Search - Lost Universe - Thinpak Collection on DVD

Great Series

Evil Cupcake | Colorado | 02/25/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I initially watched this series because I am a big fan of Slayers and knew this was done by the same people. I watched the first episode and was immediately drawn in, because I love things that blend sci-fi and fantasy. Lost Universe is similar to Slayers in that it combines humorous and serious elements. There are some episodes that are just purely silly (in one episode, they must stop a ship by being hijacked by fanatical chicken-worshipers), while especially later in the series more serious themes of friendship, loyalty, and not giving up even in the darkest circumstances come into play. The characters are also more well developed and three dimensional than those in Slayers. In general, the Slayers legacy can be seen in Lost Universe, but it is in a lot of ways a much more mature series.



The only problems I had with it were I thought the ending was a bit rushed. I think that if they had gotten rid of just a couple of the filler episodes in the beginning and started the "actual" plot one or two episodes sooner, the series would have felt more coherent. As it is, many crucial plot details were revealed all of a sudden at the very end, and happen all at once such as to lessen the emotional impact. It seems almost like we have two series here -- the beginning, which is entertaining and comedic, and the more serious second half, which raises a lot of world-building and philosophical points, but doesn't have time to explore them thoroughly.



The series is very similar to Star Wars, too, to the point of almost being a blatant ripoff. I don't simply mean about the light and the dark side fighting each other with magical glowing swords, either. But you'll see when you get to the final two or three episodes what I'm talking about. The similarities, however, are more within the plot details than they are in the world-building, which I thought was done quite well, glowing swords and all.



If that doesn't bother you, though, then I think this series is definitely worth seeing. The awesome characters and compelling universe more than make up for any of the series' shortcomings in my opinion."

An Entertaining And Amusing Sci-Fi Collection Worth The Pric

Rich | CA | 10/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say this is probably another gem I unknowingly found while looking for another series for myself and have not been disappointed with my choice. The series is similar to the humor of the anime series Slayers and Ranma 1/2. The series itself focuses mostly on the three main characters Millie Nocturne(An Under/Over achiever trying her best to be the best at what she wants to do with dubious results), Kane Blueriver(A captain of the starship SwordBreaker and while somewhat of a bumbler is actually a skilled fighter), and finally Canal(The SwordBreaker's holographic A.I. image with a smarmy attitude). The series has you see the trio go on their zanny and humorous quests together and while there is fighting and action it's not done to be to dramatic or serious like Gundam Seed or Inuyasha. The last final episodes do seem a bit more dramatic than the rest of the series but I think it fits in nicely though for the storyline. The voice actors for the dubbed audio were pretty good and while there were some that could have done better all in all they weren't bad. The Japanese voice actors did a terrific job as well no complaints there and the video for the series is clear with no blurriness or distortions to worry about. So if you like the light-hearted sci-fi anime with a big touch of comedy this hidden gem might be for you and for those still unsure try watching a few episodes you might just be surprised at how much you enjoy it...."