review provided by Katie and Andrew
Title: Space Pirate Mito: The Complete Collection
Director: Takashi Watanabe
Studio: Triangle Staff
Author: Fumihiko Shimo
U.S. Distributor: Nozomi, Lucky Penny
U.S. Release Date: November 4, 2014
Format and Length: DVD / 26 Episodes / 650 Minutes
Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction, Adventure
Industry Age Rating: 13 and up
Overall Personal Rating: B-
Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: Project A-ko
“Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto!”
Synopsis:
Most teenage boys have enough trouble just dealing with the pressures of school and dating, but 15-year-old Aoi Mitsukuni’s life becomes exponentially more complicated when his mom returns from a long “business trip.” He discovers that not only is his beautiful mother actually an alien, but she’s the notorious Space Pirate Mito to boot! She’s known as the galaxy’s most dangerous pirate, a wanted criminal who destroys a dozen police space cruisers every day before breakfast. But all she really wants is to be called “Mom.” To make matters worse, Mitsuki the girl Aoi likes at school is actually a secret Galactic Patrol agent attempting to find and arrest his mother. However, the three of them end up saving the Universe! No one ever said being a teenager in love was easy!
Now a malevolent entity calling herself the true Queen of the Universe appears with enough power to destroy entire planets. Aoi must defend her new throne, but she needs Mutsuki’s help. Mutsuki must come to terms with her own feelings for Aoi so they can defend Earth together and become the galaxy’s first royal pair of queens. Will the Universe survive this epic fight? You will have to watch Space Pirate Mito and find out. Commentary:
Commentary:
Space Pirate Mito: The Complete Collection is an odd series but is still enjoyable with its colorful art style and strange cast of characters. Just do not try to make too much sense of the plotline as you will severely hurt your brain. I liked the first season the best because it was not as crazy as the second season and it seemed that Aoi just had some issues with his mother. The second season seemed really out there because of the introduction of the First Queen, Hikari. She takes strange to a whole new level and her reign as queen can be described as an age of fear.
There was a good amount of character development between the two seasons. Aoi really grew as a character and it was interesting to watch how bizarre his alien biology was. Let’s just say that it will be an eye-opener when you watch the series. Mito is an absurdly youthful mother but only in appearance because she looks like an elementary school student if she takes off her Mail Suit; plus she is a space pirate. She also wears a giant waist ribbon that is so large that its tails have little bows on them.
Mito’s crew on her pirate ship is mostly animal’s that have human bodies and are able to function as humans. I lost it during the first episode because it was so funny but it also made me realize that this series would be better suited to a younger crowd. The story line is not hard to follow but it keeps your interest. The music was fun to listen it and the opening and closing animations were cute. I did feel that the space ships looked very “CG” but they did look awesome. The voice actors did a great job of bringing characters alive and jumping off the screen.
Extras:
Space Pirate Mito: The Complete Collection includes clean opening and closing animations, TV commercials, promotional videos, a special bonus episode, and Lucky Penny trailers as special features. This series was released with English as a language option for the first 13 episodes and Japanese with English subtitles for the entire series.
Overall Grade: B-
I would have no problem showing this anime to my children once they reach third grade or so. I really feel this series is geared to children and I think they would enjoy it.
