Rupan Sansei: Nusumareta Rupan

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.