Outlaw Star (film)

Outlaw Star is a 2001 American adult animated space Western film based on by. The film was written by and directed by, and features the voices of , , , , , , ,  and. The film takes place in the "Toward Stars Era" universe in which are capable of traveling. The plot follows protagonist Gene Starwind and his motley crew of an inherited ship dubbed the Outlaw Star, as they search for a legendary outer space treasure trove called the "Galactic Leyline".

Produced by and its animation division Lucasfilm Feature Animation in association with, tie-in promotions were made with several companies to promote the film's release, including  and. It premiered at on March 25, 2001, and was released in the United States on April 2 by, to generally positive reviews from critics and fans of the manga. It grossed $71 million worldwide against a $18 budget, making this a commercial success and becoming the largest April box office opening of all time.

In 2021, Outlaw Star was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States and was selected for preservation in the.

Plot
Outlaw Star is a space opera/space Western set in the fictional "Towards Stars Era" (到星歴, Tōseireki) universe. During its past, an asteroid containing a material known as "dragonite" crashed in the fictional Arashon desert of northern China. Scientists found that the dragonite contained properties related to "ether", an energy source that would allow spacecraft to travel faster than the speed of light, and thus traverse large distances of the universe in a short time. As new colonies were formed throughout the vast reaches of outer space, pirates, assassins, and outlaws began to threaten humanity's new frontier. To create order, the Earth Federation established four empires: USSA, Einhorn, Piotr, and Tenpa. However, internal power struggles within the factions and conflicts amongst one another become abundant, leading to inevitable lawlessness. The storyline starts shortly after an infamous outlaw named "Hot Ice" Hilda flees from the Kei Pirates, a branch of the Tin'Pa. Hilda has stolen from them a highly-advanced prototype ship dubbed the XGP15A-II and a suitcase containing a bio-android called Melfina, the only being capable of interfacing with the ship.

Outlaw Star opens on the backwater planet Sentinel III, on which the protagonist Gene Starwind and his 11-year-old business associate and best friend James "Jim" Hawking run a small jack-of-all-trades business. After the two take a job as bodyguards for a disguised Hilda and engage in a brief skirmish with the Kei Pirates, Gene and Jim find themselves the owners of the XGP15A-II (which they nickname the "Outlaw Star") and the caretakers of Melfina, though Hilda is killed in the process. Hilda reveals that the ship's true purpose is to locate the "Galactic Leyline" (銀河の龍脈, Ginga no Ryū Myaku, lit. "Galactic Dragon Vein"), a place which popular claims say is a holder of immense treasure, knowledge, and power. Throughout the course of the series, the crew grows to include the kimono-garbed contract killer "Twilight" Suzuka and the Ctarl-Ctarl alien catgirl Aisha Clanclan.

Throughout their travels, the crew often encounters Ronald MacDougall and Harry MacDougall, a pair of bounty hunters responsible for the death of Gene's father. Ronald acts as a rival to Gene, while Harry wishes to form a bond with Melfina, a bio-android like himself, who instead develops strong feelings for Gene. The crew also contends with others that learn of the Outlaw Star's connection to the Galactic Leyline. They are Nguyen Khan, a scientist wishing to gain omniscience through the Leyline; and Lord Hazanko, the leader of the ruthless assassin organization the Anten Seven that seek the Leyline to gain ultimate power. The series climaxes when all parties meet on the physical plane of the Leyline. In the end, Ron MacDougall retreats, saved by a computer copy of his brother Harry (who is killed trying to protect Melfina from Hazanko), Khan is integrated into the Leyline as data, Gene reveals to Melfina that he is in love with her and frees her from the Leyline by making it their shared wish to be together forever, and Hazanko is eventually defeated by the Outlaw Star crewmembers. Once the conflict comes to a close, Gene and his friends return to Sentinel III and go their separate ways, but ultimately reunite to continue their adventures together.

