Lensman was of course based off the old school sci-fi series by the same name. Originally written back in late 1940s and 50s, the books are known for defining the whole space opera genre. They revolve around so-called "Lensmen", who are sort of like prototype Jedi that possess special mental/telepathic abilities, They fight in a conflict that has lasted for eons, and even shaped the early history of man.
The books were actually out of print for some time, until a re-issue in the late 90s, from what I believe. But I came across the series as a young boy, when I watched the anime version at a local indie theater with my dad.
Fans of the Lensman books generally seem to hate this animated movie adaption. This is mainly because it's only loosely based on the novels. Rather, the anime is basically a knock-off of Star Wars. You have your Darth Vader wannabes, a young boy growing up on a farm, and your Han Solo-ish, Princess Leia-like characters.
That said, this anime blew me away. Mind you, I was about 5 or 6 when I first saw this. So really, anything with spaceships, big battles, and aliens would impress me.
However, one thing that was more original about this anime was its style. The adaption came out in 1984, and in it, are several scenes that use computer-generated images. This seemed to be quite ahead for its time.
The adaption also came during a golden age for anime industry. So the drawings are high quality, and the action kinetic. My favorite part was the character, Worsel, or the "Dragon Lensman" who speaks to our main character telepathically.
Although its fun to reminisce, it's hard to still enjoy this anime now. This movie is really more for kids, than for adult sci-fi fans, and the Star Wars similarities can be distracting at times.
Later on, I did read some of the actual Lensman books in high school. The experience was quite jarring, simply because the stories are so different from than the anime in style and scope. The Lensman books actually bears more similarity with the Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon; although the plots are grand with action and adventure, the stories are also fairly dated.
From what I remember, in the Lensman universe, there is actually only one galaxy, which came about when two of them collided with each other. The main characters are all generally flawless as people, and the stories contain little moral ambiguity. I don't think there are even traditional computers in this world, and you see the term "atomic" appear every now and then.
There's also some maybe unintentional funny names in these book. For instance, there's a weapon called the "nutcracker" which involves crushing a target planet, by using two other planets to smash it together.
That said, it is mind blowing to realize that these books are crammed with giant ideas, during such an early age of sci-fi. As others have said, the Lensman books were really the Star Wars of their time. They even supposedly influenced George Lucas in his making of the first Star Wars film.
Those interested in watching the anime adaption can actually find it on YouTube. Given what I've said, I can't really recommend it, but I'll always have fond memories of watching it for the first time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g5xFo8YowQ
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