YMMV / Outlaw Star

• Adaptation Displacement: The anime is a lot more famous than the original manga, especially in the United States. A lot of people who watch the show aren't even aware there was a manga.
• Awesome Art: The anime has very fluid hand drawn animation, as well as a beautifully vibrant color scheme. The visuals in space are especially well drawn as well.
• Awesome Music:
  • The OP is pretty catchy, especially:
  ''Semenai de! Kesanai de! Makenai de! Dare datte motteru hazu yuzurenai mono!!''
  • Even moreso, the first ending theme is beautiful. Melfina actually sings it in a couple of the later episodes.
  • While the second ED, "Tsuki no Ie" is upbeat and set to sci-fantasy imagery.
• Broken Base: Harry's fangirls love to claim that his feelings for Melfina are not only genuine but was what ultimately diminished his tendency to go totally ax-crazy. Others argue that his obsession with her just led him to become even more detached from reality until death staring him in the face finally gave him a much-needed reality check.
• Catharsis Factor: After spending the entire series as untouchable and insufferably smug about his superiority while flauting it- on top of causing the deaths of Gene's dad and Hilda, Gene finds Ron in an agitated state and clashes with him one more time, taking him out with a Caster Shell he's unaware of and sends him flying into the distance and heavily injured as an afterthought.
• Complete Monster (1998 anime):
  • Lord Hazanko is the backstabbing, power-hungry leader of the Kei Pirates Guild's 108 Stars. A crime lord and master sorcerer who tortures to death any who cross him, Hazanko callously sends dozens of his men to their deaths to recover the stolen Outlaw Star. Scoffing at the insignificance of his loyal followers before trying to claim the coveted Galactic Leyline, Hazanko also horribly murders an interfering man. Plotting a war against his superiors that will threaten the whole universe, Hazanko uses the Leyline to empower himself, fusing his own screaming soldiers and ship to his body and prepares for his grand conquest.
  • "Gravity Jailbreak": The warden of Gehenna prison delights in confining countless inmates in his jail where planet Hecatoncheires's crushing gravity slowly kills them. Punishing any who defy him by locking them in an even higher gravity section for torture, the warden also brutally beats any who try to escape to death with his guard robots.
• Cult Classic: To about five people in Japan. In America, however... well, see below.
• Die for Our Ship: If you ship Mel/Gene, then Harry's an irredeemable villain. If you ship Mel/Harry, then Gene is an unrepentant and sexist womanizer who doesn't deserve her.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Harry is seen by his fans as a genuine and kind-hearted lover who if Melfina accepted his affections, would've been happy together as fellow bio-androids. This ignores the fact that his very first indirect interaction with her was physically invasive by accident- leading to what is depicted as an unhealthy obsession. His first physical interaction has him alternate between unintentionally psychologically torturing her by reinforcing her doubts about her humanity and if his sudden spouts of violence were any indication, that it would be a physically abusive and toxic relationship had it been allowed to flourish given how unpredictable Harry is. This is on top of being an Ax-Crazy mercenary who normally takes on jobs from any client and backstabs their employers if tasked alongside his brother. He does significantly mellow out by the end when he realizes that he's not meant for Melfina.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Shimi is pretty popular for being in only one episode. A powerful yet worldly man who fights with only martial arts and a variety of weaponry, which is mundane compared to his allies' powers except for Tobigera, yet manages to nearly kill Gene and his crew with ease and only doesn't go through due to not liking his way of life and throwing the fight and faking his death to escape the guild. Even his protege manages to push Gene into fearing he might die in a match.
  • Even though she tragically dies at the end of "Cats and Girls and Spaceships", Hanmyo has a large group of fans who had not only loved her cute appearance but also enjoyed the Ship Tease between her and Jim, personally wanting her to pull a Heel–Face Turn (due to her being a member of the Anten Seven) and become a part of the Outlaw Star crew alongside with him.
• Evil Is Cool:
  • Ron MacDougal puts the swag in villainy, whether wearing his longcoat, or a snazzy three-piece suit and shades. And he's got the demeanor to sell the image, by being the calm collected one, with good business sense to boot.
