CCXXIII: Lupin III: The First

It's bittersweet, to be brief, to finally see Lupin III: The First. Because that same year, a tragedy happened that may have marked the end of our gentleman thief, unless someone picks up the pieces. The movie is essentially a CGI work that was made as recently as 2019, and it would be a year prior that I was even aware of it. The series itself is quite lengthy, with manga, anime, and a few movies under their belt, even crossing over with the likes of Detective Conan, as if to compliment the thief/detective combo.

The long and short of it is that Arsene Lupin III is a gentleman thief of an ancestral line, if not a bit of a sleaze... but even among thieves he has an honor system that crosses with more sinister criminals, and is constantly pursued by one Koichi Zenigata, an inspector of Interpol that has it in for Lupin. He is sometimes aided (and sometimes not) by Daiskue Jigen, a sharpshooter and best friend of Lupin's; Goemon Ishikawa XIII, an ancestral samurai of his renegade ancestor of the same name eland experienced with his sword Zantetsuken; and Fujiko Mine, a diva who utilizes her sex appeal to accomplish her objectives, often to the chagrin of the other members, including Lupin.

In the movie, an event in someone's past leads her, under the instruction or coercion of her grandfather, to swipe a treasure possibly connected to the supposed resurgence of Adolf Hitler, centeres around an artifact Professor Bresson obtained prior to his passing. This, however, is also the target of Lupin and his gang, which leads to a race to uncover what that treasure is, and that this unwilling thief and Lupin may have more in common than they thing as they reluctantly work together.

Made entirely in CGI, this movie captures well the antics and zaniness the series is well known for, and didn't lose a step in the transition, but has yet to receive a dubbing, despite being okay'd for North American release via GKIDS, with help of Fathom Events last year, with supposed redistribution later this year via GKIDS and Shout! Factory. The movie, subtitled, is also available via Netflix, though it's uncertain if this is a region-locked matter.

I call it bittersweet, because that same year, Kazuhiko Kato, the brains behind the series who was more well known as Monkey Punch, fell to pneumonia on April 11th, months prior to the initial December 9th release in Japan. With the brains behind it buried, it is unlikely we will see any more of him unless an understudy exists who can take the mantle proper. It is unclear who will voice who in the dubbed version of this film, which was teased some time back that same year, but it's ironic, albeit sad, that a film called The First was for the series possibly its last. The only critique I have is that the subbing may have been... off-kilter to be nicr, but even then I understood the gist of what they were saying... though this is also likely not the official translation I watched.

While not perfect, the film did damn well from beginning to end, earning a solid 9 of 10 from me. I only hope this isn't the end for Lupin III, even if they should resort to being occasional crossover characters with TMS Entertainment sibling Detective Conan.

CCXXI: "Demon King Daimao"

Well... granted I often end up a sucker for anime that either has harem, a slight bit of perversity, or just one with a big dose of weirdness involved, it doesn't surprise me that, despite how backed up I am in anime to watch, I would come across Demon King Daimao at some point. Granted, it was on the list to look into, ever since seeing a trailer for it at Otakon a while back. After spotting this via Netflix, I checked it out and... I initially had no witty response to it. But let's get into what this is about.

Let's see... picture yourself as a transfer student who found himself as a new entry in a school dealing with magic. Now then, if you were this person, you'd probably have some idea who you desire to be in the future. Okay, now imagine that idea of yours is in your head, only for those dreams to be crushed by the prediction that you're to be the Demon King. for Akuto Sai, this is his reality, regardless of how much he wishes to refute this, and he has to deal with all the undesired attention and rumors that a mere crow (albeit magical) sparked when he made such a claim. Between people giving him Hell (no pun intended) about his predicted future, as well as girls surrounding him with perversity swords and what not, his simple school life is officially anything but that: simple.

Licensed under Sentai Filmworks, it's original run began and concluded in 2010 with merely 12 episodes. It is in English language, so naturally, there are hard copy DVDs and Blu-Rays of this, and as I stated before, found via Netflix as well. While it has action and fantasy, it is also a romantic comedy and harem (which I seem to be a sucker for), and with ample perverse moments involved. With the way it ended, it doesn't quite suggest a season two, but who knows. It's small, but there is a window of opportunity should they bother falling back on it. The boy-turned-Demonic King is voiced by Chris Patton, who is a name seen in quite a few works.

