Outlaw Star

After the somewhat disappointing rote nature of the penultimate episode, the final one puts us right at the centre of the Leyline with all the surviving players. So I guess this is where the series puts us through the ringer of some revelations and an epic final battle that really gets the blood pumping, right?

In three one syllable words: Yes. Yes. Yes.

The revelation of the Leyline itself is probably the least impressive part of the final episode. We not only get an encapsulation of what had been said between Khan and the McDougals a few episodes back, but also a general description how the Leyline is kinda sorta one big data configuration; a computer Shenron if you will for whoever unlocks it with the Melfina-sized key. The fun part though comes after Gene gets his Caster magic in Tao magic and Hazanko gets his Tao magic in Caster magic. Apparently it causes the Leyline to deign giving ALL of them a wish while they stand between life and death, and they all picked the most obvious choices. I guess that’s fine all things considered. We’ve not the time to think or be wary of the logic of the Leyline, so mysteriousness is instead amplified. read more

Like the “prep work” episode, this episode seems all too familiar with an end goal rescue. Everybody of importance rushes toward the end, with every surviving enemy getting in the way. Supporting cast tell main guy to go ahead while they stay behind to distract them. Repeat until the protagonist is the only one left and then go ahead to finale.

…Then cut off at the end to save for the final episode.

It’s rote, but Outlaw Star makes it work. All the big revelations will be left for the finale it seems, with most of the run time directed towards very intense fight sequences. This is a very fluid episode than most, hearkening back to the climax of Episode 1 and Episode 15, so we’re bound for some fun. Suzuka and Harry McDougal get the most of it with Harry’s attempt to fell Hazanko and Suzuka’s fight with a familiar Anten Seven member. Aisha and Gene sadly don’t get that kind of sequence, with Aisha’s fight being rather short-lived even if she transformed and Gene mostly wasting his Caster shells on ONE Anten Seven member. Didn’t he have a dozen or so in the previous episode? This said it did make for a fairly grotesque sequence where he turned said member inside out as Caster magic sucked it into the void. So that works well. read more

We’re here. Fred Luo is queer. And aside from the Leyline, the Starwind crew ain’t going anywhere.

This episode is what it is: a prepwork episode before the big final showdown. Since the series has been on a roll, this episode does a good job with said prepwork. There are not really many surprises to be had, but it is good how after a huge existential funk of uncertainty for two of our heroes: Gene and Melfina, they’re quite ready to go after their end game. The descent into the Leyline is a fairly exciting affair, with the Outlaw Star facing off against Hazanko’s fleet as he also makes his moves toward the Leyline. I might have complained about Hazanko reappearing after like… seven episodes since his debut, but I don’t. He’s not really the target for Gene and the gang, just an obstacle on their way to the Leyline. The battles between his fighters and our heroes is as I said, exciting, but in the end there is not much tension to be had since we know everybody’s endgame is elsewhere.  read more

Welp, we’re finally here. Granted it’s been a few weeks since Adult Swim premiered it for the first time on television after over a decade since the original series… but we’re finally here. Despite being part of a franchise television block that had Tenchi Muyo and went out of its way to give all their nude girls bathing suits, Outlaw Star’s “Hot Springs Planet Tenrei” didn’t get such treatment. This is strange given how the only real full frontal we get is some Aisha (I guess Ctarl-Ctarl breasts are okay cuz they aren’t human), and some bits of ass from hot lizard lady and a guest human character. Such shit seems to be fairly easy to edit give or take. read more

That is a disappointed Aisha Face, because there wasn’t enough of her to go around this week.

Thankfully, this is not a disappointing episode.

So we have a prison break episode, I could’ve sworn I’ve seen something similar to this back in the old Toonami days, maybe involving a wayward youth with a ripped Polaroid picture. To save Melfina, Gene is transferred into a high-security prison on a gravity-heavy planet, and must find the one inmate who has the coordinates of the Galactic Leyline. It goes about as well as you’d expect when a protagonist goes into a prison to do something: conflict with the warden, fairly intense regimen of torture, the guest character is a bit of a pessimistic curmudgeon, but all turns out well in the end. read more

The article title also fits for another reason; because Gene is a bit of a Dexter this episode, despite not ever being zapped by an in-series variation of the Infanto Ray.

You’d think with a pre-intro Jet Black narration like the one showcased here, this episode would be heavy on the space lore. However, lore does not figure into much of the drama this week. Instead, it is more a character study based on not only how the characters interact with one another at this point in the show, but how they reflect. It is not just Jim and Aisha having rapport, with the young genius being more an older sibling than the Ctarl-Ctarl, it is also (actually MOSTLY) Gene opining with Suzuka on his promise to Melfina many moons ago. I’m thankful the show got around to having a character or two notice Gene’s emotional distance with Melfina. read more

Points to you if you understood the reference of my article title without researching and why I used it.

Holy shit, this episode is fucking adorable, and also perhaps now either the second or third best in the series. We had yet to get to Jim in terms of character development in this series, with most of his role being in support and foil to Gene’s scattershot ambitions. But now, with only six episodes left we get one, and boy does it not disappoint. Why is that really?

Is it because in one scene, there are four instances of Aisha Face? No, but it helps. read more

To sound like a broken record, how do you follow an episode that injected a shitton of adrenaline to the series and gives Gene an impetus to get his ass in gear?

Have him enter a big deal fighting tournament so Fred Luo can get out of marrying Space Ronda Rousey. Didn’t this happen already a few years back in… Wait, no. I… don’t think it’s really happened in any sortof space animu, at least anything like Outlaw Star.

However, like the space fishing trip before it, this wrestling episode is surprisingly endearing. Everybody is at their humourous best here, from Gene’s interactions with Fred, including him being quite aware of Fred’s preferences, to Fred himself aghast at the idea of heterosexual monogamy. It’s a nice way to kick off the episode and also as per usual builds upon Jet Black’s pre-intro narration. read more