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THE WILD WEST takes to outer space in Bandai Entertainment's anime "Outlaw Star," a sci-fi/western mix with a pace as unruly as the old frontier. Sci-fi western is
rapid-fire funDRAWN & QUARTERED
Graphic Arts As Literature
It centers around Gene Starwind, who runs a fix-it-all shop on the planet Sentinel III with 11-year-old genius Jim Hawking. They'll take any job for money, but even reckless Gene has his limits: A battle with space outlaws killed his father, and now Gene prefers to stay on the ground.
Enter mystery woman Rachel, who hires the pair to be her bodyguards. Her real name is Hilda, an infamous outlaw on the run from the powerful Kei Space Pirates. She recently stole a female bio-android and a government prototype spaceship called the XGP.
They elude government forces and pirates and take control of the XGP. The stolen android, Melfina, is the XGP's navigator. Gene checks his fear of flying, and the crew takes off.
The XGP is a grappler ship, a type used by pirates, and has two long arms that can extend from the main body. This makes for wacky-looking battles of hulking ships with skinny arms wrestling each other in space.
With the Galaxy Police and the Kei Pirates in pursuit, Hilda sacrifices herself so the rest can escape. In her memory, Gene renames the ship the Outlaw Star.
But Gene himself is not without enemies. Among those chasing him is Suzuka, a female assassin. But they come to a truce, and she decides to tag along while competing with him for bounties.
The group leaves Sentinel to set up shop on the planet Heiphon. On the way, they run into another acquaintance: Aisha, a demoted ambassador of the feline Ctarl-Ctarl race. Aisha blames Gene for her problems, but the two come to a truce. Babbling about a treasure called the Galactic Leyline, she becomes crew member No. 5 on the Outlaw Star.
The crew eventually discovers that the mystery of the Outlaw Star and Melfina centers around the elusive Galactic Leyline and sets out to find it.
Much of "Outlaw Star's" wild humor comes in the clash of personalities. Carefree Gene is content to ad-lib his way through situations, while the level-headed Jim is the voice of practicality and despairs at the man's lack of planning, leading to frequent arguments. But for all his wisecracking and womanizing, Gene does have his serious times.
Melfina remains quietly absorbed in her desire to find more about herself, while samurai-type Suzuka's calm tea-drinking hides her deadly swordsmanship. And feisty Aisha is always ready for a fight with a tiger's fierce energy and independence.
Gilliam, the XGP's computer, also has his comic moments. His calm and wit lend humor to his disapproving words in pure "Star Trek" Vulcan style.
"Outlaw Star's" characters are not complex, but their personalities are well fleshed out, and it's hard not to like them. Nearly everyone has a tragic spin, and the anime saves tidbits for the end that give some insight into the characters.
The plot is something else. After the rapid-fire pace of the first few episodes, the Galactic Leyline gets shoved to a back burner, and the plot focuses on practicalities: Gene and Jim don't have steady work, and money is constantly short, so many episodes deal with the often crazy jobs they take to make some dough.
Such deviations make the story line as rambling as a wagon train making its way west. But the action along the journey makes up for the sidetracks. The anime's main selling point is its unique space battles, which are among the best animation in the series.
"Outlaw Star's" ending is a confusing explanation that probably requires several viewings before audiences can really understand what the Leyline is all about.
The English-dubbed, 26-episode anime originally hit American television Jan. 15 on Toonami, the anime arm of Cartoon Network. It is now being rebroadcast at 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
Wilma Jandoc covers the universe
of video games and anime for the
Star-Bulletin. She can be emailed at
wjandoc@starbulletin.com