This review is spoiler free.
When you really think about it “Lupin III” is a unique anime franchise. I can’t name many examples of a long running series that has such a variety of interpretations to it. Sure there is “Gundam”, however it doesn’t feel like an equal comparison given that franchise lacks the episodic nature that enables Lupin to be so different depending on who’s writing him. From the very beginning Lupin has been a series of artists and writers coming in to have their way with the premise of the gentleman thief, regardless of what Monkey Punch initially envisioned. That said we can point to examples of Lupin projects that attempt to be closer to his style. Which brings us to the first Lupin anime film, 1978’s “The Mystery of Mamo”. Also known as “The Secret of Mamo”, “Lupin vs Fukusei-ningen” which translates to “Lupin vs the Clone”, and prior to “The Castle of Cagliostro” being released the following year, simply “Lupin III”. Out of all of these titles I prefer “The Mystery of Mamo” and surprisingly there is a lot of context for why this film has so many alternate names, but we’re not here to discuss that. What I am here to share is how my opinion of this film has evolved overtime. I first watched it three years ago and within that span of time I have seen feedback ranging from this being a stroke of genius to a complete train wreck. When I first watched it I was of the latter opinion. I thought it was tasteless and paled in comparison to the film that followed it. But after involving myself more with the franchise I occasionally thought about if perhaps I had missed something. Maybe the film isn’t as bad as I remembered it. So recently I gave it a second chance and believe I have found an answer to that.
Our story begins with Arsene Lupin III experiencing the unthinkable, an execution by hanging. Despite being confirmed dead Zenigata discovers him to be alive and carrying out business as usual. After an altercation in Egypt it’s revealed that Lupin has stolen a peculiar stone, one that Fujiko Mine is in pursuit of after the enigmatic scientist Mamo has promised her eternal life and youth. Once a rift is forged between Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon due to Fujiko’s betrayal, Lupin is swept up in a surreal journey that asks who really was the one killed at the start of it all and just what could Mamo be planning. The film was released in 1978 during the production of the red jacket series and was directed by Shoji Yoshikawa with a script co-written by him and pink film icon Atsushi Yamatoya. The intentions of the filmmakers were to offer something aesthetically and tonally similar to the original manga and brought together many people tied to the franchise up to that point. Yasuo Otsuka was a supervisor, Yoshikawa had storyboarded the first and last episodes of the green jacket series, even Yamatoya had written two episodes of green jacket. The character designs were by Yuzo Aoki, an animator from green jacket and future director of the pink jacket series, and meant to be similar to the manga art. While I would argue visually it isn’t too much like Monkey Punch’s drawings, it lacks the heavy line work I associate with it, however it does have a similar spirit. And ultimately while others would try to make their version of a manga faithful Lupin, this film is the one that comes closest. For good and for bad.
Ordinarily I’d start by discussing what I enjoy about an anime, but I feel like I’m better off addressing my issues with “Mamo” now. The biggest and easiest flaw to point out is, unfortunately, Fujiko herself. The way she is written throughout the film does her character a disservice. I don’t want to suggest she’s out of character, given the timing of the film her behavior is in line with past incarnations and still leaves her more fleshed out than her manga counterpart. The real issue is that despite her importance throughout the story she feels less like an active character and more like a plot device sowing conflict. This is, like many red jacket episodes, a story where she toys with Lupin only to need him to save her. And on paper, in isolation, this in itself isn’t a problem for me. But it does feel like a bigger issue when you understand that this happened far too often throughout red jacket so a movie that does the same thing just feels like more for the pile.
A common criticism of the film is the sexual content, which is far more pronounced than the red jacket series was. Some scenes of Fujiko in the nude or being sexualized I thought were fine, I accept that Fujiko will be a sexual character in certain versions. However then we get to scenes like the one where Lupin tries breaking into her room while she sleeps, it has just a really uncomfortable and dark tone. I know in the end Fujiko is the one in control during that scene, and that this is more restrained than how the manga approached such things, but it doesn’t make its inclusion better to me. And while I do like the scene where Mamo probes Lupin’s mind to discover he doesn’t dream, I didn’t like the decision to use photos of real nude women for it. Not because I take some puritanical stance on nudity, but because I despise live action imagery in anime. The only times I’ve ever liked it were in the “FLCL” closing and in “Gintama” where it was in the service of a joke. In anything else that’s tried it, whether it’s “The End of Evangelion” or the “Monogatari” series, I just can’t stand the sight of it. I’ve also seen people address the sexist dialogue in the film, personally this is similar to the dialogue in red jacket where I roll my eyes and move on but I do see the issue. I think a more experienced fan can look at these scenes and recognize them as a product of the time and not indicative of the franchise as it is now, however a new fan that lacks familiarity with the material could be turned off. Due to all of this I feel like “Mamo” is a film best suited to invested Lupin fans than it is to someone wanting to dip their toes in the franchise.
