Product Details

• Actors: Shigeru Shibuya, Robert Wicks, Rica Matsumoto, Ian Hawk, Ayako Kawasumi
• Directors: Wendee Lee, Mitsuru Hongo
• Format: Animated, Box set, Color, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Bandai
• DVD Release Date: March 28, 2006
• Run Time: 650 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000CEV3O6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,406 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Gene Starwind and his partner Jim Hawking run a small business on the backwater planet of Centinel 3. But all that changes the day that Hilda hires them for a bodyguard job. Now, thrust into a mystery they don't fully understand, they're on the run from the cops, the pirates, an angry alien, and a mysterious assassin. But they've got one thing going in their favor- they have the galaxy's most advanced ship! As seen on Cartoon Network's Toonami! This title from Sunrise, the people behind Cowboy Bebop and Gundam. Genre: Anime Sci-Fi/Action.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it, buy it now September 5, 2007

By L. Niles

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

First of all, I have to warn potential buyers of the new and used sales for this product. Those that state that the collection has different cover art or a different case are selling you a bootleg. Your bootleg could be either a very poor quality foreign sub (tend to have horrible grammar, poor image resolution, and no extras) or what is called an American Rerelease. "American Rereleases" are just bootlegged copies of the real release that have been packaged in bulk quality cases with zeroxed inserts for the cover art. While they are cheaper their sales do not benefit anyone but the bootlegger. The studio that produced and marketed the series is losing out, and buying from bootleggers taxes the legit studios by taking their profits. Profits that would later get put into bringing you new series.

So please, think about it before buying from a reseller and make sure you're getting what you're paying for. Buying from bootleggers will not get you a quality product.

With that being said, Outlaw star is the quintessential post apocalyptic space anime. Seriously. In this series you'll find an amazing cast of characters, a solid story line, and very nice animation that can still hold its own even when compared to more modern anime.

What is so wonderful about these older shows is that they were being produced when the broad audience still loved the extreme anime style and was willing to accept rather far fetched concepts without needing to be told in careful layman's terms what it all meant. The result? A series with good pace, surprises, and lots of action. Not to mention a lovable cast that, while still staying true to their extreme natures and rather stereotypical character types, are full of human emotion and still suffer from some faults....

This series does not disappoint. It's a lovely mix of actions, romance (and not that cheesy, gooey kind), and even surprises you with a few hilarious gags.

Oddly enough, the DVD case for this set reads that it comes with three disks.... But Amazon is correct in listing that it has six. I'm not sure why the official, legit release would have such a strange error on the case but don't panic if you receive yours and notice the mistake.

This release also includes the textless opening and ending, one huge plus for fans who like to watch things in their entirety. Read more ›

117 of 138 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS SHOW ROCKS!!! May 28, 2006

By Niko

Format:DVD

Outlaw Star rocks!!!

(SPOILERS!!!)

Well, after going for a second time through the list of the anime collection that I have not bought yet (and I have bought a lot of them) I came over this show. Unfortunately, I did not come across this gold mine sooner. Fortunately, I eventually found it.

The story goes more like this:

The crew of the Outlaw Star, the best (battle) ship in space and a mystery covering it, consists of:
Gene, the main protagonist. Starts up as a bounty hunter and gets in all sorts of adventures and troubles. Strong fighter and an expert with guns.
Jim, Gene's partner, an 11 old smart boy and a hacker.
Melfina, till the final episodes you will not be able to tell what exactly this girl is all about apart from that she is the key for the L-lines. (SPOILER), she will be in love with Gene and Gene with her... you know what it means, don't you? Romance on its way big time, hehehe.
Suzuka, a very strong (and beautiful) Samurai woman who also is an assasin.
Aisha, half human half tiger a like woman, which can transform to a wild animal when pissed off, and super strong.
The space ship computer, Gillian, which has an opinion about everything.

Than we have a nuts professor switching constantly sites.

Hilda, an Outlaw hot bad kick a** female, who `puts' most of the main characters into the beginning of their journey.

Two brothers who are also bounty hunters, the so called Mac Dugle brothers, and create all sorts of problems to the crew....

Gene's male friend, Fred Low, (I have pointed out his gender because this reach guy will be in love with Gene and a muscle woman - 4 times strongest woman of the Universe - will be in love with Fred and wants to marry him) and who will basically constantly borrow a lot of money to the crew of Outlaw Star for repairs etc. (well, if this guy will ever get paid back is another story).

The army.

Killers cut loose who are after Gene's life and not only.

And of course pirates who are after the Outlaw Star, Melfina and to kill Gene; and use some kind of Tao magic.

Guns (called Castors) that can penetrate through magic.

And people die.

The main goal of the story: the Galactic L (or K, if you prefer) -lines. I will not tell you what these lines are all about because it would basically give away the entire story (sorry guys).

The music is very good. The opening song is a pop/rock song while the ending one a romantic ballad (both very good songs).

The animation is very good (compare it with the one of Cowboy Bebop and you will get a very good idea).

As for the dub, I don't know why some are complaining but for me the English voices were actually very good.

As for this box series, it has all 6 DVDs in something like a book-form and in order to go to the other DVD it is as if you have to `turn a page'.

