Cagliostro, Lupin III and Miyazaki

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Sy

Time-Traveller
After watching the streamline dub of The Castle of Cagliostro I was unthrilled by it. I gave it a second viewing in Japanese as well and although I enjoyed it more than the streamline dub I was still left wondering why people consider this one of the best incarnations of the Lupin the Third franchise. Having seen a lot of the TV Specials, Movies and TV Series I actually rate this pretty low. Don't disregard the Lupin franchise if you didn't like this movie.

Sure as a stand alone movie this is a solid action adventure film with some fantastic animation for it's time but as a Lupin the Third film it just doesn't cut it for me. To me this doesn't even feel like a proper Lupin film as it just seems too fallen on being a fairytale not capturing the true essence of the franchise. I don't think very highly of Miyazaki as a director to begin with but I do consider this as one of his best films even though in this carnation I felt the spirit of what makes Lupin so great is lost. That's Lupin himself. Here he is just too good natured and it doesn't sit right with me.

This would have worked better if it wasn't a Lupin film and I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if it wasn't. It's probably better that Optimum Films didn't market it as one. Miyazaki seemed to try and disregard the fact this was a Lupin film at all and seemed bent on turning it into an almost fairytale like romp. Sometimes I'm left thinking do people rate it so highly just because of Miyazaki or maybe they just want a film the whole family can watch.

A decent film you can watch with the whole family but not a good Lupin movie. If you want a true taster of Lupin III is then watch movies like 'Farewell to Nostradamus' and 'Dead or Alive'. You might find you enjoy them more than this.

Having said that it's nice to watch an anime with my little brother even if it does irk me so. I just hope this version dubbed by manga isn't as bad as the streamline version. I don't think I could stand watching all the cringeworthy dialogue the streamline dub added.
 
So, the streamline dub is the one that's in the Optimum Asia release?

All of your campaigning for Lupin III has, finally, made me want to check the series out. Can you tell me what Lupin III stuff has been released in the UK?
 
CitizenGeek said:
So, the streamline dub is the one that's in the Optimum Asia release?

All of your campaigning for Lupin III has, finally, made me want to check the series out. Can you tell me what Lupin III stuff has been released in the UK?
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Currently the only available DVD releases in the UK are Optimum Asia's release of 'The Castle of Caglistro' housed in a standard DVD case with artwork that resembles their Studio Ghibli releases and features the Streamline English dub. Other known currently available releases are MVM's 'The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure' and 'The Secret of Twilight Gemini' which both feature only the dubbed version of each special. These are easily obtainable through play.com and amazon.co.uk as well as other online UK retailers. However the later two which were released by MVM (Harimo and Twilight) are pretty disliked among the Lupin fanbase, including myself, and not a good starting place for people new to the franchise.

If you do decide to check out Cagliostro then try and go for the Manga release with their dub (i know you prefer dubs) because no matter how bad it is it can't be as innacurate as the Streamline dubbed version which seemed to force a love story. if you can then try and get hold of the following TV Specials, 'Episode 0: First Contact' and 'Operation Return the Treasures'. They have only been released via fansub but if you can get them I think you'll enjoy them.

If you're willing to import DVD's from the US then I suggest you pick up Funimations Lupin boxsets. There are 2 of them, have 5 movies in each and are only about £12 each. They do have the two movies that MVM released but the other movies 'Farewell To Nostradamus', 'Dragon of Doom', 'Dead or Alive', 'Island of Assassins', Crisis in Tokyo', 'Missed By a Dollar' and to a lesser extent 'Voyage to Danger' more than make it your moneys worth. The Fuma Conspiracy seems to be getting a rerelease in the US as well and that's of high quality and very enjoyable.

That helpful enough? :p
 
I think I'll try to track down the Manga version of Cagliostro, then. I'm sure Amazon.co.uk's Marketplace has a few. Is picture quality or sound quality any different in both releases?

As for the other movies - sadly, I can't import from the US, as I watch my anime on my PS2 and that doesn't play R1 discs, and I'd rather not get a multi-region DVD player right now. I'll get to work on the two fansubbed ones, though! Thanks! ^_^

Oh yeah, and what's the actual Lupin III manga like?
 
CitizenGeek said:
I'll get to work on the two fansubbed ones, though! Thanks! ^_^
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Good lad, you know it makes sense. :) I'm sure you'll enjoy Operation Return the Tresures. It's one of my favourites and captures just about everything that makes the series so great.
CitizenGeek said:
Oh yeah, and what's the actual Lupin III manga like?
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I'll tell you in a week. :p There's actually several series of Manga, World's Most Wanted being the second which Tokyopop are releasing.
 
Well like I said, my problem with this movie is that Miyazaki left too much of his own mark and in the process it lost a lot of the charm in what made it feel like a Lupin film. It's like he just used the premise of Lupin which was popular and in full swing on tv to jump start his career into feature films. I think this is a movie for people who aren't fans of Lupin yet because looking back at it after seeing other Lupin films you see it in a different light.

As far as I'm aware he only worked on several episodes of the first series and a couple of the second but I haven't worked my way through to any of the TV series he's directed yet.

The director leaving their own mark is important and that's what most Lupin directors tend to do but most also don't take their own influence too far and keep with the esscence of what Lupin is about. Take 'Island of Assassins' for example, it's a dark serious movie and something you wouldn't generally expect to see in a Lupin film. However the characters remain itact and just feel like they're in a different situation rather than a total transformation of personality.
 
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