Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy

Some good action chase sequences in this one yet there is not enough Lupin "style" in it. The action centers mostly around Goemon who is a likeable character but a bit too stoic to carry the audience's interest. Lupin himself is sort of a side character in this film and it suffers because of it. His smart alec attitude is half the fun of watching a Lupin film!

This is one of the fewer Lupin OVAs. Oppoximately 3 in total.

This is one of the 2 Lupin anime owned by Animage who have it translated under the name "Rupan".

Besides that it's a great Lupin anime to view. Those who like Castle of Cagliostro or Goemon the trusty Samuri will like this one.

Has some good stuff including Ninjas, Car chases, & secret treasure hold with numerous tunnels, passages, and traps.

Please note that since this is done by a different team of Translators than Genenon or Funimation. The voice acting is different than their debuts.

Pretty much Jigen has a more Gravier voice than his other appearance. But the English voice talents are just fine.

The animation is very well made for an OVA from 1987.

It's worth buying for those who like Lupin the 3rd.

The Fuma Conspiracy a somewhat decent tale brought down by it's flaws.

Goemon is getting married when ninjas swoop in! The Lupin gang has to stop these evil ninjas, save Goemon's bride, and try for some treasure, for good measure.

This 80's OVA has the unfortunate distinction of being the only Lupin anime without the usual Japanese voice cast. This is especially bad, because the voices used don't fit the characters at all, and are distractingly out of place. The English dub is not good either.

On top of the unfortunate voice choices, the characterization is pretty weak here in general. The dialogue is not as clever as usual, and the characters don't gel together as well as they usually do. Inspector Zenigata is very bland in this one too.

Another problem with this OVA is the poor soundtrack. They don't use Yuji Ohno or any classic Lupin themes, and they don't even attempt a jazzy style.

There are some good things though, the animation for example is very fluid, and the art style is nice. There are some fun car chases, and a couple enjoyable action sequences. Any time Lupin and Jigen are in a car, it's decent Lupin fun. Plus Fujiko has some cool motorcycle action.

Overall, this Lupin OVA is really off it's game. It lacks the usual Lupin stylishness and is pretty generic all around. Definitely on the lower end of the Lupin spectrum, but it's a passable if generic action adventure on it's own.

The Fuma Conspiracy is a good time filled with action, reality-bending physics and characters, but it's what fans of the Lupin the Third franchise have come to expect, know and love about it.

This is a very watchable OVA and a good Lupin story, though it's probably not for people unfamiliar with the characters of the franchise. You need prior knowledge to fully appreciate this film. While that may seem like it degrades from the experience, it really doesn't degrade the quality of the film itself. Maybe someone out there's seen this without having known any Lupin III media and became a fan from Fuma. Well I'm one of those fans whose love grew from The Castle of Cagliostro.

Fuma has all the good stuff from the anime icon, and it's exactly that. There's action, humour, and the cat and mouse chase between Zenigata and Lupin. A routine that's entertaining when done well.

The fourth Lupin film, 'The Yuma Conspiracy' (or 'The Plot of the Yuma Clan') is most notable for being the first original voice animation based on the manga, also for the original Japanese voice actor for Lupin being replaced and having a different composer.

While no 'The Castle of Cagliostro', my first Lupin film and my personal favourite (also a favourite animated film of mine), and lacking the impressive boldness of 'The Secret of Mamo' (aka 'The Mystery of Mamo'),'The Yuma Conspiracy' is vastly improved over the watchable but disappointing 'Gold of Babylon'. It isn't brilliant, with it suffering from the changes made behind the scenes, but it is good fun with the production values being some of the best of any Lupin film.

It's a little too short, which makes some of the pacing a little too rushed. The music score is neither sumptuous, atmospheric or fitting, lacking the high quality of the rest of the production values and at odds with the action. Yugi Ohno is missed here.

Sadly, the voice acting also disappoints. The changes to Lupin and Jigen's voice actors in the Japanese version were serviceable enough but inferior, but here the English dub is poor with some sounding like they were voicing different characters entirely, they just didn't gel. Jigen in particular is poorly voiced and like the voice actors was not interested.

On the other hand, 'The Yuma Conspiracy' has the best and most polished animation of all the Lupin films. It's great here, with the attention to detail in the chase sequences and backgrounds being particularly impressive. The action is truly exciting with a healthy dose of both suspense and humour. The climax is one of the better ones in a Lupin film (it's actually tense and doesn't descend into weirdness like the ones in 'The Secret of Mamo' and 'Gold of Babylon') and the car chase is terrific.

Writing is humorous, thought-provoking and taut, with a little pathos in the mix. The story has pacing issues every now and again but is very gripping, with the tone always focused and the humour and tension rarely slipping.

Characterisation-wise, 'The Yuma Conspiracy' is largely successful. Would have liked to have seen more of Lupin but he's still fun and it was wonderful to see more development to Goemen. His bride-to-me is more than a damsel-in-distress figure, the villains are a genuine threat and while underused Zenigata hasn't lost his mojo.

All in all, entertaining and well done if lacking in a few areas. 7/10 Bethany Cox