Tweet
Released by: Eastern Star/Discotek Media
Released on: 3/30/2010
Director: Minoru Ohara
Cast: Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue, Kanichi Kurita, Eiko Masuyama, Goro Naya
Year: 2002
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
Based on the popular manga series, written and illustrated by 'Monkey Punch,' Minoru Ohara's Lupin The 3rd Episode 0: First Contact is a 2002 animated feature that tells the origin story of everyone's favorite master thief, Asene Lupin (Kanichi Kurita). Originally shown in Japan as a television special in honor of the character's thirtieth anniversary, it brings Lupin to America where he's chasing down treasure owned by a Mafia boss. This mobster knows Lupin is after his loot and so he hires an assassin named Jigen Daisuke (Kiyoshi Kobayashi) to keep the thief away and when his initial attempt on Lupin's life fails, it sends Jigen on a path of vengeance as he's bound and determined to kill him before he can leave the area.
Meanwhile, the girlfriend of Lupin's rival, Fujiko (Eiko Masayuma), shows up and makes his life complicated while Inspector Zenigata (Goro Naya) travels from Japan to New York City to arrest her. Another guy, a master samurai named Goemon Ishikawa XIII, is after a mystical sword that is in turn connected to the treasure that Lupin has got his eyes on and, as always seems to happen in cases like this, before you know it the characters are all intertwined and involved in some fairly ridiculous scenarios that may or may not land Lupin in some very hot water.
The Lupin series is known for its goofy blend of action and humor and this installment doesn't really deviate from that formula too much at all. In short, it'll give fans the type of storytelling that they want and expect from the character and his supporting cast and won't stray too far from the mold, while at the same time, it's able to delve into Lupin's past a bit and elaborate on his origins. Having a familiarity with the character will definitely help with your appreciation of the movie but this is a self contained chapter so it's as good as starting point as any for new fans to climb on board, particularly as it serves as a springboard of sorts for later adventures.
The animation style used is clean and cartoonishly exaggerated as is the norm with the series. It's not as realistic as some anime features can be but there's enough detail here that it always looks good. It's also amusing to see Lupin involving himself in various New York City landmarks such as Central Park and to see how the film deals with certain American stereotypes such as the mobster character who much of this mayhem is centered around.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The film is presented in a very nice 1.33.1 fullframe transfer. The colors come through nice and clean, the image is free from all major print damage and aside from a perfectly acceptable coat of film grain, the picture is very clean and detailed looking. The reds don't bleed at all, and the black levels stay pretty deep as well. The image quality on this release contains a strong level of fine detail throughout. Line shimmering does occur once in a while but it's never too overbearing and edge enhancement and mpeg compression issues are never too noticeable either
The film is presented in its original Japanese language in a reasonably clean sounding Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo soundtrack. Removable subtitles are available in English only that are clean, clear and easy to read. As far as the quality of the track goes, it's good. Dialogue sounds fine, as does the film's excellent score
The disc contains, aside from animated menus and chapter selection, an English language commentary track from Reed Nelson, the webmaster of Lupinthe3rd.com. It's a fine track that does a good job of explaining the character's history, where this storyline fits in with continuity, and what sets it apart from other films in the series. Also included on the disc is the film's original theatrical trailer, trailers for a few other Lupin movies, and a decent still gallery of promotional images.
The Final Word:
Discotek gives Lupin The 3rd Episode 0: First Contact a pretty solid release highlighted by an interesting and informative commentary. The feature itself is good entertainment and it finds that nice mix of action and comedy that the series is known for.