Review of Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo

Sy

Time-Traveller
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/2008-08-12mamodvdart.jpg">

<b>Review of Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo by Sy</b>

<span class="postbody">In the first feature length outing of the now forty year old master thief Lupin the Third we are introduced to the protagonist straight away but there's only one problem, he's been executed and the coroners report confirms it. The ever diligent Inspector Zenigata, who as usual remains determined to arrest Lupin, refuses to believe that he's actually dead and Lupin's a little perplexed by the whole situation himself.

"You're supposed to be dead!" "So they say. I'm a little confused myself."

The Castle of Cagliostro saw Lupin as the noble prince who saved damsels in distress from an evil count and won her heart, a story of fairytales. Well that's all well and good but to me that's just not Lupin. Well who is Lupin here? He's an outlaw, a thief, he's greedy as they come and a shameless womaniser. Ah! Now that's the Lupin I remember. Amazingly despite all of this he's still an extremely likable character and that characterisation has been one of the major aspects that's kept the franchise around for over forty years.&nbsp;

This movie was released at the peak of the second TV series run on Japanese television in the 70's and this film see's the characters enter the world of theatrical animation with full force, taking the TV series but pumping the ideas up a notch or eight. One of the main things that struck me is that the film has a huge scale, a scale which is larger than perhaps any future Lupin films have managed to achieve. All of the TV series have featured Lupin traveling around to all parts of the world, real and fictional, and it's a real joy to see the characters in so many unique locations. From a castle on a stormy night to the heart of the Pyramids of Egypt the idea of travel and the fact that there is an entire planet for Lupin and his gang to steal from has never felt more true.

The animation is what can be seen as a mixed bag to many. It's a little rough around the edges but to me that and the character designs only add to the incredible charm of the movie. I'd even go as to say that visually this is the closest the anime franchise has ever come to recreating the essense of Monkey Punch's original manga, which is of course where the series all began. Visually the colours in the movie are very strong and rich. Lupin's bright red attire is rather striking in contrast to many of the darker scenes. This all helps to create a very different atmosphere to that which Miyazaki gave us in Cagliostro which was that of a more straightforward fairytale-esque action adventure. Mamo manages to keep that sense of adventure but also manages to create almost surreal environments to immerse the characters.

In every incarnation of the anime those involved attempt to make use of the five principal members of the cast. It's very rare when they all get a respectable amount of screen time and often individual characters are relegated to mere token or cameo appearances failing to use their strengths within the structure of the story. Mamo manages to give all the cast their piece of the action and you don't feel cheated into any of them being there. </span><br>
<span class="postbody">An interesting fact about this movie is that holds the title of being the most English dubbed anime to date with a grand total of four English dubs recorded over the course of 30 years. The dub contained on this release is the latest dub by </span>Pioneer Entertainment recorded in 2003 and contains same English voice cast of the second Lupin television series that was partially released to DVD in the states.<span class="postbody"> Still, none of these dubs manage to capture the chemistry of the original Japanese cast.

Overall The Secret of Mamo is a highly action packed globetrotting adventure with plenty of the humour, action, the jazzy retro musical score and backstabbing that is ever present throughout the Lupin franchise.</span> <span class="postbody">Storywise it can get a tad madcap but if you overanalyze this movie then you're simply watching it with the wrong mindset. I for one could not ask for a better feature film debut and we all know that Lupin always looks best in red.</span><br>
<strong>In Summary</strong><span class="postbody">

While this movie may not be as accessible as The Castle of Cagliostro, Mamo is more true to the heart of what Lupin is about. </span><br>
<b>Final score: 9 out of 10</b>

<b>Additional screencaps</b>

<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2008-08-12vlcsnap-547439.jpg">

<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2008-08-12vlcsnap-546517.jpg">

<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2008-08-12vlcsnap-125397.JPG">
 
Well, it sounds awesome anyhow! :] Were it not for my finances being concentrated on collecting Haruhi, Beck and Mushi-Shi on DVD as well as lots of Tezuka manga, I'd snap this right up. Unfortunately, my anime/manga budget is stretched as is :/

Nice review, Sy!
 
Sadly I've almost given up all hope of Lupin making a good run in the UK. For some reason in the west it's just simply not a favourite perhaps partially due to the lack of ongoing continuity that anime fans seem to crave. Sure, there are a lot of loyal Lupin fans but not enough to warrant widespread releases which is a shame because there are so many interpretations of Lupin that it seems like such a waste that people don't get to see much of it past the odd movie. Annoying since it's popular in the rest of Europe, they even have most of the TV series released on DVD!

Not sure if Paul will add this review to the main site or not.
 
