Lupin The 3rd: Jigen's Gravestone

This brief film is not only the first appearance of Lupin's new blue jacket (soon to be the staple of a new series), but it's also the first release licensed by Discotek Media to have an original English dub. The art style closely resembles the previous TV outing (The Woman Called Fujiko Mine), so it's beautifully colored and heavily inked, but not quite as many sketch lines all over the place. Some of the bizarre surreal elements from that series are present as well, which while confusing, doesn't detract from enjoyment for long.

The plot is pretty straightforward. Master thief Arsene Lupin III and his right-hand gunman Daisuke Jigen "have their sights set on a treasure worth stealing called the Little Comet which is located in the country of East Doroa, but Yael Okuzaki, a skilled assassin is after Jigen". Meanwhile, femme fatale Fujiko Mine is attempting a heist of her own and ends up in a big mess of trouble with some creepy secret society. The two plots come together after Lupin bails her out and discovers why this society hired the assassin in the first place.

The story is presented in two parts, each about the average length of a TV episode with an opening and closing title sequence. The closing theme is great and would fit right into a James Bond movie (complete with a gunbarrel graphic).

The dub is fortunately good, although if you're familiar with other voices for the characters, it does take a moment to sink in. I warmed up to Kevin Silverstein's Lupin pretty quickly, mostly due to his laid back approach and that he reminded me of Mark Hamill. Jigen's voice is serviceable. It's not bad, but I think Richard Epcar or Christopher Sabat had a certain gruffness that the new actor hasn't quite figured out yet, but does show some promise. If Discotek decides to put our more dubs (and I honestly hope they do), this guy might be able to grow his beard and become just as memorable as the other two. Speaking of Epcar, he reprises his role as Inspector Zenigata from the Fujiko series in a brief cameo. While he put in a great performance there thanks to these projects' portrayal of Zenigata as competent and dead serious, I still wonder how he'd fare in a lighter Lupin feature, which portrays the inspector in a more comical (but usually still competent) manner. Christina Vee's Fujiko voice is thankfully perfect. I couldn't tell if it was Michelle Ruff returning to the role or a dead-on impersonation. Either way, she fits the character to a T.

This one is certainly worth it if you're a Lupin fan, and I'll definitely be getting it when the DVD comes out. Until then, we can watch the film on Hulu. Viewer discretion advised.