Cowboy Bebop is a classic of both sci-fi and anime, and its unique mix of Western tropes with space travel makes it hard to find anything else that can compare. However, Cowboy Bebop did have one contemporary anime series that's nearly as good, and which shares a lot of the tropes that make Bebop great: Outlaw Star.

Outlaw Star is a 1998 sci-fi anime series by Sunrise, the makers of Cowboy Bebop, which already makes it highly comparable. Similarly, it aired early in the Toonami and Adult Swim era, and helped to establish the block into what it is today.

Unlike Bebop, Outlaw Star was indeed based on a manga, the seinen series of the same name which ran for 21 chapters from 1996 to 1999. While it hasn't had quite the lasting impact that Cowboy Bebop has, the series was popular enough to return to Toonami in 2017 and 2018, around the time that Outlaw Star finally received a release on Blu-ray.

What Makes Outlaw Star a Worthy Rival to Cowboy Bebop

Outlaw Star Embodies Many of the Same Ideas as Bebop

Outlaw Star is a series starring Gene Starwind, an "outlaw" who comes into possession of his own starship, which he calls the Outlaw Star, who initially works with a single partner--in this case, the 11-year-old Jim Hawking. After obtaining the ship and a mysterious girl in a box named Melfina who has some connection to the ship, Gene and Jim set off into the stars in search of something known as the Galactic Leyline, which is said to be able to make any wish come true. Along the way, they make other strange companions while avoiding both the space forces who patrol the galaxy and the space pirates who would seek to steal his advanced starship and reach the Leyline themselves.

Like Spike and the gang on the Bebop, Gene and his crew are often broke and take whatever jobs they can get to keep flying. They even occasionally take part in bounty hunting, although bounties are few and far between in Outlaw Star's universe. Gene, like Spike, is a skilled fighter who primarily uses a gun, although his is a special gun that makes use of the series' equivalent of magic. The show has a careful balance of comedy and drama, striking a tone very similar to that of Cowboy Bebop. And, while having ongoing plot that does culminate in the final episodes, Outlaw Star also has plenty of stand-alone episodes about particular jobs the crew winds up doing.

What Sets Outlaw Star Apart from Cowboy Bebop

Outlaw Star Has a Mystical Element to it that Cowboy Bebop Doesn't

As one might gather from the term "Galactic Leyline," Outlaw Star has a much more mystical bent to it than the fairly hard sci-fi that is Cowboy Bebop. Magic is a fact of life in the Outlaw Star universe, although the mana which magic relies upon has become increasingly scarce, and fewer and fewer people know how to utilize it. Gene is able to use magical bullets, called Caster Shells, which are enchanted to have tremendous power--some of them even draw from his own life force in order to maximize damage. Their mission to reach the Leyline, however, means Gene and his crew must deal with magic far more often than anyone else.

The series is also set in a sprawling space setting, with the entire galaxy as their stage, whereas Cowboy Bebop is generally limited to Earth's solar system. There are even aliens in the Outlaw Star universe, such as the Ctarl Ctarl, cat-like aliens who can transform into monstrous cat forms. One such alien, Aisha Clanclan, is even a major character aboard the Outlaw Star. The series also features bio-androids, something that didn't really show up in Cowboy Bebop at all. The ship itself is also more of a character than the Bebop is, with an AI persona known as Gilliam.

Does Outlaw Star Really Stack Up to Cowboy Bebop?

Outlaw Star Isn't as Iconic, But It's Almost as Good

Outlaw Star does lack some of the things that make Cowboy Bebop so memorable and iconic. There are already very few anime series that can compete with Bebop in of music, so it should come as no surprise that Outlaw Star's soundtrack just isn't as good. The series' humor can also be a bit more dated than Cowboy Bebop's is, which can make it a little more difficult to watch. It's also generally considered that the plot gets a bit weak towards the end, although the actual finale is quite exciting. Despite these drawbacks, though, Outlaw Star is a worthy companion piece to Cowboy Bebop, and fans looking for more would do well to check out this 90s sci-fi classic.

Outlaw Star can be streamed on Hulu.