Space Adventure Cobra is a 1982 anime series directed by the legendary Osamu Dezaki, director of many animated classics such as The Rose of Versailles, Ace o Nerae!, Oniisama e, Ashita no Joe and Takarajima. Space Adventure Cobra is an adaptation of the 1978 manga of the same name, which actually concluded a year after the TV series that I’m reviewing here. At 31 episodes long, Space Cobra tells the story of Cobra, a famous space pirate whom adorned with his Psychogun, a weapon attached to his left arm that is powered by his own will and accompanied by his assistant, the equally illustrious Amaroid Lady they travel from place to place and from planet to planet, across the galaxy and beyond in order to feed his thirst for adventure and action. During your time aboard the Turtle, the name of his advanced spaceship, you’ll follow the mighty Cobra as he both hunts and is hunted by the most deadly of guilds in the galaxy and along the way you’ll encounter the ultimate weapon as he battles humanoid cyborgs, a one-eyed lady who becomes a giant, you’ll see him break in and out of maximum security facilities, become the number one Rugball athlete in the galaxy and you’ll see many cigars smoked and evil plans foiled, all in a day’s work. Space Cobra is a pulp Sci-fi series that combines traditional spaghetti westerns with spy films such as the James Bond series. It’s an epic Sci-fi romp that spans the entire galaxy, charming in its sincerity but grand in its scale.
As with both Macross and Takarajima, the soundtrack is composed by the late Kentaro Haneda. It goes without saying that the soundtrack is outstanding and really elevates the series. The opening theme for Space Cobra, titled Cobra is sang by Yoko Maeno and is an eccentric piece that really gets your blood pumping as your sense of adventure is heightened. The ending piece, Secret Desire is also sung by Yoko Maeno and is equally beautiful, both relaxed and jazzy it’s a great way to cap off each and every adventure as you wind back and reminisce. The soundtrack reminds me a lot of Takarajima, with many of the pieces sounding almost identical, and yet each track is incorporated with finesse setting the mood perfectly. Speaking of audio, it would be unwise of me to avoid talking about the voice acting here, which in the end turns out to be yet another key pillar that pushes this series towards new heights. Nachi Nozawa, the voice actor for the indomitable Cobra does a fantastic job of making him a force to be reckoned with as well as a silly goofball not unlike Ryo from City Hunter and other similar series. Not only is his silly laughs contagious, but his roar is intimidating.
When it comes to the visuals Cobra does not disappoint. As with many of Dezaki’s series, Space Cobra is adorned with a painterly visage, one that although shows its age all these years later, still looks as lively as ever. It trades fine detail for a more vibrant and fun aesthetic, one that still looks great due to the inspired character designs. As with his other series, the patented pastel freeze frames are used here to great effect. The postcard memories are utilized seamlessly and makes for memorable moments in each episode, usually signalling the start of the commercial break and the end of an episode. The art in Space Cobra is imaginative and beautiful, often psychedelic in its depictions of space travel, with dark blacks depicting the deep and isolated space while bright and florescent colors are used when traveling at fast speeds, and the contrast of the two is very appealing to the eyes, almost a clash of generations as the painterly skies are pierced with futuristic flashes. An assortment of camera angles are used in order to manipulate the viewer’s sense of space and orientation and a great sense of lighting is employed in order to add atmosphere to each and every frame. As I mentioned above, the character designs by Akio Sugino are impeccable, with each one demanding your attention. The girls look voluptuous and beautiful while the villains are all inspired and visually interesting, menacing in their demeanor not unlike villains out of Star Wars. It goes without saying that Akio Sugino is one of my favorite character designers of all time and Space Cobra reminds me just why I feel that way.
Space Cobra stands out from a visual standpoint and its unique atmosphere can be attributed to the visual effects and cinematography techniques. Cobra is slick, sexy and visceral, loud and punchy in places and stoic in others. As with many series from the late 70’s and early 80’s, many of the visual elements could be chalked down to cost cutting and time saving measures, however in the end the final result is a fantastic looking series that shines on Blu-ray, with its beautiful backgrounds, fun character designs and brilliant uses of color all accumulating into a series that looks as fun as it is to watch.
For an action series I have to say that the series can often fall flat when it comes to the action due to the seemingly invulnerable Cobra, unfazed by his obstacles. The villains are defeated in imaginative and eccentric manners, each one feeling like a video game boss, impossible at first sight but situated with weak spots that Cobra has to uncover from coxing his enemies out of otherwise impenetrable barriers to playing the long game and waiting for the perfect moment before striking. In this sense, the excitement itself comes from the ways in which he beats his enemies and not the hand to hand combat itself, or the shootouts due to the fact that Cobra can bend and control his shots from his Psychogun removing any sense of tension. This is countered by the creators making a few of the enemies invulnerable to his Psychogun. I guess in the end, cannon fodder will always be just that, while the bosses themselves are the real meat. Speaking of which, the sidekick, Lady as fun as she is to look at and as cool as she is a character, doesn’t really develop as the series progresses and although she’s with Cobra throughout every step of the series, no deeper relationship is established between the two main characters. I love Cobra and Lady, but Ryo and Kaori they are not.
There’s a lot of variety in the stories and settings that inhabit Space Cobra, which makes sense since they’re traveling across the galaxy. From an all-powerful genie who wants to persuade Cobra into joining him with a harem to breaking out of maximum security prisons to fighting in a fixed wrestling match in order to get closer to the big bad himself. One of my favorite arcs takes place halfway through the series and concentrates on a sport called Rugball which in essence is a game of Baseball with the physicality of Rugby, a game where the players are allowed kill each other, with one episode in particular having a literal Gainax ending. Variety is on Space Cobra’s side, with only a few episodes dragging on and even those entertain. All of this helps keep Cobra, a seemingly simple series on the outside fresh and exciting, making me eager to watch the next episode and stay up just a little bit longer.
My tastes have always skewed towards this era of animation and Space Cobra embodies many of the traits that I love. It’s both fun and wacky. The show itself is not inherently serious like the protagonist himself, Space Cobra is very straight forward and fun however it does try to get more serious when the time calls for it. It’s not going to get the waterworks going, but you’ll definitely care for the characters and you’ll have immense amounts of fun hanging around with this group of space pirates. Space Cobra is a fantastic series, one that doesn’t take itself too seriously and just wants to entertain its audience for the 31 episodes that you’ll be spending with it. The animation dazzles, keeping you hooked, the soundtrack is a delight and you’ll often find yourself tapping your feet to the beat of the music, the visuals are a treat and the characters are simple but entertaining. You won’t come away from Space Cobra feeling like a different person, not revolutionary nor game changing, and neither deep or existential it sticks to what it does best and will stick with its viewers for a long time as a journey across space and time itself into the unknown.
9/10
