Thread: Would you be open to a reboot?

I am not talking about live action or anything, but the story written again with the same characters but just updated voices and installations. So like you would have the same story and basically the same lines and outline of dialog but the characters may look a little different and sound different.

I often think about this with older animes and if it was done right, I would enjoy it. They just can't go overboard with it and change the characters too much in terms of appearance and personality.
Thoughts?

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I may have said something along these lines before but I think that around 10-15 years ago there was a large paradigm shift of sorts in the anime and manga industries. (Mostly anime though as the main culprit of this shift is technology.) If you put the anime of the '80s and '90s in one bag and the anime of the '00s and '10s in another bag their contents would be greatly different. Therefore, I feel that if there was a reboot of Outlaw Star it would be more than the look and sound that would change. After all, what's the point of a reboot otherwise? I'm also not sure how I'd feel about a different voice actor for Gene Starwind as an example. Bob Buchholz was such a good choice for Gene. It's hard not to be nostalgic when it comes to your favourite series.

If I try to look at it from another person's perspective, maybe it could work. They'd probably cut it down to a thirteen-episode series, or split that into two seasons. There's no doubt they'd use CGI for the space battles. That might work. There's something special about the original hand-drawn animations but I don't hate most CGI either. Overall animation quality would probably be better too since they'd be relying on software. Things weren't as easy with multiple animators before then. Let's face the fact though: most reboots suck. For the most part that's because of how different they are to the source material. It's a bit of a catch-22; reboots usually are significantly different in an attempt to "get with the times" and attract a current audience, but most people watch them out of nostalgia and don't like that modern update, so by default very few reboots will be critically acclaimed.

Often there isn't that much to add either and I think that's the case with Outlaw Star. It's a linear show and there are two main arcs. The first: Gene's self-discovery, learning to become a spacer and the establishment of his new friendships, as well as the crew's first encounters with the Kei Pirates and eventually finding out more about the MacDougall brothers. The second arc is the introduction of the Anten Seven with fights against these people, learning more about the Galactic Leyline, acquiring the co-ordinates of the Leyline, then reaching it and unlocking its secrets as the show's conclusion. What can you really change here? Perhaps the filler episodes could be changed, but all the main episodes are integral in Gene's journey. Episodic series could work as a reboot since there's no real line to follow, but I'm stumped. It's not just Outlaw Star. There are plenty of anime series that I couldn't see working as a reboot. Especially ones from before the '00s as like I said people want something else nowadays.

Originally Posted by Mantis

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I may have said something along these lines before but I think that around 10-15 years ago there was a large paradigm shift of sorts in the anime and manga industries. (Mostly anime though as the main culprit of this shift is technology.) If you put the anime of the '80s and '90s in one bag and the anime of the '00s and '10s in another bag their contents would be greatly different. Therefore, I feel that if there was a reboot of Outlaw Star it would be more than the look and sound that would change. After all, what's the point of a reboot otherwise? I'm also not sure how I'd feel about a different voice actor for Gene Starwind as an example. Bob Buchholz was such a good choice for Gene. It's hard not to be nostalgic when it comes to your favourite series.

If I try to look at it from another person's perspective, maybe it could work. They'd probably cut it down to a thirteen-episode series, or split that into two seasons. There's no doubt they'd use CGI for the space battles. That might work. There's something special about the original hand-drawn animations but I don't hate most CGI either. Overall animation quality would probably be better too since they'd be relying on software. Things weren't as easy with multiple animators before then. Let's face the fact though: most reboots suck. For the most part that's because of how different they are to the source material. It's a bit of a catch-22; reboots usually are significantly different in an attempt to "get with the times" and attract a current audience, but most people watch them out of nostalgia and don't like that modern update, so by default very few reboots will be critically acclaimed.

Often there isn't that much to add either and I think that's the case with Outlaw Star. It's a linear show and there are two main arcs. The first: Gene's self-discovery, learning to become a spacer and the establishment of his new friendships, as well as the crew's first encounters with the Kei Pirates and eventually finding out more about the MacDougall brothers. The second arc is the introduction of the Anten Seven with fights against these people, learning more about the Galactic Leyline, acquiring the co-ordinates of the Leyline, then reaching it and unlocking its secrets as the show's conclusion. What can you really change here? Perhaps the filler episodes could be changed, but all the main episodes are integral in Gene's journey. Episodic series could work as a reboot since there's no real line to follow, but I'm stumped. It's not just Outlaw Star. There are plenty of anime series that I couldn't see working as a reboot. Especially ones from before the '00s as like I said people want something else nowadays.

