Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Lupin the 3rd: Bye, Bye Lady Liberty Blu-ray Movie Review

Lupin the Third – Bye Bye, Lady Liberty is an exciting and action-packed installment in the anime franchise. The feature- film is the first full length television special produced in the canon of the franchise. The film was originally broadcast on the Bandai Channel and Nippon Television Network. Created by Monkey Punch, Lupin the Third – Bye Bye, Lady Liberty was produced by the Nippon Television Network (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG, Lupin the 3rd: From Siberia with Love) and Tokyo Movie Shinsha (Little Nemo - Adventures in Slumberland, Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo). Produced by Hidehiko Takei (Lupin III: Dead or Alive, Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon), Motoyoshi Tokunaga (Robotan, Flag), and Yutaka Yasuda, Lupin the Third – Bye Bye, Lady Liberty is a must-see Lupin adventure featuring the voices of Yasuo Yamada, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Gorō Naya, Eiko Masuyama, and Makio Inoue.

Lupin III (Yasuo Yamada) has decided it is time to hang in the towel and leave goodbye his prolific life of crime as a professional thief. The famed thief is ready for a new mission in life. Something to move him beyond his crime years as one of the most notorious thieves in history. Lupin finds his end to crime in abruptly cut short when things are in crisis in Ney York City. Jigen Daisuke (Kiyoshi Kobayashi) brings Lupin back to reality and asks him about performing one more job.

The goal? Finding and stealing a legendary Super Egg. The Super Egg has enormous value. Where is the location of this infamous and highly sought after egg? The egg resides inside the statue of liberty. With another top organization also going after the egg and plenty of mischief along the way can Lupin steal the egg before someone else gets to it first? Inspector Zenigata (Gorō Naya) is still hot on the trail while femme fatale Fujiko Mine (Eiko Masuyama) isn’t far behind. Goemon Ishikawa XIII (Makio Inoue) also joins in on the fun.

The characters are always an essential element of the fun for a Lupin adventure. The characters are on a wild thrill ride in this adventure. The characters are all given plenty of fun moments in the film. The fun character designs by Noboru Furuse (Initial D: Extra Stage, Lupin the 3rd: Napoleon's Dictionary) also remain faithful to the original art style. The television special retains the iconic styles for the main characters.

The animation is stunning. Lupin the Third – Bye Bye, Lady Liberty features excellent animation and there is a lot to appreciate about the way the animation team brought the production together. The television special feature-film showcases superb art direction by Mitsuki Nakamura (Crusher Joe: The Movie, Mobile Suit Gundam) and animation direction by Noboru Furuse (Lupin III: Elusiveness of the Fog, Lupin the 3rd: The Hemingway Papers). The animation team made sure to bring something special together. The animators did a fantastic job of showcasing the storyboards Makura Saki (Golgo 13: Queen Bee, Treasure Island) while bringing the film to life.

The cinematography by Hirokata Takahashi (Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Space Adventure Cobra) and Taizo Matsuzaki (Urusei Yatsura: Remember My Love, Night on the Galactic Railroad) is excellent. The cinematography enhances the film in a number of ways. The visual style is quite compelling and engrossing. The lush visual quality makes the film feel more ambitious – as ambitious as a theatrical feature.

The score composed by Yuji Ohno (Lupin III: Island of Assassins, Lupin the 3rd: Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid) is fantastic and compelling. The music by Ohno is jazz-infused fun. The score provides an abundance of energy and thrills and carries the adventure. The music is essential to the film and certainly manages to be every bit as compelling as the theatrical feature adventures.

Written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara (Lupin III: Dead or Alive, Lupin III: Voyage to Danger), Lupin the Third – Bye Bye, Lady Liberty is an essential Lupin outing. The film has plenty of fun moments for all of the characters. The script provides good dialogue and fun moments for the cast of characters. The screenplay certain benefits from a nice concept and it is well executed.

Directed by Osamu Dezaki (Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure, Lupin the 3rd: The Hemingway Papers), Lupin the Third – Bye Bye, Lady Liberty is an essential Lupin outing. Fans of the Lupin anime franchise won’t want to miss this adventure. There is so much joy in the filmmaking and the film is outstanding on many levels – with superb action sequences and plenty of style. A must-see.

Lupin the 3rd: Bye, Bye Lady Liberty Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Lupin the Third – Bye Bye, Lady Liberty is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The video is excellent on the release. The high-definition visuals are outstanding. Color reproduction looks as impressive as one could hope for with a television special. The film has great line art reproduction (reproducing the fine detail in the animation). A quality encode by Discotek.

Lupin the 3rd: Bye, Bye Lady Liberty Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles) and English uncompressed PCM 2.0. The lossless audio sounds crisp and clear on the release. Dialogue is well reproduced. The score has considerable depth and fidelity. The audio fidelity sounds remarkable and capably handles the sound effects for the stereo sound imaging. A great lossless presentation.

Lupin the 3rd: Bye, Bye Lady Liberty Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with Anime News Network's Mike Toole

Art Gallery includes 22 click-through slides.

Liner Notes includes 11 click-through slides.

Vintage Credits/Inserts (SD, 12:09)

Television Spots (SD, 00:54)

Lupin the 3rd: Bye, Bye Lady Liberty Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lupin the Third – Bye Bye, Lady Liberty is an essential adventure for fans of the anime franchise. The film has an abundance of style and creativity. The film is a fun action-adventure thrill ride with plenty of entertaining moments with the cast of characters. The Blu-ray release provides a solid video and audio presentation alongside a selection of bonus features. Highly recommended.