Takashi Yamazaki’s version of the classic tale is visually arresting and boasts a cheeky, charming hero in a family-friendly CG animation
Lupin, the legendary gentleman thief who jumped from the pages of the original Monkey Punch manga to numerous animated features and TV series, not to mention
music CDs and video games, returns to the screen in the first iteration of the character in CG animation. This is a family-friendly interpretation from writer/director Takashi Yamazaki, sidestepping the raunchiness of some other adaptations, though retaining a heroic, cheeky and charming flair.
This time around, the adventure of the daredevil thief is a little thin in terms of plot, yet dazzling in its execution. A decade after the end of the second world war, Lupin attempts to steal a diary containing secret inventions that caused its owner, the famous archeologist Bresson, to be shot dead by Nazis. During his quest, Lupin crosses path with Laetitia, an archeology student who is after the treasured item on behalf of her adopted grandfather; she is unaware that the latter is a Nazi sympathiser. When her eyes are opened to the old man’s nefarious intentions, she joins forces with Lupin and his sidekicks Jigen and Goemon, to stop the evil Nazis from securing Bresson’s all-powerful machine.