About

Space Patrol Luluco (also known by its original Japanese title, 宇宙パトロールルル子 Uchuu Patrol Luluco) is a 2016 anime series which is written and directed by Hiryouki Imaishi and produced by by Studio Trigger.^[1]

Premise

Space Patrol Luluco tells the story of 13-year-old Japanese middle schooler, Luluco, and her failure to maintain a “normal life” following the extremely abnormal happenings that affect her life after she is forced to take her father’s place as an employee in the eponymous Space Patrol.

History

The series began airing on 1st April, 2016, and immediately picked up a global following for being traditionally constructed in the Trigger style, making use of bizarre concepts, over-the-top imagery and performances, and wacky characters.

Reception

The series has been reasonably well-received following its airing, receiving a score of 7.07 on MyAnimeList at time of writing.^[2] It is often compared and contrasted with Kiznaiver, another Trigger show airing simultaneously, with a very different and more serious feel to their usual output. Matthew Lundy of The Odyssey Online described it as “one crazy ride you won’t want to miss”^[3]. Norbert Daniels Jr. of Otaku USA was more sceptical at the series’ outset, but summed the series up by saying, “Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Trigger took the sillier parts of Kill la Kill and made a whole show in that style?”^[4] Alex Jones of UK-Anime.net was also complimentary, writing, “In a few short episodes Luluco has managed to build itself an alien-filled world that’s simple yet fascinating, as well as fill it with a varied cast that work well together.”^[5] Most reviewers noted the similarity to previous works such as Kill la Kill.

Online Relevance

A wikia site for the series has been created^[6], as has a TV Tropes page^[10]. Commentators on Reddit were immediately hopeful for a vast array of reaction images, given the series’ deliberate style which one user described as “So Trigger it hurts”^[7]. Fans were also quick to speculate in coming weeks over the show’s connection to other universes, as it has featured references to other Trigger works, including Inferno Cop, Little Witch Academia, and the aforementioned Kill la Kill, especially concerning certain relationships between the principle characters, and the character of Over Justice, who was suggested to be connected to Inferno Cop via a Japanese Twitter user.^[8][9]

Fandom

The series quickly found itself in receipt of fan art across the internet. As of 7th May 2016, Japanese fan art site Pixiv has 275 submissions under the tag "宇宙パトロールルル子"^[11], and DeviantArt has 76 submissions under "Space Patrol Luluco".^[12] The fandom can be seen present in other online communities such as 4chan^[13] and tumblr.^[14]

Related Memes

Over Justice / “You’re Under Arrest”

Over Justice is one of the characters in Space Patrol Luluco, and is the chief of Space Patrol. He quickly drew attention from fans for his nearly identical appearance to Inferno Cop wearing a pair of Kamina Glasses, which are references to Studio Trigger productions Inferno Cop and Gurren Lagann respectively.

On of he most memorables scenes from Over Justice comes from the first episode, where he shouts "You're Under Arrest" after repeatedly attempting to arrest Luluco and then set her free. The scene became very popular among viewers, and has since been quoted in discussion threads on the series, along with being used as exploitable.

Search Interest

External References