Outlaw Star
Anime from the 1990s are pretty famous for their impressive roster of Mecha anime. But is that all this era had to offer in terms of anime? Absolutely not. There were so many hidden gems just waiting to be discovered. So let's take a look at a great work of Action, Sci-Fi, and Adventure genres from the good ol’ days, when a pandemic wasn’t razing our daily lives to the ground. Anime is an excellent remedy for these trying times, so do not hesitate to give this title a try~
Outlaw Star, also known as “Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star,” “Future Hero Next Generation Outlaw Star,” and “Starward Warrior Knight Outlaw Star,” is a 24 episode TV anime series. The series ran from the 9th of January up until the 26th of June as a Winter 1998 title.
The anime was produced by Sotsu and Victor Entertainment, licensed by Funimation and Bandai Entertainment, and brought to life by Studio Sunrise. The primary staff behind the anime include Maseba Yutaka as Producer, Nishikiori Hiroshi as Episode Director and on Storyboard, Hongou Mitsuru as Director, Episode Director, on Script and Storyboard and Yamaguchi Yuuji as Episode Director.
The genres featured are Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Space, and Comedy, and Outlaw Star received a rating of R+ for its mild nudity, being suitable for adult audiences.
Outlaw Star is adapted from the source Manga of the same title. This three-volume manga ran from the 25th of August 1997 until the 24th of February 1999.
This is the original work of Author and Artist Itou Takehiko and was serialized in Young Jump. A spin-off TV anime series spanning 13 episodes, titled “Seihou Tenshi Angel Links” (Angel Links), was also released in Spring 1999.
A special episode titled “Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star Pilot” was released in September 2006. It features a two-minute promo for the re-mastered series and contains animation not seen in the main TV series itself. A two-episode Special side story was released by the title “Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star Specials” in December 1998. This short series showcased unaired episodes of “Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star” included in the eighth and twelfth volumes of the VHS, designated as episodes 16 and 23, respectively.
The story looks to protagonist Gene Starwind, who had always dreamed about piloting his very own ship out into the vast expanses of the glimmering stars.
Well, of course, one’s lifelong wishes aren’t so easily fulfilled, so he spends his days doing odd jobs with his partner, James Hawking, instead. Unfortunately, he is stuck doing so on the small planet of Sentinel III as well, leaving his dreams to be nothing more than that. But fate has plans for the duo, as their lives take a complete twist when they take up an odd job from a client named Rachel Sweet. Unbeknownst to them, “Rachel” is actually a treasure-hunting outlaw, and she tasks them with protecting a mysterious girl called Melfina.
This fateful meeting irrevocably flips their boring lives upside down, as they are thrown straight into the great unknown, all aboard the highly advanced ship called the Outlaw Star.
“Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star'' thus follows Gene and his ragtag band of crewmates as they dare to brave the final frontier! While navigating the stars as per Gene’s dreams, they seek to uncover the answers to the dense mysteries surrounding Melfina.
They encounter no shortage of dangerous bounty hunters, space pirates, Taoist mages, and even catgirls on their perilous journey in classic anime fashion. What lies ahead of them is a one-of-a-kind exhilarating adventure with surprises around every corner.
Outlaw Star starts excellent. Characters like Hilda really steal the show from the onset, and until the very end, she stays an unforgettable character with good development. The episodes are generally packed with action and a solid plot that makes viewers eager for the next episode. Unfortunately, though, the art and animation showed a constant degradation as the series progressed.
The Story had a truly interesting premise, and viewers are given a taste of it in the early episodes. Sadly though, the premise doesn’t make it past that point and falls off flat. The main points get shoved aside, and the series becomes an episodic anime, leading to nowhere.
It is as if their purpose in life is to pay off their debts by taking up boring jobs. Gene opts to do any lame job as long as it pays high enough or if he needs to make money quickly. This uninteresting style continues until the last few episodes, where the main story resurfaces and actually goes somewhere. The end was pretty good, but the middle was entirely pointless and mediocre.
The majority of the Characters are a tad typical, without anything outstanding about them. The real protagonist, Gene, is lacking in both character development and a good background. Jim was comparatively more interesting, Aisha can be either likable or annoying depending on the viewer, and Suzuka was just as uninteresting as Gene.
Almost all these characters lack creative backgrounds and never got decent development. Except for Hilda, this aspect is mostly a stomp. Like mentioned before, Hilda was the best character and could have made a much better protagonist.
The Art and Animation are good initially. But as aforementioned, the art style shows a downward slope with each episode; the art becomes inconsistent and progressively worsens. Characters’ faces start looking different for no reason. The fight scene animation was terrible, and it stayed this way. This is not to say the overall animation is awful; it certainly had its moments, but the inconsistency is a big issue for overall enjoyment.
The Sounds and Music are probably the best aspects of Outlaw Star. The Opening theme is "Through the Night" by Masahiko Arimatsu, and the Ending themes are "Hiru no Tsuki" and "Tsuki no Ie" by Akino Arai. All three are great music.
Regardless, some viewers might feel these don’t go well with the series and its themes but are good as music itself. The Voice Acting is also good and adds so much vibrancy to the series. The OSTs and sound effects are quite fitting and enjoyable as well.
Overall, Outlaw Star is a series that can be enjoyed despite its minor flaws. The extent to which you would like this anime will largely depend on your preferences, but it's not dull, to say the least. As long as you can stomach the artistic flaws, you can have a good watch.
The middle “filler” episodes are good, too, despite not contributing to the main story. Overall, this series is recommended; so as long as you watch it for what it is, without fussing about the minor details, you are in for an entertaining series~