Good points. I mean it is like a coin flip. If they really wanted and thought it would work out well, they can even tweak the story a tad and add in more character building and more depth to the relationships. It is just hard to say. I though it was interesting in theory to consider a reboot but it comes down to who writes it, produces it, why they are doing it, and when it will air. I am torn about it myself in a sense because I know anime fans today are on a constant pull forward. Very few want to see mashups and reboots.

I would prefer a sequel OR a brand new story, with new characters, but set in the same universe.

Originally Posted by Mantis

...I'm also not sure how I'd feel about a different voice actor for Gene Starwind as an example. Bob Buchholz was such a good choice for Gene.

That's one of the things that would make me iffy about a reboot. If they do make another one and it's gets a dub, you know it's probably going to be by the funimation guys. I don't think anyone from funimation could match Bob Bucholz's performance. They might do a good job, but Bob balanced the masculine and the funny side of Gene perfectly. When I think of Gene Starwind, I think of that voice. It's the same with the other characters. Their voices are so ingrained in my mind that I don't think I can truly get used to anyone else's take on them.

As for a reboot...well, it could go either way. The real questions would be could it live up to the original. The problem when you reboot a well-known property is people have their expectations for it really high and, if it misses the mark even a little, they come down hard on it. Just look at what happened at the Star Wars prequels or Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skulls. Hell, even Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a movie that opened to great reviews at first, now has folks souring their opinion towards it after analyzing the movie. For a more anime related thing, I remember when the trailer for the FLCL trailer came out, the response was lukewarm. Of course, this could change when the show actually comes up but it just shows that if a show doesn't live up to it's legacy even a little bit then it's just going to bashed to hell and back.

Would I be open to it...depends on what direction they go in. It would be interesting to see the character's relationships get explored with a bit more indepth. I would just hope that it would still retain a similar style and tone while updating it to modern times. I wouldn't want it to share a similar fate to the reboot of Bio Booster Armor Guyver where it feels like it's pulling it's punches and feel more generic.

I'd prefer a short OVA than a reboot. Didn't think it really needed one, just more time to explore the characters in a setting where literally anything can happen

Originally Posted by LtSurge

I would prefer a sequel OR a brand new story, with new characters, but set in the same universe.

After they tried that with Angel Links I'd rather they didn't.

Forewarning I forgot how to put the spoiler tag in but I'll keep it to a minimum but just so you know!

I think in the topic of "what would we want in the sequel" I made a point where the artwork from episode to episode was never consistent. I believe if I remember correctly, episode 8 (the one where Gene is healed by Melfina) has the best art of an episode, but very few other episodes looked the same.

There were other episodes which looked great but then there were some that were just awful. If they did anything, I just wish that they went and just redrew all the old episodes and made them all look the same. I believe Mantis said about this that they had multiple artists working on the show so that's why it was obvious to see the difference from episode to episode.

So it's not so much an issue to me for a reboot but I would like to see the old episodes be remade as well.

Originally Posted by Note by Mantis

Just so you know it's [spoiler]This is a spoiler[/spoiler] which I believe can also be automatically inserted using a button in the advanced posting mode that you can access with the "Go Advanced" button on the desktop site! (That was a mouthful.)

After giving it some thought I'd actually welcome a reboot of OS, though I'd much rather have a direct continuation of the original; given how the amount of old cartoons/anime being revived has been steadily increasing over the years, there's a good chance that Outlaw Star might actually be given the same treatment if enough interest is generated. The original series' ending still left it open for new adventures, yet 20 whole years later the most we received was a lousy spinoff which had nothing to do with the original show besides a couple of (very minor) returning characters, and two planned sequels which both fell through. Personally I think it's time us OS fans were given our just desserts, and I would love to see a continuation of my favourite anime of all time. Though given the years that have passed since the original finished airing, maybe they're better off rebooting it instead? Also I'd only really be interested if it featured the same cast as the original OS, maybe with some new characters, because I'd rather not suffer through another Angel Links again.

Wouldn't it be hard to get rights to the show? Besides I love the English dub of Aisha, so it'll be hard to get that kind of hyper active lass for her. But as long as you can get people who fit the roles, sure.