Lupin III: Le complot du clan Fûma

This movie is so much fun. There is never a dull moment, the movie either has an action sequence or funny character moment to throw out there. The movie has terrific momentum, and it all leads it to an excellent finale. Approaching the third act, there are all these different characters converging to the main treasure. In that group there are 6 different motives leading them there. To add to these conflicting forces, it is all taking place inside an ancient booby-trapped ninja cave. It is a very creative and visually interesting setting. To add yet another complication, any second the whole cave might explode trapping them all inside.

On the negative side, this is a rough English dub. It isn't Sonny Strait, nor is it the original Lupin, it is Robin Robertson. He does fine, as does all the English cast, but they refer to "Lupin" as "Rupan", it gets a little distracting. Murasaki also isn't that interesting of a character. I didn't buy Goemon and Murasaki as a couple and her inclusion felt very tacked on. And the villain isn't all that memorable. It plays a lot off of the ninja/ samurai rivalry for Goemon, but outside that there isn't much to them.

Outside of those small points, I really enjoyed this movie. It is one of Lupin's finest adventures. It is the type of movie that I would have loved as a child and watching it as an adult, brought out my inner child.

This is one of the fewer Lupin OVAs. Oppoximately 3 in total.

This is one of the 2 Lupin anime owned by Animage who have it translated under the name "Rupan".

Besides that it's a great Lupin anime to view. Those who like Castle of Cagliostro or Goemon the trusty Samuri will like this one.

Has some good stuff including Ninjas, Car chases, & secret treasure hold with numerous tunnels, passages, and traps.

Please note that since this is done by a different team of Translators than Genenon or Funimation. The voice acting is different than their debuts.

Pretty much Jigen has a more Gravier voice than his other appearance. But the English voice talents are just fine.

The animation is very well made for an OVA from 1987.

It's worth buying for those who like Lupin the 3rd.

If, like me, you think Lupin III's gang are just as engaging characters as the master thief himself, this is definitely one of the movies for you. Like 2002's "Episode Zero: First Contact", which tells the story of the gang's first meeting from the viewpoint of Jigen Daisuke, this story is focused on another member of the crew, the enigmatic samurai Ishikawa Goemon. About to marry, Goemon finds his bride and her dowry both abducted by the Fuma ninja clan, and must--with the help of wedding guests Lupin and Co.--battle through all obstacles to get her back. I'm biased here, as deadpan Goemon has long been my favorite member of Lupin's crew, but I honestly think there's enough Lupin hijinks here to keep his fans happy as well. Car chases galore and the dogged but humane determination of Inspector Zenigata keep the energy high throughout. If you like animated martial arts action, though, this is the primo Lupin movie for your collection, as Goemon is the star and fights several terrific sword battles. Extra-cute character designs and fluid animation by Tokyo Movie Shinsha add to its charm. A real treat.

The Fuma Conspiracy a somewhat decent tale brought down by it's flaws.

Goemon is getting married when ninjas swoop in! The Lupin gang has to stop these evil ninjas, save Goemon's bride, and try for some treasure, for good measure.

This 80's OVA has the unfortunate distinction of being the only Lupin anime without the usual Japanese voice cast. This is especially bad, because the voices used don't fit the characters at all, and are distractingly out of place. The English dub is not good either.

On top of the unfortunate voice choices, the characterization is pretty weak here in general. The dialogue is not as clever as usual, and the characters don't gel together as well as they usually do. Inspector Zenigata is very bland in this one too.

Another problem with this OVA is the poor soundtrack. They don't use Yuji Ohno or any classic Lupin themes, and they don't even attempt a jazzy style.

There are some good things though, the animation for example is very fluid, and the art style is nice. There are some fun car chases, and a couple enjoyable action sequences. Any time Lupin and Jigen are in a car, it's decent Lupin fun. Plus Fujiko has some cool motorcycle action.

Overall, this Lupin OVA is really off it's game. It lacks the usual Lupin stylishness and is pretty generic all around. Definitely on the lower end of the Lupin spectrum, but it's a passable if generic action adventure on it's own.

The fourth Lupin film, 'The Yuma Conspiracy' (or 'The Plot of the Yuma Clan') is most notable for being the first original voice animation based on the manga, also for the original Japanese voice actor for Lupin being replaced and having a different composer.

While no 'The Castle of Cagliostro', my first Lupin film and my personal favourite (also a favourite animated film of mine), and lacking the impressive boldness of 'The Secret of Mamo' (aka 'The Mystery of Mamo'),'The Yuma Conspiracy' is vastly improved over the watchable but disappointing 'Gold of Babylon'. It isn't brilliant, with it suffering from the changes made behind the scenes, but it is good fun with the production values being some of the best of any Lupin film.

It's a little too short, which makes some of the pacing a little too rushed. The music score is neither sumptuous, atmospheric or fitting, lacking the high quality of the rest of the production values and at odds with the action. Yugi Ohno is missed here.

Sadly, the voice acting also disappoints. The changes to Lupin and Jigen's voice actors in the Japanese version were serviceable enough but inferior, but here the English dub is poor with some sounding like they were voicing different characters entirely, they just didn't gel. Jigen in particular is poorly voiced and like the voice actors was not interested.

On the other hand, 'The Yuma Conspiracy' has the best and most polished animation of all the Lupin films. It's great here, with the attention to detail in the chase sequences and backgrounds being particularly impressive. The action is truly exciting with a healthy dose of both suspense and humour. The climax is one of the better ones in a Lupin film (it's actually tense and doesn't descend into weirdness like the ones in 'The Secret of Mamo' and 'Gold of Babylon') and the car chase is terrific.

Writing is humorous, thought-provoking and taut, with a little pathos in the mix. The story has pacing issues every now and again but is very gripping, with the tone always focused and the humour and tension rarely slipping.

Characterisation-wise, 'The Yuma Conspiracy' is largely successful. Would have liked to have seen more of Lupin but he's still fun and it was wonderful to see more development to Goemen. His bride-to-me is more than a damsel-in-distress figure, the villains are a genuine threat and while underused Zenigata hasn't lost his mojo.

All in all, entertaining and well done if lacking in a few areas. 7/10 Bethany Cox