In this animated adaptation of E. E. Doc Smith's groundbreaking science fiction serial "Grey Lensman" from the 1930s-1950s, Kimball Kinnison, a young man from the agricultural planet Mquie and his Valerian companion, Buscirk find a dying man with a legendary crystal lens embedded in his hand. As the man was dying, he mysteriously passed on the Lens to Kim. With more companions to come by, Kim must find out the purpose of the Lens before the Boskone dynasty does.
Direction
Kawajiri's kinetic action before he defined cyberpunk anime.
Practical Effects
Hand-drawn spaceships that out-sparkle modern CGI.
Production
Ghibli animators moonlighting on this pulp epic.
Director
Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Toshio Furukawa
Kimball Kinnison (voice)
Mami Koyama
Clarissa MacDougall (voice)
Chikao Ohtsuka
Pete Van Buskirk (voice)
Nachi Nozawa
Worsel (voice)
Katsuya Kobayashi
DJ Bill (voice)
Seizo Kato
Lord Helmuth (voice)
Hidekatsu Shibata
Port Admiral Haynes (voice)
Koji Yada
Greedle (voice)
Takeshi Aono
LaVerne Thorndyke (voice)
Masaharu Sato
Henry Henderson (voice)
Masashi Hironaka
Computer (voice)
Michitaka Kobayashi
Operator (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli animated several sequences uncredited, including the famous tunnel chase.
This bombed in Japan but became a cult VHS treasure in America, introducing Smith's Lensman universe to anime fans who never read the pulps.
JP
