Space Adventure Cobra

Being titled as "Space Adventure Cobra" in the states, this is the best anime of the Cobra franchise as it balances action, comedy, sci-fi, adventure & overall appeals to a male audience. If you like this anime then you should like every other installment to the Cobra series. Set in a "Star Wars like" world, Space Cobra begins with our main character Johnson (other times Joe Gillian) goes to a club where they offer "Trip Movies" granting people to be in a dream-like state & experiencing pleasure. Johnson's experience however, causes him to regain his lost memories; discovering he used to be a space pirate namedCobra. With his memories recovered & the aid of his android partner named Lady, Cobra is tired of his peaceful lifestyle so he decides to pick up the pirate life & go on space adventures in a manly style. Armed with his signature "Psycho Gun", Cobra has a big bounty on his head where his enemies include the Galactic Patrol & The Guild, (a mafia consisted of other space pirates.) The series tends to be episodic but has a story arc every now & then. The first few episodes being 1-12 is the longest arc as it serves as the introduction to Cobra; displaying what can be expected in the series as a whole. Much of the highlight of Cobra is the creativity being put into the universe & science fiction as it features a wide range of aliens, robots, technology & even sports such as the Rug Ball episodes 16-19. Space Cobra excels in giving action & new content in every episode making it highly rewatchable. Another good aspect is the animation as the director Osamu Dezaki (Black Jack OVAs, Golgo 13 The Professional, Rose of Versailles) once again delivers his signature directing style with interesting angles & dramatic still shots. I believe this anime granted Dezaki more creative freedom due to the sci-fi content of Cobra as it allowed for various color schemes. In short, The Movie for Cobra & this series have the best stylized animation being a very colorful & eye pleasing anime of the early 80's. Too some this may not seem like a big deal but for the animation it had in 1982, this is an accomplishment as it wasn't until the late 80's & early 90's when anime series began to have a consistent look & multi-color approach to their shows. (Examples include Toei's work in Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon, Fist Of The North Star 2, etc.) As expected in most episodic animes, if you don't like the main character you won't enjoy the series. Cobra as a character is inspired by the French actor Jean-Paul Benmondo, however Cobra also comes off as a mix of James Bond & Han Solo. Usually being depicted as a woman loving badass, Cobra can behave goofy at times but feels natural much like Lupin & Ryo Saeba. While we don't see an in depth look into his character we do understand what kind of person he is as more episode are watched. By the end of the series we see Cobra as a bit of an anti-hero as he tends to steal & kills various enemies of both genders but upholds chivalry towards certain people who ask for his help. He is often seen as selfish & uncaring, but deep down he has a good heart as seen in episode 26. Cobra is a manly anime that appeals to those who like to see a space adventure where a manly pirate goes up against robots, aliens,& pirates which also delivers plenty of eye candy with its multicolored universe filled with sexy women. If you enjoyed this series then you should have no problem with watching the additional anime series being "The Psycho Gun, Time Drive & Cobra The Animation 2010". Thankfully, the recommendations list for this series is mostly accurate as the other animes that you may enjoy include the following. (Lupin the 3rd, Dirty Pair, Golgo 13, City Hunter, Goku Midnight Eye etc.) As a final note, Space Adventure Cobra has great opening & closing themes which you will occasionally listen to.

Cobra is one of those any anime lover shouldn’t let go. Full of adventures, funny moments and great plots. Cobra is an adventurer who is always looking for new ways to get rich, no matter how. And also looking for ladies to be with him. He’s accompanied by an android called Lady Armaroid who will save his life more than once. The story is divided in three parts. Part 1: Cobra finds out that he can get a big treasure draw in the back of the three daughters of the famous adventurer Nelson, but Crystal Boy, his biggest enemy will try to get to it too. Part2: Cobra travels to planet Ralou to join a team of a sport called rugball, a mix of football and baseball, to bring down a criminal organization controlling the league. Part 3: Finally, Cobra will face Salamander, leader of the Guild. As we advance in the story we’ll know that Cobra has never been that blonde guy wearing the red suit we know, the flashback of the past will reveal us he was already a well-known pirate with plenty of enemies. During his transformation we find out he was a weapon hidden in his left arm and he can control it with his mind. Cobra is an anime made in the 1980’s so the technique isn’t as good as now, however, it’s really well-made. Also the color technique can be seen as “old”, with not so many details. Even technology will be obsolete for those who watch it for the first time. It has some fan service too, but not like in these days. It’s also remarkable the opening and the end credits, both songs were sang by Yoko Maeno and they’re very attractive. My recommendation is to watch this anime because you’re going to have a great time and some laughs too.

