After months of tedious waiting, there suddenly are not one but two different subtitled versions of Mouretsu Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace out. I’ve watched each once so far. As far as I can judge, WhyNot‘s is the better and more thorough translation; Doremi‘s is impressive for a fourteen-hour job. WhyNot’s 1080 fansub has a 5.1 FLAC soundtrack and is more than twice the size of the corresponding Doremi version, which might be important if you have limited disc space or a sub-optimal internet connection.
It’s an enjoyable movie. Abyss of Hyperspace is set after the end of the TV series. Hyperspace has become very turbulent, which plays havoc with businesses dependent on faster-than-light travel. Pirate captain and high school student Marika acquires a “hostage,” a blue-haired boy with a mechanical parrot and father issues, and who is pursued by swarms of mobsters. After various adventures and battles and a bit of psychodrama, all is resolved, conspiracies revealed, bad guys thwarted, and good guys rewarded. The story’s not bad, but the real pleasure of the movie, as with most of Tatsuo Sato’s better work, is spending time with the characters.
It’s not necessary to have seen the television series to enjoy the movie, but those who’ve met Chiaki-chan before will get more out of it. There’s nothing objectionable, and the movie is suitable for anyone old enough to follow a moderately complicated story.
There are more screencaps below the fold.
