Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This movie shall always have a special place to me. It was this movie, back in 1994, was the very first anime I ever watched. My best friend from Colorado, Josh, brought Akira to my house one Friday night and said I had to watch this, that is was the coolest thing I would ever see. True the first time I watched it, it was in English Dub, but it got me into Anime. It really is the Gone With the Wind of Anime, it embodies so many of the great Anime Themes. Motorcycles, Government Conspiracies, Super Powers, Normal People fighting Government Soldiers, and of course, one of the most prevelant Anime Themes, Apocalypse. While the six volume Manga is much more complete and uses all the characters only glimpsed in the Anime. It still one of the best Animes movies out there. This is probably one of the best titles to get any civilan into the world of Anime. It has enough action to keep the 5 second attention span of your average civilan, and has an engrossing plot to keep them interested after the first few minutes. If you like this title I definetly recommend that you purchase all six volumes of Akira the Manga. It is a much more intense version of the this really cool story. Any true fan of Anime that doesn't have this title they really aren't a Anime Fan.

Story: A
Animation: A-
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A- 

Earth's last city, Olympus, rose from the ashes of a global war on the backs of Bioroids, artificial clones who make up half the city's population. Under the strict guidance of a supercomputer, humanity's last survivors enjoy an idyllic peace, but only on the surface! Human terrorists within the military seek a return to power and clash with the government's ESWAT forces led by the legendary soldier, Deunan Knute, and her boyfriend who is 75% machine. Retrieving the Appleseed will end the conflict, and Deunan alone holds its secret. The animation in this movie is really something different, it is half ultra real computer animation for all the machinery, backgrounds, robots and all of that but the people and biodroids are all cell shaded which is a really, realy bizarre contrast which took me about half of the movie to finally get use to but even then it was a little off putting at times. The story was good but it felt like it could be so much more. The movie has some cool action scenes, but the story itself was pretty stamped out from the get go, we know the good guys, the bad guys, who gets in trouble and who has to safe the day. This is something to watch even if you don't agree with the anti-military message the unique combination of animation styles is something to behold.

Story: B
Animation: B
DVD Quality: B-
Overall: B- 

All great men must start somewhere, for Masasume Shirow it was Black Magic M-66. A rather interesting tale of two killer female robots getting lose and trying to kill the inventor's daughter. The inventor's daugher is protected by a hard edge newswoman who is out of the story of a lifetime. The characters aren't exactly that great and our hero newswoman lacks nipples (watch the first five minutes and you'll understand). While Masasume Shirow went on to do Dominion Tank Police, and of course Ghost in the Shell, and Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex which are all extremely fabulous pieces of anime, this one ain't so hot. Watch it for the fact that it is Masasume Shirow, but don't put it on your must buy list anytime soon.

Story: C-
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A
Overall: B- 

A collection of random thoughts from the Blame! universe. I honestly can't think of a better way to explain the collection of random bits and pieces that make up this DVD up. They are all centered around Blame! which is about a far distant future world that machines are slowly killing off all mankind in this vast underground labyrinth that is Blame! Only Killy a man of few words and many actions and Cibo, a scientist can save the world by finding Net Terminal Genes. Now that is the synopsis of the manga sounds cool huh, well the manga is fabulous one of the best sci-fi manga out there. The DVD on the other hand is totally random and utterly confusing. The animation is great which I think makes the lack of any coherant story even more sad because it would have looked rather cool. Do not watch this unless you have read at least 3 volumes of the manga, it is the only way to try and milk some understanding out of this mess. Read the manga, it may be confusing but at least it is coherant.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

What does Blood and Hello Kitty have in common? They are both pieces of Japan's Evil plan to conquer the world through their Anime. While Hello Kitty warps minds of the young (including me I use to watch Hello Kitty at 5 in the mornings on Saturdays on my old Black and White TV), but Blood just tantilizes all anime fans by putting out a small 50 minute movie of such a cool idea. True they have plans to make several more Blood movies and this fall they 'plan' to have Blood Manga on these shores. It still isn't here. Blood is one of those really cool but it not enough, I crave more Blood (that really sounds odd). I know I soon shall have my wish but it isn't soon enough.

Story: C+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: B 

Older school anime that starts off strong but has a hard time following through. There is a guy called Darkside who has come to cleanse people living in the last free city on earth that is being pushed on from all sides by the mega-corporation that has bought up everything else in the world. At times it wants to be Akira, other times Venus Wars, and still other times it looks like it wants to be Vampire Hunter D, when you try to mush together really divergent types of anime you get a strange mush that isn't very appealing at all. I liked it a little more than I probably should, the anime is from the era when I first got into anime, and I think I may have seen part of this on VHS a million years ago. Other than the nostalga trip it gave me it gave me little else, it isn't bad but it isn't good.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Pandy and Retro wake up naked in a desert outside a major city, they have no memories and soon start on a major crime wave which gets them locked up and sent to Dead Leaves, a maximum security prison on the remains of the moon. It doesn't take long for the two of them to break out and rally all the other freakish inmates into a full blown moon riot. This is a wild and zany OVA from the mind that brought you FLCL so you know it is going to be insane. The animation made be too busy for some, but I just loved it. It reminded me of Tank Girl or of Liquid Television. It is wild, inventive and I just love the atypical animataion. Its too short but all great OVA always leaving craving more.

Story: A+
Animation: A
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A 

This is another anime from my youth, a comedy romp that Buffy the Vampire Slayer stole lots from. This was the first that I saw transformation scenes i ever saw (they are done correctly, the heroine gets naked while transforming). Yohko's grandmother and mother really steal this one, they are really funny. This series should have gone on longer, there was no much that they just left after the sixth and final episode. I was disappointed that this didn't go on longer. I'm sure if this continued on it would have been a great series.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

In the not too distant future the world is a total wreck, a massive bacteria cloud chokes the sky, everyone has to wear a gas mask or run the risk of death, and crime has become so endemic that the only way the police can counter the criminals is with tanks. This OVA tells the story of the Tank Police as they do battle with public enemy number 1 Buaku and the Puma Sisters. With plenty of overkill, from hand grenade golf interogations, to a tank battle within a hospital the Tank Police inject as much overkill as possible in their work. The main character Leona and her mini-tank Bonaparte can't seem to stay out of trouble, trouble always means stuff exploding, whether is is over stealing of urine or priceless antiques the Tank Police are never far from massive destruction. This is one of the earliest animes I ever watched. The day after I saw my first anime, which was Akira, I went out and bought two more, this was the second of the two.

Story: A-
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A- 

Escaflowne managed to pack 26 episodes of TV series into an hour and a half. They amp up the blood and guts by a few notches, and make some of the characters a little darker, namely our heroine Hitomi who is now depressed and moody. It follows the plot of the tv series well enough, manages to get it all done in the hour and a half. The only problem I have with this is the ending. No I won't give it away but you'll understand when i say, could have lasted about ten minutes more instead of bang over. I really don't understand the need for a movie, it just rehashed the series, same beginning, middle and end, just a lot faster and with more violence. But all in all not too bad, I would recommend watching the series first, you'll be able to get more from the movie afterwards.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This was the very first anime I ever saw in the Theater. I saw it at Uptown, I took gf #2 (really helped that relationship). Also it was the first anime DVD I ever owned and the fifth DVD I owned overall. It is confusing, which in Anime makes it all the more interesting. It was the first of the visually stunning animes I remember seeing, where every scene is like a classical masterpiece. Why is it when the Japanese use computer graphics it looks more life like, but when 'round eye' uses the computer graphics (see Toy Story, Monsters Inc), it looks sterile and absolutely lifeless? I could probably write an entire rant about this subject (If i were you i would bet on it really soon), but not here and not now. The mangalike most Manga translated to Anime is better and deeper, but Ghost in the Shell really does a good job of making due with 82 minutes. Now with the Ghost in the Shell TV Series hitting the newsgroups (As of 10/11/02) I have the first two eps. Look for a review of these on the horizon along with Ghost in the Shell Manga 2 Issue 1 coming in November.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Years have pasted since Motoko Kusanagi merged with the Pupper Master and disappeared into the Net, the rest of Section 9, including Bateau and Togusa have continued to go about their daily routine without her. They start to investigate a series of shocking attacks by gynoids, female sex androids, on their owners including some high profile. This strange series of deaths leads Bateau and Togosa into a strange world that makes them question what makes a human a human? Togosa feels over his head and that he can't compare with Kusanagi as Bateau's partner. Bateau is starting to become more and more distant much like Kusanagi had been before she took off with the Puppet Master the only thing that him stable is his dog, a Mamoru Oshii trademark Bassett Hound. The more the pair dig into the questions around the attacks the deeper they find themselves digging into the corporate secrets of the Locus Solus Corporation. After a couple of really trippy moments they go for a final confrontation on Locus Solus' manufacturing vessel with a little help from an old friend who has changed just a bit. I loved this movie, it was so beautiful, at moments the CG makes you stop and think that if you're not watching a real movie rather than an anime. I loved every moment of the movie, if it wasn't being deep and thought provoking, the action was filling every inch of the screen. One of the best action scenes involves Bateau and Togosa going to 'talk' to a group of yakuza at their cafe, my favorite moment is when they first walk in and all the yakuza guys just stare and one guy keeps chewing. Then when the movie get thought provoking or trippy my favorite involves the hacker Kim and Togosa's trip fest. The movie uses a lot of references of classic literature, including Milton's Paradise Lost, Shakespeare, Tacitus, and the Grimm Brothers. You don't need to be an expert in the classics to enjoy the movie but it helps clue you in to what is going on before they explain things to you. I also love how the movie is a lot darker and grimer than the first, the city is a film noir fantasy with great use of architecture. The movie's backgrounds is one half old Ghost in the Shell and part Jin-Roh. This is a wonderful mixture of CG and hand drawn animation. Best anime movie of 2004 and one of my favorite movies of all of 2004.

