Firefly

i've heard that also, but how are they similar. i had never heard of this show untill i heard some a$$hole ranting about how "Firefly is a rippoff of Outlaw Star." i've never seen this show, so i'd really like to know how the two shows are alike.

i wouldnt say rip off either... but i will say ff took a lot from ols and cowboy... im more mad because i was watching my outlaw star dvd and thought to my self you know what if they made this in to a show i think people would watch it. an bam like they were reading my mind firefly hypes come out two weeks later... same thing happened to me with tuck everlasting though so i get over it...

I'll confess, I've never seen Cowboy Bebop, not for lack of interest, and I haven't seen Outlaw Star recently, but I have watched, and am a fan of both Outlaw Star, Firefly, and Serenity. Something that you need to keep in mind is that, a lot of Cowboys in space shows/movies are a lot alike, and sometimes they borrow off each other. The characters in both are very similar, but at the same time, very unique.

Plus, as my mom just pointed out about thirty seconds ago while reading over my shoulder, the story of a bunch of different people on a boat/ship trying to hold themselves together dates all the way back to The Illiad, basically slightly newer genres standing on the shoulders of older genres, which makes sense cause there are only so many plotlines in the universe. Eventually, there are copies. The question isn't whether or not it's a copy rather than is it a good copy without risking plagiarism?

The only similarity is that there's a girl in a box.

Satan is a little man

Beyond the girl in the box, there are a few other similarities. Both shows feature a rag-tag crew of people from different backgrounds just eking out a living on the frontier of space. Outlaw Star is more centrally focused with the leyline story, whereas a lot of Firefly episodes are fairly standalone.

Both series feature a strange dichotomy of power in space, composed of order and chaos, however the two aren't formally at war. The Alliance and the Space Forces represent order with the Reavers and the Pirates representing chaos. Folk like the crew of Serenity and Outlaws would represent the rest; large numbers, but not centrally organized and loyal to neither side. Mind you, the roles are of varying importance; Pirates play a huge role in Outlaw Star, whereas the Alliance and the Reavers' roles aren't so large in Firefly, but still more important than that of the Space Forces in Outlaw Star

However, there are tons of differences. Firefly has no aliens or magic, or no central story arc. Plus, the crew of Serenity is more seasoned than the Outlaw Star, which seems to get by more on luck.

A single spark can start a spectral fire.

There are many similarities but if you get enough shows in any genre, in this case more of a space cowboy theme you're bound to see similarities between series. Sometimes it's a coincidence, sometimes a homage, sometimes it's just inspired by another series.