Marika Kato is a freshman in high school who lives on the planet Sea of the Morningstar, a frontier planet. One day, she learns that her father, who she thought was dead, was actually alive until quite recently, and was the captain of the space pirate ship Bentenmaru. And, as his only surviving heir, tradition demands that she take on his role as captain so that the ship can keep flying. All of which, as you'd expect, comes as something of a shock to poor Marika - but she doesn't get much time to think about the situation she's found herself in before trouble comes knocking... After watching the trailer for Bodacious Space Pirates, and noting that English name, I feared the worst for the show, I really did. Then I found that it shares a director and some other key staff with a certain series called Nadesico, and things started looking up - there's pedigree here that held the promise of it being really good, if it was played right. Which I'm hugely pleased to say, it has been. Marika, having been left in the dark about her unusual family connections by her gone-straight mother, is genuinely surprised by the 'offer' of captaincy she receives - and completely unprepared for the trouble that that springs on her. She a lot like her Nadesico predecessor, Akito, in that way - hauled into a situation that she really didn't want to be part of - and if this series ends up anything close to being as good, I'll be pleased. It also doesn't do any harm that, despite the rather daft name, the fanservice is on a level no worse than Star Driver. THE GOOD: Looks good, intriguing cast so far (although get the feeling we haven't begun to meet them all yet), and the idea is certainly something you could have some fun with. Very restrained in the ways that it should be. THE BAD: Nothing, really - so far at least. I got very good vibes from this episode, and the next ep preview makes me think we're in for an even better treat next week. Starting to think this could end up as one of the highlights of the season...
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