Lupin the 3rd Movie (1979) Review

Anime TL;DR

Review

Lupin the 3rd Movie (1979): The Castle of Cagliostro

ルパン三世カリオストロの城 (Rupan Sansei: Kariosutoro no Shiro)

Synopsis

Lupin and Jigen have just pulled off another million-dollar heist – only to find out that all one million dollars of it are counterfeit money from Cagliostro! Cagliostro has supplied the world with counterfeit money of all nationalities for decades, only surviving because of the global economy’s strong dependence on the faux dough.

Shortly after crossing Cagliostro’s borders, Lupin encounters the lovely princess of Cagliostro, hotly pursued by the Duke of Cagliostro’s cronies – and loses her to the Duke’s men who imprison her in his heavily-fortified castle. A bit of inquiry reveals that the Duke has plans to marry the princess against her wishes… and perhaps other plans as well, one involving finding a priceless treasure lost for centuries.

Directed by

Hayao Miyazaki

Written by

Monkey Punch

Screenplay by

Haruya Yamazaki, Hayao Miyazaki

Music by

Yuji Ohno

Movie

1 episode(s)

Tones

Frustration, Goofiness, Optimism, Serenity

Genres

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery

Demographic

Men (Seinen)

Language

Japanese

Premiered

December 15, 1979

Run-time

100 minutes

Elements

Adult Lead, Antihero, Crime, Gunfight, Male Lead, Mind Game, Overpowered MC, Swordplay, Violence

Rating

Good

Poor < Fair < Good < Great

Animation

Good

Poor < Fair < Good < Great

Story

Good

Poor < Fair < Good < Great

Pros

Character design
Music
Plot
Visual
World building

Cons

Character development

Overview

Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro is the second feature film featuring Monkey Punch’s master thief Arsène Lupin III, from his manga series Lupin III. The film was Miyazaki’s first time directing a theatrical feature after having previously worked as an animator for Toei Animation and Telecom Animation Film and directing several television shows including Lupin III and two episodes of Lupin III Part II.

Alternative title

– Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
– Lupin Sansei: Cagliostro no Shiro
– Rupan Sansei: Cagliostro no Shiro
– Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro
– De Verborgen Stad
– El Castillo de los Falsificadores
– Lupin III: Slottet i Cagliostro
– Lupin: El Castillo de Cagliostro
– ルパン三世カリオストロの城
– Arsene Lupin ja Cagliostro loss
– Das Schloss des Cagliostro
– Edgar de la cambriole – Le château de Cagliostro
– Lupin – Vévodsví Cagliostro
– Lupin III – Il castello di Cagliostro
– Замок Калиостро
– Lupin III. – Cagliostro kastélya
– Lupin III: O Castelo de Cagliostro
– Lupin Trzeci: Zamek Cagliostro
– Люпен Трети: Замъкът на Каглиостро
– Die Jäger des Cagliostro
– Hardyman räumt auf
– Hardyman schafft alle – Freiheit für Prinzessin Yasmin
– Lupin III – Le château de Cagliostro
– Lupin Sansei Movie 02
– Люпен III: Замок Калиостро
– Люпін ІІІ ~Замок Каліостро~

TL;DR Review

Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (Japanese: ルパン三世カリオストロの城 Hepburn: Rupan Sansei: Kariosutoro no Shiro) is a 1979 Japanese animated action-adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki as his feature film debut.

The animation is beautiful for the late 70’s era, and remind me a bit of Laputa in some parts. The colors are vibrant and give off the impression it’s more colorful than real life. The art style is very goofy, as this is the norm for the time.

The mellow theme song “Honoo no Takaramono” by Bobby is beautiful and haunting. this song reminds me of Porco Rosso’s ending theme, which I also love.

This is the world of Lupin, where physic doesn’t have to make sense. For example, a car driving up a cliff. You need to suspense your disbelief to fully enjoy any Lupin’s anime.

The Lupin movie has a charm to its goofiness that’s endearing. I enjoy the anime throughout and wasn’t put off by it’s dated style. As a Hayao Miyazaki’s film, you can see elements from this anime that will be better refined in his later works.

I recommend this movie to the fan of light-hearted crime comedy. Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro contains graphic violence, smoking and alcohol consumption, and suggestive themes/dialogs. Intended for young adults.

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