Fountain of Blood details Goemon, frequent collaborator to Lupin and friends, who is struggling with a hired assassin on behalf of a yakuza outfit he's working for. The premise is basic, but gives off a feeling similiar to The Terminator; Hawk is the assassin Goemon is targeting, who is in turn targeting Lupin, Jigen and Fujiko. For 85% of this film, nothing stops Hawk - he's like a bulldozer that absolutely nothing can slow down. It one of those storylines that don't have much, but it's all they need.
Easily the highlight of the film is it's art direction and phenomenal action. The action in this film rivals the best that came out in 2017, and had me on the edge of my seat at every occasion. The art direction is strong, very strong, and the animation is nothing short of wonderful, especially when it comes to any scenes involving Hawk, the animation putting a lot of care into showing how his weight and fighting style would actually play out. For the main cast, the main cast all just look like modern day versions of how they've always looked. Though, I gotta say the character designs for all the one-off characters in this look very distinctive, especially for the yakuza characters that Goemon interacts with in sections of the film.
This film is legitmently one of the more brutal things i've watched in recent times, and I don't say that lightly. Some of the fights in this film are simply borderline horrifying. Limbs are sliced off, bodies are broken up, and even worse. I was somewhat aware of the more mature nature of the film, but I still didn't exactly expect it on this level from a Lupin III property. In all honesty, it was a breath of fresh air seeing people actually take so much bodily damage from swords and axes and the like. The combat is simply amazing from start to finish - Goemon and Hawk's fights have a huge amount of weight and precision to them, and has all the consequences of two masters of their styles clashing.
I have nothing but good things to say about the antagonist of the film, Hawk, a fairly unusual design for an assassin in a show like this. The most interesting thing about him is the fact just the way he's presented in a scene changes the feeling he gives off - in one scene, he's picking up a child and looks like a lovely father - in the next, he gives off the vibe of The Terminator as he relentlessly pursues Lupin and Co. He's simply one of the more unique antagonists I've seen in a anime film recently - the inventive way he fights and his general demeanour are ujst so off-putting that you legitemently don't know what's going to come out of his mind next. Otherwise, the whole cast is pretty great to see, but outside of Goemon, I didn't feel any of them acted out of what I'd expect from a Lupin III property - though I have to say, the icy coolness in which Goemon tackles his opponents in the second half of the film was a hoot, and lended a lot credence to the incredible skill he's always said to have.
I gotta say though, the method in which Goemon learns to defeat Hawk felt pretty silly - I understand this is Lupin and silly solutions are probably pretty commonplace, but I didn't think there was any real reasoning why Goemon's 'training' actually helped him defeat his gigantic foe. Aditionally, I think it would've made more sense if Fujioko wasn't even in the film - she does very little beside just interact with Lupin and Jigen, and then leave pretty much halfway through the film without doing much. It isn't a huge deal, but it just seemed like a big underutilisation of the character.
Overall, Goemon's Fountain of Blood is a great film that's well worth watching if you're in the mood for something a little different and a little more brutal then the norm. I feel, for the most part, you don't need prior knowledge of Lupin III to watch it, but probably having a little basic backstory will help regardless. It's absolutely gotten me more interested in the Lupin series, and even on it's own, it's just a damn good time with it's darker and more mature tone.
