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Lupin III
Episodes Reviewed: Most "Adult Swim" eps.
Overall Grade: A
Am I getting soft, or is anime generally really good?
Storyline: 2
To tell the truth, I don't know if there actually is any main storyline at all. All we get are a bunch of characters found in the same situations every episode. Basically our "heroes" are a group of thieves: Lupin the Third, overall master thief; Goemon, master swordsman; Jigen, ace gunman; and Fujiko, master of disguise and Lupin's love interest. Obviously, such a group of criminals have to be brought to justice, so the "villain," Inspector Zenigata, is always hot on their trail, usually coming deceptively close but not quite catching our elusive foursome. Most of the time, though, Lupin's gang finds themselves getting caught up in another evil operation and end up resolving different crises... if they can get anything out of it, that is.
Type: Comedy
Ch. Development: 0
This anime seems to be purely episodic, with no change in anything as the series "progresses."
Sexuality: 5
Really old fanservice. But hey, that doesn't change the fact that it's fan service!
Romance: 2
In every episode, Lupin has to go and make his lecherous advancis on Fujiko, and usually gets himself hurt in the process, and losing whatever valuables he gains to her at the end of several episodes.
Drama: 4
Sometimes there are some truly surprising events that you don't see coming, but nothing really touching or cool happens. Its age shows itself in the lack of kickassedness as it is defined today.
Action: 4
There's some gunplay and swordplay, but it's usually pretty short and, um.... well it's just short.
Comedy: 7
Without the help of witty one-liners, this series gets its laughs from the insane circumstances of each episode, the characters' personalities, and whatever crazy plan is hatched near the end of the episode. And I guess the novelty of having a thief as the story's hero helps out a bit.
Dub
Dub Voices: 9
I have yet to find any fault, but I'm giving myself some leeway just in case.
Dub Music: ?
I'm pretty sure that there is dub music, seeing as how the chorus often is heard saying 'Lupan the Third," when it's "Lupin."
Dub Lines: 9
Highly acceptable, though there are a few cliches here and there.
Censorship:
All I know is that one Nazi episode was skipped.
The first episode of this series is "Return of Lupin the 3rd." Thus, I feel I'm missing something, so I can't exactly judge it correctly. What I do know is that Lupin the 3rd is interesting, and it sorta reminds me of something I've seen before that I can't quite put my finger on.
The basic flow of each episode is this: First off, one or all members of the group finds out about some new treasure to be pilfered. Second, they make preperations to steal it while Zenigata makes his appearance. Third, they successfully trick Zenigata while stealing the treasure, and finally, they manage to lose the treasure. There are some variations (including one in which they actually keep the treasure), but that's basically how every episode goes. They'll drop the loot somewhere, have it stolen by Fujiko (who either spends it really quickly or loses it as well), be forced to return it due to circumstances (like curses... that happens in more than one episode), or they never get what they actually wanted in the first place.
The fun of the series comes with how each episode is resolved. Sometimes it reminds me of an episode of the A-Team, because sometimes they are actually forced to build some weird device to make their escape, but that happens so rarely that it doesn't get old when it happens. Sometimes the episode won't have anything to do with stealing at all but could actually be entirely evading Zenigata or that one episode where Lupin has to clear his good (criminal) name. Of course, there's action too, and while they are short, they don't fail to liven things up even more than they are.
In short, Lupin III is a great series. Chances are you won't get bored or lack any interest in the series despite its repetitiveness. And despite its short length, the action can get pretty exciting, but don't expect anything big.
That's my Story and I'm Sticking to it!
