Outlaw Star Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2006-08-06 (updated 2006-08-06)
• 3 stars out of 5 (?)

Outlaw Star is your basic sci-fi action series with some added magical/samurai/wild west flair. It's not wildly original, or of spectacularly high quality, but it's a solid, fun series with enough colorful characters and creative settings to put it a pace or two ahead of the generic space opera crowd. Its most noteworthy features is the offhanded way the setting combines magic and technology, and the very likable protagonist Gene--simultaneously competent and appealingly goofy (for example, he spends the first several episodes incapacitated with space sickness). There's also plenty of decent-looking action, and a quality dub cast.

Outlaw Star is solidly put together, generally fun to watch, and worth a shot for light space opera fans.

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2006-08-06 (updated 2006-08-06)
• 3 stars out of 5 (?)

When I first saw Outlaw Star, I had a good feeling about it. It didn't turn out to be as impressive as I was hoping, but it's a fun series with enough quality to stand out couple of paces from the light space opera pack.

I haven't watched it through to the end, but while the plot is no spectacular work of storytelling it is basically well put together, has a few hints of interesting mystery and character development, and manages to be fast paced without seeming rushed. The setting isn't very inventive and the whole grappler-arm thing is contrived, but there are a few technological tidbits that I enjoyed (such as guns being outlawed on an asteroid city for fear of someone breaching a hull), and there's a sense the world can stand on its own.

One unusual feature of Outlaw Star is the setting's mixture of magic and sci-fi; it's not the first time that's been done, but I liked the execution. Magic isn't made a big deal of, but the characters don't seem to think that being chased by evil sorcerers is all that weird. Also nice is that the magical abilities are powerful, yet still on approximately the same level as technological hardware--there are magical shields, but blowing them away with big guns isn't out of the question.

The characters are a stronger point than the setting. Some are shallow, but the Outlaw anti-heroine is solidly ornery, and our hero definitely seems to have more to him than is visible on the surface. His total lack of spacefaring aptitude is refreshing (how often do you see the hero incapacitated with space-sickness for the first several episodes of a series?), and I particularly enjoyed the fact that as competent as he is, he's also kind of goofy, making him more fun to watch and easier to empathize with.

The rest of the characters aren't particularly noteworthy, but there's enough substance to develop something worthwhile, and the group has a good rapport. My only complaint is that I had trouble empathizing with most of them; the hero is interesting, but none of the others drew me in much. The anti-heroine is interesting and has some depth to her, but the fact that she was ready to just knock off a couple of innocent guys and then promptly gets accepted as a "good guy" (without any real change of heart) is kind of annoying; tough and ornery is fine, but it helps you to connect with a character if she isn't a flat-out murderer. The first round of bad guys aren't around all that much, but they do have a bit of depth, they look kinda creepy, and are generally pretty cool.

Visually, Outlaw Star was nicely done. The opening sequence is very slick, and while the rest doesn't quite live up to that level, it's still good. The animation is smooth and the character animation is mostly well done. The series opens with a heck of a space battle, and although the action isn't always that slick, it's still smooth and well done throughout the series (not to mention plentiful). The art is nice, if not distinctive. There are a few backgrounds with a fair amount of detail, and some of the ship designs are good if not terribly original. The character designs are not the most original, either, but they are generally attractive.

As for the acting, I've only seen the dub, but I was quite impressed--up to par for a Bandai production. There isn't a lot of dramatic material, but the level of acting in general is good, and the banter in particular is almost always sharply written and acted. It helps that the casting is quite good, and I really liked both of the heroes: the younger of the two is fun and believable as a kid, and the elder is likable.

The music isn't bad in general, and I love the opening theme--very catchy. The first end theme, on the other hand, while pretty, seems out of place--gentle, nostalgic, and even the background visuals are soft and dreamy. It looks and sounds more like the end theme of a piece of shoujo anime than a space action show. Go figure.

Summing up, Outlaw Star is your basic sci-fi action series with some added magical/samurai/wild west flair. It may not be terribly noteworthy, but it's solidly put together, generally fun to watch, and worth a shot for space opera fans.

Have something to say about this anime? Join our newly-resurrected forums and speak your mind.

Related Recommendations

Has quite a bit in common with MAPS. Also bears a passing similarity to Sol Bianca.