Fans of the popular series Martian Succesor Nadesico will rush to watch this movie only to be promtly confused. What happened between the series and the movie? Years have gone by, and the MSN video games, never released in America, tell a story of Akito being kidnapped and experimented on, leaving him a stoic enigma to rival Ruri Hoshino herself. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised to see Akito sporting a very Gundam-esque mask and a smug look on his face as the rest of the cast chase after him, wondering what the heck is going on. Still, overall, I was very pleased. It does a fairly decent job of filling in the gaps, and if you've only seen the series, you'll at least get most of the references. Every single character is brought back as well, and we even get to see a cast of new characters. The story is not so much a conclusion as it is a reunion - the plot never really reveals itself until it's through. The action is as riveting as it was in the series, and the character dynamics are as comical and as emotional as they always were. The movie nods to everything the series touched upon - not quite finishing anything, but adding another layer of enjoyment to the fun and lovable Nadesico legacy.

Ruri is sixteen in the movie (calm down guys, she not quite legal yet) and the captain of the Nadesico B. Yes, they went ahead and made an entire new ship. Akito, who's character has almost completely changed from dorky reluctant pilot to scarred war-hero, doesn't show up for some time. In fact, most of the original cast doesn't show up until the latter half of the movie, but to make up for it, we are given some new faces to laugh at. To fill in for Akito's lack of comic miscoordination, we have been provided a love interest for Ruri - a boy named Hari Makibi, who also has Ruri's unique ability to synchornize with the Omoikane. To fill in for Nagare Akatsuki's lack of screentime, we are given the easygoing playboy Saburota Takasugi, a Jovian working alongside the UEF. We are also exposed to several characters that (presumably, from their lack of development) appear in the aforementioned game, one being the computer operator of Akito's mysterious new ship, and the ninja-esque assasin sqaud that makes repeated atempts on Akito's life throughout the movie. The rest of the characters are true to core, as the entire casts relives its most histerical moments of comedic mania. The comedy is spot on, and the drama is fitting and pure. There's even a nod to Gai Daigoji and Tsukomu Shiratori. To me, an anime is made by its characters, and I fell in love with all of these character's long ago. An automatic win for me on this one.

Music was on par with the series - touching and dramatic, well placed and well flowing. The ending theme song still rolls down my screen every other month or so.

As most anime movies go, the animation is a step up from the series, and this is no exception. The characters, the mechs, the backgrounds, everything is abosultely gorgeous.

Don't be discouraged by the gap between the movie and the series. The first time I watched it, I had no idea that anything happened betweent he time in the series and the movie. Like I said, it did a good job of filling in the holes, and it did not detract from my enjoyment in the least bit.