Kyaputen Hārokku/Space Pirate Captain Harlock

Go Captain Harlock go!

Continuing with legendary Animé from the 70's featuring intergalactic heroes, today's entry is about Space Pirate Captain Harlock (キャプテン・ハーロック Kyaputen Hārokku, AKA Captain Herlock for the English release of Endless Odyssey and as Albator in the French-speaking countries) 

Created by renowned manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, Harlock is the archetypical Romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life. He is as noble as he is taciturn, rebellious, stoically fighting against totalitarian regimes, whether they be earthborn or alien. In his own words, "I fight for no one's sake... only for something deep in my heart". He does not fear death, and is sometimes seen wearing clothing with the number 42 on it. In Japanese culture, the number 42 is associated with death (the numbers, pronounced separately as "four two", sound like the words "shi ni"—meaning "to death").

Harlock's team.

The character was originally introduced in Adventures of a Honeybee (1953), but did not make its debut as lead character until 1978's Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Since then, the character has appeared in numerous animated TV series and films, the latest of which being 2013's Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and re-imagined as an Iron Cross-decorated WW2 Luftwaffe fighter pilot and a gunslinger in the American Old West.

I was first attracted to Space Pirate Captain Harlock from an illustration of him included in Robotech Art 1, the program guidebook/album of the Robotech TV series (yes haters, Robotech was to animé what Nirvana was to grunge).

As the story begins, Earth is in a period of economic prosperity and lax morality, somewhat akin to the Roaring '20s in America. The people have become apathetic about themselves and each other--even the planet's President would rather watch the racehorses on TV than do his job. Rebelling against this madness is Harlock, captain of the rogue battleship Arcadia, who raids the ships carrying luxury items to Earth not out of greed but as a political statement. His Jolly Roger is not a symbol of terror but of personal liberty and morals.

Arcadia.

That's it!

When the threat of extraterrestrial invasion looms, only Harlock and his 40 thieves are ready to face it--while the Earth government can only panic and blame their only savior out of their stupidity.

The animation for the show is typical for 1970s material. Some of the special effects--like the collision between two planets later on--hold up well by modern standards. But bear in mind that this series was made long before computers became a tool in the art of animation.

The dubbing job added narration that was needless (and in some cases, totally WRONG storywise), and humorous lines for comic relief that were also needless. But the flavor of the show is mostly intact, something to be grateful for. However, and for reasons beyond my knowledge, this Animé never suffered the "Americanization"  treatment many Animé suffered before the late 80's. So, If you still haven't watched this Japanese marvel, there isn't any version that I would not recommend. There was only one Captain Harlock series, and it aired its 42 episodes in 1978. Only in France, as stated above, the series was retitled to "Albatros 78" but the storyline & background music remained the same as the original. Later, in the 80's the series was introduced in VHS tapes to Animé enthusiasts across America. I remember that most of the episodes I got to watch was thanks to the great video rental store close to my house somewhere in 1986/87. They had a vast collection of OVA. 

Emeraldas assets.

When the cat's away...

...Emeraldas goes to play hardcore.

Like many Japanese anime TV shows this one is full of human drama, characters who face inner conflicts, adventure that spans the galaxy, and stories that entertain with each episode.

Here's the original opening: