At a recent show I picked up Volumes 1 and 3 of Outlaw Star on DVD. It was roughly 6 bucks for the set so it was hard to pass up. Anime is easily accessible on all streaming platforms, and a variety of shady sites that host series “for free.” You can buy high quality upscaled blu-rays for just about any series.

More often than not I’ll revisit old favorites in that modern context, after all it’s the best way to view them. But Outlaw Star wasn’t an old favorite. I hadn’t watched it seriously when it originally aired on Adult Swim (or was it Toonami?). I honestly only gave it a fair shake after seeing Eyepatch Wolf’s video about why you should watch it.

I liked it… or at least what I saw of it. However, when I came across the DVDs, it was hard to pass up. I put the first disc into my PS5 and nostalgia hit me in an unexpected way. The old school DVD menus, the “low quality” and yellow subtitles. It took me back to watching anime DVDs in high school. This mixed with a show from the Adult Swim block I used to catch made for an “authentic” experience.

I know it’s silly, but it somehow felt closer to the time I discovered these shows originally. Cowboy Bebop. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Trigun. (Scratch that last one – I had seen Trigun before Adult Swim started thanks to a friend bringing the VHS… yes, VHS, to watch once!).

There’s something to be said about this and media preservation, especially in light of my last few posts.

I don’t know where I am going with this, but at least for a little while I was transported to a very care free time. Can’t put a price on that.