Anime is comprised of many different genres and subgenres, from magical girl to mecha, there is one genre has been surprisingly untapped; space western. A lone outlaw exploring the cosmos or a bounty hunter taking to the stars to track down the baddest of the bad is not a common trope in anime series. While the genre is far from barren, the surmountable success that anime in this particular genre raises the question of why there aren't more.
Among the classic like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, or Space Dandy, there are many other series that fall under the space western umbrella that goes otherwise unnoticed or underappreciated. These shows are overshadowed by classic fan favorites and get pushed to the back of the shelf, causing fans to miss out on truly great stories. Here are some of the most underappreciated Space Western anime.
7 Queen Emeraldas
Queen Emeraldas is a spin-off of the classic anime Arcadia of My Youth and Harlock Saga created by Leiji Matsumoto. The story follows a young scraper named Hiroshi, who has a big dream. Hiroshi finds himself on one of the legendary space pirate ships, the Queen Emeraldas, the series namesake and the name of its captain.
Emeraldas is an elegant and wise captain who bestows a great amount of teaching and respect to young Hiroshi and sets him on his beginning to becoming a strong warrior. Like its brethren series, Queen Emeraldas is a unique and interesting story following in the pirate king Harlock’s footsteps with a great amount of depth to discover.
6 Outlaw Star
Outlaw Star over the years has gained a fair amount of popularity but over the years has not gotten the recognition deserved. Overshadowed by anime that premiered around the same era, such as Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star is one of the unique anime out there for fans of the space western genre with a story as exciting as its soundtrack. The story follows a bounty hunter and his kid-genius partner, Jim, through an epic adventure of space pirates, intergalactic wizards, and interdimensional treasure.
Jean Startwind, the series' main character, is gifted with one of the fastest and most powerful ships called a grappler, a unique space vehicle that is also capable of melee combat. He is also charged with the protection of the ship's A.I, a human-cyborg hybrid named Melfina, and steps out on a journey to find the Galactic Leyline, a place of incredible riches and power.
5 Space Adventure Cobra
Space Adventure Cobra follows as a discontent salaryman wallowing in his lack of excitement and adventure. Then, a series of events leads him to hallucinate and recover some memories of a pirate king wielding a high-tech weapon on his arm. The memories would push him to find out more about what he saw, forcing an encounter with a rival pirate and triggering the rest of his memories, reminding him that he is Cobra, the space pirate, and set him on a journey to finish what he started.
Space Adventure Cobra is an 80s episodic journey that follows the series namesake on his mission to stop the Space Pirate Mafia along with his faithful partner Lady Armaroid. Cobra and Lady Armaroid battle against power machines of destruction and cutthroat pirates all across the stars in this epic quest.
4 Wild Arms: Twilight Venom
Wild Arms is based on a videogame of the same name, Wild Arms: Twilight Venom follows the legendary gunslinger Sheyenne on a mission to recover his missing body after being placed in the form of a ten-year-old boy. On his quest, Sheyenne wields a powerful weapon called an ‘ARMS' weapon that many seek the power of; the arms weapon is a catastrophic weapon that usually reduces the user to ash, but somehow Sheyenne is able to wield it with no harm.
As Sheyenne ventures out, along the way, he encounters a scientist, a witch, and a vampire; he forms a crew composed of these misfits to carve out one of the most epic adventures in the universe.
3 Samurai 7
Samurai 7 is a short but sweet anime taking place in a futuristic war-torn world under an oppressive regime. The story follows several samurai for hire who are commissioned to protect a farming village from a gang of greedy soldiers. Samurai 7 is heavily based on the film Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa; the tweak to this anime is the mecha and fantasy aspects of the story.
Samurai are a dying breed as the new form of battle relies on the pilots of the giant mech warrior machines. The rag-tag group of samurai set out on an impossible task for various different reasons, some to rekindle their lost glory, others to prove themselves on the field of battle.
2 Coyote Ragtime Show
Coyote Ragtime Show is a wild and high-octane sci-fi western series following a seasoned outlaw-made parent named "Mister". Mister was a rambunctious outlaw or ‘coyote' in several galaxies and was serving a prison sentence when he received word that his brother had died and left his daughter's care to him.
Mister breaks out of jail and reunites with his crew to take his newfound family, Franca, on an epic journey to find her father's treasure. On their quest, they are met with opposition on all sides as the space police are hot on their tail, the Criminals Guild seeks to snatch the treasure once it's found, and a secret organization follows them everywhere they go.
1 Gun X Sword
Gun x Sword follows Van, a lone swordsman searching for the monster who killed his betrothed. While on his mission, he passes through a town being robbed by bandits and decides to ignore it. Circumstances would drag him into the encounter and force his hand to slay all the bandits; as it would turn out, the bandits had ties to the man who killed Van’s lover, the Claw Man.
Saving a town citizen in the process, Wendy accompanies Van on his revenge mission, and the two venture out into the world searching for the Claw Man getting into all sorts of trouble along the way. Van and Wendy discover a sinister plot that drags them into a scenario they never saw coming of unimaginable danger.