Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

From the creator of Slayers, Lost Universe has been perhaps unkindly described as "Slayers in Space", the tale of bounty hunters for hire who will trek across the galaxy to earn a dollar. While the similarities are easy to draw, it's fair to say that if you enjoy the humour and action of Slayers, and don't mind massive battles in outer-space, you'll probably enjoy Lost Universe. Oh, and like Slayers, the soundtrack rocks too.

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".

This is a great anime from the creators of the Slayers series, and staring the original voice cast too! This is not slayers though, the characters may seem somewhat similar, but they are not. The humor is very reminiscent of Slayers, but this is its own series. If you aren't interested in this title because you think its a rip-off, don't be! It's a great series that is good on its own. It has its own story, and you'll get over thinking its just Slayers in space after the first couple of episodes. Very original and very funny! This is a must have for Slayers fans, and non-Slayers fans alike. Featuring great intro and ending songs from Megumi Hayashibara, the voice of Lina Inverse and Canal in Lost Universe, and top notch animation!

In general Lost Universe is a standard sci-fi anime program. You have a mysterious ship, cute girls, and a guy who wields a sword of light, and attempts a humour which do not smoothly make the transition from stuff that the Japanese may find to be funny verses what most Americans would consider funny. The thing that makes this typical show really stink is the dub. The people that they choose are just horrible. Canal has an annoying voice, Kane is extremely whiny and childless in sound, and Milly sounds like a bubble head. This is clearly not one of A.D. vision's better dubs, so if you must watch this show go for the subtitled version.

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...!

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.

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.

Lost Universe, a Slayers spin off, is incredibubly funny! The Characters are very funny and well developed right from the start. Between Kane talking about his grandmother and Winign about his cape getting dirty, Milly talking about being the "Best In The Universe" and Cannal wining that she's letting idiots run her (She's actual a holographic projection of a human form of the ship, Swordbreaker's computer) you'll be rolling on the floor laughing so heard it will hurt.

Many of the voices in the Japanese version are the same as those from Slayers including the all-famous Midorikawa Hikaru! The music is also great from this seriese and it's opening theme, Infinity, is great to listen to even it you don't know Japanese.

This is a great Anime, well dubbed int eh English version. the only problem might be if you don't like Animes that have the character's mouths move to the side of their face when they're facing certain ways. If you can get past this though I't very entertaining!

This is an incredibly great series, so buy the subtitled versions! The dub is extremely pathedic, Kane sounds like a scared little moma's boy, canal's voice actor dribbles through her lines like she has something better to do, and Milly's voice is incredibly annoying! So, my point is... BUY SUBTITLED!

Great special effects and performances put this show at the top of my list! Lost universe is a combination of Star Wars, Scooby Doo, and Star Trek with a japanese twist. One of the few anime's where I've laughed out loud. MUCH funnier than the subtitled version! A great Dub! A Great Buy!