Rupan Sansei: Ai no da capo - Fujiko's Unlucky Days

Title:Rupan Sansei: Ai no da capo - Fujiko's Unlucky Days
Lupin III: Fujiko's Unlucky Days
Lupin III: The Columbus Files
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , ,
Notables: INOUE Makio
KOBAYASHI Kiyoshi
KURITA Kanichi
MASUYAMA Eiko
NAYA Goro
Original Concept - Monkey Punch
R1 License - FUNimation
WATANABE Shinichi (Nabeshin)
Fujiko and Lupin are enjoying a romantic dinner together; as usual, Lupin's appetites include getting a taste of Fujiko's latest plan. Fujiko has uncovered the "Columbus Files" that tell of an incredible treasure known appropriately as the "Columbus Egg". Before Lupin can learn more, they are attacked by a helicopter squadron led by Nazaroff. Lupin and Fujiko end up hanging onto the edge of a cliff, but Fujiko falls to earth after a gunshot severs the rope attaching her to Lupin.

A young woman named Rosaria is handing over a piece of sunken treasure to a buyer. She returns home to find an uninvited guest... Fujiko! However, Fujiko has amnesia and is haunted by frightening images of being chased by Nazaroff's men and of the contents of the Columbus Files. Can Lupin restore Fujiko's memories to find the Columbus Egg as well as for her own sake? And why is Rosaria determined to find the Egg for herself? (taken from The Lupin III Encyclopedia)
[1 92-minute TV Special. Directed by Watanabe Shinichi of Excel Saga fame. Licensed by FUNimation.]
[edit] The ↗Lupin III franchise:
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 7 6 7 6 7 Ggultra2764 [series:1015#1552]
This particular entry in the Lupin III franchise has its fair share of ups and downs. On the plus side, it creates an interesting plot element in the form of Fujiko's amnesia where Lupin and the enemy faction are trying to go after her for information on the whereabouts of a hidden treasure called the Columbus Egg. It also shows the depths of how much Lupin cares for Fujiko beyond the flirtatious facade he normally tries to pull on her. The movie also has its funny moments compliments of Goemon and Jigen, though both don't get much to do here besides being Lupin's backup.

On the bad side though, the motives of the movie villains for why they want the Columbus Egg are quite cliched and dull, making the second half of the movie rather weak in quality compared to the first half. In addition, the major female of the movie, Rosalia, is okay though is rather lacking as a character. Also, Zenigata doesn't really get anything to do in this movie outside of chasing Lupin, as usual, which made him a wasted presence here.

Overall, The Columbus Files is a decent Lupin TV special to look into, though it doesn't match up to the quality of First Contact.

Last updated Friday, March 29 2013. Created Friday, March 29 2013.
Rent 8 8 8 7 7 AstroNerdBoy [series:1015#436]

Continuing the long line of Lupin III titles, I wasn't sure how I'd like "Nabeshin's" direction of this title. It started off strong but ended cliched.

The primary story focuses on Lupin and Fujiko. Fujiko and Lupin are about to "get busy" when the fun is interupted by one of the title's villians chasing them. The end result is Fujiko losing her memory and spending most of the rest of the anime addressing Lupin as "Lupin-san," something unheard of! With her lost memory, Fujiko is a much kinder, conservative woman. One almost suspects that deep inside, this is the true Fujiko, or at least what she truly desires to be. Regardless, the anime does a good job of showing how much Lupin cares for Fujiko and just how far he will go to save her and bring her back to normal, even if it means she's mean to him again.

Jigen and Goemon don't have a lot to do in this outing. However, Goemon provides some of the funniest moments in the anime when he communicates with an engine and rescues Jigen. Zenigata has even less to do than Goemon and Jigen and is only around because we expect him to be there trying to arrest Lupin.

The series villians are both very cliched and boring. Nothing they do is a surprise. By the end, I was wondering how much time was left to kill before the villians would finally be put down! The new babe, Rosalia, is OK, but nothing special. The fact that she's going after the Columbus Egg and attempts to beat Lupin there is not a surprise, but I never got the feeling she was anything more than what she was.

Bottom line: some good humor early on and some nice Lupin/Fujiko moments certainly make this a Rent for Lupin fans.

Last updated Wednesday, December 21 2005. Created Wednesday, December 21 2005.


Other Sites
NameURL
The Lupin III Encyclopedia http://www.lupinencyclopedia.com/

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