There has been Star Trek animation on television since 1973, when Star Trek: The Animated Series premiered on Saturday mornings. That tradition extends into today, with animated Trek shows like Lower Decks and Prodigy. But one type of Star Trek animation we’ve never had, at least not yet, is a Star Trek anime. Well, via Laughing Squid, we discovered that one YouTuber fan named Miss Mello has rectified that error. They’ve taken audio from the trailer for the classic 1967 episode “The Trouble With Tribbles,” and animated it in ’80s anime style. The results are perfect. You can check out this delightful video below:
The original “The Trouble With Tribbles” is an episode of the classic show that leans heavily into broad comedy, and it remains one of the most beloved episodes to this day. The slapstick of it all lends itself perfectly to ’80s anime goofiness, so this was a match made in heaven. According to Miss Mello, the fighting between the Enterprise officers and the Klingons in this video drew inspiration from the 1985 series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. But there are elements from other anime shows from the era, like Starblazers, Robotech, and Voltron.
Miss Mello got just about all of the classic Star Trek details right when making this. Well, except the original series Klingons didn’t actually have bumpy alien foreheads, but hey, why nitpick? All of this just makes us wish for an actual Star Trek anime series. It’s almost shocking that there hasn’t been one yet. We’d be down for a retro-style anime featuring Kirk and Spock. We’d also love a modern-looking anime film showcasing the Strange New Worlds crew. We think there’s probably a sizable audience for both. In the meantime, we’ll just have to watch Captain Kirk deal with pesky tribbles and imagine what might have been.
