Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon

สาวจีนที่รักโกเอม่อนคนนั้นคือกุค่ะ

สาวจีนที่รักโกเอม่อนคนนั้นคือกุค่ะ

Lupin, I love you, but you’re bringing me down. There’s so much and so little to unpack here. New York? Aliens? Racism. Like sooo much racism??

Lupin, I love you, but you’re bringing me down. There’s so much and so little to unpack here. New York? Aliens? Racism. Like sooo much racism??

What a vibe. There are no rules in this universe except Lupin is king.

What a vibe. There are no rules in this universe except Lupin is king.

As I dive deeper into the Lupin franchise, the more I am coming to realize the creative potential it has for a wildly diverse range of storytelling capabilities. 

This is the type of batshit insanity I adore. The whole film oozes personality, even if it’s presentation is kinda offsetting. Sure, the general art style and animation are.... not the best... and the representation of Africans in this art style is, quite problematic. With that said, I know the general aesthetic is the Part 3 “Pink Jacket” era of the series, but as someone who hasn’t seen any of the television other than Part 4, to me, this is quite new.

The narrative of the movie itself is fairly straightforward up until the very end which takes a bizarre turn that honestly is so incredibly funny that makes the film worth watching alone. The film is also covered in incredibly bizarre jokes and character moments that are so wildly strange that I was constantly engaged, such as Zenigata’s gang of Women ICOP cops that all come from a different country, or how the villain HAS to say “close sesame” to close his door.

As I dive deeper into the Lupin franchise, the more I am coming to realize the creative potential it has for a wildly diverse range of storytelling capabilities. 

This is the type of batshit insanity I adore. The whole film oozes personality, even if it’s presentation is kinda offsetting. Sure, the general art style and animation are.... not the best... and the representation of Africans in this art style is, quite problematic. With that said, I know the general aesthetic is the Part 3 “Pink Jacket” era of the series, but as someone who hasn’t seen any of the television other than Part 4, to me, this is quite new.

The narrative of the movie itself is fairly straightforward up until the very end which takes a bizarre turn that honestly is so incredibly funny that makes the film worth watching alone. The film is also covered in incredibly bizarre jokes and character moments that are so wildly strange that I was constantly engaged, such as Zenigata’s gang of Women ICOP cops that all come from a different country, or how the villain HAS to say “close sesame” to close his door.

Some fun animation and elaborate action sequences in a goofy world run entirely by cartoon logic, but there's sadly quite a bit of racial insensitivity and stereotypes throughout... I know Japanese culture at the time wasn't very progressive by today's standards, but you really didn't have to draw every black character like THAT. Also the plot really meanders and takes a while to get anywhere, really.

Some fun animation and elaborate action sequences in a goofy world run entirely by cartoon logic, but there's sadly quite a bit of racial insensitivity and stereotypes throughout... I know Japanese culture at the time wasn't very progressive by today's standards, but you really didn't have to draw every black character like THAT. Also the plot really meanders and takes a while to get anywhere, really.