Bodacious Space Pirates

Summary: Privateers. Pirates by any other name, scourge the galactic seas for pillage and plunder. Working under letteres of marque, they attack unsuspecting ships with vicious hit and run tactics, and take everything of value for themselves. One such ship, the Bentenmaru, has recently lost its captain, Gonzaeman. Now, in need of a new captain, the only way to keep their letter of marque is to get a blood descendant of Gonzaemon. One such descendant exists - Marika Kato. Marika is a member of the space yacht club at her school, and also works at a high class cafe. Little does she know, that her peaceful life is about to change into one of action and adventure... avast me hearties, yo ho!

Review

Plot: The story of Bodacious Space Pirates follows Marika as she comes into her own as the captian of the Bentenmaru. The focus of the show is Marika's attempts to juggle her two lives - high school student and pirate captain. As Marika quickly learns, being a pirate in this glactic age of peace is more like being an actor than a dangerous rogue. She can't be complacent, however, for even in peaceful times there is can be real danger in the forms of angry governments, rogue prototypes, and of course, insurance agencies.

Characters: While the characters are not the shows strongest point, they in no way lessen the adventures of the Bentenmaru. Marika is a bright and cheery girl with a love of space and the freedom it brings. Her best attribute, and the one that makes her most suited to being a pirate captain, is her ability to think on her feet. Marika often thinks of things others don't, and finds inventive ways to work through, or around, sticky situations. The only other main character, arguably, is Chiaki Kurihara. Chiaki, heir to the space pirate ship Barbaroosa, is basically a tsundere. She get's annoyed easily, doesn't like the friendliness shown to her by Marika and others, but is fiercely loyal to them and is always around to help when needed. She also has a soft spot for chocolate parfaits. The rest of the cast, namely the crew of the Bentenmaru, the yacht club, and others Marika meets in her travels, are all colorful characters that help advance the show. None of them stand out too much, but all of them have their purpose. While the cast is very large, the structure of the show, focused more on Marika and adventure, never allows for the girth of shallow characters to drag the show down.

Presentation: Everything in this show is one of two things; cute or pretty. Well, that might be a little off, since male characters can be handsome or gruff, but the animation in general is very pretty. The ships, space, planets, backgrounds, and characters are all attractive to look at and move well. The CG of the ships is handled correctly, and never detracts from the show. The female characters are prediminantly cute, likely since many of them are in high school. The sound of the show is also very good, including the opening and ending themes. That being said, the opening theme, titled "Bodacious Space Symphony's Movement VII 「Infinite Love」" is a cocophany of sound that is both grating to the ears and appealing. I have yet to determine if I like, or detest, the song.

Entertainment Value: Very high. The anitcs of Marika and her followers, both the crew of the Bentenmaru and her school yacht club are enjoyably to watch. There is no truly deep story to follow, and no real emotion filled relationships, but the light hearted series is very fun none-the-less.

Rating: 9/10 - An immensly enjoyable adventure that is not done justice by its horrid title.

Bodacious Space Pirates - 26 episodes

Note: Bodacious Space Pirates is based on a twelve volume light novel series. It has spawned two manga series, totaling three volumes between the two, and a movie. I have watched the series twice, once via Crunchyroll streaming as it was first released, and again on the American Blu-Ray release.