Rupan Sansei: Nusumareta Rupan

Title:Rupan Sansei: Nusumareta Rupan
Lupin III: Stolen Lupin
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , ,
Notables: AONO Takeshi
ASAKAWA Yuu
INOUE Makio
KOBAYASHI Kiyoshi
KURITA Kanichi
MASUYAMA Eiko
NAYA Goro
Lupin, Jigen, & Fujiko are all back and ready to pull a major heist by stealing a truck full of stolen treasures. Things appear to be going well when suddenly Lupin finds himself imprisoned, and not by Zenigata. Turns out, someone just wanted to hire Lupin to steal the "Bull's Eye", a small green jewel with a history of death around it for those who would steal it. Now Lupin and company must try to gain possession of the jewel before another young thief named Becky (who's determined to beat Lupin) does.

[1 TV Special]
[edit] The ↗Lupin III franchise:
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Buy 8 7 7 7 8 Ggultra2764 [series:959#1552]
One of the better TV specials of the Rupan Sansei franchise, Stolen Lupin gives all the major characters of the franchise something to do as Lupin deals with both a mysterious criminal who forces him into stealing a supposedly cursed jewel and meeting with a young woman who steals valuables for thrills. While trying to talk Becky out of her thrill seeking, Lupin also comes to discover some sketchiness involving the criminal seeking the Bull's Eye. The criminal in question is competent enough in his motives and plans to be a serious and convincing threat to Lupin's gang, his henchmen give both Jigen and Goemon a good challenge, and Becky does well enough in her role as the TV special's "Lupin girl" as her motives for being a thief do get fleshed out as the TV special pushes on. In short, a worthwhile TV special for the Lupin franchise that, while not offering much new, still entertains well enough with the action and humor offered up with Lupin and his gang.

Last updated Saturday, July 17 2021. Created Saturday, July 17 2021.
Buy 9 9 8 7 8 AstroNerdBoy [series:959#436]

Lupin III titles tend to be hit or miss. For me to consider a Lupin III a success, it needs several things. First, an interesting heist. Second, Goemon cutting "worthless objects" with his sword. Third, Jigen shooting with incredible accuracy. Fourth, a sense of who's betraying who, if at all. Fifth, Zenegata on the case. Sixth, good supporting characters. You might say that all Lupin III titles have at least some of the above and you'd be right. Even the bad titles can have some of the above. But the really good titles go a step above and try to settle for one ultimate goal -- a fun ride. Fortunately, this title succeeded.

While not as good as Lupin III: Episode 0 'First Contact', the writers of Stolen Lupin did a good job just the same. They managed to find a mostly entertaining story and fill it with fun Lupin moments fans of the series have come to expect. It was nice seeing Goemon face a powerful opponent in this round that was believable. Some of his opponents in other outings have been stupid. The writers tried to make opponenets for all of Lupin's gang, but only Goemon's foe came off the best.

The writers did Fujiko pretty decently in this outing as well. She's pretty much along the lines of the 2nd TV series. She still uses her female charms to get what she wants, but she doesn't come off as a complete and total idiot. I have to say that I would like to see an exploration of Fujiko's and Lupin's relationship, but I guess to do so would be to lose some of the fun that we want to enjoy in the franchise. Maybe the writers will take a chance in a future special.

Bottom line: Lupin fans will be pretty pleased with this title as it is a lot of fun. As such, should it get licensed by FUNimation, I'll have it in my DVD collection.

Last updated Monday, January 31 2005. Created Sunday, January 30 2005.

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