Lupin III vs. Detective Conan
While this is neither a great Conan story or a great Lupin story, it is a great Detective Conan AND Lupin III story. The two casts enter the story of the Kingdom of Vespania at different ends. Conan is embroiled in an attempt to murder the Crown Princess and Lupin is attempting steal the Crown of Vespania. Fujiko becomes involved at a third point in the tale and draws the two threads together.
There’s a few problems that might seem huge depending on your expectations. The mystery isn’t much of a mystery. And Lupin’s heist never really goes anywhere. It’s another Lupin film with the shadow of Cagliostro hanging over it. But I feel that’s overcome by the character work, which is full of clever touches for people following both franchises. For instance, early in the story the serious and too eager Detective Takagi has great characterisation, engaging in the sort of background pantomime you don’t normally associate with anime. And the few occasions where Conan and Lupin interact are as good as you’d want them to be.
But the real treat comes in the handling of Jigen and especially Fujiko. If you’re a Fujiko fan, this is one her better outings in a Lupin III special. Fun scenes with her, the princess, Lupin and Conan. Jigen too gets some good interaction with Conan as the pair investigate the deaths that start the film.
Probably not a great introduction to either franchise as it lacks what they do best, but for fans of both shows there’s enough here to get your teeth into.
How much do the characters look like the animators might have seen a Monkey Punch drawing at some point in their lives?
I often complain that Lupin III specials have characters that look like Detective Conan characters, well at least here they’ve got the excuse of actually having Detective Conan characters present. So it’s odd that a lot of the non-Lupin, non-Conan characters don’t particularly look like either Gosho Aoyama or Monkey Punch characters. The two victims certainly look like Aoyama characters, as does the Princess. But the others are some sort of happy medium, trying to create a world in which Conan and Lupin can exist side by side despite their distinctly different appearances.
The Lupin gang look really good in this film though, probably my favourite designs for them in a while. Not particularly Punch-y, but their movements and body language are.
How ludicrous are the capers?
They aren’t that crazy. There’s an impenetrable vault and a magic ore, but there’s no audacious set pieces here. This may be a rare Lupin special where Fujiko probably gets most of the action.
How much is Goemon involved in the story, rather than just a third act deus ex machina?
Poor Goemon doesn’t get much use here. With Fujiko and Jigen at the heart of the story, there’s not really any place where Goemon fits in except for his usual save the day spot. He does get some nice lines in the final scene though. To the extent that I’d really like to see a script where Fujiko and Goemon have to work together most of the time, as that’s a relationship that doesn’t seem that well explored from what I’ve seen.
Originally published at AWESOME ENGINE. You can comment here or there.