I could go on to talk about this, but at the very least, I will say that unlike some titles (eyeing Magikano), at least the plot is picked up from the initial episodes, and despite that it took a while to get serious, they didn't stray from the focal point in a sense. The part that rattles me is that, obviously, its length. I feel that so much more could be involved in this, but at least unlike the previously mentioned title, it doesn't quite have the whole "Screw You!" ending in which the plot does a complete reset. Nah, compared to that, to me it's favorable, yet leaves a bit to be desired. I'll call it a 7 of 10 as a general score, and hope that this, as well as my new fave Highschool DXD, see some extra episodes attached. Time will tell, right?

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Seiko here! As the title says, the Vlogger is go, and the first entry is already posted. Here's the link to it, watch, comment, and keep in mind your etiquette:

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CCXX: "Squid Girl"

A title similar to my last post in terms of plot, Squid Girl, aka Shinryaku! Ika Musume is one that's more down to earth, and thankfully shorter. I never thought I'd see this title so soon, but the internet just keeps throwing the title in my face (in various ways, at that.) I might as well get started on this.

The title character is, of course, Squid Girl, a sea emissary who plotted to invade Earth as the denizen's consequence for the pollution of the sea. And yet, after busting a hole in the wall of the Lemon Beach House (a restaurant owned by the Aizawa sisters Eko and Chizuru), she ends up serving the very humans she wanted to conquer. However, it's not as depressing as it initially sounds, as she meets curious characters, learns things on the surface, and eat loads of shrimp! Will she ever invade the planet?

Unlike Sgt. Frog, Squid Girl isn't perceived as an alien, and while she looks close to human, she actually features and uses traits you would find in squids, well... various squids. The title in question is a slice of life comedy, and having seen stuff of this genre, it's a breath of fresh air to see a type that's actually humorous a little. Squid Girl has 2 seasons that are 13 episodes a piece, with an OVA released August of last year, and another debuting overseas in 2 weeks. Media Blasters licensed this title for the US release, so it has been dubbed, at least Season 1 has, which I found via Netflix. The cast this times feature mostly names I never heard of before, though Christina Vee has a role in here. Christine Marie Cabanos voices the lead character, and I remember hearing her before in Rozen Maiden Overture.

Initially, I couldn't make heads or tails of this, but as it progressed (yes, I still hung in there), I started to come to terms with it a bit more. And it's definitely a bit more upbeat, compared to normal slice of life titles, and a huge plus over the dramatic ones. An interesting thing to note here: in the raw/subbed versions, she stresses the ika term and usually ends her sentences with de geso. In the dub, these are dropped, being replaced by dialogue with squid-based puns. What charms me about the latter is that some of the puns are positioned in a way that it can be considered unintentionally censored.

Squid Girl was as... redundant, but a bit more bearable, so I'll file it as a 7 of 10. I never thought I'd get around to completing this, but I tried, and did. On to the next, as they say...

CCXIX: "Sgt. Frog"

Sgt. Frog... where do I begin with this? Ever deal with anime that deals with a strange being that plots to take over your world, only to live there and do anything but that? On record, there are two titles like this I have seen, one of which I'm still viewing, so I might as well cover this one since I'm done with it.

Sgt. Frog (Sergeant, in case you're not familiar with the abbreviation), also titled Keroro Gunso, is an anime involving an alien race of frog-like beings, who attempt to conquer Earth, only to mess up in comedic outcomes. The leader of this platoon is the point character Keroro, the platoon's Sergeant. While initially successful in missions prior to this, his arrival to Earth more or less changed him. Long story short, he shifted more towards otaku interest as opposed to his original task. Moreover, he ends up residing in the Hinata residence, whose members include the nerd Fuyuki, the brash Natsumi, and the house head Aki. And even with his squad there, something tells me it'll be a while before he completes his goal...

Sgt. Frog is a title that has an absurdly large episode count and a batch of films under its belt. I can't recall how many of them were dubbed, but it has in this phase 358 episodes that began in April of 2004, with talk of its return. The film count is Super Movie Keroro Gunso 5, which is the latest entry that dates back to 2010, and neither of the films are dubbed. In terms of studios, Sunrise was more or less all over this. The episodes that DID come stateside were licensed under Funimation, something I felt would happen. But as I stated, there is talk of its return, and what hardens this statement a bit is that the manga for it is still ongoing.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to make of it, and in some ways, I still don't. Even when entertained with pop culture references (especially that of different anime titles), and the occasional 4th wall humor, I still couldn't bring myself to thoroughly enjoy it yet. It is a sci-fi- comedy with action involved, but a tad too long for my tastes, which is funny considering I still keep tabs on Detective Conan.

Well, I'll update this when I decide to come back to it, but for now, I'll call it a 6 of 10. It doesn't necessarily suck, but it wasn't all that interesting to me either...