Space Pirate Captain Herlock Vol. 1: The Legend Returns

Reviewed By:   Andrew Kaplan

DVD (Single Disk) Geneon

What it’s (basically) all about: Continuing the long-running adventures of Leiji Matsumoto’s space pirate, this first disk of a new series sees the legendary captain returning from a self-imposed exile to rescue his crew from impending execution.  Their new mission: to halt the advance of Noo, a demon from before time who has already destroyed the planet Earth.

Nitty Gritty: The very first thing seen in the very first episode is a beautiful woman taking a bath, her breasts completely visible from the side.  Almost immediately, she leaps out of the bath, and the viewer is able to view her naked body from the rear in its entirety.  This is probably why this first volume has a company-assigned rating of 16-up, while the other three volumes are 13-up.  (The boxed set containing all four disks is rated 13-up as well, but this reviewer has not seen a disk from that set to determine whether is has been edited or not.)

It’s unfortunate that this bit of nudity should come so early in the series, as it is relatively unnecessary and not indicative of the overall tone of the piece.  There is no other nudity or sexual content, and the language is clean.  The subtitles do refer to “juvenile criminal decoys” at one point, while the English dialogue avoids any mention of juvenile criminals, let alone whether or not they are used as expendable decoys.

Nudity or not, this disk would still belong squarely in a young adult collection due to its tone and content.  Despite the swashbuckling nature a series about a space pirate would suggest, this is a story that favors dialogue and characterization over action.  (From what I recall of the original series, this is consistent with the original tone.)  Herlock is a heroic figure, but he’s not squeaky clean; at one point, he shoots a policeman in the head.  (He also shoots his dying camel in the desert.)  The series rewards the attentive viewer, but fans of more action-packed shows like Dragonball Z may find it on the slow side.

Ultimately, however, the early nudity will be a deciding factor for many libraries.  Because of the nudity, the 16+ rating, and the more adult style of storytelling, this is a DVD that is better suited for adult collections.

The only extra is the original Japanese opening, which is very different in style from the American opening found on this disk.

Trailers include:

Texhnolyze

Fighting Spirit

Master Keaton

All trailers are appropriate for YA audiences.

Survey says: While future volumes of this series are rated 13-up, the single instance of nudity at the beginning, the 16-up rating of this volume, and the pacing all make this DVD better suited for adult collections.

Personal Ad: While slow in places, and the choice to portray a major space battle using only still images just comes across as cheap, I enjoyed these episodes quite a bit.  My memories of Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years are of a very talky, intellectual and philosophical series, and this reinforces those memories.  Herlock is a strong, heroic character with a great deal of emotional and moral complexity, and that makes his stories interesting.  Finally, this new series does a great job seamlessly integrating CGI with traditional animation, giving the whole production a very slick look.  As an adult, I appreciate it when childhood favorites either grow with me, or still have something to offer, and it’s nice to see that I haven’t outgrown Captain Herlock just yet.