Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo Blu-ray Movie Review

Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is an exciting and action-packed feature-film. Broadcast on Bandai Channel and the Nippon Television Network, Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is the 16^th television special. The film features animation by TMS Entertainment (Bananya and the Curious Bunch, Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine). Created by Monkey Punch, Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is an adventure featuring plenty of thrills for the fanbase. Produced by Rieko Ono (Lupin III: Operation Return the Treasure, One Outs) and Yasumichi Ozaki (Lupin III: Island of Assassins, Lupin III: Missed by a Dollar), Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is well-worth seeing. An entertaining entry in the Lupin franchise.

Lupin III (Kanichi Kurita) is in more trouble than he ever expected. The famed thief finds himself looking for valuable treasures but he soon finds himself in over his head when someone else kidnaps him and Lupin becomes the “treasure” himself! Being abducted by someone is no ordinary walk in the park. Despite being a master thief, Lupin can’t overcome the kidnapping.

Lupin is not alone in the new kidnapping situation: Fujiko Mine (Eiko Masuyama) has been kidnapped and both are now hostages. Lupin is ordered by his kidnappers to find and steal the “Bull’s Eye” gem – considered a stone of immense value. The problem? Anyone who “owns” the gem dies in the process. Could Lupin bite the bullet next?

Meanwhile, the teenage girl named “Becky” is out to get the gemstone herself and she has spent her life trying to follow in the footsteps of the great Lupin III. Yet there could be more to the gemstone and the plot of the kidnappers: some of these thieves are actually seeking out the entire “collection” of Lupin – everything the thief has ever stolen. Can Lupin come out ahead? A big adventure with friends Jigen (Kiyoshi Kobayashi) and Goemon (Makio Inoue) along for the wild ride. Just watch out for Inspector Zenigata (Gorō Naya)!

The wonderful cast of characters remain an essential element of the production. The series just wouldn’t be the same without these characters. Lupin III is one of the most entertaining anime characters in the history of animation. The character is silly and over the top most of the time. Sometimes, Lupin can have a serious side too. It is nice to have such a charming lead. The fun supporting cast of characters makes the Lupin series all the better, too.

Jigen and Goemon are essential aids on the adventure and are part of the essential team. The team element is something that plays a huge role in the film. Yet perhaps the most important supporting character is none other than Fujiko Mine. Fujiko is the female counterpart to Lupin and the romantic interest. Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo wouldn’t be the same without her. Yet, of course, Inspector Zenigata always adds to the fun, too.

The character designs by Satoshi Hirayama (Cat's Eye, Lupin III: Crisis in Tokyo) are excellent and are an important part of the production. The designs for Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo are true to the series roots and the characters are brought to life in a compelling way. The designs certainly add some incredible depth to the production. Though the feature-film is a more modern film in the anime franchise, the essential core elements of the designs are faithful to the original cell-based anime productions. A great essence of the film.

The mecha designs by Yoshio Mizumura (Lupin III vs. Detective Conan, Lupin the 3rd: Green vs Red) add some exciting action-adventure elements to the production as well. These elements certainly provide excitement. Mecha isn’t always important to the Lupin franchise but when it plays a nice role it’s a wonderful thing to see the designs being handled by good hands. A good effort by Mizumura.

The animation is impressive and engaging in Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo. Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo features superb art direction by Akira Suzuki (A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Hi Score Girl). The art direction is a fun element of the film and is something to celebrate. The animation direction by Haruo Sotozaki (Fruits Basket, Antique Bakery), Tatsuya Oka (Dragon Ball Super, Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki), and Yoshio Mizumura (Yowamushi Pedal, Zillion) adds to the aesthetic of the anime as well – providing the film with a modern sensibility.  

The animators contributed exceptional animation to the production and managed to bring the storyboards by Hidehito Ueda and Tetsuya Kobayashi to life. What would the film be without the animators? It is essential for the animators to help usher in the production and help it to find its voice as an action-adventure in the franchise. A wonderful production with great effort from the animation team.

The score composed by Yuji Ohno (Lupin III: Dragon of Doom, Lupin III: Elusiveness of the Fog) is a fun part of the experience. The score adds a sense of energy and charm to the entire adventure. Ohno is brilliant as a composer and has such a fun time with the world of the series. Creating a fun score for Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo, the production has a jazzy vibe and the score provides sweeping fun throughout. Ohno is the master of the Lupin franchise scores and this is another excellent work.

Written by Toshimichi Okawa (Lupin III: the Last Job, Golgo 13), Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is a fun and charming film in the long-running franchise. Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is a film that has an engaging storyline and plenty of heart. The characters are given a lot of moments to shine during the film and these elements certainly help the entire production to excel on the whole. A good script by Okawa: showcasing excellent dialogue for the characters.

Directed by Hidehito Ueda (The Sound of Waves, Beet the Vandel Buster), Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is entertaining and engaging. Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo might not be top-tier Lupin but it is still a highly entertaining and essential production. Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is fast-paced, thrilling, and full of charm. Director Ueda has fun playing in the Lupin sandbox and there are plenty of cool elements to appreciate in this outing. Fans will certainly want to see this worthwhile entry.

Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Discotek Media, Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The video presentation on the release is generally impressive looking. Though the transfer is not quite as sharp compared to more recent and modern productions, the transfer remains reasonably impressive in preserving detail in the animation. The color reproduction on the release is excellent as well. The animation certainly benefits from the solid encoding from Discotek Media.

Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release does not include an English dubbed option. The lossless Japanese audio track sounds noteworthy on the release. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand throughout the presentation. The audio presentation also capably handles the score – the music by Yuji Ohno is well-reproduced. The presentation certainly sounds crisp with good fidelity and there are no significant issues to report.

Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a well-designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover design features nice artwork for the feature-film. The sleeve underneath the slipcover contains the same main illustration. Though the sleeve would have been even more impressive with alternative artwork, the slipcover still adds a nice touch to the edition. The inner sleeve cover also includes interior artwork. The disc art on the release is also a well-designed part of the package. The release looks great overall and will look nice both in hand and on the shelf.

Unfortunately, the release does not provide any on-disc supplemental features. This is quite a bummer when on compares the release of Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo to some of the other releases in the Lupin anime franchise. Some Lupin releases come with audio commentaries, special featurettes, art work and design galleries, trailers, and much more.

It would have been nice to see some special attention paid to the on-disc extra content on the release. Perhaps there were not as many materials produced for this particular Lupin television special for Discotek Media to create a more compelling supplemental package. Alas, the slipcover is the only noteworthy bonus.

Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo is an entertaining feature-film in the Lupin franchise. The television special is a wonderful installment with a fun storyline, beautiful animation, and fast-paced direction. The film manages to find plenty of fun with the characters. The filmmaking is exciting and this is a worthwhile entry in the franchise.

The Blu-ray features a solid video and audio presentation. The only real disappointment of the release is the lack of more meaningful bonus features. Lupin fans will wish to add the release to their collection. Highly recommended.