Lupin the Third: The Mystery of Mamo

PG-13 6.9
1998 1 hr 42 min Adventure , Animation , Drama , Comedy , Crime

Interpol Inspector Zenigata embarks to Egypt in hot pursuit of world's most wanted master thief, Lupin the Third, who is seeking a stone artifact with his partners, Jigen and Goemon. Notorious femme fatale, Fujiko Mine is also after the stone, lured by the promise of eternal youth and beauty by the sinister and enigmatic scientist known as Mamo. It all leads to Mamo's hideaway, where Lupin discovers the madman's dark secret and a fiendish scheme that threatens the entire planet! Now, it's up to Lupin to stop the insane Mamo before he can complete his 10,000 year-old plans of world domination.

  • Cast:
    Yasuo Yamada , Kiyoshi Kobayashi , Eiko Masuyama , Makio Inoue , Gorō Naya , Kō Nishimura , Hidekatsu Shibata

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Reviews

Exoticalot
1998/11/24

People are voting emotionally.

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Pacionsbo
1998/11/25

Absolutely Fantastic

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SpunkySelfTwitter
1998/11/26

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

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Glucedee
1998/11/27

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

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Angels_Review
1998/11/28

It starts out with Lupin dieing… I kid you not; this is really how it starts. The guy had the same fingerprints, DNA, and even looked the same as him. And yet, after a while, you see him rather fine and alive moments later. It's rather creepy in a way. Then when we get to the story with Mamo, it gets even creepier and action packed with one chase scene after another.Lupin is none to bright, though he is a rather lucky guy. His addiction to women even breaks the trio up for a time when he picks Fujiko over his partners. He's irrational at times when not seeing the full picture and so it tends to get him into a lot of trouble that the others have to bail him out of. Fujiko is actually a rather good counterpart, using her sex appeal to make him do as she wants, and yet in this movie, it appears she actually does care for him a lot. It's rather interesting and changes a couple things, giving insight into why she pulls him around. In the end though, it seems that she is just a little to greedy.One thing that is actually rather interesting is that they did a rather good job at mimicking the idea of a Samurai in Goemon. I know people are going to go 'well hey! It's Japan and they know about samurai' but really, all the other times I see samurai in anime, they are actually not as well done. If you look at the long line of anime samurai, name one person that is the very idea of a true samurai from history. Can't get many, right? With one strike, he tries to take down an enemy, which is much closer to the original idea.I cannot believe that Zenigata is still alive after all he's gone threw. That guy gets into more problems then ever including surviving bombs being dropped on him.The opening starts with something rather odd, a women's egg being used for what I would think of as a cloning experiment. A good way to start if I must say for something that seems to be a cloning experiment story line. The artwork is rather lacking in detail and the characters become rather exaggerated with arms stretching out or legs turning into something close to stick figures threw parts of the shot. Still, it's not actually a bad thing. It gives the show character and comedy which works well with how the script is created. This is one of those shows that I'm actually saying the script is better with the somewhat cheap animation they have. It fits! Now another part of the show was a bit interesting as Lupin has a chase scene threw famous pieces of artwork and then runs into clones of both Hitler and Napoleon.The English voices are rather interesting, and I can't believe they really used Lupin's voice the way they did. I don't know exactly which version I watched on Hulu but I believe it's the Geneon version which has him played by Tony Oliver with a rather weasel like voice. He's cocky and annoying in most cases, not sounding like he was the majestic thief although, as you keep watching it, it does tend to grow on you. Inspector Zenigata has a rather good voice for a bumbling detective though he has a bit of a Texan accent. The script is pretty cheesy, though I heard it's like this for the Japanese dub too. I had to rather laugh when one of the American characters actually calls Jigen a democrat when he stands up to them about their politics.

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Ian Gear (psychogoatee)
1998/11/29

The Secret of Mamo is a crazy, memorable, and pretty enjoyable Lupin movie.The first theatrical Lupin movie, this has some very solid animation for 1978, and some very interesting direction. Very colorful and lively. The soundtrack by Yuji Ohno is a blast too, and of course the original voice cast delivers.The story in this one is pretty crazy, and by the end it's pretty much pure nonsense. Lupin is up against a psychotic diminutive man with a god complex, and it leads to some very strange things. Including a cameo from Hitler, naturally.This movie has a fairly brisk pace for the most part, bad things just keep happening to the Lupin gang. One minute they're on the run from a freakishly large truck, the next they're being bombarded by bombs.Where this movie gets really weird is the characterization. Lupin is less cool and laid back in this one, in general he's pretty irritable and annoyed, even with his loyal gang. I have to admit, this makes Lupin less likable to me in this one.Fujiko has a pretty big part in this one, she's quite entertaining, although she does make some questionable decisions. Jigen makes out well in this, and Goemon is pretty cool like usual. Zenigata is great in this, tirelessly hunting Lupin down. But again, seeming a bit out of his usual anime character when he actually wants to kill Lupin.The movie in general is closer to the tone of the manga, with it's insanity and less likable characters.So, pretty much, this is a very memorable movie, it goes above and beyond into the realm of insanity, and it's quite entertaining. The classic dynamic that the characters usually have in the anime is somewhat skewed here though, and the story itself is not entirely satisfying.None the less, this is a wild ride that I recommend checking out.

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emasterslake
1998/11/30

This is the first Lupin the 3rd Anime Movie. It was made 1 year before Castle of Cagliostro. The plot and character designs are similar to the way they look in the manga series.It has some funny moments to it. But wish it had some improvements to it in some parts.If Miyazaki did this movie then we would see a more enjoyable Anime.Comparing this to Castle of Cagliostro, it seems it was made 5 years before that movie.in other words it's worth viewing. Just a reminder the animation is nothing compared to the kind in Castle of Cagliostro.Not bad for being the first Lupin Anime film.I give it 7/10 for almost perfect.

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zack007
1998/12/01

I went into this film with an idea of what I thought Lupin was. I am a big fan of the second series that ran in the 80's, and I was looking forward to seeing this film. Of course, Mamo was made in the late 70's, but I thought the character would be the same. At first I was a little upset with how Lupin looked; his head shape was a bit different than I had seen with the other series'. Also, Goemon looks and acts seemingly out of character. In addition, he comes and goes whenever he pleases, arriving out of nowhere in crucial plot-points. But I can look past all that, seeing how long Lupin has been around. There are sure to be different interpretations of the characters. What got me in Mamo was the plot.When we think of Lupin, we think of heists and fun little robberies. In this film there is this midget freak who wants to clone things. But wait, now he wants to take over the world! Good thing jigen shoots him in the face. Oh wait! That Mammo was a clone! He is on to bigger and better things. He wants to nuke the planet yadda yadda yadda but he dies dramatically. It must be the end, but noo Mamo is actually a Gigantic brain who is going to launch to space and return to be a god. Does this sound like Lupin? I don't think so. It sounds like a James Bond movie on crack. I came out feeling a bit surprised, I must say. Nevertheless, the film has some great action scenes and a waaay over the top Zenigata. I've heard Castle of Cogliostro is better, and after seeing "Mamo and his Gigantic brain", I should hope so.

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