Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy

The Fuma Conspiracy is a good time filled with action, reality-bending physics and characters, but it's what fans of the Lupin the Third franchise have come to expect, know and love about it.

This is a very watchable OVA and a good Lupin story, though it's probably not for people unfamiliar with the characters of the franchise. You need prior knowledge to fully appreciate this film. While that may seem like it degrades from the experience, it really doesn't degrade the quality of the film itself. Maybe someone out there's seen this without having known any Lupin III media and became a fan from Fuma. Well I'm one of those fans whose love grew from The Castle of Cagliostro.

Fuma has all the good stuff from the anime icon, and it's exactly that. There's action, humour, and the cat and mouse chase between Zenigata and Lupin. A routine that's entertaining when done well.

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.

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.

First note that Rupan III and Lupin the 3rd are the same character and this is the same movie series. There was some legal trouble back in the 90s over the use of the 'Lupin' name, then still copyrighted in France, and so a couple of the movies were translated as 'Rupan'. So there.

Anyway, this time around the Lupin gang are in rural Japan because Goemon is getting married! But the bride's family are caught up in a feud with the mysterious and deadly Fuman clan, who are searching for a vast treasure in gold. Lupin promises to get to the gold and steal it first, but discovers that it is hidden in a tricky labyrinth - obviously inspired by the Indiana Jones movies, which came out just a few years earlier. The traps and dangers are very cool and imaginative, as is a breakneck car chase scene through a hotel that occurs near the beginning of the picture. I saw this movie in 1992 as a fansub version and it immediately became one of my favorite anime features. The action animation, comedy timing, and suspense are top notch and even though the run time seems a bit short at 73 minutes, that is simply due to the breakneck pacing of the thing and not a scarcity of plot. A lot happens and the whole thing hangs together better and entertains a heck of a lot more than Indy IV did.

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