flophouse apartment, with an unrequited love for Sakura. He is voiced by Michihiro Ikemizu (first series) and Kenta Miyake (second series) in Japanese, by Bradley Evans (public TV and movies 3–6), Sean Barret (BBC 3), and T. Roy Barnes (movie 2) in English. Aliens Benten is a member of the Fukujin alien clan and Lum's childhood friend. Benten is a "space biker chick" who wears a plate-mail bikini, rides around the sky on an airbike, and carries a high-tech bazooka. Her clan and Lum's Oni clan hold an annual battle on their home planet during its spring equinox. Aside from being a good hand-to-hand fighter and having the aforementioned bazooka, she appears to have no special powers. As children, Benten and Lum often instigated trouble that usually resulted in Ran getting hurt. Her character is named after Benzaiten, the Shinto goddess of knowledge, art, and beauty. Oyuki is the princess of Neptune, a frozen, snowy planet populated entirely by women, as most of the men go off to find work. She is a childhood friend of Lum, Ran, and Benten, whom she attended elementary school with. Of the four of them she is the only one who was never in trouble, due to her cool level-headedness, she would decline to take part. Oyuki is clearly patterned after the yuki-onna (literally "snow woman") of Japanese folklore, having the power to control and create ice, snow, and extreme cold. She uses fourth-dimensional passages to travel or send items through. Typically dressed in a long, elegant kimono, she is soft-spoken, regal in demeanor and very slow to show anger. Ran seems able to feel Oyuki's anger, real or imagined, though she is never believed by others when she shows fear about it. She is voiced by Noriko Ohara (first series) and Saori Hayami (second series) in Japanese, and Jamie Phelps in English. Ran was Lum's childhood "best" friend. She appears to be a sweet and lovely girl, but in actuality has an evil side. As a child, Ran was often hurt or got into trouble because of the antics of the more carefree and irresponsible Lum. The two were also both in love with Rei, who became Lum's fiancé. For these reasons, Ran comes to Earth in order to get revenge against Lum. She has the special ability to suck the vitality out of a person's mouth, making her resemble a hone-onna (the