Space Adventure Cobra is an anime franchise based on the Cobra manga written and illustrated by Buichi Terasawa. The franchise started out with an anime film in 1982, which was quickly followed by a 31-episode anime series.

The story of the film appears to take place in a later part of the story in the Cobra manga. Unfortunately, if you haven't had a chance to read the manga before seeing the film, then you have to accept some of the things that are stated, since no time is truly taken to explain them. The first anime series is essentially a retelling of the anime film.

Cobra is the protagonist of the franchise, and he's a man with superhuman stamina. He also has a signature weapon called the "Psycho-gun," which is a cybernetic laser in his arm that connects to his brain. Unfortunately, the Psycho-gun drains his mental energies.

Lady Armaroid is Cobra's partner, and she's a mechanical cyborg. While she possesses superhuman strength, she doesn't carry a weapon and usually isn't involved in direct physical combat.

Crystal Boy is Cobra's archenemy; he's a humanoid cyborg that has a golden skeleton and a body made of indestructible polarizing glass. Crystal Boy works for the Pirate Guild, an organization that wants to capture Cobra due to his meddling in their criminal enterprises.

There's also a set of triplet sisters that Cobra meets: Jane, Catherine, and Dominique. These characters have very different roles in the anime film and the first television anime series. However, in both stories, they are very important characters for Cobra to meet. Between the two versions of the story, it appears that their role in the anime series is stronger and makes more sense when compared to the anime film.

Space Adventure Cobra is an anime franchise that is definitely not being aimed at a young audience. I've seen the anime film, and I can say that there's a bit of female nudity included in the visuals. Also, some of the concepts that appear in the franchise are better suited for an older audience.

Personally, I would recommend Space Adventure Cobra to anime viewers who are 17 or 18 years of age and older.

Title	Episodes	Release Year(s)	Director	Studio	N.A. Licensor
Cobra: Space Adventure	N/A	1982	Osamu Dezaki	TMS Entertainment	Discotek Media
Space Adventure Cobra	31	1982-1983	Osamu Dezaki	TMS Entertainment	Nozomi Entertainment
Cobra the Animation: The Psychogun	4	2008-2009	Buichi Terasawa	Magic Bus	N/A
Cobra the Space Pirate: Time Drive	2	2009	Kenichi Maejima	Magic Bus	N/A
Cobra the Animation: Rokunin no Yuushi	13	2010	Keizo Shimizu/Noshitani Mitsutaka	Magic Bus	N/A