The Irresponsible Captain Tylor (無責任艦長タイラー Musekinin Kancho Taira) is a Japanese anime work based on a series of light novels by the Japanese author Hitoshi Yoshioka. It originally ran in 1993-1994. It was produced by some of Japan's larger studios, including Big West, King Record, and VAP.

The television series and the follow-up OVAs have been adapted for America by The Right Stuf International.

The first made-for-video installment was titled An Exceptional Episode and proved to be just that, offering a two-part tale, a special theme song, and a style that was very true to the series in terms of visuals and presentation. The quality of the later OAVs compared to the original series is disputed, but thought by many to be inferior. Tylor himself appears in few episodes.

In a distant, highly technological future, Tylor, the title character, is a mysterious young man without a real purpose in life, a state of mind that is very hard to determine, and a knack for accidentally getting out of near-death situations with a childishly cavalier attitude. He sometimes does not even seem to realize when he is in danger, which is actually an asset to him on many occasions.

Tylor stumbles his way into the space navy, and soon gains command of a destroyer, to the astonishment of his lieutenant, Yamamoto. It turns out, much to Yamamoto's dismay, that this ship is considered the dumping grounds of the military, and contains all the sorts of characters that should probably not even be let near a paintball gun, let alone a spaceship (Yamamoto and Yuriko Star seem to be the only recruits aboard who are both serious and sane). However, thanks to Tylor's eccentric leadership, these misfits eventually become the collective saviors of humanity.

The two major powers in the story are the UPSF (United Planets Space Force, or the humans) and the Raalgon Empire (the extraterrestrials, which some might say look like elves from Dungeons and Dragons).

One of the largest points of dispute within the story is the actual competence of Tylor. Several characters say of Tylor, "I can't decide if he's an idiot or a genius." Whether he is a genius or an idiot is up to each individual viewer. But one thing to be noted is, despite Tylor's frequent show of idiocy, he has remarkable insight along with being honest and courageous to the core. He might seem one way or another to have suffered from mild behaviour disorder or be mentally unstable, in nearly all the episodes.

From Wikipedia