Outlaw Star
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Outlaw Star [星方武侠] is a 26-episode anime series created by Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment, loosely based on the manga by Takehito Ito. Bandai and ZRO Limit Productions translated the series into an English release. It was edited for content and time, airing on Cartoon Network. An unedited, uncensored English version also exists. It is distributed in the US by Bandai Entertainment.
The Angel Links OAV series is set in the same universe, and two characters cross over.
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Synopsis
The show follows the exploits of Gene Starwind, an outlaw in space, a century and half after humans developed faster-than-light spacecraft. (Note that an "outlaw" in the show's context is simply an independent person with no major governmental loyalties, as opposed to a criminal.) Outlaw Star takes the characters from the original manga with a totally different story.
Gene, along with his 12-year old business associate and hacker Jim Hawking runs a small jack-of-all-trades business on the backwater planet Sentinel III. After taking a job as a bodyguard for a mysterious outlaw, the two find themselves the owners and crew of a highly advanced prototype spacecraft, the XPG15A-II, later named the Outlaw Star, and the caretakers of a highly humanlike android named Melfina. Through the course of the show, the crew grows to include the bounty hunter "Twilight" Suzuka and Aisha Clan Clan, a cat-like humanoid.
The show is mainly episodic in nature, combining action, suspense, and comedy, although towards the end of series, the storyline concerns the quest for the Galactic Leyline, a mythical wish-granting construction hidden somewhere in the galaxy.
Characters
The main characters of the show mostly follow generic anime stereotypes, including the ice-cold swordswoman and the catgirl.
- Born on Earth, Gene Starwind developed a fear of space flight and a hatred of pirates during an incident when he was a pre-teen that resulted in his father's death at the hands of the Kei Pirates. Gene himself escaped safely to the planet Sentinel III and spent the next several years there. On Sentinel III, he met Jim Hawking, a 12-year old genius hacker. The pair became business partners in Starwind and Hawking Enterprises, primarily as repairmen, but also accepting various odd jobs, as long as they don't break the law. He is a reckless ladies man and a bit of a pervert. He would rather try to achieve his goals in one fell swoop, with a minimum of effort, a characteristic that frustrates Jim; but he can think on his feet when he needs to. Gene is well armed with a variety of weapons such as a handgun, shotgun, knife, light shield, etc. His special weapon, a Caster gun, fires special Caster shells effective against Tao priests and other things that are protected against normal weaponry. Caster shells are considered antiques, however, and are difficult to acquire.
- The 12-year-old James "Jim" Hawking is the business partner and sidekick of Gene Starwind. Details about Jim's past and how he met Gene are unknown. Jim serves as the team's computer expert, hacker, strategist, and back-up. He is responsible and concerned; he worries about the team's finances and plans, prefers to earn money the hard way rather than to take risks, and is often annoyed by Gene's lazy and cavalier attitude. Jim becomes good friends with fellow Outlaw Star crew member Aisha Clan Clan, who is in some ways his opposite: Jim gets treated like a kid even though he acts like an adult, while Aisha, though an adult, acts like a kid. Jim also looks up to the android Melfina as a mother figure, and gets along well with with the Outlaw Star's on-board computer, Gilliam II. Jim has trouble, however, trusting strangers such as Hilda, who first approaches him and Gene under false pretences, and Suzuka, who tries to kill Gene and whose motives are unclear. Episode 20 of the anime tells the story of Jim's first love, a young girl named Hamiyo who, unknown to the crew, is a combat pilot charged with destroying the Outlaw Star and its crew.
- Melfina is a human and machine hybrid created from an ancient and unknown genome. The genome, in fact, was that of an emissary, simply referred to as "the maiden", from the Leyline itself. The maiden is the only one capable of finding, and navigating the way to the Galactic Leyline. The maiden is also the only one capable of accessing its great powers.
- Aisha Clan Clan is a female Ctarl-Ctarl spacer. She is a dark-skinned catgirl with a drinking problem, a very large appetite, and the strength of ten men, depending on the tides of the planet she is on.
- "Twilight" Suzuka is a female assassin who only kills when the sun is down.
- The Kei Pirates are a collection of users of Tao magic. The group most often mentioned in the series is the 108 Stars, led by the mysterious Tendo King. Those in Outlaw Star are mostly lead by Hazanko and his elite Anten Seven.
- The 108 Stars are a group of Tao magic users from the Hoppo system, and members of the Kei Pirates. The name may come from the legend of the 108 Stars of Destiny. Centered around the Tendo King, their leader, the 108 Stars operate in smaller groups of 10 or 20, with the leaders of these groups acting as independents, pursuing their own interests. In the series, the group that pursues Gene Starwind and the rest of the crew of the Outlaw Star is led by a man called Hazanko. The members of this group supposedly possess a great power known as Sunjutsu (pronounced soon-joot-su). They hunt Gene and his companions relentlessly, eventually setting the Anten Seven after them. The Seven and Hazanko are eventually defeated, yet the 108 Stars live on.
- The XGP15A-II, or the Outlaw Star itself is, as its onboard AI Gilliam II insists, "the fastest, most advanced ship in the galaxy." It was constructed by the Kei space pirate guild using connections with the Space Forces military. Powered by four plasma fusion Unsen engines (most fast ships have one) and a powerful Munchausen reactor for use with its "sub-ether" faster-than-light drive. In addition, it is a "grappler ship", that is, a spaceship with manipulator arms modified for combat purposes. It is designed where the Bio-Android Mefina who was created by the scientist Gwen Khan, who could link up with the navigational systems and have control over all the navigational systems, this was intended for the sole purpose of navigating the Galactic Layline. It was originally stolen by Hilda and hidden in an asteroid by a sun, she later came back with Gene, Jim, and Melfina. However the Kei Pirates placed a Tao spell on her ship Horus and tracked them there. During the battle the outlaws the Macdougall Brothers arrived who were secretly hired by the Space Forces to destroy all traces of their partnership with the Kei Pirates. In the end Hilda sacrificed herself so Gene, Jim, and Melfina could escape with the ship. In honor of her, Gene decided to name the ship the Outlaw Star.
Theme songs
- Opening
- "Through the Night" by Masahiko Arimatsu
- Ending
- "Hiru no Tsuki" (Daytime Moon) by Akino Arai (eps 1-13)
- "Tsuki no Ie" (House of the Moon) by Akino Arai (eps 14-26)
Banned episode
Episode 23, Hot Springs Planet Tenrei, was banned from the Cartoon Network airings due to issues of nudity and sex-related humor. However, it has been shown on UK channel CNX, and later on the British version of Toonami, completely uncensored. It is also currently available on DVD and VHS (Although the VHS version is now out of print and can only be bought through a seller).
Quotes
Voice of the Leyline: We shall test thy worthiness. Present the maiden.
Hazanko: She is here...
Melfina connects to the Leyline.
Voice of the Leyline: It is the maiden. The Leyline is considering... The Leyline will now converse with the supplicant.
Maiden of the Leyline: That which has come with the maiden, tell me, what is thy desire?
Hazanko: Power. Immense power, so absolute that even the Tendo King would bow before me and allow me to crush the Emperor!
Maiden of the Leyline: That is thy desire...?
Harry MacDougal: Nothing good can ever come from staying with normal people.
External links and references
- TV Tome Episode Guide (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-3445/)
Categories: Anime | Manga | Space Opera