
The storyline starts shortly after an infamous outlaw named "Hot Ice" Hilda flees from the Kei Pirates, a branch of the Tenpa. However, internal power struggles within the factions and conflicts amongst one another become abundant, leading to inevitable lawlessness. To create order, the Earth Federation established four empires: USSA, Einhorn, Piotr, and Tenpa. As new colonies were formed throughout the vast reaches of outer space, pirates, assassins, and outlaws began to threaten humanity's new frontier. 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. During it's past, an asteroid containing a material known as "dragonite" crashed in the fictional Arashon desert of northern China. Outlaw Star is a space opera/Space Western set in the fictional "Towards Stars Era" universe.
STARWIND AND HAWKING SERIES
In October 2001, Takehiko Itō commented that his team only had static, preliminary plans for the sequel series and that they could perhaps continue the manga series in the future. Due to the lack of the franchise's popularity in Japan and the busy schedule of animation director Mitsuru Hongo, no production date was set. Set three years after the events of Outlaw Star, it was to continue the adventures of Gene Starwind and Jim Hawking in their new starship named "Sword of Wind". Morning Star Studio also drafted a proposed, OVA sequel series to Outlaw Star titled Outlaw Star 2: Sword of Wind on its official website with character designs and a plot outline. Outlaw Star and Angel Links take place in the same universe characters from both series appeared in an episode of Outlaw Star, but the two have little else in relation. Sunrise produced a spin-off television series titled Angel Links, which aired in Japan in 1999. However, the broadcast of the series was heavily edited due to its adult content. This includes an English version from Bandai Entertainment that began airing on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on January 15, 2001. The animated series has since been translated and broadcast worldwide.
STARWIND AND HAWKING TV
Sunrise Studios produced the 26-episode anime adaptation that was directed by Mitsuru Hongo and aired on the Japanese station TV Tokyo in early 1998. 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". The series is a space opera/Space Western that takes place in the "Toward Stars Era" universe in which spacecraft are capable of traveling faster than the speed of light. Outlaw Star is a Japanese anime series based on the manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Takehiko Itō and his affiliated Morning Star Studio. The manga series was originally serialized in the monthly Shueisha magazine Ultra Jump between 19 for a total of 21 chapters.
