The following is a list of characters from the Japanese manga and anime Outlaw Star.

Gene, Jim and Melfina are the regular crew of the Outlaw Star. Suzuka and Aisha are more independent and are part-time crew-members.

Gene Starwind (ジーン･スターウインド, Jīn Sutāuindo) is a 20-year-old bounty hunter and the main protagonist of the series who developed a fear of space flight and a hatred of pirates during an attack when he was 14. This attack resulted in his father's death at the hands of a band of mercenaries led by Ron MacDougall. Gene was thrown into an escape pod moments before their ship exploded, and landed on Sentinel III where he would remain until the beginning of the series. While on Sentinel III, Gene met the much younger Jim Hawking and the two went into business, forming a company called Starwind and Hawking Enterprises. It is in this capacity that Gene comes into possession of the bio-android, Melfina, and the revolutionary XGP spaceship which he christens the "Outlaw Star." This ultimately brings him into conflict with the forces of the tyrannical Kei Pirate chieftain, Lord Hazanko, and the cutthroat MacDougall Brothers.

Gene is a reckless thrill-seeker and lecherous womanizer who shamelessly flirts with almost every woman he meets. He would rather try to achieve his goals with a minimum of effort, and his brash attitude proves a continuous source of frustration to his partner, Jim. Despite his arrogant and immature nature, Gene does have a caring side to his personality and has proven himself capable of great acts of courage. After realizing Melfina had no recollection of her purpose or function, Gene promises to help her find her past and protects her from the various individuals in pursuit of her. Throughout the course of the series, he begins to develop feelings for Melfina, but is reluctant to open up to her for fear of making himself vulnerable.

Upon finally arriving at the Galactic Leyline, Gene comes to terms with his feelings with Melfina after she is forcibly removed to the center of the Leyline by its central computer. After being fatally wounded in a confrontation with Lord Hazanko, the Leyline transports his body to cyberspace so he can recover. There, he is reunited with Melfina who offers to grant him whatever his heart desires. Gene replies that there is nothing that the Leyline can give him and all he really wants is for her to come back with him. When he asks Melfina what she desires, she joyfully tells him that she too wants to return with him and be by his side forever. Subsequently, the two share a long and passionate kiss before preparing to leave the Leyline. However, their happiness is cut short when both learn Hazanko is also leaving the Leyline upon being granted all the power he desired. Realizing Hazanko now poses an existential threat to the universe, the two leave cyberspace and rejoin the Outlaw Star's crew to fight him to the death. In an intense battle on the outskirts of the Galactic Leyline, Gene ultimately manages to destroy Hazanko for good with the aid of the Outlaw Star and Melfina. Following the events at the Leyline, Gene returns to Sentinel III where he and Melfina are ultimately revealed to be in a romantic relationship. The series ends with him returning to deep space with the rest of the Outlaw Star's crew to seek out new adventures.

Gene is well armed with a variety of weapons, including a pistol, grenade launcher, knife, rocket launcher, etc. His special weapon, a Caster gun, fires special Caster shells; magic bullets that are effective against Tao priests and other entities protected against normal weaponry. Caster shells are projectile capsules containing a spell cast by a wizard that has been contained, allowing non-magic users to fire the spell from a gun. Caster shells are also numbered by power level (although not incrementally), the three most powerful being 4, 9, and 13. Caster shells are considered antiques, however, and are difficult to acquire. Some of the effects of the caster shells include opening up small controlled black holes in order to absorb an opponent, as seen by the shell being used effectively against Hamushi and ineffectively against Hazanko. Gene reserves these particular caster shells only for powerful opponents, since they carry the extreme danger of killing him if he uses them consecutively.

Gene's ear piercings are also incredibly useful to him, as they possess a communication device that serves like a two-way radio which allows him keep in contact with Jim, who holds the other communicator piercing. Although he openly voices his distrust of Aisha and Suzuka in Episode 21 he nonetheless cares about their safety as in Episode 18 he expresses gladness when he sees that they are OK during the ensuing inferno of the tournament building.

Gene bears many scars all over his body, a testament to the hardships that he has endured over his lifetime. The most noticeable are the two on his left cheek, just below his eye. These were all probably made after his father's ship was destroyed and he crashed on Sentinel III. In addition, Gene's name could be an oblique reference to Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek.^{[citation needed]}