SF Shinseiki Lensman

anyone remember the days where the SciFi channel use to show anime films about 6-7 years ago? well out of all of them, only 3 stuck in my mind, first being Akira for sheer brilliance in animation and detail, next was Fist of the North star for the outstanding entertainment, and finally there was a quietly known feature film called The Lensmen. this film from start to end was amazing, because of the story, yes it seems very similar to Star Wars, but you have to remember that the books were made about 50 years before George Lucas started his little project that would change the world, even then he copied the theme from Flash Gordon.

this should get a DVD release, to do it justice and then the world will realize how good The Lensmen really is.

Though I like E.E. "Doc" Smith's books and David A. Kyles books of Lensman, the anime, which is loosly based on the books, is quite a fun and somewhat innovative fair.

Though the story may seem familiar to Sci-Fi/Fantasy buffs, such as some kid on an isolated planet inherits mystical powers and avenges the death of his family, it is quite an entertaining one nonetheless. Plus, Lensman was THE first Animated motion picture to use hand drawn and CG animation all at once. Sure, it may look a bit outdated now, but it is still an innovation. If it were not for Lensman, none of that would have ever happened (personally, I think Computer Graphics look better in animation that live action.)

Too bad they only released it on DVD/VCD in a few countries in the worls (mostly on formats that are quite foreign and different). I just wish they release the Lensman movie and tv series on DVD/VCD in EVERY part of the world, not just certain parts.

P.S. Worsel rules! I just think he is so amazing and neat looking as well.

This is one of my all time favorite old-school Animes of all time!The Lensman anime movie has been looked down upon alot and doesn't deserve the bashing that it gets.

The story focuses around a young hearder named Kimball Kinnison and the Galactic Control base and their struggles with the Boskone dynasty and the mavolent Lord Helmuth. This one is chocked full of plot twists and really amazing extra-terrestrials and monsters.

The one thing I did not like about this film is the relationship between Kim and Clarrise.

I first saw LENSMAN on an untranslated VHS copy sometime around 1987 and it has been a favorite since. During the brief period in the early 1990's when Streamline films distributed several Japanese animated films theatrically (LENSMAN, THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 and FIST OF THE NORTH STAR) I was also fortunate to see this on the big screen, and let me tell you that the visuals are spectacular when seen in the format for which they were created. The colors and early computer graphics almost leap from the screen and I can only imagine what it would have been like had I seen this during my misspent days of doing mushrooms and going to the movies (as you can pretty well imagine, seeing ALIENS on opening night in that state was quite an experience!).

Now that DVD is conquering the home video world, I not only want to see LENSMAN get an extras-loaded release, I also want to get my hands on the companion television series that aired around the time the movie came out. It isn't listed on the IMDB, but it does exist; I have only seen one episode, and that was a poor quality untranslated copy, but it was every bit as entertaining as the feature. And it had a kickass theme song, too!

Heard of this anime film about ten years ago, and finally got off my duff and watched it on VHS. So much in it to recommend, I don't know where to start, except that it's a classic Sci-Fi adventure like some of the early Heinlein juvenile novels (never read the Lensmen books, but I will now) and the Star Wars Trilogy, just in anime form. The characters are interesting, and the music score and rock tracks go well with all the futuristic imagery. I am really wishing for this to be on DVD soon!