Rupan Sansei: Ikiteita Majutsushi

Title:Rupan Sansei: Ikiteita Majutsushi
Lupin III: Return of Pycal
Lupin III: Return of the Magician
Lupin the Third: Return of Pycal
Lupin the Third: Return of the Magician
Return of the Magician
Overall:Watch
Keywords: , , , ,
Notables: INOUE Makio
KOBAYASHI Kiyoshi
KURITA Kanichi
MASUYAMA Eiko
NAYA Goro
Original Concept - Monkey Punch
Pycal, the magician seen in episode 2 of the first Lupin III series returns for this 30th anniversary OAV. Having been defeated by Lupin before, this time he's looking for revenge while collecting seven mystical crystals. At the same time, he also wants Fujiko. Of course Lupin isn't going to have anything to do with this and thus sets out to defeat Pycal a sexond time.
[1 OAV episode]
[edit] The ↗Lupin III franchise:
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 7 6 7 6 6 Ggultra2764 [series:605#1552]
More a treat for fans of the original Lupin III "green jacket" series made 50 years ago, Return of Pycal features the return of the titular villainous magician that Lupin and his gang dealt with from one of the episodes of the very first TV anime. The tone and aesthetics of this OVA are like the earlier episodes of the series with Lupin's green jacket, his gang being willing to kill, and lacking much of the manic comedy you'd find from many of the "red jacket" TV specials. Outside of Zenigata, Lupin and his group get some sort of role to play in their conflict with Pycal over some ancient crystals. Only major sore point is the rather rough-looking animation as it seemed this OVA was trying too hard at points to get experimental with its artwork and having some rather cheap looking CG-animation employed at points for rendering robotic drone birds used by Pycal and the mentioned crystals. In short, fans of the "green jacket" Lupin III anime will be at home seeing Return of Pycal, in spite of the anime's questionable choices with animation styles employed.

Last updated Thursday, September 23 2021. Created Thursday, September 23 2021.
Rent 6 8 8 7 7 AstroNerdBoy [series:605#436]

In 1971, the first Lupin III series was released. The second episode was called Majutsushi to Yobareta Otoko, or in English The Man They Called a Magician. While having seen this episode will make Lupin III: Return of the Magician more enjoyable, it is not required.

Lupin is after yet another treasure from yet another pompus rich fool who thinks his system can defeat Lupin. As expected, Lupin gets his prize, a wine bottle that actually contains an ancient crystal, part of a set of seven mystical crystals. Zenigata is on the case and begins pursuing Lupin through the town. Lupin does some magic tricks to escape being captured while entertaining the crowds. Lupin knows that this Zenigata is not the real one but is someone he has seen before. Meanwhile Fujiko is being chased by a man after stealing his crystals and runs to Lupin for help. That man is the same one that is after Lupin -- Pycal, who survived his previous encounter with Lupin. Goemon is in some sort of fighting contest and Jigen is there as Lupin's backup.

There's nothing really special about the stories or characters. They all serve their purposes but do little beyond that. If you've seen the original Lupin III episode this came from, this OAV will be more enjoyable. Otherwise it is just average Lupin fare.

Where this OAV really fails is in the art department. Someone decided that computer graphics should be heavily used. In fact, this title is filled with them. At times, the graphics look good, like the TV in the background of one scene showing the galaxy. At other times, the CG looks like it was done in the mid-90's. This OAV was done in 2002! This made for some annoying clashes in veiwing between the more traditional animation and the very obvious CG animation. Bad move in my opinion.

At the end of this episode, it was discovered that they still had time to kill. So we are treated to seeing the real Zenigata, who was all but missing from this title, chasing Lupin. Then we see Fujiko reflect on her lot in life based on this OAV. Finally, we see the strange greek guy who helps our crew out. Each one of these shorts lasts a 1-3 minutes and are there just to kill time. They show up after the end credits.

Bottom line: Lupin fans will enjoy this, especially those who've read the original manga or seen the original anime episode. For everyone else, I doubt there's much to enjoy. CAUTION: There is some nudity in this title.



Last updated Monday, July 21 2003. Created Monday, June 30 2003.

Other Sites
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The Lupin III Encyclopedia http://www.lupinencyclopedia.com
Excellent resource for all things Lupin III.

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