Outlaw World

Outlaw World
Outlaw Star episode
English Title	Outlaw World
Japanese Title	"Muhō no Hoshi" (無法の星)
Writer	Katsuhiko Chiba
Director	Takeshi Ashizawa
US Airdate	January 15, 2001
Japanese Airdate	January 8, 1998
Next Episode	"World of Desires"

"To stay here is death. To go is death."

—"Hot Ice" Hilda

"Outlaw World" is the first episode of Outlaw Star. The episode aired January 8, 1998 on TV Tokyo in Japan and January 15, 2001 on Toonami in North America.

Synopsis

Gene Starwind is a jack of all trades ruffian stuck on a rundown planet with his partner, Jim. Without a ship to call his own, Gene is going nowhere fast. But things change when a mysterious woman shows up with a not-so-simple job.

Summary

Iris embraces Gene after his bout with Death Rob.

A woman is being pursued in space by unknown assailants. Outmatched and outnumbered, the woman activates her ship Horus's sub-ether drive, successfully escaping from the attackers. Meanwhile, on Sentinel III, Gene Starwind and his business partner Jim Hawking play a poker game at Clyde's Bar. Their game is interrupted when Rob Kane, aka Death Rob, a notorious criminal, arrives seeking revenge on Gene for killing his brother Butch. Gene seemingly guns down Death Rob, only for Jim to detect that Death Rob is a type C cyborg using his PDA. Gene uses a knife to finish Death Rob, earning the duo a 4000 wong prize for cashing in on Death Rob's bounty. Gene and Jim go their separate ways for the evening, with Gene going to Club Temptation. Romancing a courtesan in a private room, Gene laments that he doesn't have a ship to call his own.

Gene awakens in his bed at Starwind and Hawking Enterprises the next day. Jim relays the news that a pirate ship landed at Sentinel. Before the conversation about a possible motive for the pirate's arrival can continue, a woman who introduces herself as "Rachel Sweet" calls and offers to hire the duo to order special parts and a bodyguard to accompany her. While escorting Rachel to complete her repair job in the wheat fields, Gene is ambushed by pirates utilizing advanced weaponry and Tao magic. After successfully warding off the attackers, Jim arrives, and the group heads to the wheat fields, where they are ambushed by pirates yet again. Fleeing the scene, Rachel reveals her true identity as Hilda, an outlaw who is also chasing the treasure that the pirates are after. Gene's combat skills and the use of a rare Caster help them fend off the attackers.

After arriving at the job site, Hilda betrays Gene by shooting him. Gene appears to be fatally wounded as Hilda forces Jim to pull out a hidden trunk and load it into the vehicle, but Gene surprises Hilda by holding her at gunpoint, revealing that the bullet had struck Jim's PDA, which Gene had in his coat pocket. Hilda warns them not to open a mysterious box, but Gene forces her to give Jim the code. The trunk opens, revealing a sleeping woman inside.

Censorship and localization

English title card, used in place of the Japanese version.

Melfina's appearance the end of the episode is edited to cover nudity.

During the show's initial airing on Toonami in 2001, several scenes, character dialog, and other changes were made to minimize adult content and sexual material. The show re-aired on Adult Swim in 2017 with a vast majority of the censored content restored.

Dialogue

• Cursing is removed, with the words "hell" and "damn" being replaced with "blast" and "darn", etc.
• Gene and Jim play "Go Fish" instead of poker.
• Death Rob stating he's "killed 30 men" is changed to "taken 30 men."
• Jim's "hit the casino" is changed to "hit the club."
• Jim's "scumbag" is changed to "loser."
• Soi Len's "They've been killed" is changed to "They're destroyed."
• In the next episode preview, "naked girl" is changed to "weird girl."

Visual edits

• The title card is rewritten in English, with a different font (Terminator).
• Blood is removed from Gene shooting Death Rob.
• Gene's poster is modified so the woman wears a bathing suit.
• Blood is digitally removed from the street fight between Gene and the pirates.
• Melfina in the trunk is modified to wear a two-piece bikini.

Removed scenes

• The opening credits sequence is removed, fading from the cold open directly to Gene watching a spaceship take off.
• Gene throwing down his poker hand before the fight is cut.
• Gene shooting Death Rob in the head is cut.
• Death Rob coughing up blood when Gene stabs him is cut.
• Gene touching Iris is cut.
• Gene and Jim's banter before splitting up is cut.
• Prostitute taking a shower is cut.
• Gene in a hotel room with a prostitute is cut.
• Hilda putting her gun to Gene's chest and firing is cut.
• Gene putting his gun to Hilda's head is cut.

Notes

Gene sports the early grappler combat headset design in footage reused from the pilot.

Gene wearing the long-sleeved version of his normal attire, only seen in this episode.

• The footage used in the opening scene is reused from the unaired pilot episode, recontextualized to be a battle set in the future. Gene is shown wearing the pilot's early design for the grappler combat system headset, making its only appearance in the series proper here.
• During his fight with Death Rob, Gene is shown wearing a long-sleeved version of his outfit under his coat. This version of his outfit only appears in this episode, although Gene is shown with long-sleeves any time he removes his coat.
• In the English dub, Jim refers to their business as Starwind and Hawking Repairs. Later episodes have the business referred to as Starwind and Hawking Enterprises.
• When Jim performs a background check on Rachel using his PDA, several lines of information can be seen, including biological information such as height, weight, blood type, and a birthdate. Rachel's birthdate of June 7th, 1988 is the same month and year that Takehiko Itō's manga Uchuu Eiyuu Monogatari (Future-Retro Hero Story) began serialization.
• The Kei Pirates (Soi Len, Roi Fong, and Guugaku) that attack the group are not named in the anime or credits and instead only referred to by the non-specific names "girl" and "old man". They are, however, referred to by name in the Outlaw Star manga.
• The Complete Blu-ray Box home release features commentary on this episode by Takehiko Itō, director Mitsuru Hongo, and writer Katsuhiko Chiba.

Gallery

Screenshots

Hilda contemplates her next course of action against the pirates.

The three pirates currently in pursuit of Hilda.

Title card.

Death Rob on the search for Gene.

Rachel Sweet hires Gene and Jim for a seemingly ordinary job.

The Kei Pirate drones attack Gene and Rachel.

Gene fires his caster pistol at his pirate pursuers.

The "treasure" the pirates were after.