Sy said:
Sadly I've almost given up all hope of Lupin making a good run in the UK. For some reason in the west it's just simply not a favourite perhaps partially due to the lack of ongoing continuity that anime fans seem to crave. Sure, there are a
of loyal Lupin fans but not enough to warrant widespread releases which is a shame because there are so many interpretations of Lupin that it seems like such a waste that people don't get to see much of it past the odd movie. Annoying since it's popular in the rest of Europe, they even have most of the TV series released on DVD!

Not sure if Paul will add this review to the main site or not.
Strange how they release any old **** on dvd and then leave lupin out, but i guess they probaly think "it's old i can't be assed to remaster it lets leave it".
 
chaos said:
I've got that on Amecon afte readig you review :) Will post my opinion on it once I watch it.
Well I hope you enjoy it. I'll just say to watch it in Japanese. Yasuo Yamada's Lupin cannot be topped. ;)

The UK could do with the release of some of the better Lupin specials and movies Funimation have to offer. For some crazy reason MVM released two of the worst Lupin specials on DVD in the UK that Funi have. What's more, they released them Dub only. We need the likes of the darker and stronger Island of Assassins and Dead or Alive if there's going to be any hope of stirring up interest.

It's frustrating that Manga themselves almost let this release slide by unnoticed. I only realised it was actaully out when I passingly saw it in HMV.
 
Akaten said:
(Such as playing up the involvement of Miyazaki in the second series)
Well he only directed a couple of episodes in the second series. If anything they could really hammer in his involvement with the very first TV series given that two of Ghiblis most profilic directors (Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki) handled over half of the series. They could even slap on the misinformed 'From the creators of Spirited Away and Howls Moving Castle', so long as it's released.

Akaten said:
Perhaps what Lupin 3rd needs is a new tv series
I've been thinking this for a while. The new TV specials from 2001 really brought a refreshing life into the franshise and it would be great to see that directed into the way of a new TV series. What colour jacket would we have though? Blue I'd say. :p
 
Just finished the lupin movie - it's really great! if not for the animation style and soundtrack that gives away the technical limitations, the movie seem really, really fresh.

I totally agree with the 9 out of 10 =) I've remembered I've seem a few lupin on TV a long time ago, it was called cliffhanger - I can't remember more than that though...
 
chaos said:
Just finished the lupin movie - it's really great! if not for the animation style and soundtrack that gives away the technical limitations, the movie seem really, really fresh.
Well I'm really glad you enjoyed it! My favourite part is where Lupin just can't take being romantic seriously and ends up going at the door with an axe. :lol:
chaos said:
I've remembered I've seem a few lupin on TV a long time ago, it was called cliffhanger - I can't remember more than that though...
Cliffhanger was a game in the same vein as Dragons Lair using full motion video and you had to press a button at the right time to progress. It used the helicopter chase and the hanging scene from Mamo and various sequences from Cagliostro. They changed Lupins name to Cliff and gave it a really awful dub (though you can still actually hear the japanese voices in parts!). In short it was really cheap and tacky. :p
 
Sy said:
chaos said:
I've remembered I've seem a few lupin on TV a long time ago, it was called cliffhanger - I can't remember more than that though...
Cliffhanger was a game in the same vein as Dragons Lair using full motion video and you had to press a button at the right time to progress. It used the helicopter chase and the hanging scene from Mamo and various sequences from Cagliostro. They changed Lupins name to Cliff and gave it a really awful dub (though you can still actually hear the japanese voices in parts!). In short it was really cheap and tacky. :p
Cliff hanger is the name Lupin aired in Brazil :)
 
yep, unfortunately, only a bit as it was airing in a cable channel which I had to go to someone else's house to watch... :(
 
Is the English dubbed version on this DVD the original 1996 Manga Entertainment English dubbed version?

Is this the one where Lupin mentions that he is not as good looking as Keanu Reeves?
 
1. No it's the Pioneer (2003) dub.

2. What?? I doubt it, this movie was made in the 70's. If the dub mentions it, it's taking some liberties. :p
 
Sy said:
1. No it's the Pioneer (2003) dub.

2. What?? I doubt it, this movie was made in the 70's. If the dub mentions it, it's taking some liberties. :p


I'm very sure there was a Lupin film released by Manga Entertainment back in 1996/97 that was dubbed in english by manga entertainment where there's a bit in it where Lupin tells his female sidekick character that he fancies that he is not as good looking as Keanu Reeves.

Does anyone else remember this?
 
I have to saw I was disappointed, got to watch this at amecon and found it really hard to get into, the whole momo storyline just didn't feel right and would have been a better idea had it now been included with the Lupin storyline.
 
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