This late 90's anime is often seen as the forgotten member of the Space Western Trilogy that also included Trigun and Cowboy Bebop. Although it never gained the fame and fandom of the other 2 series, Outlaw Star was fun, had great characters, had an interesting story, and didn't take itself too seriously. If you have some time to kill, I would recommend cracking open a couple beers or whatever your drink of choice is and watching Outlaw Star.
Story: 8/10
Outlaw Star chronicles the many adventures of a ship of "Outlaws", which are mercenaries belonging to neither the official guild of space pirates or the galactic federation. Some episodes are stand alones and have little to do with the rest of the series. Other episodes actually advance the plot. Keep in mind, there IS an overarching plot to this series. The story structure is similar to that of Cowboy Bebop and the American space western Firefly. The main driver of the plot or Macguffin as Hitchcock would say, is a legendary treasure called the Galactic Leyline. The Leyline was built by an ancient alien civilization and acts as a sort of giant library that contains virtually all important knowledge in the universe. Together with his crew of misfits, Gene battles pirates and searches for this ultimate treasure of knowledge. One thing that makes this series a bit different from Cowboy Bebop and Trigun is the emphasis on mankind's interaction with other alien species and civilizations. This was a nice little addition that I found interesting.
Characters: 8/10
The main character is a man named Gene Starwind, who works as a mercenary along with his boy sidekick Jim Hawking. Jim's name seems to be a portmanteau of Jim Hawkins, the young protagonist of Treasure Island and astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. Gene is a rash, arrogant, blockhead kind of character that we all love anyways. Jim is the scientific genius that acts as Gene's guiding force and voice of reason despite being far younger. Other characters include the laconic, deadly assassin Suzuka that kills people with a wooden sword, but will only kill at sunset. As well as the loud and lovably obnoxious Aisha ClanClan from an aggressive race of alien cat people. The last character of the Outlaw Star crew is Melfina, an android built for finding the greatest treasure in the galaxy. Melfina is surprisingly caring and kindhearted for an android and her struggles to find an independent identity and free will create many of the series more touching and memorable moments.
Soundtrack 7/10
Although Outlaw Star's OST doesn't match up to its contemporaries Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, it still had a fine little soundtrack of its own. The opening theme is called "Through the Night" and will pump you up to go on an adventure with Gene and the crew.
Art: 7/10
The art of Outlaw Star doesn't look as nice as a modern anime like Psycho Pass, but looks very decent for a 90s anime. I would say the art has aged much more gracefully than many others from its day like Yu Yu Hakusho. The characters all look unique, the space battles are awesome, and the backgrounds in the future cities look well done. I couldn't really ask for much more.
Enjoyment: 8/10
Outlaw Star is a fun series with action, romance, adventure, and even a little science fiction/ philosophy. It offers a little bit of "brain food" in some scenes, but avoids taking itself too seriously. No one could ever accuse Outlaw Star of being pretentious and overly artsy for no reason. Outlaw Star knows exactly what it wants to be and is just happy being itself.
Overall: 8/10
As mentioned above, Outlaw Star gets completely eclipsed in fame and popularity by Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, which both had similar elements and came out at the same time. Does that mean that Outlaw Star is bad and not worth watching? No! Outlaw Star is its own unique experience that may not try to be as artistic as Bebop or as morally deep as Trigun, but succeeds in its own goal of being a fun, fast, space adventure.
