Fans ofCowboy Bebopcreator Shinichiro Watanabe’s other sci-fi work,Space Dandy, may be surprised to learn that there was an incredibleStar Trekreference packed into every episode of the series, but only for those who watched the original Japanese version. Unfortunately, translating the joke would’ve been impossible for a variety of reasons, but it’s still amusing to learn about.
Space Dandywas a 2014 sci-fi series by Shinichiro Watanabe, which was primarily comedic, in contrast toCowboy Bebop’s often moody and dramatic tone. It followed Dandy and his crew, consisting of a cat-like alien, Meow, and a robot, QT, as they attempt to encounter undiscovered alien species and turn them in for a profit. The show had a heavy 1970s era theming, with disco music playing a major role and a dated futuristic aesthetic that looks like it was pulled from the 1950s.
To further solidify the series' sci-fi credibility and emphasize that 70s theme, Watanabe pulled a casting gag in the Japanese version by including Captain Kirk himself.
Space Dandy’s Original Dub Featured the Japanese Captain Kirk
Watanabe Cast the Japanese Voice of Kirk in an Important Role
In aninterview with Shinichiro Watanabe, hosted on Forbes, Watanabe mentioned his casting gag, stating, “…the guy we hired to do the narration inSpace Dandy, was actually the Japanese voice for Captain Kirk in the originalStar Trek. So all the Japanese fans could recognize him by just hearing his voice. For the English version, I have no idea if they did anything similar.” Going by IMDB, that would be Masaaki Yajima, who also had a narration role in another Watanabe work,Samurai Champloo, although only for a single episode.
Unfortunately, the English dub wasn’t able to replicate this reference; obviously, getting William Shatner to dub an anime would’ve been an impossible task, although there are otherStar Trekactors who could perhaps have filled those shoes. Instead, the English dub is narrated by R. Bruce Elliot, an absolutely prolific voice actor in his own right, best known as Makarov and Faust inFairy Tail, and who has been the voice ofCaptain Ginyu sinceDragon Ball Z Kai.
Listening to the narration, it does have something of aStar Trek-style “Captain’s Log” vibe, despite the narrator being a distinct character from Dandy and his crew. If the role was indeed designed with Masaaki Yajima’s Kirk in mind, that makes perfect sense, and plays into the casting even harder, cementing the joke for Japanese fans.
It’s a shame that these sorts of casting gags are often so hard to replicate when it comes to being dubbed, and some are exceptionally easy to miss without extensive familiarity with Japanese media. It’s entirely possible that the dub casting directors forSpace Dandyhad no knowledge of this gag at all, and thus never even had the option to consider emulating it in some way in the English dub.Space Dandyis a show that’s packed to the brim with jokes and references, so perhaps it’s to be expected that a few of them would slip by unnoticed.
Space Dandy
Cast
Space Dandy is a Japanese animated television series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. The show follows the misadventures of Dandy, an alien bounty hunter who travels through space with his robot assistant QT and feline-like alien Meow in search of rare aliens. Known for its eclectic art style and episodic format, Space Dandy explores various genres and themes, delivering a humorous and surreal narrative.
