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From Wikipedia...
Connections from Firefly to other media

Outlaw Star

River Tam, Firefly's "Girl in a Box"
Melfina, Outlaw Star's "Girl in a Box"There are many similarities between elements of Firefly and anime series Outlaw Star.

Comparing and contrasting River Tam of Firefly and Melfina of Outlaw Star
Both are transported in a cargo box taken on by a transport hired by the box's possessor, who doesn't reveal the box's contents. River's brother Simon Tam hires Malcolm Reynolds and Serenity for their voyage. "Hot Ice" Hilda hires Jim and Gene to unknowingly transport Melfina.
Both women are revealed in their series' first-hour cliffhanger conclusion (the midpoint of a two-hour pilot), during or shortly after a gun fight. River is uncrated by Mal after a Mexican standoff with an undercover Fed looking for the fugitive girl. Melfina awakens in the middle of a battle with the Kei Pirates.
Both fugitives have unusual abilities that are programmed in by the military government in their universe. River is a genius child whose brain was experimentally altered by the Alliance, Firefly's military/commercial government. Melfina is a bio-android built by the "Space Forces", Outlaw Star's military government.
Both are stolen by tertiary parties not heard from after their first appearances. River by the terrorist organization that is only mentioned in passing in dialogue, Melfina by Hilda who dies in the second episode.
Both are aided for the majority of the series by someone other than the person who originally stole them because that person has made a promise to help unlock the mysteries of what the government did to them. Simon promises to unlock what the Alliance did to River's brain, and Gene promises Melfina he will figure out why she was made.
Other similarities:
Both series present vicious opponents who commit horrific acts of violence. Firefly's feral Reavers have no order, creed, or code of any kind and exist "on the edge of space", outside of the control and even awareness of Alliance law enforcement. Outlaw Star's Space Pirates are broken into ordered clans who live in "Pirate Territory", outside the influence of the Space Forces.
Both series are centered around the activities of outlaws. Just as Serenity's crew performs illegal salvage and smuggling along with the occasional honest transport job to get by, the Outlaw Star crew, part of the "Outlaw" clan, supplements its illegal activities through legal Starwind and Hawking Enterprises jobs.
Both ships are regarded as an additional character to their series, with its own "personality". Serenity is referred to by the cast and crew as "the 10th character", even warranting its own special feature on the DVD release of Firefly. The Outlaw Star has the more literal personality of Gilium, the in-ship AI.
Both ships have a thick-headed, muscle-bound warrior who seeks monetary reward using the fugitive. Jayne Cobb wants to turn in River (and Simon) for a reward, while Aisha Clan-Clan (crewmember of the Outlaw Star) desperately wants the valuable treasure she believes the Galactic Leyline to be, which can only be reached with Melfina's navigational abilities.
Both ships have mysterious, spiritual warriors on board with unknown backgrounds who come and go. Shepherd Book is a Christian monk who demonstrates incredible fighting abilities and an unexplained knowledge of criminal activity. "Sunset" Suzuka is a mysterious assassin with an unknown past (who often quotes Buddhist/Confucianist wisdom).
Both ships have childlike engineers who have an oft-adversarial relationship with the captain, but always make up with him in the end. Kaylee Frye is Serenity's young engineer, whose upbeat attitude and innocence often clashes with the captain's realism and dangerous plans. Jim Hawking is an actual child, a mechanical expert who often fights with Gene over their finances or the latter's wild plans.
Both series feature ominous villains who will stop at nothing to catch the fugitives. River is pursued by the murderous Blue Gloves, an insane mercenary (Jubal Early), and in the movie Serenity, a cruel person known as The Operative. In Outlaw Star, Melfina is pursed by a vicious pair known as the MacDougall Brothers.
Both series feature a repeating character who the captain dislikes, but is forced to visit for supplies. In Firefly, Mal finds Adlai Niska disgusting because he is violent, but takes jobs from him. In Outlaw Star, Fred Luo is a rich buisnessman with a homosexual attraction to Gene Starwind which Gene finds disgusting, but Gene is forced to take jobs and supplies from him.
The title of Firefly is the class of the main character's ship. The title of Outlaw Star is the name of the main character's ship.
Thus, we can see the following connections:
River Tam = Melfina
Malcolm Reynolds = Gene Starwind
Kaylee Frye = Jim Hawking
Jayne Cobb = Aisha Clan-Clan
Shepherd Book = "Sunset" Suzuka
Serenity = Gilium (AI of the Outlaw Star)
The Operative, Jubal Early = MacDougall Brothers
The Alliance = The Space Forces
Reavers = Space Pirates (particularly the Kei Pirates)
Illegal salvage and smuggling operations = The Outlaws
Full understanding of what the Alliance did to River = The Galactic Leyline (each solves the mysteries of River/Melfina)
Adlai Niska = Fred Luo
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Serenity (film)
The movie continuation of Firefly contains some further connections to Outlaw Star that cannot be ignored.

The climax of the film involves a massive battle including the three main parties of the series as a whole, the Reavers, Alliance, and Firefly. The climax of Outlaw Star involves a space battle between the Kei Pirates, the Space Forces, and the Outlaw Star.
The climactic battle in Firefly took place above Mr. Universe's planet, which had a severely ionic atmosphere so one could see what was on one side from the other. The climactic battle in Outlaw Star took place above the Galactic Leyline planet, which had a severely ionic atmosphere so no one could see what was on one side from the other.
Shepard Books dies in the conclusion of Serenity, killed by The Operative. Suzuka dies at the conclusion of Outlaw Star, killed by one of the many mercenaries (a Kei Pirate merc, this time).
In Serenity' River is the only person on Serenity who knows where the final planet (Miranda) and knows there's anything worthwhile there. In Outlaw Star Melfina is the only person on the Outlaw Star who knows where the Galactic Leyline is, and that there's anything there.
The title of Serenity is the name of the main character's ship. The title of Outlaw Star is the name of the main character's ship.

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The title of Serenity is the name of the main character's ship. The title of Outlaw Star is the name of the main character's ship.

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