Space Cobra is a classic action adventure from the 80s, directed by Osamu Dezaki. *Story & Characters* Space Cobra's story takes place (where else?) in the space! It's basically just random 80's sci-fi that is kinda silly by today's standards. It contains wacky sci fi concepts, loads of improbable physics and even some magic… What's great about it, is that the sci-fi itself doesn't really matter in Cobra's case, since it's all about the action and the adventure while the sci-fi and space setting are just the dressing to make the adventure more epic and cool. The story itself is separated in to several arcs and a fewstand alone episodes, many of which are self contained. It does also have a main story that's primarily relevant in the first and final arcs of the series. Most of the arcs/episodes consist of Cobra taking up missions, fighting pirates or other alien creatures. They also end up involving (in one way or another) sexy chicks that wear skimpy outfits that Cobra ends up either having "fun" with, saving or fighting against. It is fast paced, has tons of action and it does give off a sense of adventure and discovering new and exotic locations. It's all pretty simple, but it also ends on a very good note. The characters consist of Cobra and his female android called Lady (yep, that's her name). Cobra is supposed to be a real role model for all men.. He's overpowered, doesn't take crap from nobody and he's a womanizer through and through. He also doesn't think twice about sending his enemies to their deaths, but the downside is that he hardly flinches when innocent people get killed as well. Lady is an android who's supposed to be the strong waifu figure that takes care of Cobra and attempts to keep him in check. There doesn't seem to be too much opportunity for chemistry between them, since she's not around that often but it's cool to see how they behave like they're very used to being around each other like an old married couple. Aside from them, the characters are either one or at best two dimensional villains, sexy women with little variety in personality, or ex-villains who are helpful, but usually end up dead rather quickly. That's about it for this section. It delivers on what it promises with good execution, but don't expect too much substance out of it. *Art & Sound* The art style is very nice and surprisingly detailed. It also looks a little like a western cartoon and not so much like an anime. It's actually pretty similar to the 80s animated film - 'Heavy Metal'. A film that's mostly known for its aesthetics. The animation is great and there's a ton of action, most of which has nice choreography, decent looking explosions and brutal violence in which people get killed at the drop of a hat (not much blood though). As for the character designs, the female figures here look way ahead of their time in terms of how curvy and sexy they are, and a lot of the alien and spaceship designs look very creative as well. Cobra himself is a muscular dude who's color coded red, has a goofy face and a gun for an arm. Now that is an awesome design. In addition, since this is a Space adventure there's also a lot of variety in terms of locations which all look very nice. Visually, Space Cobra has to be among the best tv anime ever, it holds up beautifully. In terms of soundtrack, there are some memorable tunes and the opening song specifically is very catchy.. It has cool Sound effects and cheesy, but solid voice acting. The only problem with it (which is a problem with many 80s anime) is that the sound quality doesn't sound very good by today's standards, even in the blu ray version. I guess you get used to it after a while, but unfortunately they were recording with toasters back then. *Conclusion* Overall Space Cobra is fairly creative and has superb production values. Doesn't have that much substance to it, but it's perfectly comfortable with what it is. It is also one of the most enjoyable shows I've seen in a very long time.

In the first stage we saw one guy named Johnson,he was a normal person who didn't like life. One day Johnson discovers that his real identity is actually the famous pirate Cobra. He changed his face and his own memories to runaway from the Pirate Guild.In short, Space Cobra is Tv show about some random guy who just travels and fights with aliens ("Trip Movie"). Cobra is an anti-hero who always looking for new ways to get rich and popular among women. Cobra is old anime so the art style is not the best, Also the color technique is “old”, but who cares about that?If you are a fan of anime, about random guy who just travels and fights, this is the anime for you. I hope that my little review shows you a bit of how good this anime series is. Story 9/10 Art style 8/10 Sound 10/10 Character 8/9 Enjoyment 10/10 Overall 9/10