If you like early Miyazaki animated films like Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa, and Lupin: Castle of Cagliostro you will enjoy watching this TV series. On the surface it seems like a simple children's adventure story but because Miyazaki is such a fantastic visual storyteller, he greatly elevates the material into a fun animated adventure.
The characters are strong willed, independent, charming and cute. However, some of the characters are just archetypes that don't have much depth but it's not a character study show. The drama comes from the unexpected conflict between the characters and the well structured plot that evolves over 26 episodes and takes a group of characters on an adventure. The dialogue at times can be simple but you have to remember that this show was made for kids. Even at it's worst the dialogue is still funny to listen to. I would definitely watch this with friends and fans of Miyazaki movies.
Here are some aspects of the show that made it interesting for me to watch as an animation nerd. Conan is pure miyazaki and an expressive representation of what all young boys aspire to be. Lana is strikingly similar to the Lucita character in the film Castle in the Sky. Captain Dyce is a prototype of a dumb but silly pirate leader seen in Porco Rosso. Mosley is a prototype character of Kushana from Nausicaa and has a redemptive character arc similar to Zuko in Avatar the Last Airbender. Jimsey is the comic relief character who mostly thinks only of food. The bad guy character is your typical James Bond villain who wants power.
There are hundreds of shots in this tv show that Miyazaki would later recreate in his later films. It happens so often that you could make a fun drinking game out of it. My sister and I enjoyed looking out for these shots and the visual similarities added another layer of enjoyment to watching this. Here are the films that I noticed shots that the layouts / staging of the characters and environment were later recreated in subsequent Miyazaki films: Castle of Cagliostro, Nausica, Castle in the Sky, Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, The Wind Rises.
I watched the Japanese Dub Version but will watch the English Dub on next viewing.
The characters are strong willed, independent, charming and cute. However, some of the characters are just archetypes that don't have much depth but it's not a character study show. The drama comes from the unexpected conflict between the characters and the well structured plot that evolves over 26 episodes and takes a group of characters on an adventure. The dialogue at times can be simple but you have to remember that this show was made for kids. Even at it's worst the dialogue is still funny to listen to. I would definitely watch this with friends and fans of Miyazaki movies.
Here are some aspects of the show that made it interesting for me to watch as an animation nerd. Conan is pure miyazaki and an expressive representation of what all young boys aspire to be. Lana is strikingly similar to the Lucita character in the film Castle in the Sky. Captain Dyce is a prototype of a dumb but silly pirate leader seen in Porco Rosso. Mosley is a prototype character of Kushana from Nausicaa and has a redemptive character arc similar to Zuko in Avatar the Last Airbender. Jimsey is the comic relief character who mostly thinks only of food. The bad guy character is your typical James Bond villain who wants power.
There are hundreds of shots in this tv show that Miyazaki would later recreate in his later films. It happens so often that you could make a fun drinking game out of it. My sister and I enjoyed looking out for these shots and the visual similarities added another layer of enjoyment to watching this. Here are the films that I noticed shots that the layouts / staging of the characters and environment were later recreated in subsequent Miyazaki films: Castle of Cagliostro, Nausica, Castle in the Sky, Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, The Wind Rises.
I watched the Japanese Dub Version but will watch the English Dub on next viewing.