Protagonists

 * as Gene Starwind, a 20-year-old man who developed a fear of space flight and a hatred of pirates during an attack when he was 15. This attack resulted in his father's death at the hands of a band of mercenaries led by Ron MacDougall. Gene was thrown into an escape pod moments before their ship exploded, and landed on Sentinel III where he would remain until the beginning of the film. Gene is scared of space, until Hilda questions him, "Are you going to keep running away?" and Gene responds, "Keep running away?" Hilda's questioning of his courage is the turning point where Gene's fear of space gradually begins to fade.
 * as Jim Hawking, an 11-year-old business partner and sidekick of Gene Starwind, though how they met is unknown. He is the son of a famous computer hacker known as the "Computer Wizard." Jim serves as the team's computer expert, hacker, strategist, and back-up. Unlike Gene, he is responsible, concerned, and worries about the team's finances and plans, preferring to earn money the hard way rather than to take risks. Jim becomes good friends with fellow Outlaw Star crew member Aisha Clan Clan, who is in some ways his opposite: Jim gets treated like a child even though he acts like an adult, while Aisha, though an adult, acts like a child. Jim also looks up to the android Melfina as a mother figure (whom he occasionally has to protect from Gene's lecherous advances), and gets along well with the Outlaw Star 's on-board computer, Gilliam II. Jim has trouble, however, trusting strangers such as Hilda, who first approaches him and Gene under false pretenses, and Suzuka, who tries to kill Gene and whose motives are unclear.
 * as Melfina, a bio-android created by Professor Nguyen Khan when the Kei Pirates came to him and asked him to decode genetic engineering data found by them at the ancient ruins known as Grave of the Dragon, which the crew of the Outlaw Star also visited. Due to the knowledge dating back to 30,000 years ago, the complexity of the information was so vast that even a great mind like his couldn't understand it all. Some time after she was created, both Melfina and the Outlaw Star were stolen from the Kei pirates by the outlaw Hilda, who intended to use them to find the Galactic Leyline. Melfina's appearance is of a petite and slender young woman with shoulder length black hair and large brown eyes. While her physical age appears to be eighteen, her real age is that of only two. She has no recollection of her past or why she was created, which often troubles her throughout the film. Later, on the planet holding the ruins of the Grave of the Dragon, she sings a mysterious song which possibly signifies the weight of the questions about her existence that she wants answered. Despite being an artificial humanoid, Melfina possesses both free will and human emotions as well as the physical need for food and rest (although for some unexplained reason she lacks the ability to dream). Her personality is sweet-natured, with a polite and loving -albeit generally naive- demeanor, and because of this Jim thinks of her as a mother figure. She's noted as having a natural talent for cooking, and serves as the Outlaw Star 's official chef in addition to being ship's navigator.
 * as Aisha Clanclan, an 18-year-old Ctarl-Ctarl officer with a considerable ego and superhuman strength. She is also far more durable than any human; in episode 5, Gene shoots her at near-point blank range with a Caster shell that mimics a lightning bolt-type spell leaving Aisha merely stunned, while she is shown comfortably bathing in what seems to be molten lava. She also claims to have the best ears in the universe. While it is unknown if they are the best, she is shown to be able to hear small noises that no one else on the crew can. She claims to be immortal, but it is unknown whether or not this is based in fact or is merely Aisha's immense ego and racial pride. Even if it is true, it is more likely a reference to how difficult Ctarl-Ctarls are to kill than to an increased life-span.
 * as "Twilight" Suzuka, a female Ultra Class A ninja-assassin who only kills when the sun is setting. Her preferred weapon of choice is a bokken, or wooden sword, which through secret, semi-mystical swordplay can be used to slice metal like a cleaver (in her premiere episode, she sliced through a delivery truck that nearly ran her over), and smash concrete. On the next stroke, however, it will land only a knockout blow on her opponent. She uses a wooden sword instead of a metal one to prevent it from being identified by metal detectors as a weapon. She first appears when she tries to kill Gene Starwind's friend Fred Luo as part of her contract with a rival weapons seller. Gene is able to outsmart her and force her to consent to come after him before she kills Fred as part of her pride. However, in her next appearance, Suzuka saves Melfina from a Kei Pirate and decides to help the group against the Kei Pirates, mainly to go after a member of the Anten Seven named Hitoriga, who killed her family. Surprisingly, Suzuka seems to know more about the Kei Pirates than the rest of the crew. Among the various members on Gene's ship, Suzuka could best be considered the lone wolf, relying very little on outside help to accomplish her goals. To add to her already enigmatic demeanor, she frequently disappears at ports to take care of "business." She is quiet and pensive, and once tells Gene that she 'sticks around' only because she finds him interesting, much to his chagrin. Throughout the series, there are only three known battles that she has lost; once in the past to Hitoriga (who killed her family), once to Gene, and once to Shimi (possibly due to a meal Aisha had cooked rather than lack of skill).