It has a few extras (in each DVD), like art works, trailers of other animes and a non credit opening - ending etc.

And it has a very strong storyline and strong character development. Not to mention the fact that from the first episode the story kicks off and moves so fast that it will grasp you immediately (26 episodes long). The story is a mixture of science fiction, adventure, has a great balance between comedy and drama, action non-stop and of course romance (oh, yes).

Last but not least, Outlaw Star can easily be considered to belong to the same (and equal) category/level of Cowboy Bebop, Trigun etc.

Additional to all it, what I liked a lot was that all the main characters of this series are not whiny or whatsoever. They can live with their pros and cons, are able to get their s*** together and are doing some amazing stuff. Even the females of the crew are some kick a** babes who know how to get what they want and are able to beat people up.

To the most logical question: Is the money worth buying it? Definitely Yes...

To sum up, if you want a strong story, which combines action, romance, comedy and drama, strong character development and characters who are ready to rock from episode one, than this show is highly recommended for you. If you prefer a slow story etc. (something like love hentai), than this show is not for you.

To conclude, I highly recommend this show...

PS: click on the star below (please :-P) Read more ›

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT OVERLOOKED STORY September 13, 2007

By KingNipsy

Format:DVD

this show came into my life thanks to cartoon networks toonami a number of years ago. i was glued to the tv every evening because i HAD to know what happend next. We're talking about magic, gun fighting, space pirates, and a story of different people coming together to overcome flaws in themselves and grow as people.

i picked this dvd up a month or so ago, and im on my 3rd time thru it now, the animation is showing its age alittle, but is still done soo well that you might not ever think about it.

if you liked cowboy bebop, trigun, or even tenchi, this story might be right up your ally...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Actually some logic and realism in it. May 18, 2010

By G. Prchal

Format:DVD

Ok, this will not be a long review. I will tell you the best thing about this show; first off, Gene and Jim do not have a lot of money and what they do get is not kept long. Why? The ship gets damaged and they have to spend money to repair it. Finally a show that addresses the issue of 'How did they fix all that'. Plus the Castor is one of the coolest weapons I've seen in anime/regular T.V. etc. "Hand me a number 9 Jim".

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Are you going into space someday? April 28, 2007

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

There's plenty of sci-fi anime series out there, but "Outlaw Star" is something a bit special, just like the ship in the title. Instead of comedy or pure futuristic adventure, this series strikes a balance of futuristic grittiness and some outright comedy, with some deliciously unexpected twists and a satisfying finale.

For money, Outlaw Gene Starwind and his preteen pal Jim will do almost anything -- bounty-hunting, bodyguarding, and other odd jobs. But when they agree to guard a strange woman (whose name turns out to be "Hot Ice" Hilda) and her mystery briefcase, they didn't expect to be hunted by pirates -- or that the briefcase contains a cyborg girl, Melfina.

For their own safety, Hilda sweeps Jim and Gene off to the system where she's hiding another ship -- the advanced Outlaw Star, which requires Melfina to fly. And when Hilda is killed, Gene suddenly finds himself the owner of a mysterious, ultra-advanced, ultra-powerful grappler ship. Except everyone else wants it too, and to keep it, Jim will have to deal with more than just pirates and Tao masters.

As the story proceeds, Gene will have to deal with a beautiful, lethal assassin who reluctantly joins up, killer robots the beastlike Ctarl-Ctarl, the terrifying Anten Seven, a prison planet, giant carnivore shrimps, and a familiar ship that might carry his father's murderers. They travel from planet to planet and even get into a space race, before setting off to find the Galactic Leyline.

Imagine "Outlaw Star" as a sort of "Cowboy Bebop," but not nearly as sad, and with more emphasis on comedy, money, and fast-paced space battles.... Ithas a sort of spaghetti western atmosphere, since our heroes live on a rough-hewn frontier where it's every man for himself, and you're constantly threatened by pirates.

In some ways, this is unusually realistic sci-fi, where the heroes have bills to pay, and don't automatically know how to pilot a ship. The first few episodes are pretty straightforward space opera, but it loosens up once the initial storyline is over -- then we get some one-off storylines, an underlying arc full of mysteries about the Leyline.

The animation is detailed, solid and refined, with lots of intricate scenes involving boxing spacecraft and bustling cities, as well as sword fights, killer robots, and gun battles with magic bullets. The only problem is some of the action scenes with Suzuka, where she looks kind of half-drawn. But the scripts are tightly written, with some nicely snappy dialogue ("So you're... DEAF Rob?" "That's 'DEATH'!").

Gene makes a nice battle-scarred hero, who likes women, wine and having his own ship, although he hates space travel. And the naive, confused Melfina, deadly Suzuka, and smart preteen Jim make a nice backing cast. The supporting cast is mostly colourful and well-rounded, from space frogs to grizzled old outlaws to Fred Luo, a gay weapons heir who is just a bit too fond of Gene. Aisha Clanclan is too bombastic and crazy for the rest of the cast, though.

The series "Outlaw Star" is a solid, entertaining sci-fi anime, with plenty of action, comedy and a well-rounded futuristic setting. Definitely worth checking out. Read more ›