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SUMMARY

Millie Nocturne is the best in the universe. At least, she thinks she is. Her dream is to be come very successful, write a great autobiography, and be acknowledged for who she is. However there is only one thing she is the best at, getting in trouble.

Trouble is exactly what she finds while investigating an illegal auction. It is there she runs into Kain Blueriver and his "freaky girlfriend" Canal. As it turns out, Kain is a Trouble Contractor who does odd jobs for The Universal Guardians. He does most of the dirty work, and gets paid next to nothing. And there is Canal, the computer for his advanced battle ship, Swordbreaker. Despite a rough introduction, Millie winds up joining them with the hope that they will help her achieve her dream to become the best (fill in blank here) in the universe.

However, there is more to the Swordbreaker than any of the crew realize. This ship is more advanced than any that has come before it, and some one wants it badly. So bad that they will destroy an entire planet to get it back.

Thank goodness they are the best in the universe.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO:The best in the Universe would be a little too good for this release. This DVD looks all right but there are some wrinkles overall, and you do notice some pixels in the solid colors. However, it is not that noticeable. The bad thing is, since the animation was not the best in the universe, the DVD format shows everyone how poor the animation quality is, and the pedestrian CG elements.

AUDIO: Both the Japanese and English audio tracks sound good but are not the best in the universe. The English is sharper in clarity, but the Japanese is louder in volume. Not really great on the surround sound elements either, but it does have its moments.

EDITS: Clean open and close have been used, and the Japanese titles have been replaced with English titles.

EXTRAS: None. Surprising for an ADV release, where we get at least a character designs or character data.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Well, the story is not the best in the universe. It is just one more variation of the "gun for hire" story that is all too prevalent in anime. It's strength is in its dialogue, which is humorous and clever. The plot is pretty predictable, with no real surprises.

ACTING: The acting for the Japanese version is surprisingly well done. Since the recent trend has been under-acting here in Japan, it was a pleasant surprise to hear some genuine emotion in the dialogue. When Millie is feeling sorry for herself, I believe it.The English voice cast is excellent. I love the interaction between the three characters. Fair due should be given to Lairs Wolcott as Millie, Steven Metz as Kain, and Jessica Schwartz as Canal. Each play their character exactly the way you imagine them to sound.

FAN SERVICE: None. Maybe being the best in the universe means not having to be naked.

CONCLUSION

Having enjoyed Slayers, we decided to pick up this series and give it a spin.

Lost Universe is not a great anime. The animation looks ruff and doesn't have a lot of detail. There are also a lot of solid colors, which can be a little hard on the eyes. Also, the animation does not move very smoothly. Along with that, the CG animation is substandard. Compared to series like "Zoids" or even "Initial D" it's awful. Also, the use of the CG Swordbreaker is inconsistent. They should have either done all the space elements in CG or just save some money and done it all with traditional animation. The haphazard blending of the two doesn't really work.

The story is not very original. In fact, with shows like "Cowboy Bebop", this positively stinks. You pretty much know what is going on from the get go. By the end of this disc, the plot has not progressed at all. There is the start of the "Secret of the Swordbreaker" plot line, but you can pretty much guess were it's going. The only thing that makes this series enjoyable is the acting. Both the Japanese and the English actors help carry what many would consider a mediocre show.

With all these problems, I do not see how it developed such a cult following. Despite it being made by the "producers of Slayers" doesn't mean that it is as good. It's not. People seem to like it, and more power to them.

For the hard core anime fan, I would steer clear of this series. There are better examples of the "Gun for hire" anime. I would recommend Lost Universe to people with families, or to anime comedy fans. Despite it's deficiencies, the acting is wonderful, the violence is tame, and it is a great way to spend a rainy day.

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