Supporting characters

 * as "Hot Ice" Hilda, an Outlaw who, for unknown reasons, has a problem with the Kei Pirates. Not much is known about Hilda from before she met Gene. She is responsible for taking out one of the Pirate Guild's leaders at the cost of an arm and an eye. In retaliation, she stole the XGP. After being pursued by pirates, she came to Sentinel III, where she witnessed Gene and Jim kill the assassin 'Death' Rob. She hired the two, under the name Rachel Sweet, to perform jobs for her. When the pirates caught up with them, her true identity was revealed. She tried to kill Gene, but he was able to overpower her, and at gunpoint she revealed the existence of Melfina. Escaping with Gene, Jim, and Melfina, they made their way to Blue Heaven where, while resting, they were attacked by outlaws sent by the MacDougall Brothers. After kicking one of her pursuers in the groin, they escaped to the Farfallas system's sun, where the XGP was being held in an orbiting asteroid. The pirates used a Tao Spell to track them down and, thanks to the MacDougall brothers, Hilda's ship Horus was destroyed. Hilda escaped and tried to reach the XGP by climbing the pirate's grappling cable. However, the cable snapped, sending Hilda, the Tao Master, and her ship into the sun. Hilda stopped the Tao Master from making a final attack on the XGP by grabbing on to her leg and detonating a bomb hidden in her tooth, killing both of them. Her final words to Gene were that "Outlaws never go down easy, no matter what happens to them." In memory of her, Gene named the ship the Outlaw Star.
 * as Gilliam II, the XGP's artificial intelligence system. Gilliam is just as much a personality on board the Outlaw Star as any member of its crew. Primarily communicating through speakerphones, an interface on the bridge, and a seemingly limitless number of miniature maintenance robots, Gilliam is a constant companion of the crew, and assists them in all areas of the ship's upkeep – even including the kitchen-duty. Sporting a wryly sarcastic, if soft-spoken and humble, personality, Gilliam has been referred to as an "old man," and indeed, is almost always engaged in reminding the crew of their personal duties and responsibilities, much as a father-figure or a butler might. This often irritates Gene, who would rather sleep late and shirk chores, and Gilliam, as a result, is frequently compelled to confront Gene about his laziness and inadequacy. Gilliam also regularly voices concern over his "future prospects" due to the brash nature of Gene's captaining.
 * as Fred Luo, a 20-year-old arms dealer who, at some point in the past, hired Gene for a job, kicking off their friendship. He is known to be flamboyant and openly gay. After acquiring the XGP-15-A II spaceship, Gene seeks out Fred in the hopes of outfitting the newly christened Outlaw Star, with weapons and ammunition. Gene has no money, and attempts to impose upon his friendship with Fred, offering to repay him for outfitting the ship when he (Gene), "makes it big." Fred initially rejects Gene's offer, but agrees to outfit the ship, as a loan, after Gene saves Fred from Twilight Suzuka's assassination attempt. Fred discounts the final cost by 30%, roughly the equivalent cost of hiring an Ultra Class-A assassin like Suzuka.
 * Crispin Valenzuela as Swanzo, a Corbonite and the chief mechanic at Blue Heaven. A short humanoid creature with amphibian features, Swanzo is unable to survive in a human environment and must wear a special containment suit outside his quarters. He was saved by Hilda when his ship was attacked by Ban pirates. His suit's translator has been known to glitch, and will occasionally speak in Corbonese. He says that he had a rather "hot relationship" with Hilda, although he never talked about anything specific.
 * Shannon Presby as Mikey, Swanzo's human partner at Blue Heaven. He does not like to work for free. He also apparently had some dealings with Fred Luo and doesn't like the young merchant one bit.
 * as Clyde, the owner of Gene's favorite bar on Sentinel III. He and the waitress are friends of Gene and like to check in from time to time. He also seems to know about many bounties and acts as Gene and Jim's source of job information. He doesn't mind when Gene wrecks up the bar in a fight, as business always picks up once word gets out.
 * as the waitress at Clyde's bar with unrealized romantic interests in Gene. Their relationship is comically unconsummated, very similar to that between Moneypenny and James Bond: although he is never involved with her, Gene is not above flirting with Iris and occasionally rubbing her rear end. Likewise, Iris has feelings of envy when she sees Gene with other women, such as Hilda or Melfina. Her last appearance in the film is when she goes to the spaceport with Clyde to say goodbye to Gene before he sets off into space with Melfina and Jim.

