the anime within an anime Gekigangar III and the much harsher reality that the crew of the Nadesico faces. The show intentionally includes a number of science fiction anime clichés, including time travel and alien invaders, but turns these concepts on their heads by the end of the series through a number of plot twists.
There are many anime references, particularly to the series Space Battleship Yamato (the name Nadesico is a play on the phrase "Yamato nadeshiko", which represents the traditional Japanese ideal of femininity, and also the name of a flower). One of the characters was a voice actress before joining the crew (and in fact is a parody of a specific voice actress, Megumi Hayashibara), another is a fangirl who likes to draw her own shōnen-ai doujinshi, and a third is an otaku who bases his entire life on Gekigangar III.
In an episode late in the series, the ship holds an anime convention complete with a viewing marathon of Gekigangar, people engaged in cosplay, and tie-in merchandising. Another episode makes a parody of the Macross anime, as the crew celebrates a Miss Nadesico contest to decide a new captain and public figurehead, in which all the female crew members participate. The contest includes a swimsuit competition and singing.
The Gekigangar anime show is in fact an homage (and parody) of many Super Robot mecha anime of the 70s and 80s, most particularly the Go Nagai/Ken Ishikawa collaboration Getter Robo. The battles between Earth and planetary colonies featured throughout the show is a reference to Gundam, while the assortment of odd-ball characters on the ship who prefer to choose their own battles, rather than take sides, is a nod to Harlock. In addition, writers from previous popular sci-fi mecha shows occasionally get announced in teasers for various episodes of Nadesico.
Read more about this topic: Martian Successor Nadesico
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