Ranked #3357

Lupin III: Green vs. Red

Green vs. Red is an interesting anime.

This OVA celebrates the 40th anniversary of Lupin, and it includes a bunch of nods to previous Lupin anime. Pretty much every criminal on the planet has taken to disguising themselves as Lupin, and we end up seeing pretty much every Lupin character design used, even the pink jacket.

A new main character for this is a guy named Yasuo, named after Lupin's original voice actor, who looks just like Lupin and wears a green jacket.

Meanwhile, the real Lupin in the red jacket and his partner Jigen are doing their thing as always. They're on the run, all sorts of random wackiness happens to them, and there's a constant mob of fake Lupins causing them trouble.

Pretty much, a lot of this is somewhat somber slice-of-life stuff focusing on the Yasuo guy. This is decent stuff, though of course it's kind of odd for a Lupin story.

As for the story, well, its pretty much just Yasuo competing with Lupin to try and become the "real" Lupin.

Fujiko is only in this briefly, although there are some interesting scenes where Yasuo sees her and it's animated like a psychedelic trip. Goemon pretty much has a cameo role, and Zenigata is great as always.

This is a pastiche, sort of an abstract, arty anime that pays some tribute to that laid back Lupin feel of old. The actual story however is pretty esoteric, and not entirely satisfying.

All in all, this is an interesting anime that is somewhat thought provoking and beautifully animated. While it's not a proper entry in the Lupin series, it's still well put together and worth a watch. read more

Awful! Man, these new ones are really getting on my last nerve. This one especially reached new heights in lame. Its like someone thought up half of a decent story, added the name "Lupin" to it, took out the decent parts of the story, and added some insipid social commentary. Listen, If you're a Lupin fan at all, just stay away. Aside from Return of Pycal and the Bimbos on Parade OVA from a couple years back, there has never been a Lupin flick quite this terrible.

Plot. Like I mentioned before, it seemed like someone had a good idea for Lupin, but the execution was pathetic. The story told to the viewer was, at best, half a story and relied on the viewer assuming many important elements and key twists. To simplify, its as though the director was challenging everyone to guess what was going on by showing us scenes A and F without showing us scenes B,C,D, and/or E. The end result mucks into a conglomerate of second rate action and 3rd rate Lupin. Oh yeah, and they threw in a giant mech, just for the hell of it. Real great creative crutch guys.

The ending and events leading up were confusing, misleading, and simply put, stupid. I believe we have a new Lupin, but it was never really fleshed out, nor explained.

Characters. As usual, Zenigata for the mere reason that hes Zenigata. Gone are the days that he actually has an impact on the story. Fujiko is tossed in, almost as if they forgot her to begin with, and is as quickly disposed of and forgotten. Goemon is portrayed as a total scrub thats easily tricked and captured. As for the newer characters, well, I have no idea because they were barely introduced. They just kinda appeared and said "Hey! We're sorta important."

The worse of them all had to have been the clones in the beginning. Where did they come from? Who were they really? Did they really think they were Lupin? What was their significance anyways? The guy at the end had nothing to do with those clones in the first place, at least I don't think.

This is what happens, again, when the director relies on the viewer far too much. From what I gathered, I believe the clones were hired men from some private citizen military. I could be totally wrong though. Who the hell knows?

What more can I say? The art was Lupin-ish, the soundtrack was far superior to anything else to be found in this dreck, and the impact this will have on the Lupin legacy will be that it was absolutely, entirely, and without a single doubt one of the worst Lupin films ever produced.

Am I being too hard on it? I'm hard pressed to find a single moment that I actually enjoyed. I spent the majority of my time scratching my head, attempting to comprehend the runaway train wreck they called a plot, so maybe I did miss something good. If you feel like you need a chance to decide for yourself, go for it. Just know that you have been warned. read more

What a terrible movie over all, and quite possibly the worst Lupin movie yet.
An absolutely indulgent, mindless mash of aborted ideas. The story makes very little sense, though it could be justified as a story purely by sake of argument. The plot is weak, and the social commentary jaded and clumsily stated.

The worse part of all, is this: the primary reason to see this movie never materializes. The one promise, Green vs Red! - never really happens. There's Green in conflict of Red. Perhaps some passive aggressive pseudo dueling between Green and Red. A lot of questioning about who is the 'real' Lupin.
By the time the movie works its course, there really isn't any Green vs Red at all. There's no build up, there's no pay off. There's no resolution. The supporting cast is there, but painfully under utilized and not in the least bit compelling. Also there is no resolution to any premise, and there is never an attempt to explain the core of the movie, in part or in whole. David Lynch huffing paint and attempting to do a flip book with his feet, would possibly make more sense than this patchwork of "what if"s. Oh, btw... any of the side characters one might form some sort interest in or emotional investment with, well their stories aren't resolved either.

On the positive side, the art is very nice. The use of different styles, artistically is a nice touch (though a bit jarring in one segment). There appears to be a tribute to Shinichi Watanabe, so that's kind of nice, too. I just ran out of good things to really say about this movie.

Overall, a complete waste of time. I would even say that this is the ultimate "FU" to any long time Lupin fans. read more

Definitely not one of the better Lupin III movies. This one is a dud from the beginning and lacks any of the charm that makes Lupin great. There is little humor, and Lupin (the real Lupin) has no contact with Zenigata at all. The movie is back and forth with a bunch of fake Lupins, and the main characters Jigen, Goemon and Fujiko have little or no involvement in the story.