Lupin the IIIrd the Movie: The Immortal Bloodline, directed by Takeshi Koike, sees Lupin III (Kan’ichi Kurita) alongside his allies, the world’s greatest marksman Daisuke Jigen (Akio Otsuka), master spy Fujiko Mine (Miyuki Sawashiro), and Samurai Goemon Ishikawa XIII (Diasuke Namikawa), and Inspector Kouchi Zenigata (Koichi Yamadera), as he is invited to a mysterious island to figure out who has been targeting them all this time.

This film is actually my first ever experience with Lupin, which started all the way back in 1971 with the series Lupin the Third Part 1. The Immortal Bloodline is part of the run from Koike that began with Lupin the IIIrd: The Gravestone of Daisuke Jigen (2017), and it is Koike’s final entry in his Lupin universe.

I went in quite blind, but I still found The Immortal Bloodline to be a fun adventure, and Koike’s passion for the franchise shines throughout.

During the Q&A following my screening, Koike discussed how he watched Lupin as a child, and you could tell the privilege he felt in getting to make his stamp on the property. I could have listened to him talk for hours.

Koike’s passion drips into the film, which follows Lupin and the gang on this island as they face the immortal Muomu (Ainosuke Kataoka) and his creations, returning villains Yael Okuzaki (Akio Hirose) and Hawk (Takaya Hashi).

Koike explained during the Q&A that, in Muomu, he wanted to create a villain that felt impossible to defeat. Of course, he couldn’t be too difficult so that the protagonists can’t win, but he wanted a villain that could effectively test them. This enables the film to have that fun sense of adventure. When Lupin meets Muomu, he shoots him in the head. But Muomu does not die; he spits out the bullet. Lupin is shocked and perplexed. 

Having such a formidable villain enables Koike the opportunity to prove that Lupin is the world’s greatest thief, someone who can steal the very immortality of an immortal being. It’s the ultimate test. The same test goes for Lupin’s allies. They are all great at something, and this island challenges them to prove it. 

During the Q&A, Koike also discussed how The Immortal Bloodline was a hand-drawn animation, the first time in 30 years that the series had returned to this traditional style. With this approach, you can really see the craftsmanship from the animators in the expressiveness of the characters.

Where the film does fall flat, though, is at the start, with a lot of flashbacks that cut the film’s momentum. This issue isn’t just seen in Lupin; a lot of anime have that flashback-galore feel.

On the bright side, Kan’ichi Kurita exudes an untouchable confidence in Lupin; even when he is facing a villain who is meant to be immortal, he can still figure it out. Koichi Yamadera, as Inspector Zenigata, bounces off Kurita well, quite smoothly, so that you believe these two have been in a game of cat and mouse for a long period of time. They actually respect each other for this game they have.

Even though this was my first experience with Lupin, it was lovely to see a fan like Koike deliver a wonderful final outing for a character he had loved since watching on his TV.

Review Courtesy of Matthew Allan

Feature Image from Lupin Central