The hit anime “Space Dandy” reaches a new universe of fans through a manga adaptation by writer Masafumi Harada with artists Sung-Woo Park and REDICE. Yen Press released the first volume of the English translation of the 2013 series on June 29th.

Adult Swim’s Toonami first introduced anime lovers to the series in January of 2014. It was a space opera for the new generation of sci-fi audiences led by Space Dandy, the “dandy guy in space.” He and his crew search for various troublesome aliens, hoping to send them to the registration station and earn some cash from the bounty. Dandy’s journey on the screen ended after 26 episodes of intergalactic mayhem and comedically-botched romances. Now Harada, Park, and REDICE fill the void with a new tale of the space alien hunter.

Readers return to the familiar sight of Dandy’s spaceship, the Aloha Oe, with the man himself and his robot assistant QT. Some of the chapters are reminiscent of the anime with new adventures however, when both Dandy and the audience meet the last member of his crew, Meow, it appears that the manga is on its own separate timeline.

While having a fateful encounter with the feline-type alien at the infamous space restaurant franchise BooBies (their equivalent to Hooters), the circumstances differ greatly compared to what episode one of the anime showed. Waitress Honey also makes an appearance in this particular chapter; however, she has no relationship with or prior knowledge of Dandy. While having these stark changes to the anime’s storyline, it may not seem too strange for those that are familiar with the show.

Both Harada and Park do an excellent job keeping true to the funky flow of “Space Dandy,” but having REDICE, a person who worked on the anime, helps a lot. The creative team even has the ever-so-unlucky Admiral Perry of the Gogol Empire chasing Dandy (like Team Rocket trying to capture Pikachu).

Volume One packs a lot of action, but we will have to wait to see what is in store for the crew of the Aloha Oe when the second half of the manga series hit shelves in late September. For more information on the manga, visit your local vendor or yenpress.com.

Adult Swim’s website has the first three episodes with the last two of the anime while Funimation has the full series both for stream subscribers and those wanting to purchase.

There has never been a better time during the summer break to take a trip out to the galaxies with Space Dandy.

Originally posted on
CNN