Outlaw Star

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Outlaw Star
星方武侠アウトロースター (Seihō Bukyō Autorō Sutā)
Genre	Adventure Comedy Drama Mecha Romance Sci-Fi
Manga
Authored by	Takehiko Ito
Publisher	Shueisha
Serialized in	Ultra Jump
Original run	1997 –
No. of volumes	3
TV anime
Directed by	Mitsuru Hongo
Studio	Sunrise Morning Star Sotsu Agency
Network	TV Tokyo Cartoon Network CNX GMA Network Cuatro
Original run	January 8, 1998 – June 25, 1998 (Japan)
No. of episodes	26

Outlaw Star (星方武侠アウトロースター, Seihō Bukyō Autorō Sutā^?) is a 26-episode anime series created by Sunrise, loosely based on the manga by Takehiko Ito.

Bandai Entertainment and ZRO Limit Productions produced the English adaptation of the series and it was aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami in 2001, albeit edited for brevity and content. An unedited English version also exists on VHS (with Dubbed English or English Subtitled format, but is now out of print) and DVD (English/Japanese with English subtitles). It is distributed in the US by Bandai Entertainment.

The Angel Links television series is set in the same universe, and two characters cross over.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Characters 3 XGP15A-II - Outlaw Star 4 Other ships 5 Planets and space stations 6 Races 7 Galactic Leyline 8 Theme songs 9 Trivia 10 External links and references

[edit] Plot

Main article: List of Outlaw Star episodes

The show follows the exploits of Gene Starwind, an outlaw in space, a century and a half after humans developed faster-than-light spacecraft. In the context of the series, an outlaw is simply an independent person with no major governmental loyalties, as opposed to a criminal. Outlaw Star takes the characters from the original manga but has a completely different story.

Gene, along with his 11-year old business associate and hacker Jim Hawking, runs a small jack-of-all-trades business on the backwater planet Sentinel III. After the two take a job as bodyguards for a mysterious outlaw, they find themselves the owners of a highly advanced prototype spacecraft, the XGP15A-II, later named the Outlaw Star, and the caretakers of a bio-android named Melfina who is mysteriously tied to the ship. Through the course of the series, the crew grows to include the assassin "Twilight" Suzuka and Aisha Clan Clan, a Ctarl-Ctarl.

The show is mainly episodic in nature, combining action, suspense, and comedy. Towards the end of series, the storyline concerns the quest for the Galactic Leyline, a mythical "treasure" hidden in the galaxy.

At the end of each episode, the credits roll while artistic renditions of futuristic scenes and young women are shown as a haunting song plays in the background. The only relevance this song has to the plot is that it is sung by Melfina in an episode and overheard by Harry MacDougall.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Outlaw Star characters

• Gene Starwind: Main character and pilot of the Outlaw Star.
• James "Jim" Hawking: Gene's eleven year old friend and the engineer on the Outlaw Star.
• Melfina: The navigator on the Outlaw Star.
• Aisha Clanclan: A Ctarl-Ctarl that joins the Outlaw Star in order to find the Galactic Leyline.
• "Twilight" Suzuka: An assassin that joins the Outlaw Star in order to exact revenge on the Kei Pirates.

[edit] XGP15A-II - Outlaw Star

The XGP15A-II, or Outlaw Star, 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 so that the Bio-Android Melfina, who was created by the scientist Gwen Khan, can link up with and control the navigational systems. This was intended for the sole purpose of navigating the Galactic Leyline.

It was originally stolen by Hilda and hidden in an asteroid by the star Farfallas. 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 MacDougall Brothers, who were secretly hired by the Space Forces to destroy all traces of their partnership with the Kei Pirates, arrived. In the end Gene, Jim, and Melfina escaped with the ship. Gene decided to name the XGP the "Outlaw Star", possibly in memory of Hilda.

[edit] Other ships

• The Geomancer is the cruiser belonging to Hazanko, and the mobile base for his organization, the Anten Seven. It is an enormous grappler ship designed in the classical style of the Chinese guild.

• The Shangri-la is a four-armed, high-speed grappler ship. It belongs to Ron MacDougall. Its hull is a bright gold in color, and its arms, weapons, landing gear, and other tools are all hidden under retractable hull plates, making the ship all but seamless while in flight. Just as it's sister ship, the El Dorado, is named after a legendary city, the Shangri-la is named after the legendary utopia.

• The El Dorado is the sister ship of the Shangri-la built to be a racer so that the MacDougall brothers could enter the Heifong Space Race. It is identical to the Shangri-la in every respect. Used later on in the series along with the Shangri-La in an attempt to confuse and destroy the Outlaw Star and its crew. Its name - El Dorado, after the legendary city of gold - is from its bright golden hull.

• Horus is a long-range cruiser that was Hilda's last ship. Horus is run almost completely by an AI, just like the Outlaw Star. Its true speed is not in its regular ion engines, but in the fact that it has four sub-ether engines, giving it unparalleled range for a single sub-ether jump. Its four large pylons hide triple-barrelled laser turrets and enormous banks of missile launchers, enabling it to take on entire squadrons of smaller vessels. However, Horus is far too large to make planetfall, so it has a small dropship for the crew, as well as accessing stations that do not have sufficient facilities for docking.

