From the get-go, the anime never takes itself too seriously, it largely being seen as seasoned pro, Shinichiro Watanabe’s (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) momentous return to not only anime, but space westerns in general. However, while past efforts like Cowboy Bebop took a more dramatic slant with sprinklings of comedy, now he’s armed with a laser sharp, genre-skewing, fourth wall-demolishing eye that’s concentrated on satire and pushing all of this to the extreme…in space.

Right from its very construction, this anime is different than others. Watanabe went to great lengths to chisel out the unique perspective in place here, as well as assuring his team that this show would be different. For instance, Watanabe hired his primary writing partner on the show, Keiko Nobumoto, because she had never seen Star Wars before, and knew that she’d be bringing fresh space stories to the table, rather than inevitably drawing from an overused space well. While Watanabe heavily drew from Moroccan culture when building Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy on the other hand has a Rio de Janeiro infusion.

The series also has a strict, rigid time period in place that while never stated within the show, is constantly present. In spite of Space Dandy clearly taking place in the future, the world seems perpetually stuck in the year 1984. For instance, all the music in the show is played off of audiocassettes, with CDs never making an appearance. And the addition of other ‘80s relics in the background (such as a Nintendo Famicom) is consistent with the timeline. Throwing all of these elements together creates an incredibly different, hard-to-put-your-finger-on atmosphere that is only part of what makes the series so special.

Some anime come with an impressive reputation and pedigree behind them, but actually tracking them down, let alone a localized version, can be enough to discourage viewers from the show entirely. Space Dandy is part of an interesting experiment where it is simulcast in English and Japanese at the same time. While new episodes are airing on Tokyo MX in Japan, Adult Swim simultaneously is providing the English dub for North American viewers. And if that wasn’t enough, the first season is already available for your consumption via Hulu. Never before has an anime been so easy to stay on top of!

Not only that but people are taking to Space Dandy like Space Dandy takes to space. The series premiere on Adult Swim was the first in its timeslot for men 18-24, and 18-34. The series earned a 1.0 share, more specifically, 1.41 million viewers, with the other programming on Adult Swim that night averaging a 0.6. This trend only continued in the following weeks where it further proved it was a top performer by improving its ratings and even outperforming The Colbert Report and The Daily Show. Shouldn’t you too be checking out what is gaining such growing attention?