Valerian & Laureline: Complete Collection

Based on the French comic book series by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières—the inspiration for Luc Besson's 2017 film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets—this anime series maintains the spirit of the original comic books. Space Time Agent Valerian travels from the 25th century back to 10th-century France, where he connects with the resourceful maiden Laureline (who easily adapts to Valerian's futuristic ways). But Valerian's journey back in time and his misadventures in the medieval era have thrown a wrench in the space-time continuum—resulting in Earth's disappearance from the universe. Complicating matters is the fact that Valerian's spacecraft suffered damage during its temporal jumping. Valerian and Laureline team up to locate the lost Earth, exuding a kinetic chemistry. Presenting all 40 episodes from 2007-08 in an English-dubbed DVD edition, rated TV-14, this is highly recommended. (P. Hall)