  • Hazanko, in spite of having one physical appearance during the Anten Seven mini-arc and three more dedicated to the finale, spending most of it offscreen leaves a lasting impression in those last three episodes due to the sheer brutality of his relentless ambition, nigh-reality warping powers that allow him to come back from non-existence in one instance, and monstrous personality. He also provides the show's final battle with an epic final Grappler fight between two existence-altering ships as a part of its most iconic moments.
  • The Anten Seven, the majority possessing unique and creepy designs in combination with their powers and all except Tobigera manage to push the crew to a corner each time with their powers. Shimi and Hanmyo manage to be very popular due to their uniquely Affably Evil personalities compared to their allies, especially Shimi.
  • The Kei Pirates in general. The group have intimidating foot soldiers, uniquely creepy designs and each has a powerful set of skills that make them each unique.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff:
  • Barely anyone in Japan recognizes Outlaw Star because it tanked in its homeland (ratings and merchandise sales were pathetically low). However, it was an absolute, previously-unprecedented smash hit in America and is still viewed extremely fondly to this day. American anime fans of a certain age, in fact, consider it to be one of the greatest series of the early 2000's, often mentioning it in the same breath as Cowboy Bebop and Trigun. The show is credited, along with DBZ and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, as one of the shows that defined the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. When [adult swim] re-aired the Toonami edit (much to the disappointment to those who were expecting it to be uncensored and include the banned episode "Hot Springs Planet Tenrei"), it actually outperformed Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.
  • To put this in perspective, the man in charge of Bandai Entertainment stated that, prior to the company's shutdown, Outlaw Star ranked up there with Haruhi Suzumiya and Cowboy Bebop as one of the most successful series they ever released in North America. To put this in further perspective, when Funimation announced in early 2014 that they'd rescued this show from its years-long limbo, North American anime fans considered it a Very Big Deal.
  • In 2015, Toonami held a poll to see which previously aired anime fans would like to see on the block again. Outlaw Star came in a close second to YuYu Hakusho, and beat out such anime heavyweights as Samurai Champloo and the aforementioned Trigun.
  • The cult-status love American fans have for the anime cannot be overstated. While it usually is overlooked in favor of Bebop or Trigun, the creators of Toonami have said in their Toonami Preflight show how particularly deeply fans of Outlaw Star connect to it compared to the others.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Hilda being a blue-haired cyborg action girl gets to be this considering Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's later major voice acting gig.
  • The MacDougall Brothers being named Harry and Ron.
• Iron Woobie: One-Shot Character Reiko Ando, who is shown to be sincerely and passionately in love with Fred Luo, even though they are under an Arranged Marriage, but totally unaware of Fred Luo's sexuality meaning he finds her inherently unappealing. To prove herself worthy of his love, she willingly undertakes his challenge to win five consecutive women's fighting tournament championships, in the process of which she bulks herself up and drastically alters her figure which, combined with her reputation, means she will probably struggle to ever find another man who's attracted to her. When she comes close to finally winning, Fred pulls some strings to have the Outlaw Star crew cheat and ensure Reiko loses. And at the episode's end, all she does is give Fred a heartfelt apology for "failing him" and sincerely promise she'll win another five tournaments for him. It really makes you feel sorry for her, knowing she's never going to win Fred's love in return.
• Jerkass Woobie: Harry MacDougal. He fails utterly to make Melfina fall for him due to Melfina being frightened of his instable and violent personality, let alone his role in aiding Hilda's demise and it becoming apparent that she loves Gene even more than Harry can ever hope to gain. When he does try to defend her from Hazanko near the end of the series, he's killed in an excessively violent fashion and is forced to allow Gene, his rival to save her instead.
• Les Yay: Aisha often acts very affectionate towards Suzuka, often teasing her in a friendly way by calling her "Suze". This has led to many fans of the show shipping the two.
• Magnificent Bastard (1998 anime):
  • "Hot Ice" Hilda is a notorious outlaw hunted by the Kei Pirates for stealing their prototype XGP ship. Hiding on Sentinel III, Hilda tricks Gene Starwind and Jim Hawkins into guarding her as she accesses the XGP and its bio android guide Melfina. Seemingly killing Gene after he leads her to Melfina, when he survives to hold her at gunpoint, Hilda calmly cuts a deal with him and Jim and escapes the Kei Pirates. Later hunted to an outlaw colony, Hilda outplays and kills nearly all her foes, even sacrificing herself to kill the Kei Pirate's leader and save the others.
