Heroine Spotlight: Millie from Lost Universe (1998)

Hajime Kanzaka was a Japanese writer of light novels who rose to fame after Slayers got popular with audiences. So much so that it became an anime series that in itself gathered a lot of attention. However, a failed experiment of his was Lost Universe, it was basically a swap of Slayers. Instead of a female redhead with a blonde goofy male sidekick, we got a male redhead with a blonde goofier female sidekick and instead of old timey sword and sorcery fantasy, we got a futuristic sci-fi setting. 

It wasn't very successful and was canceled after one season due to its many production issues and low ratings. 

While the main protagonist is Kain, a stoic and cool-headed hero, the female lead is somewhat more charismatic, loud, emotional and lively. The character in question is Millie Nocturne (full name: Millennium Feria Nocturne), a young woman who desperately seeks to be the best in the universe at just about everything she ever attempts, something that includes being an investigator, bounty hunter, shooter, beauty pageant winner, you name it. She creates a nice contrast with Kain, which is kind of what the author did in Slayers anyway by having both be comedic and exaggerate their characterizations.

Millie gathering evidence.

She stumbles upon the main hero while investigating a shady group of mobsters who are holding an auction in the very first episode of the series. She dressed up as a background dancer and infiltrated the compound as the bidding of precious (stolen) objects was being done, she took pictures of them as evidence. The amateur private investigator is interrupted by Kain and his computer lady (a projection of the ship), from then on, both of them will join forces and defeat the bad guys.

 The following episode, Millie encounters Kain once more and she is basically recruited to be a part of his crew. The rest of the series, she engages in some funny arguments with Kain, supports him during missions and in battle (Millie is a highly skilled shooter). Not only that, but there's a running joke about her being so bad at cooking that she blows up the kitchen everytime she even comes close to it, enraging the computer lady.

They have a lot of fights, mostly for comedy and not to make any of them antagonistic.

Some of Millie's highlights are when she enters a beach contest, when she and Kane struggle to find a restroom due to the the ship changing rooms constantly, when she finds herself captive by a nurse who thinks she's sick and she is also the one who makes some discoveries about Kain's past and carries some emotional moments. Just goes to show that even though she's a comedic relief, she is also used as a proxy for the audience, who are discovering Kain's world and past along with her. Something that makes her relatable, with flaws and everything.

She just had to prove she's number one.

I like how she isn't an “ideal” woman, she is clumsy and inept at many things but also quite gifted at others. However, is her positive attitude and energy what makes her entertaining to watch. She's also never sexualized or seen as an object of desire at any point. Kain isn't the type of character to care much about being a ladies man and the cliched perverted characters are mostly absent from the series. A very refreshing take.  

My only gripe with the show is how she becomes mostly neglected towards the end of the series ́ run. It's almost like they forgot to give her an important role in the plot, however, she is very much present all throughout and has some rather great moments in the narrative, especially in the last couple of episodes. So I wouldn't say that they screwed up her character, I just would have preferred it if they gave her a better or bigger role for those plots.

Overall, I recommend the show for any anime enthusiast who hasn't seen it before. It's a humorous take on the sci-fi adventure genre with a lot of heart and action. It also features some of the most lovable heroines in anime. Wish we could have gotten more seasons to get to know more about her or even just to see her fun exploits.