• The Orta Hone-Hone is an enormous Ctarl-Ctarl battlecruiser and the primary deep space fleet vessel of the Empire. At the beginning of the story, the Orta Hone-Hone is under the command of Aisha Clan-Clan, but she quickly loses that command due to incompetence. The cruiser is under orders to locate the Galactic Leyline.

• The Nuburu Bori-Bori is a small Ctarl-Ctarl freighter assigned to the area of the Heifong system. Since his business rarely takes him anywhere else, the captain annually participates in the Heifong space race to alleviate the monotony. The ship, however, does not have the standard armament that normal Ctarl-Ctarl ships have, as Aisha Clanclan discovered.

[edit] Planets and space stations

• Sentinel III - A level 4 terraformed world. It is as Gene puts it, "A planet out in the middle of nowhere." It is the home of Gene and Jim. Primarily an agricultural exporter, two urban areas are mentioned in the series: Locust (Gene and Jim's hometown) and Hugo. The only known space port is the New Virginia Spaceport outside Locust.

• Blue Heaven - An asteroid colony, and a free town unaffiliated with any interplanetary state or any of the dominant pirate guilds. Its neutral status make it a popular stopover and resupply center for outlaws. Blue Heaven is only seen at the beginning of the series and the last episode. Mikey and Swanzo work as mechanics at Blue Heaven.

• Heifong III (also spelled Heiphon) - Where the majority of the planet-parts of the series takes place. It is one of the planets in the Heifong system, such as the water planet Heifong 7. It is a very expensive place to live.

• Symka 5 - A satellite station where Jim first met Hanmyo. These stations seem to have artificial gravity though the means by which it is simulated is unclear.

• Tenrei - A pleasure planet that is covered in hot springs. A long time ago, three wizards came to this paradise of nature attempting to resurrect the mana, the energy of nature. Instead, one of them happened upon the hot springs and turned the entire planet into her own interstellar vacation spot. The wizards are the creators of Caster bullets.

• Toward Star Inn - A spaceport where Gene tries to collect the bounty of legendary criminal Zomba. However, it turns out that the man Gene takes down as Zomba is a fake android with a much lower bounty.

• Hecatonchires (from the mythical greek figures, the Hecatonchires) - The planet where Gene, under the name Curse Hawkwind, is forced to travel to in order to free Saiyo Wong. It is a planet with wildly fluctuating gravity. The Gehenna prison is in a location of 3 G's while its punishment facility at the north pole is 10.4 G's. Until Gene shows up there has never been a successful breakout. However, since one of the prisoners had information about the Galactic Leyline, Gene risked an escape, using a monopole to break free from the prison.

[edit] Races

• Terrans - Also known as humans. Terran is the term used by many space creatures to refer to humans. Gene, Jim, Fred and many others in the series are Terran. Referred to as "Commons" in the Japanese version. Terran comes from the Latin word, "Terra", meaning Earth.

• Ctarl-Ctarl - A cat-like race, Aisha Clanclan is a Ctarl-Ctarl. The Ctarl-Ctarl have amazing hearing and strength, as well as an ability to turn into a large vicious beast. The Ctarl-Ctarl are a vast empire that, after many battles with Humans, have established trade treaties and are now on neutral terms. The Frontier - the area of space where most of the story takes place - lies in between the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire and the Terran Federation, and was established as a buffer zone after numerous battles between the two species. Its position is said to be 50 light years away from earth.

• Silgrians - A peaceful race in the Outlaw Star universe which resemble anthropomorphized birds. Physically they are usually at least 180 cm (6ft) tall, and have necks that can make a 180 degree rotation or can turn their head completely upward. Their eyes also have two lids. It is often complained that the Silgrians are 'too friendly' with human races.

• Corbanites - An industrious race of frog-like amphibians. Their natural habitat is in the water, so Corbanites wear environment suits that maintain an aquatic environment to their liking. With their technological advancement, most Corbanites fit their enviro-suits with translators that turn their native Corbonese into the local language.

• Sith - An insectoid race that are so alien to the other humanoid races that any manner of relationship with them is all but impossible.

• Lorgans - A secretive and distrusting people, the Lorgans are not mentioned much in the series. They apparently have such a strained relationship with the Terrans that the two races just avoid one another.

• Saurians - A bio-engineered race of reptiles created by Terrans by combining different strains of dinosaur DNA. Saurians are tall, powerful, imposing creatures with the intelligence and cunning of any Terran combined with the strength and viciousness of their great lizard ancestors. Duuz, who only debuted in Ep.19, is the only Saurian seen in the series.

• Tenrei Aliens - Small, furry, rabbit like creatures that are only seen in the video introducing Tenrei. When the three wizards arrived on their planet, the pleasant little creatures welcomed them with open arms. They introduced them to the hot springs that held rejuvenating powers. This was their downfall. A seductive female wizard named Urt began opening more hot springs and also bringing in heavy construction equipment to start building hotels and the like. In the rapid expansion of humans across Tenrei, the small aliens were lost and are now presumed extinct.

