#72: Space Patrol Luluco (2016)

Fromhttps://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/spacepatrolluluco/
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Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi

Screenplay: Hiroyuki Imaishi

Voice Cast: M.A.O as Luluco, Junya Enoki as ΑΩ Nova, Mayumi Shintani as Midori, Mitsuo Iwata as Keiji, Nobuyuki Hiyama as Blackholian, Tetsu Inada as Chief Director Overjustice, Youko Honna as Lalaco Godspeed

Viewed in Japanese with English Subtitles

Synopsis: Luluco (M.A.O.) if anything is an ordinary thirteen year old schoolgirl...who just happens to live in Ogikubo, a hub for aliens and humans on the planet Earth, whose father is a Space Patrol member who accidentally freezes himself when a piece of equipment is eaten in his breakfast, and Luluco is forced to take his place in the Space Patrol. That's before you get to her mother being a space pirate, and general evil that must be defeated by justice, all whilst Luluco develops a crush with fellow recruit named ΑΩ Nova (Junya Enoki)

[Full Spoilers Throughout]

A new Hiroyuki Imaishi piece...I admit to have taken a while to finally get to Space Patrol Luluco, but I've always been up for whatever new project he helms. I admit that a lot of the delay to actually seeing this thirteen episode series is that, distributed by the streaming site CrunchyRoll, it has been an exclusive to their site and yet to be released in the UK. This way of promoting their own site, having unique titles of their own, is wise business practice.  It is baffling that an Imaishi title hasn't been released in the UK, which does provide a double edge sword when it comes to streaming - that, unless this is permanently on CrunchyRoll, there's always going to be the danger of when the license runs out. There's also the fact that, whilst there are many of us who finally got around to subscribing to the site like myself, one wonders how many people do use these sights and would be introduced to stuff like this. It needs a proper evaluation, with the likelihood as much of streaming being as successful if not more than physical media, but it does suck that stuff like this isn't on British store shelves.

Space Patrol Luluco though is peculiar and appropriate for this streaming era as, including opening and end credits, the episodes are only around seven minutes long, Imaishi's Studio Trigger having rode the wave of micro-series gladly. It's a testament to them, as this could've been a single feature length story, that the plot is incredibly economic and fleshed out in those few minutes. (In fact, in one of the more peculiar aspects, the thirteen episodes are actually meant to make up a couple of larger episodes named "Seasons", playing up to this being one large work to binge on). It helps that Imaishi has gotten down pat stories like this too - a young teenager finding him or herself and being a hero, in this case a young girl finding love in a mysterious figure known as ΑΩ Nova, whose almost blank handsomeness proves part of his plotline of being actually a villain's henchmen who literally needs a heart a la The Wizard of Oz. This type of material is the director/writer playing to deliberately ridiculous levels, sincere to the point of camp as Luluco's space pirate mother Lalaco Godspeed (Yōko Honna) ends up arguing with her husband that now's the right time in her life to start dating, all in the midst of an outer space battle where everyone's elaborate transformation is into gun shapes. If anything, "Justice" is a word you're going to have to get used to, because it's shouted off the rafters in comically dynamic ways over and over and over again...

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If anything the premise is just an excuse for Studio Trigger to flex their muscles and show their animation staff is better than anyone else's, the equivalent of a little desert with this tiny series better made than longer, full length shows. With experimentation too - the end credits are a gorgeous piece, set to a dream pop track, of cut-outs of Luluco and ΑΩ Nova as tiny figures moving in stills across a real Japanese street. If this is all ego stroking, Trigger are at least backing it up with talent. Not surprising, as the series is meant to celebrate them, so that self congratulatory nature is purposeful even as being part of the plot; part of the series, "Season" three, after erstwhile villainess-turned-Space Patrol member Midori helps contribute, with the help of her quasi-legal Blackhole App, into the patrol searching outer space for the entirety of Ogikubo, is where most of the cameos from other Trigger series take place.

The one for Kill La Kill (2013-14) is merely the style - the music and the living red string - but those for Little Witch Academia and Imaishi's Japan Animator Expo short Sex&VIOLENCE with MACHSPEED (2015) involve characters from those works. Inferno Cop (2012-13), another Trigger project where they dabbled with micro-series with success, is used in a much more interesting context, the titular character officially in two roles like he's an Osamu Tezuku character template - one as the police chief of the Space Patrol, mainly stuck behind a desk wearing giant shades, and as himself offering advice to a dead and heartbroken Luluco to come back to life and pick herself up from her issues. The segments referencing the other productions, "Season" three is arguably the weakest aspect of the whole series for me, but I have to admit it's pretty hilarious the most ridiculous of all the characters is the one who has the most material to work with - who knew Inferno Cop could offer inspiration advice?

From https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/animevice/images/4/47/
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If there's a flaw with Space Patrol Luluco, it's a slight show. Even if you excise the entire third chapter, of four episodes, where most of the references come into play, there's not a lot of time to build on the material especially as the show. One of the most curious aspects about Imaishi is that, despite his almost ADD levels of exaggeration, some of his best work plays with long length series, each arch changing the tone or plot in ways which build up his premises immensely. Particularly here, as it gets ridiculous with cosmic thieves with black hole heads and a giant battle using the power of love at the end, you could've easily had a longer series from this material.

The other obvious issue, felt with Sex&VIOLENCE with MACHSPEED and now here, is that whilst Imaishi still has my respect and good will as a creator and I liked this series, he needs to try something different now. Personally, even next to his divisive debut Dead Leaves (2004), Space Patrol Luluco is his weakest work. It is still good, but it has faded from memory especially with the expectations I had. These expectations were too high considering the presentation and context for the show, but if anything, the issue is that Imaishi's style with Studio Trigger is perfect, but he needs to now stray into a different genre or story type and keep himself fresh. Hell, a story about Japanese flower arranging from him would be awesome and would be welcomed at this point in his career, because Studio Trigger's reputation is so high still for many anime fans that they could take the gamble and likely make the best looking anime with that premise or any other. There is a sense, if anything, that after Kill La Kill Imaishi's yet to actually properly follow it up, as Space Patrol Luluco shouldn't be that title, instead the brief but sweet and fun work it was. How the director and founder of Studio Trigger would follow one of his biggest works is the new question and one he needs to think about carefully now after this particular example.

From https://theanimeharvest.files.wordpress.com/
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