Much of the before mentioned issues were things that held the film back for me on my first viewing. The fact that they were still noticeable on the rewatch was cause for concern, but then we get to the real shock of it all. I love this movie now. These flaws are still something I take into consideration, however they aren’t what completely define the movie. I can appreciate its absurdist plot, the bizarre climax, the visual language behind it, the designs, the fact that this feels like a real movie and not a longer version of a Lupin TV episode. Despite my problems with Fujiko I do think this film utilizes its other characters very well. Lupin is more of a scheming trickster than he would be in other versions, but I find him so entertaining this way. I used to criticize the fact that Goemon and Jigen broke away from Lupin, and therefore the plot for an amount of time, but they have more presence in the movie than I remembered. There’s all these details with them that are part of why I go back to this franchise. You got the dialogue about being old fashioned, there’s Jigen saying their hideout is bad but that he loves the coffee, I get a kick out of Goemon asking if Jigen’s hiding a bald spot under his hat, and again I love Mamo losing his mind over discovering Lupin doesn’t dream thinking it’s a sign of either extreme idiocy or godhood. Even Zenigata, who generally comes across as a superfluous character in “Mamo”, is actually amazing here. His scenes are mostly disconnected from the Mamo plot, but when I’m having this much fun with him I don’t mind that.
And speaking of Mamo, what a special villain he is. His motivations and the mystery that surrounds him aren’t exactly groundbreaking, but he stands out as one of Lupin’s most memorable enemies even with him sharing a name with my favorite Lupin villain, Kyosuke Mamou. I enjoy his strange design, his voice provided by Kou Nishimura, and the fact that he really does feel like a direct byproduct of this franchise. Both he and the film as a whole have a genuine eccentricity to them that I don’t see replicated anywhere else. It isn’t like how the Count of Cagliostro felt like a basic villain I could see in other anime, which is my only real criticism with “The Castle of Cagliostro” at all. I also think it’s worth noting how the plot really is built around Mamo. Sometimes in other Lupin adaptations the villains can feel like they only matter to one part of the story, but not here. Everything including Lupin’s execution in the opening has something to do with Mamo, as befitting a man who boasts he’s behind more than Lupin can comprehend.
And, naturally, Yuji Ohno delivered in the soundtrack. “Zenigata March”, “Dangerous Zone”, “Love Theme”, “Love Squall”, the classics are all here. There’s a specific version of “Zenigata March” that we hear when he’s talking with the commissioner that I loved and I can’t help myself from feeling a sense of euphoria when “Love Theme” comes on. While the arrangement of the theme that plays during the opening credits is just ripped directly from the third red jacket opening, and also not my favorite version of it, it does suit the nature of this weird film. And to cap it all off during the credits we are serenaded by Yasuo Yamada of all people. Hearing him sing was simply charming.
The aesthetic, that I was once dismissive of, is really exciting to look at. This isn’t the best animated version of Lupin, but it is one of the most distinct on a visual level. “Mamo” was the first feature length film from TMS and the budget they had to work with was on par with live action films at the time, an unheard of thing for the late 70s. Production ran for 15 months and had 62,000 cell sheets, far more than the 5,000 that were used in TV anime back then. The film is also noteworthy for using a modified version of VistaVision which allowed for a crisper image to project in theaters. While I didn’t like the brief use of real photography, the rest of its visual style works wonders. There are references to artists like MC Escher and Salvador Dali, several techniques used by Yoshikawa felt reminiscent of anime like “Gamba no Bouken”, which he worked on as an episode director, and I really get the sense that the creativity behind the script was laid out in the art. I feel like we have a terrific pairing of presentation and story. Now Yoshikawa is somebody more people need to know about. Not just for “Mamo”, but for his behind the scenes contributions to iconic anime like “Gamba no Bouken”, “Ashita no Joe”, “Future Boy Conan”, “Armored Trooper Votoms”, and “City Hunter”. Yasuo Otsuka once made a list of people he felt were representative of the anime world and the ones he selected were Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Osamu Dezaki, and Soji Yoshikawa. Upon revisiting the film I can definitely see why.
“The Mystery of Mamo” is a movie that I don’t think is for everyone, and for a while it wasn’t even for me. However, I’m happy I reached a place where it does work. The movie has issues that needed smoothing over, but it also manages to do so much right. The film was a big success when it released and while its impact on the franchise and the anime world isn’t to the degree of what “Cagliostro” achieved, there is still a legacy there. “Gintama” referenced it, it was Monkey Punch’s favorite Lupin film, and even “Lupin III: Part V” paid homage to the famous scene of Lupin and Zenigata trying to run away while their ankles are cuffed together. It isn’t a perfect film by any means, and I do think depending on what you want out of Lupin you may not like this, but as someone who loves dissecting and engaging with different versions of the characters I’m glad I finally connected with it. It suffers from some of the issues that plague the manga it emulates, but it avoids going too far in one direction while still remaining the adaptation that’s closest to the source. What keeps Takeshi Koike’s film trilogy or “The Woman Called Fujiko Mine” from being most like the manga is they take themselves too seriously. “Mamo” never tries to sell you on the idea of it having a dense narrative, it’s self-aware. Because of that I find the movie to be thoroughly fun in all the ways great Lupin anime can be while still standing out with its own clear identity. You may be old fashioned, but there’s still something fantastic about that.
