Lupin the Third: The Fuma Conspiracy (1987)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

I'll tell you why so serious

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The fourth Lupin film, 'The Yuma Conspiracy' (or 'The Plot of the Yuma Clan') is most notable for being the first original voice animation based on the manga, also for the original Japanese voice actor for Lupin being replaced and having a different composer.While no 'The Castle of Cagliostro', my first Lupin film and my personal favourite (also a favourite animated film of mine), and lacking the impressive boldness of 'The Secret of Mamo' (aka 'The Mystery of Mamo'),'The Yuma Conspiracy' is vastly improved over the watchable but disappointing 'Gold of Babylon'. It isn't brilliant, with it suffering from the changes made behind the scenes, but it is good fun with the production values being some of the best of any Lupin film.It's a little too short, which makes some of the pacing a little too rushed. The music score is neither sumptuous, atmospheric or fitting, lacking the high quality of the rest of the production values and at odds with the action. Yugi Ohno is missed here.Sadly, the voice acting also disappoints. The changes to Lupin and Jigen's voice actors in the Japanese version were serviceable enough but inferior, but here the English dub is poor with some sounding like they were voicing different characters entirely, they just didn't gel. Jigen in particular is poorly voiced and like the voice actors was not interested.On the other hand, 'The Yuma Conspiracy' has the best and most polished animation of all the Lupin films. It's great here, with the attention to detail in the chase sequences and backgrounds being particularly impressive. The action is truly exciting with a healthy dose of both suspense and humour. The climax is one of the better ones in a Lupin film (it's actually tense and doesn't descend into weirdness like the ones in 'The Secret of Mamo' and 'Gold of Babylon') and the car chase is terrific.Writing is humorous, thought-provoking and taut, with a little pathos in the mix. The story has pacing issues every now and again but is very gripping, with the tone always focused and the humour and tension rarely slipping.Characterisation-wise, 'The Yuma Conspiracy' is largely successful. Would have liked to have seen more of Lupin but he's still fun and it was wonderful to see more development to Goemen. His bride-to-me is more than a damsel-in-distress figure, the villains are a genuine threat and while underused Zenigata hasn't lost his mojo.All in all, entertaining and well done if lacking in a few areas. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The Fuma Conspiracy is the fourth film in the Lupin the 3rd series and turns out to be a fresh and exciting adventure after the disappointment of Legend of the Gold of Babylon. Even though it's one of the shortest films in the series, at only 73 minutes, it manages to pack enough thrills to make it worthwhile. The film begins at the wedding of one of Lupin's long time partners, Goemon Ishikawa XIII, being married to Murasaki Suminawa. The guest list includes Jigen, Fujiko, and of course Lupin, who has recently faked his death. However, some uninvited guests arrive: Ninjas of the Fuma Clan. During their raid they attempt to steal an urn belonging to the Suminawa Clan. When, their attempted robbery fails, they instead take Murasaki hostage and decide to trade her for the urn. The leader of the Suminawa Clan reveals to Lupin and the gang that the urn contains the secret location of the Suminawa family treasure, which the Fuma Clan has been after for centuries. After saving Murasaki, Lupin steals the urn for himself to search for the treasure with the Fuma Clan in hot pursuit. But that's not all. Recently out of retirement, Inspector Zenigata joins the chase and is determined to have Lupin's gang as well as the Fuma Clan arrested.So, after summarizing the basic plot, there's not really much else to say about this movie. The action was great, the humor was great, the villain, simply known as The Boss, was great. Really, all I can say to describe this film is that it was great. The only thing not so great about this was the English dub. Hopefully they'll make a better one in the future. Murasaki, Goemon's bride-to-be, is a pretty enjoyable character. She' smart and joyful and the film does a great job of showing her positive influence on Goemon's life. It allows us to see a happier, more human, side of Goemon that we don't usually see often. There really isn't anything else to say. The movie is great. It just makes me really happy whenever I watch it. If you're a Lupin fan, then go see it. If not, well go see it anyway. It's just great :)

Though the animation is beautiful and the car chase with Lupin and Zenigata is fantastic, The Plot of the Fuma Clan (1987) is not one of the more inspired Lupin ventures.The action scenes are good and the venture through the cavern at the end is memorable, but the story itself is predictable and not that great. In fact, the plot is quite derivative of an earlier Lupin III film, The Castle of Cagliostro (1979). A spirited damsel in distress, an ancient treasure, and several little moments are taken straight from the older movie.It makes me sad really, because I love the character of Goemon and was so glad he got a movie mostly centered around him. It's just a shame that it couldn't have been more than just okay.

If, like me, you think Lupin III's gang are just as engaging characters as the master thief himself, this is definitely one of the movies for you. Like 2002's "Episode Zero: First Contact", which tells the story of the gang's first meeting from the viewpoint of Jigen Daisuke, this story is focused on another member of the crew, the enigmatic samurai Ishikawa Goemon. About to marry, Goemon finds his bride and her dowry both abducted by the Fuma ninja clan, and must--with the help of wedding guests Lupin and Co.--battle through all obstacles to get her back. I'm biased here, as deadpan Goemon has long been my favorite member of Lupin's crew, but I honestly think there's enough Lupin hijinks here to keep his fans happy as well. Car chases galore and the dogged but humane determination of Inspector Zenigata keep the energy high throughout. If you like animated martial arts action, though, this is the primo Lupin movie for your collection, as Goemon is the star and fights several terrific sword battles. Extra-cute character designs and fluid animation by Tokyo Movie Shinsha add to its charm. A real treat.