Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs was a 1980's animated space western following a similar theme of Galaxy Rangers and Bravestarr. Originally a 1984 anime series known as Star Musketeer Bismarck (星銃士ビスマルク, Seijūshi Bisumaruku?) created by Studio Pierrot, it achieved moderate success in Japan. The rights to the series were bought by the U.S. company World Events Productions (WEP) in 1986. WEP reorganized and rewrote the series, incorporating both the original episodes and creating six new ones before releasing it under the name Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.