Note: Any focus on AnimEigo’s English dub will be done in a “Dub comparison” between the various Lupin III English voice casts.
Review:
The first thing that stands out is the quality of the animation, everything in the OVA is detailed and nothing is wasted. The movements are all smooth and fluid with a notable car chase that exceeded all of my expectations.
The story itself has its holes, but is a pretty solid, straightforward Lupin III story. Personally, I find it to be almost on par with the best of the annual TV series. It is not as adventurous or “thrilling” as many Lupin III productions, which I personally attribute to the focus being on Goemon (Ishikawa XIII) instead of Lupin.
The music, which I found to be very well done, was not done by perennial Lupin III composer Yuji Ohno but by Kiyoshi Miyaura, due to budget issues that ended with the music and voice acting budgets being cut and the funds being shifted to the animation.
The Japanese voice acting, as previously mentioned, had its budget cut. As such, the voice actors that had been regularly performing the roles of the main characters (and would continue to do so after this production) were not used, but a different cast. I found the Japanese acting in this OVA to be . . . unfitting of the characters. It could easily be my acclimation to the regular Japanese actors from the TV series and specials, but I do not feel that the actors in this production have the “spirit of the characters” in the roles. Lupin’s voice (Toshio Furukawa) sounds more like a regular guy with a slightly higher-pitched voice than the eccentric gentleman thief; Jigen’s voice (Takashi Tanaka) sounds like your standard, run-of-the-mill bad-ass/tough guy than the laid-back, smooth marksmen; Zenigata’s voice (Seizou Katou) sounds like a grumpy old man instead of the obsessed Interpol Inspector; Goemon’s voice (Toshikazu Shiozawa) sounds more like an everyday protagonist from a stock samurai film than the cold, quiet character he is.
The English voice acting, done by AnimEigo, was surprisingly well done. While I do not think that the cast did the BEST job voicing the Lupin III cast of all of the renditions, they sure did a helluva good one. Lupin’s voice (Robin Robertson) was a little “too squeaky” for my tastes, but overall it’s one of the better Lupin III dubs [in my opinion].
Scoring:
- Plot: 7/10
- Animation: 9/10
- Music: 8.5/10
- Japanese Voice Acting: 5/10
- English Voice Acting: 7.5/10
Information on the Title:
Source Material: Discotek’s 20th Anniversary DVD release
- English Title:
- Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy
2. Alternate English Titles:
- Lupin III: The Plot of the Fuma Clan
- Rupan III: The Fuma Conspiracy
3. Japanese Title:
- Rupan Sansei: Fūma Ichizoku no Inbō
Released: December 1987 – 73 Minutes – OVA
GravediggerNALK 