Customer Reviews

Lupin The 3rd - Dead Or Alive

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

DVD Features:
Letterbox Widescreen
English 5.1 Dolby Surround
English 2.0 Dolby Digital
Japanese 1.0 Dolby
English Subtitles of Japanese Track (not dubtitles)
English Captions of English Track (dubtitles)
Interview with Monkey Punch

This is the third Lupin theatrical feature to be released in the United States (the others being the Castle of Cagliostro and the Mystery of Mamo) and the first theatrical feature of Lupin to be released by FUNimation.

The grand Monkey Punch himself (who created the awesome series) took the directing chair for this movie, and the results could not be any better. This is one movie that has a lot of action. It doesn't have as much comedy as the other Lupin movies, but there are a few comedic moments. The entire movie is action packed and entertaining.

Dead or Alive was originally made in 1996, but the animation is fluid and visually appealing. Dead or Alive is a must-have for fans of the action genera, not just anime or Lupin fans!

I was disappointed with how FUNimation handled this release! The Japanese track is only in mono, the widescreen is not anamorphic, and the transfer could have been better! The packaging is also questionable.

But what matters is the content, which is good, so don't waste time! Get your hands on this movie now. You won't be disappointed! You'll be pulling this movie off the shelf time after time! DVD extras include a video interview with Monkey Punch himself!

I would respectfully disagree with several of the "reviews" posted here, this is a fantastic movie and another great Lupin III experience. This is one of the most important anime series that has come from the amazing universe of Japanese animation, many in the West do not realize that animation in Japan continues a long long tradition of stylized art from the woodblock tradition and therefore it has deep roots in their culture....and has much more depth than Western animation in many ways. Lupin III series has the added feature of being so well designed and written that it is fun and funny and exciting all at once. This movie is just as good as any of them, and of the more than 20 movie length features and the 14 dubbed this is one of the best. You won't regret buying it and will watch it many times I am sure.

The voicing is by the way superb, and for an english speaker there is just no real reason to claim to prefer the Japanese language version, I read and speak some Japanese but it is not my native tongue and there is no way for us to grasp all the nuances and implications of the Japanese language version without being qualified translators or totally literate in both languages. So sit back and enjoy what is a great dubbing job and enjoy the show.

CSG
ANIME ACADEMY

Was fun to watch. Has a few plot twists that are a little hard to figure out. Plenty of action. If the ending had made more sense it would have been better.

Now we got an intriguing adventure on an island.

Besides a fight scene at the beggining, it's what one would call a "clean" movie.

Lupin and his gang are solving the secrets of a secret treasure protected by highly advanced technology that's years ahead of it's time. Located in a fictional country of Zuffu (a middle east like country) with a evil general leader who has a thing for knives and swords.

I complain that this movie is a bit slower than others of the series.

Watch it or rent it.

Is it true that "any Lupin III is good Lupin III"? Well, as a big fan of the series, I'm tempted to say so, but this film was entirely unappealing to me, for two main reasons:

1) Lupin and the gang are in the movie, obviously, but it's not their film at all. The main plot of the movie really has nothing to do with them, and they just show up randomly as a means of tying loose ends or wrapping up a scene. They're supporting players in their own movie, and with characters as classic as these, that just ain't right! But even aside from their limited screen time, the movie itself just feels wrong. Lupin III movies have a style of their own that separates them from other anime (just as the James Bond films' style separates them from other action films), and "Dead Or Alive" was sorely lacking in that department. It seems like Lupin and co. were thrown into a completely different fictional universe than their own. Almost as if the original script was written for something else, and Lupin was thrown in at the last minute.

And a big factor in that is 2) the art/animation style employed in the movie. True, Lupin has gone through many different looks throughout his lengthy career, but the designs in this movie really missed the mark. Heck, they were downright ugly at times. Lupin lost all the sly-but-goofy fun we all know and love him for. Goemon was just flat out not Goemon; he lost all his previous stoic identity and looked instead like a cliched action man we've seen in countless other anime shows. And poor Fujiko, it just hurt my eyes to even look at her. The SOLE exception was with Jigen; come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen him look better!

Now, the movie isn't a total waste of time; in fact, I'd recommend it to all fans of Lupin JUST for the scenes with Zenigata. Not only does he actually get to kick a$$ in this movie (unlike the total boob he's normally presented as), but the interplay he has with Lupin is some of the best I've ever seen in the series.

In conclusion, "Dead Or Alive" is easily the worst Lupin movie I've seen so far. Others in the series weren't so great either, but at least they had the Lupin feel to them. This movie was just another ho-hum anime actioner. Again, see it for Zenigata, but don't expect to enjoy yourself otherwise.

It always turns out that I want to love Lupin III more than I actually do. The problem is that for one brief shining moment Lupin appeared in a masterpiece. `The Castle of Cagliostro' is considered the pièce de résistance of Lupin; some even consider it the greatest anime of all time. All other Lupin III movies are disappointing in comparison to Hayao Miyazaki's fabulous work. There have been some very enjoyable movies through the years and some not so good ones. I have to put `Dead or Alive' into the not so good category.

The animation is passable but nothing to write home about. The plot is rather dull and lifeless. Lupin, Jigen, Goemon and Fujiko are once again hunting for fabulous treasure this time on an island that looks like it's composed of a wrecked aircraft carrier or some such thing. A lot of stuff didn't seem to be well explained. The island is protected by nano-machines who attack on sight, not in the way one might expect a nano-machine to attack by say invading your body but by creating bladed weapons that extend from the walls. The nano-machines more resemble living clay. So Lupin needs to figure out how to get past the nano-security while also dealing with the local despot General Headhunter who's also trying to figure out the secret of the nano-machines.

My biggest problem was with the amount of time spent on peripheral characters that I didn't care about. I watch Lupin III to see interaction of the main four characters along with Inspector Zenigata not some boring side character. There was also a lot of unnecessary padding in the movie.

As a long time fan of Lupin III I have to say that I complain because I care. I want to see a long healthy existence for the Lupin franchise and movies like `Dead or Alive' will probably not bring aboard too many potential fans.

This was a good movie, not the best, but it was still good. The ending was different, but different is good in this case.

There are 2 English tracks, one surround and one stereo, and there is a Japanese track in mono. I wish the Japanese track was in stereo, but it's not that bad.

There are two subtitle options on this DVD. One option is subtitles of the Japanese track, and the other is dubtitles of the English track, so if you're watching the movie in Japanese, make sure to select the right subtitles so you won't end up watching the dubtitles!

The Monkey Punch interview was a nice extra! For the casual Lupin fans, it tells you some good information that you might not have known before. I had hoped for more extras, like pictures from the movie program like Geneon did with Mystery of Mamo.

If you don't like the English voices, you can always watch it in Japanese! The Japanese voice actors are good. It's not like the English voice actors aren't good, but the names of Lupin and Jigen are mispronounced, and everyone else has an annoying accent.

It's a good movie, and as this is the only way you can get to see it in the US, I recommend you purchase it.