Arcadia

The Arcadia is the ship of Captain Harlock and his crew. It was created by the late Tochiro Oyama as his final gift to his friend Harlock before his inevitable demise.

Production
The Arcadia is described as the brainchild of Leiji Matsumoto, having gone through multiple draft designs with the final version being the culmination between Matsumoto and Studio Nue with Kazutaka Miyatake being the first to acknowledge it. The skull and crossbones portion also went through a few redesigns until being settled.

Overview
The Arcadia was named as such for a utopia away from any and all shackles including from that of Earth, serving as a symbol for Harlock and his search for freedom. Some series even reveal that the ship was named after the Harlock Family's estate. It was created by Tochiro Oyama before his death, while uploading his consciousness into the Arcadia's main computer when near the end of his life, effectively making the Arcadia a cyborg and a living ship. The only people who know of this are Harlock, Miime, and Bird. The Arcadia's crew consists of over 40 humans with a motley position as well as Bird and the cat Me-kun. The Arcadia features a robust design with heavy armor and enough firepower including a variety of beams and missiles comparable to a mighty armada.

Appearance
The Arcadia has gone through numerous appearances due to copyrights and distribution issues. The common resembles a cross between an old fashioned galleon and a battleship. The back appears to be made of a wood-like material in the shape of a galleon bow. From the back are large boosters with small wings, a pair of wings above this, turrets and guns that line, a command center featuring specialized antenna and radar and skull insignia on the side and front. Occasionally a pirate flag is hoisted up with special equipment, that flutters by varying circumstances like gravity waves

Weapons
The Arcadia is built to be a combat pirate ship with various weapons.

Twin Pulsar Cannons
The main gun of the Arcadia, equipped to the top with three sets, able to change positions at an acute angle. The cannons fire beams of EM radiation that can take out fleets of ships and can release electric shocks as well.

Rapid Fire Gun
A Space Buster equipped below the bridge, mainly used to intercept fighters. The gun also fires harpoons for latching onto enemy ships while releasing a freezing gas from within the opposing ship. On either sides of the bridge, the guns can combine fire for assaults.

Ram
Below the bow is a special naval ram the Arcadia uses when engaging in close combat. At times, when rotated it reveals a large jack knife-like weapon that can pierce the hull of opposing ships.

Missile Launchers
On both sides of the hull near the Space Busters are three sets of ports used to release missiles that can also be used in water.

Combat Transfer Anchor Tube
The Anchor Tube is used to penetrate inside of enemy ships for raids with the crew engaging in battle inside for traditional combat.

Anti-Aircraft Beam Turret
Small turrets are spread around the bridge to intercept small flying objects like fighter crafts or space debris.

Anti-Ship Depth Charge
An explosive charge released from the ship's rear to ward off enemies from behind.

Operation
The Arcadia functions like a regular ship with a need for shifts for the occupants to come into play but works in tandem with the crew. This is because the Arcadia's computer determines the crew's roles automatically, with shifts that even the captain is not entirely aware of. The same computer keeps the Arcadia running, allowing a small crew of just over 40 to operate. In cases of emergency, the computer can even take control of the Arcadia completely. This is because the computer's operating system is actually the uploaded consciousness of its creator, Tochiro Oyama. At times the Arcadia is often equipped with a holographic projector that can display a figure of Tochiro so that he can directly communicate with others.

On the deck of the ship is a traditional steering wheel that is often used by Captain Harlock or Yattaran to control the position of the ship. At times Harlock gives out commands from his captain's seat. Whenever someone else tries to steer the ship without consent, it usually endangered the crew and inhabitants by risking fuel and life-support systems.

The Arcadia features multiple radars that can detect just about all obstacles as well as jammer that can throw off the radars of opposing vessels. Depending on the series, the Arcadia also features some equipment that has not been seen before including specialized computer interfaces that adjust to users.

Arcadia also features a hanger for vehicles including the Space Fighter Wolf jet for combat, a Cosmo Wing, a high-speed transport carrier, a space trailer, a boat, and a submarine car.

The crew itself seems rather lazy and uncoordinated, at times the dining room has looked like it has not been cleaned for years. However in the important matters, the crew always spring into action ready to protect their home.

Trivia

 * The models of the Arcadia released by Bandai would sometimes be called Captain Harlock's Ship.
 * In one episode of the anime, there was stated to be a blind spot, however this is never brought again in any other media.
 * Some stats are changed between media including length and weight.