Lupin III: Lupin vs. Fukusei-ningen

The Secret of Mamo is a crazy, memorable, and pretty enjoyable Lupin movie.

The first theatrical Lupin movie, this has some very solid animation for 1978, and some very interesting direction. Very colorful and lively. The soundtrack by Yuji Ohno is a blast too, and of course the original voice cast delivers.

The story in this one is pretty crazy, and by the end it's pretty much pure nonsense. Lupin is up against a psychotic diminutive man with a god complex, and it leads to some very strange things. Including a cameo from Hitler, naturally.

This movie has a fairly brisk pace for the most part, bad things ... just keep happening to the Lupin gang. One minute they're on the run from a freakishly large truck, the next they're being bombarded by bombs.

Where this movie gets really weird is the characterization. Lupin is less cool and laid back in this one, in general he's pretty pissed off and annoyed, even with his loyal gang. I have to admit, this makes Lupin less likable to me in this one.

Fujiko has a pretty big part in this one, she's quite entertaining, although she does make some questionable decisions. Jigen makes out well in this, and Goemon is pretty cool like usual. Zenigata is great in this, tirelessly hunting Lupin down. But again, seeming a bit out of his usual anime character when he actually wants to kill Lupin.

The movie in general is closer to the tone of the manga, with it's insanity and less likable characters.

So, pretty much, this is a very memorable movie, it goes above and beyond into the realm of insanity, and it's quite entertaining. The classic dynamic that the characters usually have in the anime is somewhat skewed here though, and the story itself is not entirely satisfying.

None the less, this is a wild ride that I recommend checking out.

It starts out with Lupin dieing… I kid you not; this is really how it starts. The guy had the same fingerprints, DNA, and even looked the same as him. And yet, after a while, you see him rather fine and alive moments later. It’s rather creepy in a way. Then when we get to the story with Mamo, it gets even creepier and action packed with one chase scene after another.

Lupin is none to bright, though he is a rather lucky guy. His addiction to women even breaks the trio up for a time when he picks Fujiko over his partners. He’s irrational at ... times when not seeing the full picture and so it tends to get him into a lot of trouble that the others have to bail him out of. Fujiko is actually a rather good counterpart, using her sex appeal to make him do as she wants, and yet in this movie, it appears she actually does care for him a lot. It’s rather interesting and changes a couple things, giving insight into why she pulls him around. In the end though, it seems that she is just a little to greedy.

One thing that is actually rather interesting is that they did a rather good job at mimicking the idea of a Samurai in Goemon. I know people are going to go ‘well hey! It’s Japan and they know about samurai’ but really, all the other times I see samurai in anime, they are actually not as well done. If you look at the long line of anime samurai, name one person that is the very idea of a true samurai from history. Can’t get many, right? With one strike, he tries to take down an enemy, which is much closer to the original idea.

I cannot believe that Zenigata is still alive after all he’s gone threw. That guy gets into more problems then ever including surviving bombs being dropped on him.

The opening starts with something rather odd, a women’s egg being used for what I would think of as a cloning experiment. A good way to start if I must say for something that seems to be a cloning experiment story line. The artwork is rather lacking in detail and the characters become rather exaggerated with arms stretching out or legs turning into something close to stick figures threw parts of the shot. Still, it’s not actually a bad thing. It gives the show character and comedy which works well with how the script is created. This is one of those shows that I’m actually saying the script is better with the somewhat cheap animation they have. It fits! Now another part of the show was a bit interesting as Lupin has a chase scene threw famous pieces of artwork and then runs into clones of both Hitler and Napoleon.

The English voices are rather interesting, and I can’t believe they really used Lupin’s voice the way they did. I don’t know exactly which version I watched on Hulu but I believe it’s the Geneon version which has him played by Tony Oliver with a rather weasel like voice. He’s cocky and annoying in most cases, not sounding like he was the majestic thief although, as you keep watching it, it does tend to grow on you. Inspector Zenigata has a rather good voice for a bumbling detective though he has a bit of a Texan accent. The script is pretty cheesy, though I heard it’s like this for the Japanese dub too. I had to rather laugh when one of the American characters actually calls Jigen a democrat when he stands up to them about their politics.

I really like this one because it shines more of a positive light on Fujiko! In this one, it starts off with Fujiko seemingly same-old-same-old. IT turns out the lady thief is helping a madman because she believes him and his power, and wants to share it with Lupin. She says and shows her affection for her rival, and it's not weird or sleazy on her part.

I feel like her character was very earnest with her intentions, and it all went wrong because of the madman. "But, why would she even trust a madmen?!" Well, who hasn't trusted people they shouldn't have trusted, around here? ... All the characters are guilty of trusting characters we see as clearly untrustworthy. I'm so into the way Fujiko and Lupin were in this one. It lost points with me for using magic on Fujiko right after they were saying it wasn't magic!

I'm not a big fan of the art style as I'm not into long anatomy. The sound quality is better in this one than a lot of other's in the time period. The sound effects are together, and the lip syncing is normal.

I would recommend this to Lupin fans, anime fans, and anime new-comers!

Hey, the first Lupin movie. And, it was weird...

Directed by Soji Yoshikawa who has only directed some of Ashita no Joe beforehand really went to left field on this one. The story follows Lupin and the gang, of course, stealing something, but it begins with Lupin’s death?

