So we’ve had both Jigen-centric (Voyage To Danger) and Goemon-centric (Dragon of Doom) specials, now we get the Fujiko-centric one. Which would be great, if it didn’t involve amnesia and thus remove her normal personality for much of the film.
Putting that cheap plot device aside, there is still much to recommend here. You see, this is the film that Shinichi Watanabe (Nabeshin) was in charge of, and his Lupin fandom shines through. So we get the 1930 Alfa Romeo. We get Lupin dressed in an inflatable disguise. We get him leaping at Fujiko in just his boxer shorts. A lot of Lupin III staples are here.
But what he also brings to the table is the villain Nazalloff, a criminal who uses similar methods to Lupin (and just so happens to wear a green blazer and has slightly curly hair…). It’s fun to see Lupin’s own methods being used against for a change. And Shigeru Chiba provides the demented performance that you’d expect from the voice of Megane in Urusei Yatsura, Pilaf in Dragonball, Buggy in One Piece and countless other maniacs.
And then there’s some enjoyable nonsense involving Christopher Columbus and orgone energy. So it manages to get both bonkers historical and scientific ideas into a Lupin film where usually we only get one.
Animation-wise, it’s a step down from Crisis In Tokyo. We get a few nicely animated scenes, but we also get a handful that are really below par for a TMS production. It’s tolerable, but I’ve seen better.
How much do the characters look like the animators might have seen a Monkey Punch drawing at some point in their lives?
You’re not getting the sort of wild, energetic lines on the characters that I like the best, but all the gang are recognisably evolved from Monkey Punch designs. Still not keen on the lighter hair colour for Fujiko, but even her design is fairly strong here.
The non-regulars, aren’t quite so strong. Rosaria is TMS generic. Physically, the villian Nazalloff fits his role as the evil Lupin (green jacket included), but facially he doesn’t quite gel all the time. The mastermind does look more like a Lupin villain, even borrowing a gimmick somewhat from an early episode from the second series.
It really doesn’t stray all that far from Crisis in Tokyo’s look, and from here on out this is arguably the median point at which the character design fluctuates around.
How ludicrous are the capers?
It’s pretty nuts. The mastermind uses “orgone energy” to hulk out of a wheel chair while wearing a space suit. And that’s not even the climax of the film.
How much is Goemon involved in the story, rather than just a third act deus ex machina?
Goemon’s in this all the way through. Doesn’t get his own plot, but it’s a solid use of him.