The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (Musekinin Kanchō Tairā)

Anime, Series 1 Minute

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (Musekinin Kanchō Tairā) 1993

By the end of The Irresponsible Captain Tylor I’d grown pretty fond of the characters – despite what felt like a bit of a hit and miss (even juvenile) opening episode or two.

While the series is definitely a space opera, the comedic elements tend to come through stronger and those definitely worked (for the most part).

Probably what I enjoyed the most were the whole host of nods and inversions of sci-fi tropes – but obviously how enjoyable you find the satire is going to come down to personal preferences and familiarity of the genre, and I’m sure I missed a few allusions here and there.

It felt like the animation and sound were on a par for most 1990s television series but what really stood out for me was the characterisation and plotting. The premise that no-one is really sure whether Captain Tylor is actually an imbecile or a genius is just perfect because it allows for a lot of surprising moments; he really manages to pull of some impressive escapes.

And of course, the way the crew eventually starts to work together as a team (after a rocky start) provides a lot of heart to the series – I’d recommend this if you’re a fan of the era or comedic space opera for sure.

4 Stars

Published by ashleycapes

Ashley is an Australian poet, novelist and teacher. He's currently running a casual review blog called "The Review Heap" focusing film, anime, games, books and music - and (very) occasionally other stuff too. He is the author of half a dozen poetry collections and a few novels, some published traditionally and some self-published. He also occasionally publishes other folks too.

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9 thoughts on “The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (Musekinin Kanchō Tairā)”

  1. So many anime fans have recommended that series to me including an uncle of mine who is a Japanophile. I still can’t believe I missed it for years especially hearing tons of good things about Irresponsible Captain Tyler.

    Also, thanks for checking out my Hikaru no Go review!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Yeah, it does look like something I’d enjoy. I do enjoy comedy in my anime from time to time like Shinesman for example.

        You should definitely give it a try especially since all 75 episodes can be streamed for free from Viz.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

          1. You’re going to check out Shinesman? [M. Bison voice] YES! YES!

            I’m looking forward to that review. You’d be the second blogger who would make a post about that parody anime after a Bangladeshi blogger reviewed it after reading my post about Shinesman years ago.

            Liked by 1 person

          3. Nice! Let me know when you watch it.

            Yeah, it’s going to be a fun one especially with the English dub. The Power Rangers/Super Sentai stuff is the most obvious, but there are jokes about anime fandom and some pop culture references in the 90s.

            Liked by 1 person

          5. Sure. There were even jokes I didn’t get at first when I saw it in my teens. Some of the jokes go by fast or can be low-key despite the intentionally over-the-top acting (think Power Rangers meets The Office).

            Liked by 1 person

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