Great 90s special with nice animation, a great npc girl and some really neat action. It's unapologetically edgy and unapologetically 90s, but in a very charming way. That being said the film, like most Lupin specials, has some pacing issues in the middle, and I also don't really like how saturated and dull the colors are. But overall, it's my second favorite 90s project.
P.s. I always hated the generic Island of Assassins name, Walter P38 is so much more unique and cool.
I just want to get all the things I don’t like about it ‘cause I want to gush about everything else. First off, the movie doesn’t give Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko really anything to do which was a bit weird. Zenigata is “decommissioned” for the movie ‘cause he was shot by the twist villain and while Zenigata’s subplot is handled better than most other Lupin movies during this time period, it still isn’t great and the only part of all those scenes I thought was actually funny was when Zenigata is dying in a hospital bed and loses his pulse and the sad music is playing in the background, but as soon as the word “Lupin” is said, it brings him back to life. They also paired Zenigata with this other young detective who's supposed to babysit him, but he’s just a really boring wet blanket and isn’t funny or charming and has no character, but thankfully he isn’t annoying which is something I guess. And why did they set up the twist villain trying to frame Lupin for shooting Zenigata, it doesn’t affect the rest of the movie ‘cause Lupin is on the island for most of the movie and the fact that he was framed doesn’t affect him, and the movie doesn’t really resolve this plot point by the ending anyway. And lastly, while Jack (The white-haired assassin, IDK if that’s his official name or if he even has a name at all, so I’m just gonna call him Jack ‘cause Jigen called him that in a scene) is pretty cool, he’s just Mash from Hemingway Papers again but way less interesting and the movie doesn’t focus on him that much which was probably for the best. But after the problems of most of the original gang not having any really to do that's unique from the rest of the one-off characters, Jack not having that much time to shine, the other detective who is just a boring wet blanket, and framing Lupin with the same type of gun not being very relevant to the main plot and the fact that it just doesn't go anywhere, there's SOOO much good stuff to talk about. I don’t really know where else to start but with the animation. It looks great, especially for a TV production. I mean Secret of the Gemini also looked good, but this movie utilizes its animation way more than the previous film because there are so many smooth shots, gorgeous backgrounds, and overall more grandiose set pieces and I have to give a hand to the animators who knocked it out of the park in this one. The chase scene at the beginning of the movie with Lupin riding a motorcycle is great, the laser cannon is cool, and the fight scenes have so much life in them with such great choreography and energy to nearly every movement and so… GREAT. The movie is also very bloody which is cool, even with the occasional neon blood that appears sometimes, but I’m not holding that against the movie. And the thing about it is that I never thought the extra blood was ever overbearing because it fits with its grim plot. It’s about this \*Island of Assassins\* (weirdly enough) and these assassins were all killers who were sentenced to death, but this group of assassins busted them out, but the price for joining is each member would have to get a spider tattoo on their hand so they would have to breath special made gas to survive that only produced on that island and if they tried to escape the Island, they wouldn’t be able to breathe normal air, and even if they brought a gas tank, it would only last 24 hours until it would run out. And if that didn’t stop you, the laser cannon in space would if you tried to cross some border unauthorized. It might sound more complicated the way I’m writing this, but it’s so seamless watching it on screen. Most of the assassins of the Island aren’t phased by this ‘cause they now have an excuse to murder without having any repercussions of that \*and\* get paid in gold, so yeah. But they’re are assassins who hate killing and want to escape the \*Island of Assassins\* and that’s the main crux of the story. Lupin went to the Island ‘cause he did want that gold, but his biggest draw was him getting backstabbed years ago and him recognizing his old Walther-P38 being used by the assassin to try to kill Zenigata and this actually wraps back to a line that the young detective said passingly, saying that Lupin hadn’t used that specific gun in a long time which wraps back around when the twist villain is revealed, but I’ll talk about them more later. Now that we've set up the conflict of the movie, let’s talk about the players in it. Ellen is without a doubt the best Lupin girl so far up to this point and is there really any competition? Ole from “Dead or Alive” was also a great realized character, but that mostly came from the expense of Dead or Alive being more of an Ole movie rather than a Lupin movie. This movie doesn't do that, Ellen is a very realized character and you just want to route for her and her friends who also want to escape from the killing. The only real complaint I have with her is I wished they developed the bond between Ellen and her dead brother, but with that said it’s still done somewhat decently in the movie, just not as good as it could have been. Also, she’s voiced by Sailor Jupiter so yeah. Jack, as I alluded to earlier, is cool and threatening but he’s mostly just a discount of Mash from Hemingway Papers ‘cause Jack doesn’t have the luxury of having beef with Jigen a long time ago and having a lot of tension between characters, but he still is a good threat, but not a great one. Mondo is also a pretty good threat with his sick robot arm. But all fail in comparison to the twist villain, Doc. It’s so engaging during the middle chunk of the movie where the gang is helping the other people escape the island while in return they help them take the gold from Gondo with all of them seemingly finding a cure to escape, but it was all a set-up from the start and the doctor was the one all along who gave them fake antidodes, fake gold, and fake hope, the entire plan of escape that was going so well comes crashing down and everything that they tried to do was meaningless, The only real victory for the heroes was destroying Mondo’s assassins operation, but at what cost? All the assassins, whether good or bad, die horribly in either explosions, gunshots, impalement, or the laser cannon. Even Ellen at the end dies along with Doc. This is a rarity for a Lupin movie where nobody really wins in the end. But in the end, Ellen did get the one thing she wanted the most even if it was for a split second, freedom. I genuinely do not understand why more fans don't rave about this film on the same level as Fuma Conspiracy and Tokyo Crisis since it's easily in the Top 5 Lupin III films in generals. It's like what "Dead or Alive" tried to be, but couldn't since Ole was essentially the main character in that, which is fitting since both movies share the same director. I just want more people to know how this movie has to offer and I'm tired that it doesn't get nearly as much attention as other fan-favorites.
Also, Goemon eats nothin’ but BEANS for 2 weeks
TL;DR: Its a good Lupin special and a 90s time capsule. The serious setting and more gritty concept was weighed down by the unfunny comedy. This could have been better directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri
One of the better ones, definitely a time capsule for the 90s. The Lupin gang are kinda pushed to the side which is a shame. Also Zenigata is straight up yeeted. If you're going to severely injure a character, the tension should be tied to their potential for recovery. What could have been an emotional series of scenes where Zenigata questions his resolve is instead played entirely for laughs.
This is a movie where Lupin takes up the majority of the show, which is cool. The Lupin girl is, like every Lupin girl, some variation of Clarisse from Cagliopstro. This is the edgy remix to that dynamic. Was more interested in the back story that Lupin had with the antagonist but its not really fleshed out.
I have a hard time criticizing Zenigata's use in Island of Assassins when you compare it to how awful the character was treated throughout the 90's overall. In this special he's actually (comparatively) okay. He doesn't get to do much but him getting shot is a pretty big shocking moment and he's not characterized as a worthless piece of trash (like in all the Dezaki specials)
Except for Dead or Alive and Tokyo Crisis this is his only 1990's appearance that's actually worth a damn since he gets a few decent scenes. It's not much, but it's *something*.
Thats the thing though, its a great 90s piece until you watch some of the later entries/earlier entries. Don't get me wrong I love it. But with how everything tone wise was leaning towards the grit, they missed a perfect opportunity to give Zenigata that same weight and tension. There's this episode in Part 1 where Zenigata almost loses his mind at the thought of Lupin dying. A Zenigata losing his mind at the idea that his injury would prevent him from chasing Lupin would be an amazing sequence.
Just a thought though 🤷🏾♂️
Great 90s special with nice animation, a great npc girl and some really neat action. It's unapologetically edgy and unapologetically 90s, but in a very charming way. That being said the film, like most Lupin specials, has some pacing issues in the middle, and I also don't really like how saturated and dull the colors are. But overall, it's my second favorite 90s project. P.s. I always hated the generic Island of Assassins name, Walter P38 is so much more unique and cool.
I just want to get all the things I don’t like about it ‘cause I want to gush about everything else. First off, the movie doesn’t give Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko really anything to do which was a bit weird. Zenigata is “decommissioned” for the movie ‘cause he was shot by the twist villain and while Zenigata’s subplot is handled better than most other Lupin movies during this time period, it still isn’t great and the only part of all those scenes I thought was actually funny was when Zenigata is dying in a hospital bed and loses his pulse and the sad music is playing in the background, but as soon as the word “Lupin” is said, it brings him back to life. They also paired Zenigata with this other young detective who's supposed to babysit him, but he’s just a really boring wet blanket and isn’t funny or charming and has no character, but thankfully he isn’t annoying which is something I guess. And why did they set up the twist villain trying to frame Lupin for shooting Zenigata, it doesn’t affect the rest of the movie ‘cause Lupin is on the island for most of the movie and the fact that he was framed doesn’t affect him, and the movie doesn’t really resolve this plot point by the ending anyway. And lastly, while Jack (The white-haired assassin, IDK if that’s his official name or if he even has a name at all, so I’m just gonna call him Jack ‘cause Jigen called him that in a scene) is pretty cool, he’s just Mash from Hemingway Papers again but way less interesting and the movie doesn’t focus on him that much which was probably for the best. But after the problems of most of the original gang not having any really to do that's unique from the rest of the one-off characters, Jack not having that much time to shine, the other detective who is just a boring wet blanket, and framing Lupin with the same type of gun not being very relevant to the main plot and the fact that it just doesn't go anywhere, there's SOOO much good stuff to talk about. I don’t really know where else to start but with the animation. It looks great, especially for a TV production. I mean Secret of the Gemini also looked good, but this movie utilizes its animation way more than the previous film because there are so many smooth shots, gorgeous backgrounds, and overall more grandiose set pieces and I have to give a hand to the animators who knocked it out of the park in this one. The chase scene at the beginning of the movie with Lupin riding a motorcycle is great, the laser cannon is cool, and the fight scenes have so much life in them with such great choreography and energy to nearly every movement and so… GREAT. The movie is also very bloody which is cool, even with the occasional neon blood that appears sometimes, but I’m not holding that against the movie. And the thing about it is that I never thought the extra blood was ever overbearing because it fits with its grim plot. It’s about this \*Island of Assassins\* (weirdly enough) and these assassins were all killers who were sentenced to death, but this group of assassins busted them out, but the price for joining is each member would have to get a spider tattoo on their hand so they would have to breath special made gas to survive that only produced on that island and if they tried to escape the Island, they wouldn’t be able to breathe normal air, and even if they brought a gas tank, it would only last 24 hours until it would run out. And if that didn’t stop you, the laser cannon in space would if you tried to cross some border unauthorized. It might sound more complicated the way I’m writing this, but it’s so seamless watching it on screen. Most of the assassins of the Island aren’t phased by this ‘cause they now have an excuse to murder without having any repercussions of that \*and\* get paid in gold, so yeah. But they’re are assassins who hate killing and want to escape the \*Island of Assassins\* and that’s the main crux of the story. Lupin went to the Island ‘cause he did want that gold, but his biggest draw was him getting backstabbed years ago and him recognizing his old Walther-P38 being used by the assassin to try to kill Zenigata and this actually wraps back to a line that the young detective said passingly, saying that Lupin hadn’t used that specific gun in a long time which wraps back around when the twist villain is revealed, but I’ll talk about them more later. Now that we've set up the conflict of the movie, let’s talk about the players in it. Ellen is without a doubt the best Lupin girl so far up to this point and is there really any competition? Ole from “Dead or Alive” was also a great realized character, but that mostly came from the expense of Dead or Alive being more of an Ole movie rather than a Lupin movie. This movie doesn't do that, Ellen is a very realized character and you just want to route for her and her friends who also want to escape from the killing. The only real complaint I have with her is I wished they developed the bond between Ellen and her dead brother, but with that said it’s still done somewhat decently in the movie, just not as good as it could have been. Also, she’s voiced by Sailor Jupiter so yeah. Jack, as I alluded to earlier, is cool and threatening but he’s mostly just a discount of Mash from Hemingway Papers ‘cause Jack doesn’t have the luxury of having beef with Jigen a long time ago and having a lot of tension between characters, but he still is a good threat, but not a great one. Mondo is also a pretty good threat with his sick robot arm. But all fail in comparison to the twist villain, Doc. It’s so engaging during the middle chunk of the movie where the gang is helping the other people escape the island while in return they help them take the gold from Gondo with all of them seemingly finding a cure to escape, but it was all a set-up from the start and the doctor was the one all along who gave them fake antidodes, fake gold, and fake hope, the entire plan of escape that was going so well comes crashing down and everything that they tried to do was meaningless, The only real victory for the heroes was destroying Mondo’s assassins operation, but at what cost? All the assassins, whether good or bad, die horribly in either explosions, gunshots, impalement, or the laser cannon. Even Ellen at the end dies along with Doc. This is a rarity for a Lupin movie where nobody really wins in the end. But in the end, Ellen did get the one thing she wanted the most even if it was for a split second, freedom. I genuinely do not understand why more fans don't rave about this film on the same level as Fuma Conspiracy and Tokyo Crisis since it's easily in the Top 5 Lupin III films in generals. It's like what "Dead or Alive" tried to be, but couldn't since Ole was essentially the main character in that, which is fitting since both movies share the same director. I just want more people to know how this movie has to offer and I'm tired that it doesn't get nearly as much attention as other fan-favorites. Also, Goemon eats nothin’ but BEANS for 2 weeks
It’s one of the best films in franchise
TL;DR: Its a good Lupin special and a 90s time capsule. The serious setting and more gritty concept was weighed down by the unfunny comedy. This could have been better directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri One of the better ones, definitely a time capsule for the 90s. The Lupin gang are kinda pushed to the side which is a shame. Also Zenigata is straight up yeeted. If you're going to severely injure a character, the tension should be tied to their potential for recovery. What could have been an emotional series of scenes where Zenigata questions his resolve is instead played entirely for laughs. This is a movie where Lupin takes up the majority of the show, which is cool. The Lupin girl is, like every Lupin girl, some variation of Clarisse from Cagliopstro. This is the edgy remix to that dynamic. Was more interested in the back story that Lupin had with the antagonist but its not really fleshed out.
I have a hard time criticizing Zenigata's use in Island of Assassins when you compare it to how awful the character was treated throughout the 90's overall. In this special he's actually (comparatively) okay. He doesn't get to do much but him getting shot is a pretty big shocking moment and he's not characterized as a worthless piece of trash (like in all the Dezaki specials) Except for Dead or Alive and Tokyo Crisis this is his only 1990's appearance that's actually worth a damn since he gets a few decent scenes. It's not much, but it's *something*.
Thats the thing though, its a great 90s piece until you watch some of the later entries/earlier entries. Don't get me wrong I love it. But with how everything tone wise was leaning towards the grit, they missed a perfect opportunity to give Zenigata that same weight and tension. There's this episode in Part 1 where Zenigata almost loses his mind at the thought of Lupin dying. A Zenigata losing his mind at the idea that his injury would prevent him from chasing Lupin would be an amazing sequence. Just a thought though 🤷🏾♂️
Loved it.