Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo
Directed by Soji Yoshikawa and Yosuo Otsuka
Summary: "Lupin, the master thief/spy/Jack of all Trades, has been executed, but he is still alive, and not even Lupin himself knows how that is possible. While trying to figure out, however, he and his gang are thrust into a conspiracy involving clones, Lupin's un-trustworthy rival Fujiko, and a minature mad-madman's plot to take over the world." (from AnimeNewsNetwork)
This is both a typical and atypical Lupin movie. My first time watching this, all I could remember was seeing the bizarre reveal at the end, which I won't spoil here. Watching it a second time, the first half is full of the stuff you expect from a Lupin adventure, but then the second half hits and we enter a scifi conspiracy film. It's cool stuff and once you wrap your head around it, it's a good movie, but on your first time watching it you will be stunned.
Let's start from the beginning. The movie begins with Lupin being executed. Well, short movie, right? Inspector Zenigata refuses to believe he's dead, and after a Dracula homage and a quick escape, Lupin is alive and kicking. We cut to Lupin and the gang stealing the Philosopher's Stone as part of a contract, but Fujiko being the traitor she is, takes it from Lupin to claim the reward from a mysterious man named Mamo. The gem turns out to be a fake, and understandably Mamo is pissed by this, so he tries to have the Lupin gang killed. What follows is several chase sequences involving helicopters, planes, and a giant truck that vaguely looks like Optimus Prime being sent after Lupin. Naturally, Lupin manages to give them the slip, but ends up being stranded in the desert, where the Lupin gang dissolves after a lot of in-fighting.
The animation isn't very notable for a 70's animated film, only being a bit better than the Lupin TV series that was airing at the time. Still, the chase sequences are well-done and will grab your attention, and there's still the classic Lupin slapstick and sexual humor. Then things get weird, but I'll try to explain it without spoiling much.
Mamo's an interesting Lupin villain. He's not the first to claim mystical powers, that honor belonging to Pycal. He does however have access to technology that shouldn't exist for centuries, including cloning. He's actually been cloning himself to stay alive for centuries, with his life spanning back to ancient times, or at least so he claims. His evil plan is to become god of the earth, and to do that he needs to find true immortality, and he offers to Fujiko and Lupin immortality because he finds them worthy. He's more of a sci-fi villain than a mystical villain, but a reveal near the end makes him an almost otherworldly adversary for Lupin, making him one of the more unique and memorable villains in Lupin history.
So does the sci-fi conspiracy mix well with the comedic action of Lupin III? I think it helps that the film eases the audience into the weirdness that is Mamo by starting out with the typical Lupin tropes, only scaled up for a feature film debut. The reveal at the end is still bizarre and some fans might find it unacceptable, but after a second watch I consider it one of the highlights of the film and a reason to watch it. There are other bizarre moments in the film, such as an American agent insulting Jigen by calling him a Democrat (this was during a time when the president was a Democrat), a Lupin comic featuring DC Comics characters making a brief appearance, and Lupin meeting Hitler. No, that all actually happened. I could probably point every weird thing that happens in this movie, but we'd be here all day.
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| Oh hi Godwin's Law. |
The story overall is an epic one for the Lupin gang. While characters like Goemon and Zenigata have little to do in this movie, they still have their crowning moments of glory, such as Goemon taking out a helicopter with a sword and Zenigata leaving the police force just so he can still hunt Lupin. Lupin and Jigen are the same characters as usual, but Fujiko's more of a damsel in distress this time around. She's still great at manipulating both sides, but she needs to be saved a few times and spends a lot of time screaming. Fujiko's gotten herself in hairy situations before, but she's never been a true damsel in distress. She's always had a backup plan of some sort, or at least managed to put on a confident face when in danger. If you want to see Fujiko being awesome, this is not the Lupin feature for you.
Now for the dub, or rather dubs of this movie. This movie has a long history of English dubs. It was first dubbed back in 1978 for Japanese Airlines by Toho, but that dub is extremely rare and few people have heard it. The second dub was released in America by Streamline Pictures in 1995, starring Bob Bergen as Lupin, and Manga Video released a dub for the UK a year later. In 2003, Geneon took a crack at dubbing the movie with the same cast they used to dub the second Lupin III TV series, featuring Tony Oliver as Lupin, Richard Epcar as Jigen, Lex Lang as Goemon, Michelle Ruff as Fujiko, and Jake Martin as Zenigata. Tony Oliver's a decent Lupin, but never been my favorite rendition of the character in English. He sounds comedic enough, but he lacks the gusto that makes the character as fun and tough as he is. Epcar as Jigen is pretty good, appropriately gruff and deep enough and never letting up on the snark. Sadly, Goemon and Fujiko sound flat in comparison. Lex Lang sounds like he's reading his lines off a script and never emotes. Goemon is a stoic character, but he's not supposed to sound like a robot. Michelle Ruff is slightly better, but her attempts at sounding sexy sound fake, and she doesn't have the fun dangerous undertones that the Japanese actress had. Zenigata sounds like a redneck and it's just weird. Paul St. Peter as Mamo does a good job of playing the power hungry villain. He's never over-the-top, but his sinister tone and air of superiority are carried through his voice. The only dub I've seen is the Geneon dub, and it's the easiest to find, being available to watch on Hulu. It's an okay dub, though definitely not the best Lupin dub I've heard.
Overall, for the first Lupin III film, Secret of Mamo is a memorable trip, full of adventure and comedy you expect from Lupin with some weird science fiction to spice it up. Maybe the science fiction will be too spicy for some to handle, but I think it gives the film some much needed weight. It's not the best Lupin film; Hayao Miyazaki's Castle of Cagliostro beats it out on pretty much every level, but it's a worth a watch for anyone curious about Lupin.
Sadly, Secret of Mamo has been out-of-print for awhile, but there is some good news. As I mentioned earlier, the film is streaming on Hulu. Discotek Media recently acquired the film's license, and they plan to release the film with not 1, not 2, but all 4 English dubs, including the rare Toho dub. Discotek usually puts a lot of effort into their Lupin releases, and it looks like this will be the must-have version of Secret of Mamo. When it comes out, I recommend buying it.
BUY IT!
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