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Year: 1998
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Space, Comedy
Episodes: 24
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
If anyone knows about that old school Toonami, they would understand that Outlaw Star was part of the OG roster. I’m talking about when T.O.M 1 was the host back in the late 90s to early 2000s. That was when Toonami had anime shows like DBZ, Sailor Moon, Voltron, and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. This was when Toonami was at the top of its game. Outlaw Star was an anime that dealt with a cast of misfits and their quest to get to an all-knowing treasure. An anime of space travel with some entertaining space battles.
Overview
Outlaw Star follows the overconfident Gene Starwind and his misfits group on a trip through space and the unknown. Gene has always dreamed of piloting his own spacecraft and traveling among the stars. The only problem is that Gene has a fear of flying after the death of his father during a space mission where pirates attacked it. This one instance has left Gene terrified to fly and keeps him on the group. He spends his days working odd jobs alongside his partner, James Hawking, on the small planet Sentinel III.
The duo’s world is quickly turned upside down when they accept a job from a beautiful woman named Rachel Sweet, who is actually a treasure-hunting outlaw. The pair is quickly hunted by pirates and soon learn that Sweet has been carrying a mysterious girl known as Melfina. Their lives rapidly change as they retrieve a highly advanced ship known as the Outlaw Star. Gene and his crew embark on a dangerous mission to find the ultimate treasure while being chased by dangerous bounty hunters, space pirates, Taoist mages, and a race of cat creatures.
Review:
Maybe it’s just me, but Outlaw Star just doesn’t hit like it did when I first saw it on Toonami. Back then, I thought it was the shit. I was like 17 or 18 at the time, but I still thought it was awesome. Now, after many years and watching other anime series, Outlaw Star is kinda meh. It’s not awful, but it’s not great also. It is somewhere in the middle. Maybe I am reading too much into it. It was probably I got really annoyed with the main character Gene Starwind and his overconfidence self.
With that said, the story of Outlaw Star is pretty good. It is entertaining and has a nice mix of seriousness and comedy. Outlaw Star has this space opera/space Western feel about it, and it works well sometimes. Pretty much it has everything you can think of in this type of anime series. You have pirates, assassins, outlaws, magicians, mafia-type organizations, and some pretty good space battles along with all kinds of species and creatures. This anime’s primary storyline is for Gene and his crew to find a thing called the “Galactic Leyline.” It is a place of legend where they say that it is a holder of immense treasure, knowledge, and power. Pretty much what all space outlaw stories go for. Always a place with great knowledge and power.
Now the story fails with the pacing of trying to get to this place. It seems like the crew starts and then has to stop to raise some type of money. It became quite confusing and boring because it seemed like I never knew where they were in the story. One second, they are off in a space race to get a sponsorship, and then the next, they are back at home doing odd jobs. It really messed with the overall flow of the whole anime. The show tried to have an interesting aspect with Melfina. Homegirl was locked up in a suitcase, and then she was the only being capable of interfacing with this high-tech ship that could lead to the Galactic Leyline.
Where the anime really excels is with the space battles and all the other battles combined. When the crew fights in the spaceship, the battles are actually really entertaining. They are fast-paced, well-drawn, and keeps your attention. Even when the characters fight in person, they are really good. Seeing Gene shoot his caster gun and the effects they make are outstanding. Actually, the story really picks up with the introduction of The Anten Seven. When that group comes along, the anime picks up in a great and entertaining way because each foe is different with their own abilities. The final two to three episodes are where the anime really shows it stuff with everyone fighting.
As far as the characters go, they are either take it or leave it. Most of them are leave it. Gene Starwind, to me, is the most annoying of the main cast. His confidence is reasonable, but it can be overbearing and annoying at times. The dude couldn’t even fly a ship, but he thought he was such a badass. I’m not going to lie; I wanted him to get his a** beat a few times. Then we have his sidekick, Jim Hawking. Jim wasn’t too bad as a supporting character. I think I felt his emotions more with how annoyed he got with Gene. He felt like the overall babysitter of the group.
Aisha Clanclan was a character that was put in for mostly comic relief. I actually liked her cocky attitude because she could back it up. I felt like the anime made her look too much of a fool, but I guess you need some comic relief, and when you hear about her race, you were like DAMN! Homegirl is OP! “Twilight” Suzuka was my girl. I thought she was the best character of the main cast. She was strong, powerful, and always kept her sense of duty. Let’s be real, homegirl destroyed so much stuff with her bokken. Just imagine if she had an actual sword. It would be game over for a planet. Her final fight scene with that attack was muah! Out of all the main characters, Melfina was a breath of fresh air. Yea, her character was a little blah sometimes because she didn’t know what to do or how to help. Yet, she was the force behind the ship and should be given a little credit.
Outlaw Star is one of those shows that you either love or hate. It is entertaining at some points and then BLAH at other points. Gene Starwind is annoying but does his job as the overconfident leader of the band of misfits. It takes a while for the actual story to get going and to the right place. The storyline jumps around a lot to be any good.