First off, the art is really different compared to the show. For example, Fujiko looks like the main female character from Samurai Champloo (if you have seen it), and for some odd reason Goemon the samurai is either Arab or got a really good tan. These are just some of the odd changes in art style the viewer will ... notice right away with any previous Lupin experience.

Music and character development is your typical Lupin with catchy Lupin themes to Lupin being his annoyed quirky self. The story however, gets really sci-fi-ish really quick. It starts out with a heist in Egypt and then goes from place to place around the world with little reason. The overall goal though is to find out who is trying to kill Lupin and the gang. Then we meet the main bad-guy who is a strange shortly drawn blue James Bond villain who wants to destroy/take over the world.

Then, there are the awesome yet weird things to notice throughout the film. Pay attention to funny things like the American lighting his cigarette by his Statue of Liberty figure flame. These will crack you up and keep you going through this weird Lupin adventure. There is even a scene where Lupin and the gang are in a car being chased by a massive blue truck (Optimus Prime anyone?).

This is a wild ride of pure nonsense if I have ever seen one, even for Lupin. But hey, give it a try. It is guaranteed for a few good laughs.

Mamo, a very old, and extremely rich man calling himself “God” is searching for the secret to eternal life.

The secret may lie within the Philosopher Stone (or as the Americans call it: The Sorcerer's Stone).
Which he gets Fujiko to manipulating Lupin into stealing. And in exchange she, aswell as Lupin, will be granted eternal life in this new world.

But immortality is a curse, not a gift. And Lupin has no interest in living forever. After all he does what he does for the thrill. If there were no risks what would be the motivation.

And if Fujiko thinks that she’d be free and spend her ... life with Lupin in this new world she’s wrong. Because Mamo will need a queen by his side. And the beautiful Fujiko would make a great trophy.

Despite it taking a while to actually get to the main plot the movie is paced pretty well. There is actual build up. The title “The Secret of Mamo “ is a better overall title for the movie than “Lupin vs The Human Clone“

The villain looks ridiculous but is genuinely interesting.
The movie has a great atmosphere to it. And some great aesthetics and visuals. An anime form the late 70s that aged like fine wine.

This movie is longer than your typical Lupin special. At a length of 1H42.
Its also the first Lupin movie. Effort really went into it.

A plot very similar to this gets used in a story arc in Lupin the 3rd Part 4 Italian Game (2015). Where Leonardo da Vinci is cloned in modern times and wants to create a world with only the humans he sees as worthy enough.

Such a CRAZY movie.

The plot is... kind of absurd actually, but sometimes absurd doesn't means bad. Lupin gets involved in some crazy stuff just to impress Fujiko, and sometimes is such a FREAK with her. The persecution scenes are very impressive and some of the magical ways the gang gets to be saved are so absurd that are good. The main villain is also a bit wacky but scary enough to be a competent antagonist. In short, the story revolves around the search of eternal life and the consequences of playing God. It has such an interesting mix of tropes: sci-fi, action, comedy, mystery, political ... tension that could lead to the activation of powerful weapons...

There are some things that makes it really enjoyable. First of all, the characters are charming and the chemistry between them is great. Specially Zenigata is a very funny character with this (apparently reciprocal) obsession with Lupin. Fujiko is interesting too, but sometimes it seems that her role is just being a "sex symbol" and her motivations are unclear.

The visuals are INCREDIBLE, the art references in Mamo's island are so astounding that I was surprised. Escher, Dali, classic greco-roman art and more. And a bunch of historical figures wondering around, including Hitler himself.

And the music is also amazing, it sometimes reminds me of Fantastic Planet's Soundtrack (instruments, harmonies, idk), maybe it's a 70's thing, it's just amazing. And the TMS english dub is really good!!

Overall, a crazy movie that is worth watching.

[THIS WAS WRITTEN RIGHT AFTER WATCHING IT AND ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACC. KEEPING THIS HERE FOR AN ARCHIVE]
Finished Mystery of Mamo and hooooly shit. This is definitely one of my new favorite lupin movies ever if not my number one favorite. The plot is actually really interesting for once, the characters r so much fucking fun to watch, the animation is amazing, and the art itself is unbelievably good. This was the first lupin movie ever made and yet somehow doesn’t even feel like it, it’s just that spot on. Every little piece of this film feels just so creative and inspired like I’ve ... never seen any kind of animated movie like this before. A little hyperbolic I’ll admit but it’s really something else. It amazes me in retrospect how mamo was made in 1978 and holds up as if it hasn’t even been a year.
One of my favorite aspects of the art direction specifically is the scratchy lines and color choices throughout the whole movie. The contrasting whites and thin pencil-y lines during certain moments always impressed me. The framing and shot composition were also extremely impressive. U could say Artistically mystery of mamo is definitely my favorite lupin movie by far just on that fact itself.
Irdk what more I could say abt this movie that won’t turn into me repeating myself for 3 more paragraphs but yeah I really really fucking enjoyed mamo.
Dub-wise I saw the geneon dub, and unsurprisingly it was really funny and really great. All cast members were as charming and fun to listen to as ever. I wanna see the streamline dub sometime soon to see how they handled it, just out of curiosity. I wanna see how Bob Bergen handles a more lupin-y lupin, compared to his work on cagliostro.
Anyways 10/10 lupin flick. I honestly can’t think of a single gripe I have with this movie apart from maybe stupid tiny nitpicks that don’t hurt the actual movie at all. Oh and the movie gets an extra bonus point for not having a stupid one-off magical movie specific girl that lupin has to save somehow.