is a Japanese light novel series about space pirates written by Yūichi Sasamoto and illustrated by Noriyuki Matsumoto, published since October 2008. An anime television series adaptation produced by Satelight, under the title , aired in Japan from January to June 2012. A film adaptation was released in Japanese theaters in February 2014. A web manga adaptation launched in June 2012. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga series for a printed release in North America in August 2015. The anime version won the 2013 Seiun Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. Plot In the far future where space travel and colonialization have become the norm, humanity has expanded its living space to the far reaches of the known galaxy. One hundred years before the beginning of the series, several colonies, eager to gain their independence, rebelled against their masters in the Stellar Alliance Colony Federation. The government of one of the newly colonized planets, in the Tau Ceti system, recruited Space Pirates to bolster its fighting forces, legalizing their actions by issuing them letters of marque. In the midst of this conflict, a Galactic Empire arose and absorbed both the Stellar Alliance and the border worlds, but allowed the colonies to run on an independent government. Despite peace having been achieved, the Space Pirates remain respected figures in Imperial society, even though their activities are now reduced to more legal jobs (like errand running and staging raids for the entertainment of space travellers) in which their knowledge of the system's wild space proves particularly useful. At the time the series begins, their cessation of illegal activities is gradually causing them to pass into local legend. Marika Kato is a high school girl living a rather ordinary life as a member of the space yacht club and a part-time job at the high-class retro Lamp Café. One day, Marika learns of her recently deceased father, Gonzaemon, who is revealed to have been a Space Pirate. In order for her father's ship, the , to continue legal operation, Marika, Gonzaemon's direct descendant, is chosen to become the ship's new captain, thus beginning her life as a Space Pirate. Characters Main characters A girl who is a member of her school's space yacht club and has a part time job as a waitress in a cafe. She learns one day about her recently deceased father, Gonzaemon Kato, who was a Space Pirate. As Gonzaemon's