  • "The Seven Emerge": The Anten Seven assassin "Shimi", real name Leilong, challenges Gene to a duel, dressing his pupil as himself to draw Gene's fire before he personally attacks. Nearly killing Gene, Shimi then knocks out Gene's entire crew when they come to face him before seemingly dying with his pistol malfunctioning, actually using the opportunity to retire and roam the galaxy.
• Moe:
  • Melfina is shy, trusting, and vulnerable on several fronts. She knows nothing about her past, or why she was created, which Harry MacDougal and Hazanko both try to take advantage of. And she's the only member of the crew who doesn't know how to fight, as seen when Harry got her alone in episode 17.
  • Hanmyo was a straighter example, due to her age and appearance, along with being accompanied by her two pet cats, Kemi and Matta.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Ronald crosses it in Gene's mind when he admits that he doesn't even remember killing Gene's father due to it being so long ago and the Outlaw had taken so many jobs that he couldn't even remember. From the audience's perspective, it was aiding in the death of Gene's dad and setting off the events that led to Hilda's death.
  • Hazanko crosses it when he kills Harry for breaking his face mask by psychically crushing the cybernetically enhanced young man's body to the point it later causes his fatal death in a manner so violent that Toonami had to censor it in its initial airings. Keep in mind, Harry had been a crazed, mentally/psychologically abusive stalker to Melfina and been a psychotic killer for hire alongside his brother who backstabbed all sides for profit, and yet Hazanko's extremely violent and brutal means of killing him comes across as a surprising, far too extreme "now we're even" moment; a demonstration that Hazanko is far more irredeemably monstrous that Harry comes across as a saint in comparison. He then tops it by assimilating the Geomancer, melting the crew alive into his horrific final form.
• Too Cool to Live: "Hot Ice" Hilda. She's one of the most badass characters in the series and on the good guys' side. Had she remained alive, Gene would've continued to defer to her without developing into his own way as an outlaw. So she died 4 episodes in.
• Unintentional Uncanny Valley: The start of the ED is very creepy because of this, with a still drawing of a girl drawn realistically, but with almost BESM proportions. She's staring right at you.
• Values Resonance: One of the more retroactively progressive elements of the show is the fact that Aisha and Suzuka, two of the major fighters are women, but unlike other shows at the time and even current ones — which would have them be strong but not as competent as the male characters or be defined by their affection towards the male characters — Aisha and Suzuka are treated as Gene's equals without any explicit romantic feelings and the powerhouses of the crew with Gene and Jim being not nearly as strong. Both have unique personalities that are not defined by their femininity, having their own character arcs independent of Gene.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?:
  • The anime is based on a Seinen manga, and yet it ended up airing in a kid-friendly timeslot on Cartoon Network's old Toonami block (the one that aired during the day, not the Saturday late-night line-up that has its anime more-or-less uncut). This is why it was so heavily censored. As you can see here, notable examples included toning down the violence, the language, the smoking, the sexual references (including banning a plot-important Hot Springs Episode that was wall-to-wall female fanservice and toning down Fred Luo's homosexual crush on Gene), as well as changing guns into blasters. Those who watched the Toonami broadcast must have had something of a shock when they saw the DVD's – which are, as stated before, completely uncut.
  • In the UK, the British Board of Film Classification saw fit to rate the series a 12 on DVD. That's equivalent to a PG-13 despite the uncut depictions of violence, nudity and swearing. It's even more surprising considering that another Sunrise series, Cowboy Bebop, which has a similar level of violence and swearing, is rated a 15 on DVD.
• The Woobie: Melfina, due to her kind-hearted persona.
• Woolseyism: Crossed with Bowdlerization with Hilda's death. In the uncut version, she activates a micro-explosive hidden in her tooth, taking herself out along with Soi Lin. In the version aired on Toonami, the bomb is omitted, and Hilda drifting into the star is somehow more poignant — and more realistic than detonating a tiny nuclear device in her molars.

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