[WT!] The Space Western Trio, Part 2: Outlaw Star

Watch These!: The Space Western Trio; Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and Trigun

Type: Series and Two Side Story Films (Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door and Trigun: Badlands Rumble)

Year: 1998

MAL Links: Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Trigun

Cool Gif of all 3 of our heroes

INTRO!: The year 1998 was a big year for an anime because not one, not two, but three now classic series all in the same sub-genre “Space Westerns” came out, beginning with Outlaw Star on January 8th, Trigun in April 1st, then Cowboy Bebop April 3rd, and all three are worth watching!

Why am I comparing the three of them against each other instead of focusing simply on their own [WT!]'s? I consider all 3 exceptionally well-made, but when I get in a discussion about one of them I can’t help but talk about the other two because they’re all the same type of show but each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Fear not as I will be giving each one of them the same treatment of a typical [WT!].

What will I be discussing in these [WT!]’s?: I shall going through the following: 1. Synopsis of each series 2. Why should you watch it 3. Three strengths and Weaknesses it has over the other two series 4. Dub or Sub? 5. My overall thoughts of it.

If you spot anything I have incorrect that is fact related rather than opinion related or it’s in spoiler territory, please tell me. I tried my best to give all three of them the justice they deserve, but doing 3 all at once is a bit crazy ^(not to mention this is my first [WT!]). And these are simply my observations/opinions, please don’t be extremely upset if you do not agree, just respectfully disagree and say why I’m wrong.

Now it’s time…GO!

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Outlaw Star <-- The Opening

Synopsis: Gene Starwind and James Hawking work as partners on any odd job that needs done on their planet. One day they are hired by a mysterious woman Hilda and she tells them to simply protect her as she goes to retrieve a package, until they’re suddenly attacked by Space Pirates who are after what she’s retrieving. They find the package and in it they find a bio-android girl inside it named Melfina inside it. The 4 of them escape the Pirates and go retrieve a ship Hilda has in her ownership that will be later named the Outlaw Star. Their adventure begins, but a few questions still need to be answered, why are these pirates after Melfina and the ship, what is Melfina exactly, and what’s this treasure “Galactic Leyline” that so many are after?

Why should you watch it: Do you like Firefly? No seriously, do you? Because there’s a lot of familiar ideas between the two, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Josh Whedon came out and said he was a little inspired by Outlaw Star (even though he has stated he’s never heard of Outlaw Star when making Firefly). But in all seriousness, if you’re into fun gun and ship battles, a very well made relationship, and a mysterious undertone in it, then this is for you!

One of Outlaw Star’s best qualities are the mysteries surrounding their set universe. From the very beginning it sets up many questions mainly regarding Melfina’s existence, why the Outlaw Star was made, and how important is the Galactic Leyline. Slowly the questions are answered up until the ending but still leaves a good amount ambiguous like Neon Genesis Evangalion for the viewer to decide what happened (but not as extreme as NGE). It’s these mysteries that made it very engaging to continue watching to find out more about it.

There is one thing that actually caught me off guard and was presently delighted to have, and that is the bond shared between Gene and Melfina. Before anyone says anything, yes I am a sucker for romances and get caught up in them more often in them than I should ^((now if only I could have one of my own…)), but honestly Gene and Melfina’s relationship is very well done. They aren’t the perfect couple which is why it’s better, Gene gets scared causing his anger easily towards the rest of the group and Melfina has her own problems regarding her existence, but the constant support from both throughout the series help and support each other no matter the decisions. They share quiet moments, moments of fear for the other, but in the end of each conflict come out even stronger.

Of course, can’t talk about a Space Western without the action and there’s actually two distinct types of action here. First is the standard gun and close combat battles that is seen in most space westerns, and with the child like humor of the characters they are a ton of fun to watch. The other type on the other hand is space battle-ship, and those take the ridiculous nature to new levels of excitement. Most ships use “Grappler Arms”, which are able to wield weapons, grab other ships, and people out of space, and if that doesn’t sound the least bit cool then I don’t know what will.

Other miscellaneous reasons to watch (I don’t want to make this extraordinarily long): Gene and Jim work off each other amazingly with their banter and overall friendship between each other, the music is perfect for the fun nature of the show, the animation is very well done, there’s actual aliens (weird to think that neither Cowboy Bebop or Trigun had aliens), and it’s able to take the tone changes pretty well from being deadly serious to a more comedic nature.

Strengths that make it stand out over Cowboy Bebop and Trigun:

1. Without a doubt the relationship between Gene and Melfina is done in spectacular fashion, it’s slow and takes its time. They get angry at each other, they have doubts of situation, but they also support each other so well whether how the decisions hurt. I’m honestly kind of a sucker for this and could be a bit bias, but I think it’s just one of the best I’ve seen.

2. The mysteries and ending philosophies really do stand out. It’s engrossing as a piece of the puzzle is added from time to time until the very end. Simply something that needs to be observed to understand it.

3. It’s the one I had the most fun with, with the childlike humor and antics going on, it makes it very nostalgic to the shows I watched as a child but at the same time still keeps it adult enough to not make it feel like it’s talking down to me and interested in the story. The campy feeling really does fit the show extremely well and has it stand out.

What isn’t done as well than in Cowboy Bebop and Trigun:

1. The pacing of it seems a bit off and confused. It’s as if it can’t decide whether it wants to be a more episodic adventure telling a different story per episode, or if it wants to focus more on the overarching plot. Eventually it catches its footing towards the end, but majority of it can be slightly confusing in terms of pacing.

2. The main villain and his group of assassins should have been better written and incorporated. Even after researching it further, I still don’t know much about them and wasn’t really interested in learning more about them or make theories. It felt as if they were a last minute addition and not given enough focus until the very end even though they came in the series about halfway, although this may overall be more of a problem with the pacing rather than the villains themselves.

3. I wasn’t too big of a fan of the side crew entirely. I love Gene, Melfina, and Jim, but Suzaka and Aisha at times I weren’t a fan of that much. Suzaka, although written to be a mysterious character where the viewer doesn’t know much about her, I didn’t care for much because there’s not much given about her past and there’s not much to read off of her during the series, and while Aisha is written on purpose to be annoying doesn’t make her less annoying at times. Overall though by the end each character though has their strong moments.

Dub or Sub?: A toss-up on this one, if you want standard voices for it then go for the sub, but if you’re up for more cheesy and campy type voices then go with the dub. Both are pretty well done.

Overall Thoughts: The series as a whole is a ton of fun and gets the nostalgic feeling very well done. The mystery, the romance, the action, and characters make the series very well worth watching. The pacing is the only very visible problem with it, but it’s not that bad too be honest because for what it gets right overshadows its problems very well. GO and have some fun with the crew of Outlaw Star!

Anything I forgot to mention, reasons you love it, or I have a shitty opinion, please comment and I’ll fix it up here and on tomorrow’s [WT!], Trigun (My personal favorite)!

Link to "The Space Western Trio, Part 1: Cowboy Bebop"

Link to "The Space Western Trio, Part 3: Trigun"

And a thank you to u/mannoroth0913 who helped me clarify points on his favorite series out of the three.

Sorry, reposted because I forgot the [WT!] tag in the title.