Space Pirate Captain Harlock has been one of Leiji Matsumoto's most famous and beloved icons from his career. A strong free hero; stoic yet loyal, an enviable man with everything, yet a sad lonely man who has lost his greatest friends. Captain Harlock has survived and stayed in popular culture for more then 30 years. I recently started to watch the OVA series Captain Herlock: Endless Odyssey (Herlock being what the romanization originally was planned to be but never caught on). I bought the first volume for only $4 and decided to just dive in and give it a go. After sitting through the first volume (the first four episodes) I was very impressed with what I saw.
The story is set after the events of the original Harlock anime in a time where space piracy seems to be at its end with a huge government crack down. Harlock has long since disappeared from the world, his crew disbanded, and is just the stuff of legends. The series has a sad and bitter feeling to it, as the world is run down and the government oppression is laid on thick. The days of sailing the stars freely are lost. But out of no where Harlock reappears and flies his flag of freedom again. And just in time as an ancient horror of demons called Noo have been unleashed.
The direction of the series is top notch and its no wonder why with Rintaro working storyboards and direction duty the series ends up with some pretty breath taking moments. The Leiji Matsumoto spirit of men being strong and free independent spirits lives on as well. The sound track is another strong point with a sad Blues Jazz score which farther cements the feeling of how run down and corrupt the world has become. I saw the show dubbed and it wasn't anything special but the dub was actually a lot better then I thought it would be.
In the first volume we watch the rise of Harlock again, the new enemy's plans begin to take shape, an attack on Earth that will surprise everyone, the corruption of the government, reintroduce the character Tadashi Daiba, and watch Harlock break his former crew out of jail. Overall a lot happens but the pace never feels rushed. In fact at times it feels slow, which is a big plus in my book. I've really enjoyed this first volume and I'm looking forward to watching the next 9 episodes.
