Yasuo Yamada’s final outing as Lupin is fairly strong as these 90s specials go. The plot is goes all over the place, involving the Titanic, ninjas, Goemon’s clan secrets and the Triads. And it all culminates one of the most ludicrous, physics defying pieces of swordplay ever put to film.
Watching it this second time around was more enjoyable, as the ninja magic nonsense throughout doesn’t seem so much as an annoyingly cheap plot device and you can relax and enjoy the hokum for what it is.
How much do the characters look like the animators might have seen a Monkey Punch drawing at some point in their lives?
Dragon of Doom isn’t as wildly all over the place as Voyage To Danger was. And it doesn’t have the same problem with noses. Lupin has some nice mouth expressions. Jigen looks good (though he seems to be the easiest to get right). The opening fight with Goemon and the ninjas is great, with the lead ninja (and the Kabuki performers) have some nice Monkey Punch-like proportions. Goemon looks great, sleek, almost an extension of Zantetsuken. Zenigata, like Jigen, is nigh impossible to get wrong. The villain looks a lot like one of Monkey Punch’s stereotypical froglike Triad bosses. And even Fujiko is recognisable as herself. The only thing letting the side down is female lead character, Kikyou, who looks like she belongs in another film.
How ludicrous are the capers?
We start in Japan. In the opening sequence an entire building is sliced apart. Then we go to Paris, just to use a computer! Then we go to Hong Kong. To a fancy dress party. The plot involves the Titanic, the Triads AND ninjas. Exploding top hats, biplanes, deep sea diving, giant escape pedalos and and the physics blasphemy involved in the final mid air battle all add up to an over the top story.
How much is Goemon involved in the story, rather than just a third act deus ex machina?
This is a Goemon-centric film, but despite that all the other characters get a decent look-in too. It should be noted that the superior First Contact special borrows some elements of Goemon’s story here.