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It's nice to see that anime companies don't always forget their roots. So much anime released nowadays is from the last five or six years, it seems to be forgotten that there's a rich catalogue of anime from the seventies, eighties and even the nineties that has yet to be released in the UK. However, Manga seem to have caught the retro bug once more, releasing Voltron a few weeks ago and now a double whammy of retro goodness starting with Lupin the 3rd - The Secret of Mamo. Lupin the 3rd follows the titular
super-thief as he travels the globe looking for things to steal and getting
caught up in grand conspiracies. Assisted by the gunman Jigen and samurai
Goemon, hounded by Interpol detective Zenigata and supported and double crossed
in equal measure by the sexy but completely mercenary thief Fujiko Mine, Lupin
gets himself into and out of more scrapes than James Bond. However, this
film starts with him being executed! We find out within minutes that it
wasn't him, and the action soon switches to Egypt where Lupin has been hired to
steal a small stone from the Great Pyramid. He's been hired by Fujiko, who
in turn is working for a mysterious (and gravelly-voiced) Mamo. Not
wanting to miss out on whatever treasure Fujiko is after, Lupin switches the
real stone with a fake in the hope of discovering her goal, but doing so puts
him firmly on Mamo's hitlist! Chased across Europe by Mamo's henchmen, led
by the vicious Flinch, things are looking dark for Lupin. Mamo is
incessant in his pursuit and seems to have immense resources and tonnes of
money, and he also has Fujiko on his side. Lupin loves Fujiko despite her
constant betrayals and it's not long before Mamo is using her to get to him,
something that annoys Jigen & Goemon. They want him to leave her alone so
they can concentrate on another target, but Lupin knows that she's bitten off
more than she can chew and wants to save her and bring Mamo down. However,
with Mamo always one step ahead and wielding seemingly otherworldly powers, does
he really stand a chance? |
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Most people will be familiar with Lupin through the franchise's second film instalment, the superb Hayao Miyazaki-directed Castle of Cagliostro. However, The Secret of Mamo is the first feature-length anime outing for Lupin, and is far closer to the style of the manga than any of the subsequent films and specials were. This might prove a bit of a shock for some viewers as it's not just the art style that was given the Miyazaki makeover in Castle of Cagliostro, the characters themselves also underwent some personality changes and the sex and violence was considerably toned down. Lupin the 3rd: The Secret of Mamo is |
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a different kettle of fish. This time you get nudity, a lot of violence, shedloads of collateral damage and a truly bizarre story that is off the wall even by Lupin's standards. Like I said, Lupin the 3rd has a
lot of similarities to James Bond. Lupin himself is a
suave womaniser who often ends up facing down villainous despots
with bizarre weaponry and various henchmen at their disposal.
He has access to some cool gadgets and manages to do some
implausible stunts and over-the-top car chases. This film
certainly captures the retro spy thriller vibe even though Lupin
isn't a spy, however, after a promising and action packed start it
gets incredibly bizarre. To start with though it's pretty
good. The characters are good and even if you haven't seen
Lupin before you can pick up all you really need to know about them
pretty quickly. In fact to start with the story is largely
character led, focusing on Lupin's infatuation with Fujiko, her
self-serving attitude and Jigen & Goemon's frustration and annoyance
at their companion's constant fawning over her. The
culmination of all of these things drives a wedge between Lupin,
Goemon & Jigen and also leads to Lupin's anger at Mamo, who
ultimately is manipulating everything for his own end. The
characters' interaction and rivalries are always the most
interesting thing about Lupin, and Fujiko is one of the most
enigmatic characters you'll come across. Does she love Lupin
or is she leading him on? Is she being sincere this time, or
is she just double crossing Lupin to save her own skin? She's
central to the plot for the large part of the film, and it works
well until the weirdness takes over later on. |
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So what is the weirdness I keep going on about? Well, as Lupin continues to hunt him down Mamo begins to demonstrate more of his powers, which are all stretching things a bit to say the least. Levitation, mind control, and a hi-tech hidden base...these things it can kind of get away with. It's the chase sequence through various famous paintings, the arrival of Napoleon and the island based on Mount Olympus that confused me. By the end of the story things had gone so far off the wall you ended up wondering what the hell the animators, directors and writing staff were taking when they came up with it. It's not just |
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the psychedelic on-screen happenings either, there's quite a few plot strands left unanswered and it is occasionally guilty of being a bit clever for its own good. The action and adventure is all well and good, but it seems to try and compress the plot of a two-hour philosophical sci-fi film into the last twenty minutes or so, and that's where it falls down. Lupin is at its best when it's an adventure. It can be clever and it can be thoughtful when it needs to be, but the creators took it a bit to far at the end of this film, leading to confusion and an anachronistic story that didn't really fit in with the usual style of Lupin the 3rd. The art and design is very similar to the original manga, which is something later adaptations don't do so well, and it also has plenty of (un)necessary nudity and some touches of comedy every now and again. Lupin is more lewd than in the other anime interpretations available here, particularly when it comes to the pneumatic Fujiko, and there's plenty of action and excitement to enjoy over the course of the entire film. Zenigata's perhaps underused, as is Jigen, and if you haven't seen the spindly-legged artwork from the manga you may find the art style of the film a bit odd. The film is also not animated as well as the Castle of Cagliostro and also lacks the beautiful background art, despite only being released one year earlier. However, it is the most faithful in style and content to the manga, even if it does lose its head towards the end, and if you have liked the other Lupin films you will also enjoy this one. If you haven't seen a Lupin film yet though you are better off starting with Castle of Cagliostro. Lupin the 3rd - The Secret of Mamo is an enjoyable but confusing film which will not appeal to everyone. Extras: Not a great deal on offer here, basically we have some trailers and a production art gallery. Not great. Ratings Feature:
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