[.ca] Lupin the 3rd: Dragon of Doom

One of the best Lupin III TV Movies:
I've been a Lupin III fan since the Cliff Hanger laser disc arcade game back in the 1980s. I started with Castle of Cagliostro, which is excellent, but a little laid back compared with the rest of the material. CoC is the benchmark, though, for all Lupin stuff. Dragon of Doom is very fast-paced and zany, and compares favorably with the Pioneer Lupin III season II releases (I have most of those). It's much better than Mystery of Mamo, which sucks, and somewhat better than Fuma Conspiracy, which is good, but a little slow. The only thing that doesn't jive here is that Goemon ends up at odds with the gang--it does happen in the series, but it's taken much more seriously here. Fujiko looks different, kinda flat even, but Zenigata is right on. One weird thing about the style here is that Lupin always has a smirk on his face, which you get used to, but it's really obvious. A few laugh-out-loud moments. In short, if you like the Pioneer Lupin III, this is the same animal. If you've only seen Castle of Cagliostro, be warned that the "real" Lupin is more zany than Myazaki's version. Oh, yeah, and there are some stylistic takes on the Yamato series buried in this one...check out the submarine design.