Lupin the III: Chi no kokuin - eien no mermaid

This film marked Lupin III's 40th anniversary, and this did a better job of capturing that Lupin magic than James Bond did on his 40th Anniversary. Lupin III becomes uncharacteristically introspective as he is asked, "WHY are you a thief?" This adventure also ties back to Lupin's grandpa, so it takes on a more personal connection than your typical Lupin heist.

Let's go through the cast of characters and see how they fared in this entry. Jigen is still cool but doesn't have much in this one. Goemon at the very least has rival to best in the movie. Zenigata gets some good time to shine. This is one of Fujiko's best movies. It really capitalizes on her duplicity and unknown alliance. As Jigen says, "She always takes advantage of the situation.

This adventure takes some generous inspiration from "Last Crusade" and a bit of "Castle in the Sky" with a splash of "Dead Zone" thrown in for good measure. In fact, with these involving talks of mermaids and immortality, what a coincidence that it came out the same year as "Pirates of Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" which likewise involved mermaids and immortality.

This is a smartly written, well-paced, comedic Lupin III adventure with enough twists and turns to make it an exciting thrill.

On the negative side, they do feel the need to incorporate a 14-year-old kid on their adventure. She's annoying and insists on tagging along. The villain is also nothing special. Word domination, the same old dream.

Beyond those negatives, this was a really good Lupin adventure. Fitting that it talks of immortality, considering Lupin III could go on for another 40 years, and if the movies are as good as this, I won't be complaining.