Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon Blu-ray Movie Review

Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon is the third theatrical feature in the Lupin franchise. Created by Monkey Punch, Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon has an enjoyable theme song performed by Naoko Kawai. The film was distributed by TOHO (Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Urusei Yatsura: Only You) in Japan. Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon has animation by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Lupin III: Dead or Alive, Little Nemo - Adventures in Slumberland).

Produced by Hidehiko Takei (Lupin III: Dead or Alive, Lupin the 3rd: The Hemingway Papers), Hisashichi Sano, Kyojin no Hoshi, Shin Kyojin no Hoshi, and Tetsuo Katayama (Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Jarinko Chie), Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon is a compelling entry in the franchise. Executive produced by Yutaka Fujioka (Lupin III: Part II, Lupin III: Part III), Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon features voice performances by Yasuo Yamada, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Gorō Naya, Eiko Masuyama, and Toki Shiozawa. Fans of the franchise will want to see it for the action and comedy.

Lupin the Third (Yasuo Yamada) has one of his biggest missions yet as he goes on a quest to obtain the fabled gold of Babylon. Journeying out on a new adventure alongside best friends and allies Goemon Ishikawa (Makio Inoue) and Daisuke Jigen (Kiyoshi Kobayashi), Lupin finds his thieving skills put to the test. Traversing the entire world while pursing the bountiful gold treasures, Lupin might get his biggest assortment of treasures to date. Yet things aren’t always simple for Lupin with Inspector Zenigata (Gorō Naya) hot on his tail alongside a group of sexy policewomen (aiding Zenigata on his latest mission).

Lupin’s troubles don’t end there: Zenigata isn’t the only obstacle this time – he must also manage to dodge the potentially lethal attacks of the Mafia! Could the violent and ruthless Mafia members take him out before he gets the gold? Not if Fujiko Mine (Eiko Masuyama) has something to say about it all. Making matters more interesting, a drunken old lady named Rosetta (Toki Shiozawa) might hold some hidden key to unlocking the truth about Babylon. Can Lupin take home the gold before its too late?  

The character designs by Hidetoshi Owashi, Tatsuo Yanagino, and Yuzo Aoki are impressive with the feature-film sticking to the established aesthetic of previous Lupin television installments. The fun character designs feel right at home for the franchise. The new characters are well designed, too. Outstanding work.

The animation is the greatest highlight of the production. The animation is highly enjoyable during Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon. The art style is one of the main reasons the film series is such a reliable and dependable franchise. The art by Tsutomu Ishigaki (Lupin III: Part III, Magic Knight Rayearth) is exquisite. Under the animation direction of Hidetoshi Owashi (Lupin III: Part III, Tonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time), Tatsuo Yanagino (Lupin III: Part III, Symphony in August), and Yuzo Aoki (Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo, Omakase Scrappers), Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon is another terrific achievement in the franchise.

The score by Yuji Ohno (Lupin III: Part II, Lupin III: Crisis in Tokyo) is reason enough to see Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon. Ohno is a brilliant composer on so many levels – one of the best in the entire anime industry. Ohno is a genius and the music he provides the franchise is endearing in countless ways. The score is brilliant and full of jazzy charm from start to finish.

The screenplay by Atsushi Yamatoya (Lupin III: Part II, Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo) and Yoshio Urasawa (Lupin III: Part II, Case Closed) is underwhelming (to say the least). Unfortunately, Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon is not an entry in the series with a great screenplay. It is a decent-at-best script. The screenplay could have been improved.

Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon is chaotic at times with a pace that doesn’t always impress. For something made right after Miyazaki’s The Castle of Cagliostro, the script for Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon falls a bit short. Terrible? No, but it could have been a bit better.

Directed by Seijun Suzuki and Shigetsugu Yoshida (Lupin III: Part II, Lupin III: Part III), Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon is a bit uneven as a Lupin feature-film but the filmmaking is nonetheless entertaining with some solid spectacle. There are some impressive sequences during the film and the adventure elements make up for some of the unevenness in the script department. Though it’s easy comparing it to Miyazaki’s The Castle of Cagliostro and feeling a little disappointed, Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon is still a fun outing. Worth seeing for Lupin fans.

Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray from Discotek Media, Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen. The presentation quality on the release is generally quite good and oftentimes excellent. A pleasing transfer with a naturally filmic appearance. The film print is in generally good shape with nice detail and color reproduction.

The animation looks excellent on the release. If there is a drawback, the presentation does have some dirt and occasional specks that make the transfer less pristine looking in comparison to some of the Lupin films. Though the transfer is imperfect and could have used a slightly better remaster, the presentation is still worthwhile and benefits a good deal from the natural film scan aesthetic.

Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: English uncompressed PCM 2.0 and Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release also provides a Japanese 5.1 audio presentation. The lossless audio capably reproduces the original sound direction by Seiji Suzuki. Throughout the presentation, the lossless encoding handles dialogue and music with ease. The soundtrack is a highlight of the audio presentation – the score sounding especially vibrant. The presentation certainly benefits from the better encoding effort by Discotek.

Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a well-designed o-card slipcover. The sleeve artwork on the release is reversible and includes additional key artwork (so one can have different unique art on both the slipcover and sleeve cover art). This is one of my favorite design elements with slipcovers and it is wonderful that designs such as this one provide additional art for the feature-film.

Japanese Theatrical Teasers (HD, 2:41)

Japanese Theatrical Trailers (HD, 3:16)

English Teaser (HD, 2:29)

English Trailer (HD, 2:17)

Creditless Opening Animation (SD, 2:00)

Art Gallery includes 121 click-through slides of artwork.

Liner Notes includes 13 slides with information relevant to the film.

Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon is an entertaining if uneven entry in the Lupin anime franchise. The film has good animation and a bustling score by legendary composer Yuji Ohno (Lupin III: Part II). As an immediate follow up to Miyazaki's The Castle of Cagliostro, the entry comes up a bit short but it still offers some fun with the characters and is a good installment that fans will not want to miss.

The Blu-ray release features solid video and audio alongside a decent selection of extras. The best extra on the release is the expansive art-gallery (featuring 121 slides of artwork). The release also provides a nice o-card slipcover. Recommended.