Antagonists

 * as Ronald "Ron" MacDougall, the elder MacDougall Brother (35 years old). Calculating and calm under fire, he is the mastermind behind the MacDougalls' entire operation and (by extension) the story's main antagonist alongside Lord Hazanko. Ron has a past with Hilda. He uses a caster gun like Gene, but it is basically the barrel of a Caster fashioned in the style of a Shakujo, the staff often carried by Buddhist monks. Ron is a man who will take on any job so long as the money is right and he ends up finishing ahead of where he started. Be it pirates, Space Forces, or private contractors, he will consider anything viable and carry out the job only as it is stipulated, and no further than that. This is demonstrated by the fact that as soon as his contract with the Kei pirates that were pursuing Hilda was up, he immediately turned on them, attempting to kill both the pirates and Hilda, as well as destroying the XGP.
 * as Henry "Harry" MacDougall, the younger of the MacDougall Brothers (18 years old). Similar to Melfina, he is also a synthetic human, a test tube baby created in a lab using genetic material from that of another individual who had earlier died. Though usually calm and arrogant, he is prone to intense fits of rage and insanity. In his first upfront encounter with the XGP, he tries to hack into its systems. As a defensive measure, Gilliam shuts down and Harry encounters Melfina for the first time (Melfina was navigating the ship and thus was connected to its mainframe when the systems were shut down). From then on he developed an obsessive infatuation with her; claiming whenever they meet that they are one and the same and are the only ones capable of understanding each other and even tells Melfina directly at the Leyline that he loves her. However, his attempts to make Melfina fall in love with him all fail as his emotionally unstable personality frightens her, while Melfina harbours feelings for Gene.
 * as Professor Nguyen Khan, one of the leading scientists on the Leyline Project. He has an odd personality, often speaking to himself, thinking out loud and repeating the same phrases multiple times in a row. A hyper-intellectual, his communication and personal deficiencies evidence a mentality pushed near if not into a mild form of insanity by information-overload. Khan's goal in life is to gain ultimate knowledge, which drives him to find the Galactic Leyline, a "machine-god" created by an extinct alien race that acts as a catalog for all of existence.
 * as Lord Hazanko, a high-ranking Kei Pirate and the story's main antagonist alongside the MacDougall Brothers. Wanting absolute power, he began searching for the Galactic Leyline to gain enough power to defeat the Tendo King and even the Tenpa Emperor. A ruthless tyrant, he was willing to do anything, even sacrifice his own people. A skilled and powerful Tao Master, he can deflect virtually any attack directed at him and use devastating Tao magic with very little effort, going so far as to reverse the fatal effects of a #4 Caster Shell and reemerge unharmed from apparent nonexistence. Though the Leyline gave him the power he wanted, merging him with his ship, the Geomancer and apparently with fellow subordinate Tobigera, he was nevertheless defeated by Gene and the Outlaw Star when Melfina tapped into the Leyline and used its powers against him.
 * as Shimi, the first assassin sent after Gene. Shimi initially sends his protégé to deal with Gene. The night before the duel is set to take place, Shimi approaches Gene at a bar, introducing himself as Leilong. The two share a drink while discussing matters of life and death. Before leaving, Leilong confesses that he has been forced to kill people in the past, but always finds a way to show respect for his opponents.
 * as Lady Iraga, the second assassin that Gene and the crew encounter. Defying Hazanko, she entered into an intergalactic fighting tournament which decides the strongest woman in the universe. She is a member of the Hoke Shadow Boxing team, displaying incredible feats of strength and power enabling her to defeat Reiko Ando, the four-year consecutive strongwoman champion in under thirty seconds.
