Moretsu Pirates: Bodacious Space Pirates

[Ryllharu]

Alternate titles: Mouretsu Uchuu Kaizoku, Bodacious Space Pirates, Miniskirt Space Pirates

Description: Marika is a first year high school student living on a frontier planet that gained its independence from the Stellar Alliance with the aid of pirates carrying Letters of Marque. She is a skilled member of the yachting club, which practices spaceflight in simulators and occasional go to help out at the space station. One day she finds out that her recently deceased father was once the captain of one such "legal" space pirate ship called the Bentenmaru. There's a catch, the only one who can inherit the captain's title has to be a direct descendant.

Genres: Space, Action/Adventure, Space Pirates!, Coming of Age

Links: AniDB, ANN, Official Page

HorribleSubs: 720p


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I like it. It's very neo-classic space opera anime. Modernized, but there's a definite Outlaw Star or even Captain Harlock feel to the whole thing. Little bit of a Vandread feel too, without the ecchi. It feels like a 80s space adventure anime with updated visuals. Coming of age, Marika finds out about her legacy in a very laid back way ("I forgot," her mother says, who was without a doubt the captain for a time herself)...and then everything spirals out of control quickly as interested parties keep showing up.

Definite Kuroneko clone with the character who will no doubt become Marika's first officer and friend/rival Chiaki Kurihara. Looks like her, same VA, and using the same tones and attitude. Marika herself gives off a refreshing feel. She's not unwilling, but she's obviously unsure about the whole thing, or how serious it is turning out to be. The rest of the cast is good too. Again, no, it is not an all-girls cast. Just predominantly.

Meanwhile, we've got the old pirate crew scheming behind her back, making sure they are filling her crew with people she knows.

The lack of ecchi is interesting given the title and variants of the title. It's a nice change of pace honestly. This furthers the comparison with classic space opera anime.