Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Animation, Very Good Story, Great Value., June 14, 2001
So you're Joe schlub anime fan (like me), you see Outlaw Star on Toonami, and you think "hey, this is pretty good." Why should you buy these discs?
Well, in my case, I missed 1 1/2 episodes while taping, and I had a general suspicion that some of the plot holes were due to editing for US TV. I really liked the characters, so I bit the bullet and ponied up for the 3-volume set.
Was this a wise move? After finishing them, I vote yes.
I won't reveal story info, but I'll say the series as a whole is definitely interesting. There is an Indiana Jones-esque treasure hunting feel mixed with a slick, sci-fi universe and engaging character interaction.
I would guess there is about thirty seconds of extra footage in 10 or 15 episodes of the 26 episode arc. Mostly it seems to have been cut out because it displayed sexual relationships or seedy sex-related locales. I suppose it makes sense to cut this for the 12-under set, but none of it was very ribald at all. Language was also edited. Also cut from the CN airing of the show was an episode "Hot Springs Planet Tenrei," due to about three or four minutes of frontal female nudity and about 15 minutes of action revolving around frontal female nudity :). Having watched both "versions" of the show, I would definitely say the uncut show is the better, with a tad more cohesiveness and a fair amount more of characterization and color. However, you don't miss a whole ton of story by watching the edited shows.
Sights and sounds are pumped up and very good. Pipe it through a Surround sound receiver (the discs are in stereo, but a good receiver will create virtual channels for near-5.1 sound) and crank up the volume. Outlaw Star is a show with good sound effects and good music. Watch it loud! A note on voice acting: I really liked the english dub. I found it hard to get into the japanese audio track, as some of the voices didn't seem to fit as well as the english. Picture quality is nearly flawless, only a few pixellation spots.
The extras are pretty sparse, but it's not some great travesty. At about 2 hours per disc, 2 discs per set there's enough value to forgive minor flaws like this.
There are one or two nagging questions I have, mostly regarding character backstory (how did Gene and Jim meet? What the heck was up with Harry M.? He seemed to lack credible motivation...). Also, the conclusion left a number of dangling threads which hopefully will be picked up in a new installment (after all, it did say "To Be Continued" and "See You Next Time" at the end...)
In sum, though, if you saw the CN show and want a nice set, this is definitely the way to go. If you want to give it a try, Buy Vol. 1, which, containing the first 9 episodes is definitely enough to tell whether you like it or not (The "I'm hooked" point is around episode 4 for me, "When the Hot Ice Melts."). If you don't like it, you can resell it for probably $20 or so. I doubt you will, though. Outlaw Star is genuinely funny, occasionally thrilling and always interesting.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great value on good show, October 21, 2000
Outlaw Star is a pretty good show, and as released on DVD, is an exceptional value: this release is a two-disc set in a slimline case (no bigger than an ordinary, single-disc case) which contains just over one-third of the episodes froom the show.Outlaw Star is, unfortunately, somewhat cliche, but its execution rises above this, for the most part. It is a fairly standard space opera, combining high-tech spaceships with magic, although the interaction and the distinction isn't always clear. The main character is Gene Starwind, a skilled bounty hunter with a fear of space, and his kid partner, Jim Hawking. The character designs are fairly nice, but they go off-model occasionally (that is, they look different than they should, probably because the show's budget wasn't high enough). The story moves quickly, with a lot of action, most of which is well-done. The spaceship battles are interesting, and the later ones on the disc, involving the spaceship Outlaw Star, are really weird (not bad, just unexpectedly odd and perhaps the most original part of the show). The show does have its faults. Particularly, Jim Hawking is cast from the mold of the bossy, loud, too-smart-for-his-own-good kid, and is easily the most annoying character on the show. Other than that, most of the characters are likeable, if not fresh and memorable. This also fairly describes the show: if you like space opera shows, Outlaw Star is a good time (I liked it much more than I expected to), but it's not groundbreaking or innovative. As a final note, if you're concerned with such things, one of the characters spends a good deal of time undressed (more would spoil the story), but any nudity is featureless, as if all the parts had been erased.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's Blade Runner meets Tenchi Muyo!, December 28, 2000
From what I saw on this DVD, I can tell you that if you are a fan of Cowboy Bebop, you have to see this. It is silly, but it still manages to stay within the story by doing so. Gene is a little less hipper than Spike from Cowboy Bebop (he's a real ladies man). The fight scenes (both in space and on land) are absolutely amazing. The soundtrack is too good. I almost forgot that it was TV show. The content is ok, although a scene where Gene is with Melfina where Gene's manhood cannot be seen might confuse some viewers. Other than that, this show was the best. The extras on disc two include creditless opening and image gallery (actually, it should just be called a full-color conceptual art). Ofcourse, I can't explain the true entertainment of Outlaw Star in words alone. You just have to see it. Or, if you dont like spending money on a DVD, you can just watch it on Cartoon Network's Toonami on January 15. But it will be edited on TV, so get this DVD. There is a lot of stuff they're going to censor. This anime is on a level of Star Wars, Blade Runner, Tenchi and just about any movie you can think of thats in space. However, there is a little glitch in it. When the Dolby advertisment comes up, dont hit the title button. Just fast forward through it. The colors didnt bleed. The characters are all great, although some might think Melfina is being used as a female slave by Gene. I dont wanna give away any of the story cause I did it would be criminal of me to rob you of the full glory Outlaw Star has. So buy the DVD and see just why the hell I cant say enough good things about this show.
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