 * Heather Hogan as Hanmyo, the youngest member of the Anten Seven and travels with her two cats, Kemi and Mata. She pilots an advanced ship, the Torarato, which separates into three subsections, each equipped with its own grappler and weapons. These smaller ships are controlled by her cats, who she communicates with through a mental link. She is also an expert in martial arts, as seen when Jim initially spots her training near a water fountain on Symka 5. She easily proves to be a match for the Outlaw Star on their first encounter, forcing Gene and the crew to escape and dock at the satellite station Symka 5 for repairs.
 * as Hamushi. When she fought Gene at the Leyline, he described her as "a tough little cookie and a righteous babe all in one." She is a temptress who uses her sex appeal to send her enemies into a false sense of security, though Gene despite his usual nature towards women is able to flatly reject her given that he hates pirates and was more concerned in saving Melfina at the time, whom he had fallen in love with. A skilled Tao magic-user, she is able to effortlessly deflect or negate several of Gene's lesser caster shells. Only when Gene uses the rare number #4 shell is she defeated: in exchange for a portion of his life energy, the shell dismantles her organic structure into a flailing mass of wiry fibers of flesh before absorbing her into a miniature black hole. The black hole has been rumored to "compress" the target of the rare caster shell (e.g.: compressed data into a saving device), this would explain why a similar caster shell could not contain Hazanko (his power produced data too large for the caster shell to contain). She appears to be the commander of Hazanko's personal ship the Geomancer.
 * as Tobigera, a master of disguise. Mainly served as a comic relief, he attempts to assassinate Gene a number of times using a claw with three long blades on his right arm while dressed as a tourist, but is always thwarted by several random, yet highly comedic, all whilst Gene fails to realize any danger. Nevertheless, he is still the last member of the Anten Seven to be defeated, having been absorbed into the Geomancer along with Hazanko who was granted ultimate power by the Leyline near the end of the film. After assisting Hazanko in the last grappler fight, Tobigera meets his death when a clawed arm growing from the Outlaw Star impales him through the face.
 * as Jukai, the oldest member and presumably an old man with a very raspy voice, although his face is never seen and little is known about him. He is wrapped from the neck down in a straitjacket with a spiked back, and wears a mask with a stylised number six on it. His specialty appears to be manipulation of hydrogen/oxygen particles in the air around him, as seen when he teleports Hazanko to the Leyline's gate. He attacks by turning into a giant whirlwind, appearing to be made of water, and ramming into his opponents. When defeated by Aisha at the Leyline, he deflates like a popped water-balloon, streams of liquid spurting from his many wounds. Though his arms and hands are pretty much restrained in the jacket he can still cast spells by shaking his body from side to side while chanting. He appears to be Hazanko's right-hand man and the strongest spellcaster other than Hazanko himself.
 * as Hitoriga, an assassin much like Suzuka, and not much is known about his past except for the fact that he was responsible for killing Suzuka's entire family as part of a contract. A swordsman himself, when he battled Suzuka in the past he was able to defeat her, making him the only person to have ever done so in a sword-fight. Afterwards, he altered his face and body to look precisely like hers, giving him the bizarre appearance of a, but normally wears a bag like mask with painted eyeholes and a toothy grin. He states he did this because he is in love with Suzuka and wanted to at least see her face since he knew he could never have her. When he confronted Suzuka again in the Galactic Leyline's maze, he was finally defeated by her Crimson technique, which she had devised specifically to kill him.

Minor characters

 * as Reiko Ando. Fred Luo's betrothed, Reiko is the reigning champion of the Strongest Woman in the Universe competition for 4-years running. Believing the feat to be impossible, Fred told Reiko that she must win the tournament 5 times in a row before he will consent to marry her. As Reiko prepares to go for a 5th consecutive win, Fred fears no one can beat her and enlists Gene to help him in exchange for a large sum of cash. Fred also agrees to loan Gene more money in exchange for simply taking the job.