Last movie/episode you watched?

[DrFurball]

The Pilot Film. Awesome character designs and lively animation. Very 60s-sounding music, which, while not preferable to Yuji Ohno, is still catchy and fits wonderfully.

As one can imagine, I liked the darker tone and how it felt like Monkey Punch drawings come to life. The whole thing has this vibe of "I know these are criminals. Not good people at all, but...man, they are SO cool!" Especially in regards to Lupin himself, who even in the manga, didn't come off as suave as he does here (might be because of the deeper, smoother voice Nachi Nozawa gives him). The story is practically non-existant, and a lot of the infodump was kinda boring (also funny how so much detail went into describing Lupin's outfits when even in the manga, he usually sticks to his trademark suit). But the bits with characters interacting were fun (Lupin trying to get into Fujiko's bed, Goemon seeing through a disguise, and anything involving Lupin interacting with Zenigata). Some of the differences from what we know now are bizarre, especially since they're deviations from the manga, too. Like Goemon being a villain, and Akechi in general.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly have a deep love the four TV series we ended up getting (six if you count Mankatsu and the Fujiko spinoff), I can't help but wonder what it'd be like to look into the alternate universe where this pilot led to a series of films in this style instead of TV series.

[SurrealBrain]

Bye Bye Lady Liberty with a friend.

My friend isn't too familiar with Lupin, though we watched Cagliostro prior. We were watching the Manga UK dub. Yes, he's Wolf in the dub, but I insisted on calling him Lupin.

It must have worked, because at one point, he even said "What are you doing, Lupin?" Without me prompting him, nor requiring me to say anything at that moment; just because I insisted on calling him his actual name earlier.

I will probably defend this dub until the day I die; yes, Lupin's name is changed, and Goemon's name is mispronounced, but it's a good dub, and it sticks to the material. Not to mention the voice cast was pretty good.

[DrFurball]

Tokyo Crisis. The plot is pretty formulaic, and these aren't my favorite character designs by a long shot, but it's a fun story that gives Zenigata the spotlight for once. Maria's pretty interesting for a "one time only" character, and Michael Suzuki was a decent villain. That said, all five main characters get a chance to shine, with Goemon and Jigen getting their own subplots, even! That said, this is kinda Pops' movie, and it's just as awesome as one would expect, with

(click to show/hide)

him triumphantly holding up his jutte after digging through the ashes of his home, being a great moment for the character.

And honestly, it might be the funniest Lupin special (although Harimao's still pretty hilarious). Not only are Jigen and Goemon's subplots funny on their own, but it's full of great gags and oneliners (especially in the English dub) but my favorite has to be

(click to show/hide)

Lupin driving out of the dentist's office through the front doors.

. The Funimation cast does well (Sabat as Jigen was particularly amusing), although I never really bought Meredith McCoy as Fujiko (she's not a bad actor, I just didn't care for her in this particular role), and I still can't get over the mispronunciations.

Nevertheless, a fun film, and probably my favorite Lupin the Third TV special.

[SurrealBrain]

Just watched Voyage to Danger. Pretty good, and the Funimation cast did well. I never had an issue with the mispronounciations.

[Reed]

But...but JIGGIN'!!

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

(click to show/hide)

Glad you liked it

[Red Dear]

Last Lupin III production I saw: Jigen Daisuke's gravestone.

rewatching it was truly a great experience. Great animation, good atmosphere and mix of tones,
excellent one-off villain, catchy music and even though the plot is rather classic, it works.

True, the Fujiko punishment scene with the rape robot is still rather jarring but I find it less out-of-place
than before. The secret organisation seems to be made of perverted rich people. So some sort of live rape
entertainment would totally be their style.

One thing that I both like and have a problem with are the clues of a possible sequel of this part of the Lupin timeline.
Mamo's cameo and Zenigata's appearence in the post-credit scene. Both scenes indicate something bigger is at work and
Takeshi Koike did say he would like to make more of those spin-off movies. But there since the blue jacket series, there has
been no new development in that direction.

[DrFurball]

One thing that I both like and have a problem with are the clues of a possible sequel of this part of the Lupin timeline.
Mamo's cameo and Zenigata's appearence in the post-credit scene. Both scenes indicate something bigger is at work...

(click to show/hide)

I think "Jigen's Gravestone" is a prequel to not only the Green Jacket series (since the "Fujiko Mine" series showed how Lupin and Jigen first met and became partners, this movie shows them going from that to BFFs, and there might be an implication that the Calamity File's entry on Goemon is how Lupin became aware of him, setting up episode 5 of Green Jacket), but also a prequel to "The Mystery of Mamo". 
I'm not sure exactly how Mamo's presence in this one sets up his movie...but perhaps Fujiko being on display for his club is what starts his obsession with her, or he LET her and Lupin get away with the File because the political fallout was beneficial to him? I dunno on that, but yeah, there was something bigger at work...which we already saw back in 1978.

