Lost Universe - In Space ... It's Very, Very Dark (Vol 1)

Starring:Brittany Baize, Camille Chen, Mike D'Alonzo, Megumi Hayashibara, Soichiro Hoshi, Grant James, Steve Metz, Michiko Neya, Pamela Ribon, Sarah Richardson (IV), Rebecca Robinson, George Spelvin, Taylor Stewart, Masami Suzuki, Douglas Taylor, KyÃ´ko Tsuruno, Dirk Van Allen, Bill Wise, Larissa Wolcott
Studio: Adv Films
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Kain Blueriver, the hero of this sci-fi comedy, is a Trouble Contractor: he handles cases too difficult and/or dangerous for the Universal Guardians. He always wears a blue cape--even with Gundam-type robot armor--and fights with a psi blade, a weapon similar to the light-sabres in "Star Wars," powered by psychic energy. His partner in adventure is the energetic, green-haired Canal, the holographic embodiment of the control system of his ship, the Swordbreaker. In their first adventures, Kain and Canal acquire a third companion: Millie, a Jill-of-all-trades, mistress of none, who is determined to be the best in the universe... at something. Although she's a crack shot, Millie is a typical, fussy anime heroine who complains and blames everyone and everything for her repeated failures. The Swordbreaker is a "Lost Ship," a relic of the superior technology of a vanished civilization that can defy the laws of physics, motion, inertia, etc. Kain inherited it from his grandmother, whose wisdom he constantly invokes.

This quarrelsome trio retrieves stolen property, rescues runaway ships, and protects sensitive witnesses, squabbling and bickering all the way. The result is not so much a comedy-adventure as a farce-adventure.

Amazon.com

Kain Blueriver, the hero of this sci-fi comedy, is a Trouble Contractor: he handles cases too difficult and/or dangerous for the Universal Guardians. He always wears a blue cape--even with Gundam-type robot armor--and fights with a psi blade, a weapon similar to the light-sabres in "Star Wars," powered by psychic energy. His partner in adventure is the energetic, green-haired Canal, the holographic embodiment of the control system of his ship, the Swordbreaker. In their first adventures, Kain and Canal acquire a third companion: Millie, a Jill-of-all-trades, mistress of none, who is determined to be the best in the universe... at something. Although she's a crack shot, Millie is a typical, fussy anime heroine who complains and blames everyone and everything for her repeated failures. The Swordbreaker is a "Lost Ship," a relic of the superior technology of a vanished civilization that can defy the laws of physics, motion, inertia, etc. Kain inherited it from his grandmother, whose wisdom he constantly invokes.

Unrated; suitable for ages 10 and up; minor sexual innuendos and some rather tame violence. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

A by the numbers bland concoction.......2006-02-01

Outlaw Star is one of my favorite series, and I was hoping LU would be a series along those lines. However, it comes up way short. All of the standard plot devices are there. Our Hero is a great fighter, driver, pilot, marksman, etc but is struggling to earn respect. He flies around in a Killer Spaceship that is better then everybody else's so that even the futursitic equivalent of the CIA asks him for help from time to time, and he has a holographic Cute Special Girl that is the soul of the ship. Finally there is Milly who comes onboard to round out the Love Triangle of sorts in that she is totally incompetant, her english dub voice is totally annoying and she wants to be the "Best Detective in the Universe" and will remind you of that about 100 times each episode. She is the polar opposite to the ship's AI Canal. LU is very light hearted and harmless and has no mature themes, so it does what it does with tongue firmly planted in cheek, but is not for anyone looking for some drama, tension or suspense that one would expect from a series with a premise like this.

Slayers Wannabe.......2006-01-23

LU really wants to be Slayers. In the spin off the writers are trying really hard for the same chemistry they developed had with slayers, but that fails utterly. Then rather than being funny or clever the charactes just end up being annoying.

Laugh in Space.......2004-02-18

Taking place in the far future. Kane was a trouble contractor, similar to a bounty hunter, he took care of problems and criminals. Wielding a laser sword and slick fighting skills, he was accompanied by Canal, a bubbly, witty hologram who also happened to represent the ship's computer system A.I.. She was responsible for piloting and manning the weapons of the Sword Breaker, a very advanced spaceship considered part of the "lost ships" mythology. Milly, an ex-detective joins the crew because she was fired from the agency (and Kane was partly to blame), being intelligent and a sharpshooter, her help became useful. Most of the episodes took place in outer space and planets not like earth, but similar to it, with very advanced technology. Everything is high-tech; space ships that warp, automated defense systems, laser guns and swords, metallic worlds, space stations, hovercrafts. The creators of the show added so many little details to this hi-tech world that sci-fi fans would appreciate. Lost Universe contains all the winning elements of quality anime. The character designs, animation, sound effects camera angles and music are exceptional. All the main characters were very funny, charming, goofy and yet were able to get serious when it came down to business. The series has exciting action sequences that draw you in. Though sometimes the tech talk got a bit heavy, but the episodes were never boring because they made sense and flowed with a good balance of action and comedy. When the group got the job done you felt satisfaction. This is one of those animes that leaves you wanting more. This is a fantastic series! Good for all ages, ends on episode 26. I also recommend the anime series called "Outlaw Star".

Mediocre for adults..........2001-10-22

Maybe it's Kain's high pitched whining voice or Millie's inability to cook (blowing up kitchens? STUPID PLOT DEVICE FOR UNIMAGINATIVE WRITERS!). I rented the first two DVDs and so far have put off going further. I'll never buy the series unless it gets REAL cheap. This is a series for kids above all else; it's clean, pretty sexless, and for an adult not too interesting.

Bad points? Kain's flying around all alone but for the holographic projection from the main computer. I mean, give the guy a wife or girlfriend, make him human. I am tired of monks living in space. His voice is high pitched and whining, as I've stated before, but all things said there isn't any real reason he shouldn't have a significant someone with him. He just begs for being attached. I mean, I would love to see an episode with someone like Kain, his wife, his ex-wife, and a half dozen of his kids. CUT THE COOKIE-CUTTER MOLDS UP!

Millie comes aboard and she's the stock girl with gun, the crack pistol shot you'll find eleswhere ad naseum. She doesn't even develop into Kain's gal pal. She could, yes, and she could have a someone in her life.

They have some trite clashes going on.

There is the beautiful assassin.

Evil mysterious force trying to kill them.

In the end, adults buying a series for kids whom they do not want to expose to more adult themes should consider it, if they think violence is okay and real girl-boy stuff not okay. This is afternoon cartoon network quality. Safe and bland.

Lost too many hours watching this...!.......2000-10-08

Misfit crew on a super-powered ship on a mission to earn as much money as possible - leave the universe in the hands of this lot and it *will* be lost!

I *love* this show..! Bought it on the back of the "Slayers in space" label that's been mentioned and yeah, there are some similarities, but that's no bad thing. There's some great humour, the animation's well up to scratch (apart from some of the CGI shots of the ship...) and, while the storylines aren't going to make you think too hard, it's good, light entertainment - just the thing for vegging out in front of the TV with :)

Don't expect too much in the way of originality, though - most of the ideas here have been used before. The important thing is that Lost Universe has slotted everything together in a way that makes for one great show.

Only given it a 4-star rating, though, 'coz it's not perfect & there's the potential there for it to get even better. Eagerly waiting to see what the next few volumes turn out like...!

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