Iam not one of those anime fans that restrict themselves to certain genre. I will watch anything anime: comedy, mecha, shoujo, and horror. And if you are anything like me, you will enjoy the Irresponsible Captain Tylor (Musenkinin Kanchou Tylor). About two years ago I happened upon an advertisement for the series in my Animerica magazine and got a copy from Ebay. I was hooked from the first episode!

      Like another great anime Vampire Hunter D, which was based on a series of novels (not manga), this series is boasts a similar heritage. Tylor is based on the novels by Hitoshi Yoshioka and if you love space sagas like the Star Trek serials and Star Wars you will get a kick out of this series. It has many elements of the atypical anime space epics: large ships, wars, aliens, and rouge crews. Except one tiny problem the captain is a nineteen-year old idiot. Justy Ueki Tylor is a lazy good for nothing that decided to join the military in an effort to get out of the daily employment.

      His rise to Captain, of the once famed ship the Soyokaze, was brief to say the least. Tylor was assigned to the United Planets Space Force's Benefits and Pensions Department, a nice comfortable job out of the way of combat. But this comfortable job will not be his for long. Tylor is asked to deliver a retired admiral's pension check personally, only to walk into a terrorist attack. Of course Tylor finds a way to make the terrorist's efforts futile and emerges a hero. Call it luck, genius, or plain stupidity; this type of situation follows Tylor throughout the entire series, making for some damn funny and dramatic story plots.

      The Admiral to show his appreciation for Tylor's "heroics" has him assigned as the captain of the once glorious, now defunct Soyokaze. The military, not pleased with Tylor's untimely push to captain does everything in its power to get rid of Tylor (even if it means sacrificing the entire crew of the Soyokaze). The crew is not happy about his assignment either, because of Tylor's age and inexperience in the military.

      To add more fuel to the fire, Tylor happens to take control of the ship in the midst of a war with the alien species known as the Raalgoons. Their leader is a sixteen-year old girl named Azalyn, who later in the series will develop a crush on Tylor or Paco Paco as she calls him.

      This series has some of the most memorable and lovable characters in anime, like Lieutenant Yamamoto, the no nonsense first officer, who has done everything perfect in his military career to be captain of a ship, only to be made second to Tylor. Lieutenant Commander Yuriko Star, who was the first of the crew to meet Tylor (during the attempted terrorist attack); is the disciplinarian of the ship. Yuriko has a love-hate relationship with Tylor that ranges from utter disgust at his advances on her and the other female crew members, to total respect in times of war. Then there is Dom the trusted friend of Azalyn who too will develop a great respect for Continued on Page 2

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