However, I'm not sure what's up with Pops being there. His presence doesn't cast a slightly new light on everything like Mamo's does. He was just too late and missed another chance to catch Lupin. I'm not sure why he's even there, since he was a member of Tokyo MPD in Green Jacket (he even tells Lupin about how he joined Interpol in the first episode of Red Jacket) and really shouldn't have any authority outside Japan. (But him being Interpol was a thing in the "Fujiko" series, too. So maybe it's a retcon, and he's always been Interpol?)

[SurrealBrain]

Or maybe he was in Interpol, then went to Tokyo MPD, and then back to Interpol? Haven't seen Red Jacket yet, so this may be inaccurate, but stranger things have happened.

[Red Dear]

I've always considered the "Yamamoto/Koike" part of the Lupin universe as their own little bit of continuity
even though Mine Fujiko To Iu Onna tries not to contradict the green jacket series too much.

Still, they are a few incoherences, if we do take the spin-offs as part of the original 3 series mini-canon.
In MFTIO, Zenigata seems to have his office in France. But he does go out of his jurisdiction to follow Lupin
to an island in the first episode. He also travels to Germany in episode 10 (or was it Russia, I am not sure anymore).

A normal inspector wouldn't be allowed to meddle with international affairs so much. So I guess Zenigata has been part of Interpol
at least before the Fujiko series starts but does settle in different countries as an inspector in somes countries. France, then Japan in the green jacket
series. This is still unrealistic but Interpol is almost never depicted accurately in works of fiction. ^^

[DrFurball]

I've always considered the "Yamamoto/Koike" part of the Lupin universe as their own little bit of continuity
even though Mine Fujiko To Iu Onna tries not to contradict the green jacket series too much.

I can see where you're coming from, yeah.

Still, they are a few incoherences, if we do take the spin-offs as part of the original 3 series mini-canon.
In MFTIO, Zenigata seems to have his office in France. But he does go out of his jurisdiction to follow Lupin
to an island in the first episode. He also travels to Germany in episode 10 (or was it Russia, I am not sure anymore).

Well, I think Pops ends up in France a lot because that's where Interpol's HQ is. (And I like to think that Lupin ends up there because, well, he IS French...although the original manga implies that he grew up in Japan, so I dunno. Lupin's ethnicity is a subject for a different thread, anyway)

A normal inspector wouldn't be allowed to meddle with international affairs so much. So I guess Zenigata has been part of Interpol
at least before the Fujiko series starts but does settle in different countries as an inspector in somes countries. France, then Japan in the green jacket
series. This is still unrealistic but Interpol is almost never depicted accurately in works of fiction. ^^

True dat.

Or maybe he was in Interpol, then went to Tokyo MPD, and then back to Interpol?

That's been my No-Prize answer, too. He was with Interpol, then when Lupin settled down in Japan for a while, he joined Tokyo MPD. Then Lupin got away from him at the end of Green Jacket, so he REjoined Interpol when it became obvious that Lupin was going international again.

Anyway, last thing I watched: Lupin the Third: La chiave del mistero, an Italian fan-film. Gotta say, I was impressed. Sure, it's obvious that it's a low budget affair, but they clearly put a lot of effort into it, and I think it works for the most part (certainly blows Mataichirō Yamamoto's movie out of the water). They understand the characters and are clearly having fun. If I can complain about anything, it's that nothing much happens in it. There's the seeds of an interesting plot in there, but they don't get to develop as they should. Lupin himself is MIA for half of the story. Nevertheless, the sequel looks like it'll be fun, so I'm looking forward to that.

[Gaff]

Decided to go back to pink jacket again tonight, and the first one after the point where I left off turned out to be 'Variation on a Joke'.  Oh boy.  That was hands down the strangest episode of Lupin I've ever seen.

It makes precious little sense, but there's something strangely compelling about its dream logic and aggressively bizarre imagery - I'm actually kind of disappointed it wasn't given the feature length treatment.

[DrFurball]

Dead or Alive

I haven't seen it in several years, but I remember being bored by it, and wishing there was more of Lupin and the gang. Watching it again tonight...I feel the same way. That said, I wouldn't say it's a bad movie at all. There's some really, really great stuff in the first and last acts of the film. It's just that the middle, where our lovable group of criminals (including the TITLE CHARACTER) all go missing. The titular bounty isn't really a factor aside from one scene, and aside from Lupin and Zenigata, the regulars are very flat, almost like the movie's relying on us already knowing who they are and filling in the blanks on our own. Oleander and Pannish might be interesting characters on their own, but in the context of Lupin film, I just found them boring. I also feel that advertising Monkey Punch as being the director was a pretty bad case of false advertising. It's obvious that while there may be some visual influence (the character designs, the detailed, sometimes surreal locales) most of the movie lacks his darkly comedic and cartoony touch (save for the beginning and ending, which he took credit for).

