English Dub Review: Space Battleship Tiramisu “Stand in the Universe/I’m Not Alone”

Somehow, Subaru talking to a pube isn’t this week’s obvious standout scene.

For the first time since “Fly in Space/Naked Dance”, Space Battleship Tiramisu embraces a winning combination of absurdity and melodrama this week. Indeed, the first half alone creates greater tension from Subaru needing to pee in the middle of a battle with an enemy fleet than from the battle itself. Simple and ridiculous premises are hardly new for this series, but I was pleased to see the episode dedicate more time to its setup than we’ve seen recently; an early scene aboard a supply ship is even used for some subtle worldbuilding, which I’d begun to worry wasn’t being considered by the writers at all.

Perhaps the strongest aspect of this episode is just how funny it is. Unsurprisingly, the absurd and melodramatic tone I mentioned above can largely be attributed to Space Battleship Tiramisu’s brilliant narrator. In my opinion, relegating him to a significantly reduced role in previous weeks has been to the show’s detriment, yet his return to prominence provides the strongest one-liners through his straight-faced descriptions. The twist ending of “Stand in the Universe” is hilarious enough on its own, informing us that Subaru was eventually able to replace his underwear is the perfect dumb capstone that couldn’t have been predicted, but instantly feels essential to the scene’s success.

Likewise, the sheer lack of plot on display in “I’m Not Alone” is excusable given the creatively weird direction it takes. Essentially, Subaru is cleaning his beloved cockpit (describing this relationship grants the narrator more moments to shine) and befriends a lone pube. Although the former dwells on the gross thought of where his new friend came from for a worryingly short amount of time, their subsequent ‘conversation’ is as funny as it is revealing. For instance, the pube’s accent is the basis for a pun about it being from “south of the border”; I’m only slightly ashamed about laughing at this. Simultaneously, I felt that the sequence represented how stir-crazy Subaru has become through longs periods of isolation in space, which would be an interesting idea for the show to explore in the future.

Space Battleship Tiramisu’s premiere may still be the benchmark for its absurd style, but “Stand in the Universe/I’m Not Alone” makes me optimistic that the writers can consistently deliver humor at a high quality.