Outlaw Star (Collection 3)
This rollicking comedy-adventure concludes as the characters finally reach the mysterious world known as the Galactic Leyline. After searching for clues about it in the cyclopean ruins of "Grave of the Dragons," Gene Starwind poses as a prisoner to free the man who knows its coordinates. The expedition to the enigmatic planet turns into a four-way race that pits Gene and his crew against Hazanko and the Kei Pirates, the MacDougal Brothers and Professor Gwen Kahn, and a Ctarl-Ctarl battle cruiser. At the Leyline, Gene, Melfina, and Suzuka confront the pasts that shaped their identities. Suzuka duels with the Pirate who murdered her family--and copied her face (a new twist on identity theft). Gene remembers his life as an orphan after his father sacrificed his life to save his son during a pirate attack. Melfina, who wants to know her true origins, receives a surprising answer. Katsuhiko Chiba's screenplay sometimes staggers, like Gene the morning after a heavy night. Episode 23 is a long digression set in a hot spring with lots of slapstick comedy and jiggle shots, but very little story development. However, the filmmakers do a noteworthy job of preserving the tone of the series and the personalities of the characters while raising the stakes. Gene demonstrates his untapped potential when he engineers an interplanetary jailbreak and battles the maniacal Hazanko, but he remains a devil-may-care rogue: he doesn't turn into a smarmy Good Guy. All the major characters survive the climactic fights, including the evil MacDougal Brothers, which leaves open the possibility of sequels. Gene, Melfina, and Jim Hawking may have returned to the backwater planet Sentinel III--and to a staggering debt to equipment dealer Fred Lou--but they're not likely to stay there. Rated 13 and up: nudity, profanity, sexual humor, and violence.--Charles Solomon