When it's good, though, it's great. I like the idea of it being kind of a darker, more modern take on the Cagliostro story. The character designs are fantastic (probably second only to Fujiko Mine/Jigen's Gravestone as far as the anime goes) with a definite Monkey Punch influence (Goemon has sideburns!). The action scenes are a lot of fun as well (Lupin vs Headhunter has got to be the best "final boss" of the franchise's movies. An awesome blend of Lupin being both a goofball and seriously badass). While there's a dark tone overall, the few bits of humor are welcome, and very funny (the dub helps, too. Zenigata rambling about his autobiography always cracks me up). Great animation, too. It's a very good-looking movie, despite (or because of?) definitely being very 90s. I thought the plot with the revolution, treasure of Drifting Island, and the security system was cool, and tied together cleverly. I also really dug how Lupin himself was written. Yeah, he wasn't as much of a lech as he usually is (maybe they're doing the Cagliostro-style "older, more mature Lupin"?), but he was really cool and very stylish, outsmarting everyone who thinks they've figured him out.

Good movie, overall, but definitely very flawed.

[Red Dear]

I would share most of the same thoughts and pros and cons as you, DrFurball, when it comes to Dead or Alive.
I love this movie to the death but I admit it is flawed and has kind of a broken rythm. Still, when it's good, it's VERY good !

Speaking of the bounty thing, I think the title Dead or Alive can also be more metaphorical, what with the mystery surrounding Prince Banish's return and wether he is alive or not. But again, I may be totally wrong.

I would love to see this design used again for a future production. They did re-use the Harimao design for the Another Page special after all.
It is definitely the closest we got to Monkey Punch's "modern" drawing style.

But a bit more humour and better use of Jigen and Goemon would be great. ^^

[DrFurball]

Speaking of the bounty thing, I think the title Dead or Alive can also be more metaphorical, what with the mystery surrounding Prince Banish's return and wether he is alive or not. But again, I may be totally wrong.

I'm not sure if that's right, either, but I really like it as an explanation. Makes perfect sense.

I would love to see this design used again for a future production. They did re-use the Harimao design for the Another Page special after all.
It is definitely the closest we got to Monkey Punch's "modern" drawing style.

But a bit more humour and better use of Jigen and Goemon would be great. ^^

I wouldn't mind seeing this general look come back. The faces in particular looked great. Of course, the ultimate would be to have something that looks like MP's late 70s-early 80s work. (I'm actually not terribly fond of how he draws Lupin nowadays. I miss the square jaw).
I do like how, despite not getting to do much, Jigen and Goemon do have more of a presence in the movie, probably due to being at Lupin's side for most of the movie.

[DrFurball]

The Fuma Conspiracy (why do I often think of this as "Plot of the Fuma Clan"? It's never had an English release by that title, has it?)

As we all know, it's pretty great. Very smooth, film-quality animation, it's nice to see Goemon get some focus for once, Murasaki was a cool character. I really liked the tough, competent, patriotic Zenigata, and the badass and athletic Fujiko. Without a doubt, though, the best part of the movie were the chase scenes. The ones in Mamo, Cagliostro, and Jigen's Gravestone were all great, but this one beats them in just how completely, hilariously nuts it gets (the poor schmuck in the bathhouse with the Fiat right at his heels never fails to get a laugh out of me).
I also really dug the rural setting for most of the movie. Lots of lovely mountains and forests (reminds me a lot of the areas in my native Kentucky where some of my family lives, as odd as that probably sounds). Lots of great comedic moments, from the chase scenes or Jigen trying to fire his Magnum before realizing it's not there. I also liked the nods to earlier entries, like Lupin's face changing to his older character designs, or Murasaki wearing Lupin's red jacket. And "Don't Say C'est la vie" is a really catchy song, despite not being a Yuji Ohno jam.

As far as downsides go, the Fuma themselves were cool, but their leader was bland. No personality at all (ah well, not all the villains can be as memorable as Mamo). The music was ill-fitting, too. It wasn't that it was bad (again, that opening theme was great. I've listened to it at least five times since I started writing this post) , but it really didn't work for the franchise or this particular story. And the dub...well, it's not great. Lupin's Rupan's voice is too nerdy and nasally and Jigen almost sounds like something out of an Abridged Series parody.

As a footnote, I like to think that this one is set around the same time as Cagliostro, near the end of Lupin's career. Not only are the character designs similar, but there's also a sense that things are winding down in general. Fujiko doesn't rely much on her sexiness here (maybe because she's getting older? Her being afraid of aging is a pretty consistent character trait), Goemon tries to settle down and get married. Lupin was willing to fake his death, which caused Zenigata to retire. None of it sticks by the end of the movie, but nevertheless...