AKA: ルパン三世 風魔一族の陰謀 (Lupin Sansei: Fuma Ichizoku no Inbou), Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy

Genre: Madcap adventure action comedy

Length: Movie, 73 minutes

Distributor: Currently licensed by Discotek Media.

Content Rating: PG (violence, brief nudity)

Related Series: Far too many to list here. The more notable examples would be Castle of Cagliostro, Tales of the Wolf, The Plot of the Fuma Clan, The Secret of Twilight Gemini and, of course, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine.

Also Recommended:

Notes: Due to copyright issues, AnimEigo has subtitled their Lupin III releases as "Rupan III". As if *that's* gonna fool anybody. Throughout this review, the title is given as "The Fuma Conspiracy", which was the original North American name of this release.

Rating:

Lupin III: The Plot of the Fuma Clan

Synopsis

At long last, Goemon is getting married! Lupin, Fujiko, and Jigen of course go to watch their friend tie the knot, but just before the crowning moment, ninjas storm in and try to steal the sacred clan vase, and when that doesn't work, they kidnap the bride (doncha _hate_ it when that happens)!

The ninjas turn out to be from the Fuma Clan, and the vase a key to a legendary treasure of, well, legendary proportions. The father of the bride tells Goemon to let his fiancee go for the sake of the safety of the treasure, but Goemon will have none of it. Now, three separate powers head to the site of the treasure: Lupin and co., the Fuma Clan, and the father. And, of course, you can always count on Inspector Zenigata to show...

Review

After Legend of the Gold of Babylon, I despaired of ever seeing a decent Lupin III movie that wasn't digital sourcebed. I was pleasantly proven wrong.

Fuma Conspiracy contains a lot of elements that make a good action flick: lost treasure, secret traps and passages galore, crazy chase scenes, surprising plot twists, and a really cool villain. Add to this the madcap grab-the-seat-in-front-of-you antics of Lupin and co., and what you've got is an action movie that won't quit until the unbelievable end. Sure, it's unrealistic, but so is Looney Tunes, and you don't see anyone complaining.

The art, animation, and music are more concerned with being slapstick and humorous than being pretty or realistic, which fits the mood of the film pretty well. Some of the action sequences will have you laughing out loud with the sheer improbability of it all. And of course the characters are funny and endearing, being the cast of Lupin III that we've all grown to love.

If you're looking for a film high in entertainment value but little else, go for the Fuma Conspiracy. Cool.

— Raphael See

Recommended Audience: There's a brief bit where a chase scene with Lupin and the Inspector take them through a bathhouse, resulting in some brief casual nudity. Also, the last sequences involve some martial-arts violence on a level equal to, say, the animated Batman or Gargoyles. Probably okay for most audiences.