| The Search for the Phantom Space Ramen, Baby | |
|---|---|
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| Episode | 02 |
| Air date | January 11, 2014 (NA) January 5, 2014 (JP) |
| Written By | Dai Satō |
The Search for the Phantom Space Ramen, Baby ( 幻の宇宙ラーメンを探すじゃんよ Maboroshi no Uchū Rāmen o Sagasu jan yo ) is the second episode of the Space Dandy anime.
Synopsis
After Meow eats all of Dandy's food, Dandy threatens to kick him out. Meow begs his way back into Dandy's favor by telling him the story of the Phantom Ramen, a variety of ramen so rare and exotic that it's thought to be cooked by an unknown of species of alien.
Plot
Dandy gets a tip from Meow about a so-called "Phantom Ramen" that is supposedly made by an undiscovered species of alien. Taking his tip, the crew travels to Ra-sta, where many ramen stands gather and open up shop. Throughout the trip, Meow takes pictures of their travels and posts them online through his phone, inadvertently giving away their position to Dr. Gel, who sends his forces to capture Dandy. The crew narrowly dodges Gel's men, receiving aid from Scarlet, a receptionist at the alien registration center, all the while not knowing why they are being persued. After being chased out of Ra-sta, they wonder why they were being found so easily. Dandy discovers that Meow was tweeting their every location and ejects his phone out of the Aloha Oe, leaving Dr. Gel and the Gogol Empire to go after it instead of them. They eventually reach a restaurant where Meow identifies the phantom ramen. He and Dandy step into the ramen machine to find a wormhole to an alternate dimension inhabited by Pops, an elderly alien who runs his own stand. The two listen to the alien's moving story of how he became a ramen salesman whilst Dandy eats the Phantom Ramen. QT reveals that Dandy's interference with the wormhole caused it to destabilize, and they have to return. Dandy leaps back through the wormhole, and Meow follows, tragically losing his chance at tasting the Phantom Ramen.
Trivia
- The story of ramen salted by tears caused by a lost love could be a reference to The Ramen Girl.