Lensman (1984)

Kimball Kinnison, a young man from the agricultural planet Mquie and his Valerian companinon, Buscirk find a dying man with a legendary crystal lens embedded in his hand. As the man was ... See full summary »

Directors:

Shûichi Hirokawa (as Kazuyuki Hirokawa), Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Writers:

Steve Kramer (adr writer), Edward E. Smith (novels) (as Edward E. 'Doc' Smith)

Stars:

Toshio Furukawa, Mami Koyama, Chikao Ohtsuka

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshio Furukawa	...	Kimball Kinnison (voice)
Mami Koyama	...	Clarissa MacDougall (voice)
Chikao Ohtsuka	...	Peter Van Buskirk (voice)
Nachi Nozawa	...	Worsel (voice)
Tadashi Nakamura	...	Gary Kinnison (voice)
Hidekatsu Shibata	...	Port Admiral Haynes (voice)
Seizô Katô	...	Helmuth (voice)
Kôji Yada	...	Greedle (voice)
Takeshi Aono	...	LaVerne Thorndyke (voice)
Eiji Kanie	...	Narration (voice)
Yasuo Tanaka	...	Blakeslee (voice) (as Yasurô Tanaka)
Shingo Kanemoto	...	Zwilnik (voice)
Masaharu Satô	...	Henry Henderson (voice)
Masashi Hironaka	...	Computer (voice)
Michitaka Kobayashi	...	Operator (voice)

Storyline

Kimball Kinnison, a young man from the agricultural planet Mquie and his Valerian companinon, 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.

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Plot Keywords:

male alien | crystal | human in outer space | outer space | suicide mission | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

While this film was nominally based on Edward E ("Doc") Smith's "Lensman" books, significant elements of the plot have actually been lifted from DC Comics "Green Lantern", which is fitting, as "Green Lantern" pretty much bases major parts of its background and setup on the "Lensman" stories.

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Quotes

Buzz: Look, it's not that I don't like you. It's just that I don't like you.

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Alternate Versions

Two English dubs of the movie exist. The first, made in 1987 by Harmony Gold, is cut by about 15 minutes and replaces much of the music with stock music from the Robotech movies. The second English dub, released in 1990 by Streamline Pictures, is uncut (although a new English ending credit roll replaces the original Japanese) with music and sound effects intact.

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Connections

Referenced in Final Fantasy VII (1997)

User Reviews

Classic Sci-Fi Adventure!

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!

Details

Official Sites:

Yoshiaki Kawajiri Official site - Archive - Lensman: Secret of The Lens [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

31 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lensman: Secret of The Lens

Company Credits

Production Co:

EE Doc Smith MK Company, Kôdansha, MK Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 90 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1