• There are supposedly many other races in the world of Outlaw Star, some so bizarre that their forms and mental capabilities are beyond anything mankind could ever expect. For example, in one episode Gene's partner, James, along with Melfina, are sent to recover an escaped alien. After a large chase/fight scene with Aisha and an insectoid alien, the intended target is found to in fact be what appears to be a cactus in a street vendor's window panel.

[edit] Galactic Leyline

The Galactic Leyline is a location shrouded in myth fueled by rumors and superstition. Popular claims say that it is a holder of immense treasure of valuable metals or minerals, possibly the very rare material dragonite.

However to those who possess deeper information about the Galactic Leyline, it is actually known to be a 'universal library' created by an advanced but now-extinct race that possessed an unsurpassed knowledge of science, technology, and reality. Drawing upon Feng Shui, the word leyline means "a place where Ki collects." By manipulating the Ki lines (the timelines, referring to the idea that time is linear and branching, instead of looping and singular) of the universe. The Galactic Leyline has the ability to manipulate time, reality and causality, or fate, as if it were a physical law. Using the knowledge and power of the Leyline, one's wishes and desires can be granted. In simpler terms, the Galactic Leyline can be thought of as a "machine god" because of its advanced knowledge and understanding of the universe.

The Leyline Project, a joint effort between the Space Forces and Pirate Guild to locate the Galactic Leyline and access its power, was founded long before the story begins using secret information found in the ruins of the Grave of the Dragon. The Space Forces, for reasons described deeper into the series, later backed out from the project leaving the Pirates to continue with the research. The result of their efforts was the creation of the fastest and most advanced ship in the galaxy, the XGP15A-II and its navigator the bio-android named Melfina. Melfina was designed to function as a highly sophisticated navigational system and act as a medium to tap into the Leyline's power. The Galactic Leyline recognizes Melfina as "the Maiden of the Leyline" and grants 'wishes' only through her.

The Galactic Leyline itself takes the form of a large gaseous planet consisting of thick clouds and strong vortices that serve as protective barriers for the Leyline within. Only one guided by the Maiden in the XGP (or a ship nearly similar in speed and capabilities) can pass through this barrier via small wormholes created by the vortices of the planet. Entrance through any other means results in death or insanity from a brain-splitting screeching that only seems to affect organic creatures. Hazanko, the main villain, also gains entrance to the inner Leyline by means of powerful Taoist rituals that force the clouds to part.

Once through the outer atmosphere of the Leyline, ships enter a planet-sized cylindrical structure and are transported to an entirely different location with breathable air and normal gravity. This bizarre setting consists of landscapes of large crystal formations and strange foliage. The landscapes surround a mountain, on top of which is the door to the Leyline, which can only be accessed by Melfina. Once inside, Melfina and those with her are transported to the core of the Galactic Leyline (a large color-shifting sphere echoes in a booming feminine voice "Why dost thou return?," "What is thy desire?," and "There is but one path.") where the physical embodiment of the Leyline lurks. The Leyline's physical form resembles a serpentine cactus made out of wood, with Melfina's face. After granting the wishes of those with Melfina, the Leyline relocates itself to a random point in the universe to be found again.

[edit] Theme songs

• Opening: "Through the Night" by Masahiko Arimatsu
• Ending:
  • "Hiru no Tsuki" (Daytime Moon) by Akino Arai (eps 1-13; this song is also an insert song sung by Melfina in episodes 21 and 25)
  • "Tsuki no Ie" (House of the Moon) by Akino Arai (eps 14-26)

[edit] Trivia

• It should be noted that while Outlaw Star does originally feature Valeria and Duuz, it does seem that the anime Angel Links takes place well before Gene Starwind's story does in Outlaw Star due to the fact that Meifon (main character of Angel Links) was the person who originally brought Valeria as well as Duuz into the security forces in which they are seen still participating in, in the series Outlaw Star.

• Episode 23, The Hot Springs of Planet Tenrei, was banned from the Cartoon Network airings due to its fanservicey nature (i.e., partial frontal nudity and sex-related humor). However, it has been shown on UK channel CNX, and later on the British and Spanish versions 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). Cartoon Network claimed that it was irrelevant to the plot, though many fans argue that it is a key episode, as it explains the source of the four unique caster shells that Gene uses in the last two episodes and their life-draining side effect (although this is also explained early in the 24th episode).

• Fred Luo, the notoriously homosexual weapons dealer within Outlaw Star, makes a guest appearance within the first episode of the spin-off Anime, Angel Links.

• The barstaff of Gene's favorite pub, Clyde and Iris, also have brief scenes within episode 5 of Angel Links, but different voice actors fill the part.

• In Episode 14, Final Countdown, the fake Ad Ship is playing the Outlaw Star theme song.

• In the first episode, Gene's black sleeves can be seen even when he takes off his cloak. However, from that episode onward, Gene's sleeves disappear when he removes the cloak.

[edit] External links and references

• Sunrise's website for the future Outlaw Star Remastered BOX release
• Outlaw Star at the Internet Movie Database
• TV.com Episode Guide
• Outlaw Star at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia