Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro Anime Review

Second Opinion

• Reviewer: Arcane
• Review Date: 2001-08-26 (updated 2001-08-26)
• 5 stars out of 5 (?)
• Main Review: 4.5 stars according to Marc

Castle of Cagliostro is a true classic. It's one of the few totally mundane (i.e no advanced technology, evil demons or powerful magic) anime productions that I really like. Although twenty years old, this remains one of the highest quality anime I have ever seen, due to its engaging plot, hilarious characters, and unbelievable action (check out the car chase in the first fifteen minutes--unbelievable!).

This is a very funny film. Most of the humour attaches itself to Wolf (a.k.a Lupin III, depending on what you're watching) and his charming roguishness (or whatever). He's a world-class criminal, but at the same time a really good guy, and you get the feeling that he's on the wrong side of the law only because it's more fun there. His two sidekicks, Jigen the sharpshooter and Goemon the samurai, are great entertaining characters, if a little lacking in depth, but that's alright. Fujiko's here as well, tougher than ever, but the main female role is Princess Clarisse. She's pretty straightforward, but still a believable character. Inspector Zenigata is here again, and this time he's in a much better role than he was in "Secret of Mamo." And Count Cagliostro is simply evil, eeevil!

The voices in the Streamline dub are great, with absolutely all the characters being voiced as well as possible. The soundtrack is also excellent, and the animation, despite being badly out of date, is clear and detailed.

Overall, Castle of Cagliostro is a brilliant and essential addition to any self-respecting Otaku's collection. See this film immediately!