Story: N/A
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

In this disc they took the stunning visuals of the movie Ghost in the Shell: Innocence and set them to the hauntingly beautiful score of the film to make 9 music videos. If you were too slow witted to understand or even appreciate the plot of the movie this is a good way for you to enjoy the music and visuals. I was always surprised how many people didn't understand the movie and because they were too uneducated immediately hated this movie but are ready willing and able to sing the praises of this disc which while still extremely cool takes the story away. I think the blame can be easily laid at the feet of the failed education system that puts zero effort into critical thinking if things aren't laid out in front of an American audience in a simple straight forward way in easy to ingest bites they immediately don't like it, the movie is all about our Frankenstein like obession of creating something in our image and to what ends we are willing to take it to. The only thing I wished they'd put in was a music video to the big restaurant shoot out between Bateu, Togosa and the Yakuza guys but the makers of the disc seemed to have consciously left out the characters and stuck with the CG. This is a great little add-on to any Ghost in the Shell Fans collection but probably isn't for the average otaku.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This is the movie version of the events from the first seaon of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, often called 1st Gig, that concern the Laughing Man. It is stuff from the TV series with a few new scenes thrown in here and there. Basically if you liked the first season you will like this. A few parts are a little truncated, you couldn't get everything into a single movie that played in actual theatres in Japan. Even with the truncation the movie still runs 2 hours and 40 minutes which is almost twice as long as most other anime movies out there. It didn't seem that long to me but when you think about it there was a lot of ground the Laughing Man story has to cover to make sense and the 1st season was 12 hours and change long so the length works. Now before you all rush out to go buy this know that I watched a Japanese copy of the movie, it isn't out in the US yet. The copy I watched had no subtitles but because I have seen the entire series five times I knew what was going on and even was able to follow long line by line in many parts. I bet this would have been fun to watch on the big screen but I'll settle with my TV and hope that they put this out in the US before too long. It is really a great way for people with no patience to watch one of the best anime series out there. If they get into it there is an entire series to flesh it out. I really enjoyed this even without subtitles or a dub but then again I love Ghost in the Shell.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This is a special companion disc to the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 1st Gig (1st Season) that is full of making-of extras like how they incorperated the CG with the hand drawn animation and filled with interviews by the staff on their experiences of making the show. The other extra is a large retrospective on the first half of the show, the technology, the people, places and things that made Ghost in the Shell. What really makes this disc great isn't the disc at all but the several hundred page book that the DVD comes with, it goes into very fine detail about each episode, the history of the show, the people behind it. It is really a great companion to the series. There isn't any new material but I still really liked how they showed you how they put the CG and the hand drawn animation together and divulged a few secrets about the making of the series like in each episode the animators took on another CG experiment, taking something they hadn't done before and doing it in CG, like in the 2nd Episode the runaway quadaped tank was done in CG. I really liked these extra although they probably aren't for the casual fan but it was perfect for a big fan of Ghost in the Shell like myself.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

The international assassin extraordinarie Duke Togo, codename Golgo 13, is back in action. His target, the leader of the South American liberation army, the Queen Bee. But of course this is not an ordinary opponent, she is tough as nails and is mysteriously tied to the leading presidental candidate, Robert Hardy who is crusading to rid all drugs from the country. Queen Bee's revolutionary army is funded on an empire of drugs which leads both sides to come to Golgo 13 to kill everybody. This leds Golgo 13 to South America but the government has also sent a psycho soldier to make sure nobody, not the Queen Bee, not Golgo 13 comes back. There are a lot of good action scenes, the fight in the jungle swamp especially stands out. But the plot has plenty of good twists and turns that you wouldn't expect from your average action shoot 'em up. This is also a good stand alone style OVA, you don't need to know anything about Golgo 13 to get into the movie. This is an excellent action movie with enough politcal intrigue to make it more than just shooting everything in sight. A great anime for those looking for a little more boom in their lives.

Story: B
Animation: C
DVD Quality: C+
Overall: D 

This is the Shindler's List of all Anime. I watched this once and only once. Afterwards I felt so miserable I wanted to cry. Never has there been a more depressing and unhappy story ever been in Anime. You can't help but wept for these two kids. I really didn't like it at all. If I want to be depressed all I need to do is watch Primetime TV and wept for its lack of any substance. But when I watched Anime I want to get away from it all, not get depressed. Unless you have a strong constitution stay away from this one or you'll be crying like a baby at the end.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Hideki Annon, the man that brought us the controversial, brain shreading Neon Genesis Evangelion started his career with this short series. It involves a high school girl and her adventures becoming a Gunbuster pilot. A Gunbuster is a cross between a Gundam and a Valkerie. They are up against a race of mysterious and badass aliens that are destroying everything in their path. Another interesting feature of this is the fact that time in hyperspace moves vastly slower than in real space. It adds a unique story device to the story not often seen. The series was only 6 episodes but they managed to pack a lot of quality into the six episodes. I really like the sixth and final episode that was done entirely in black and white. It is the first and only time I have ever seen any anime done in black and white like that and I really like it. It is too bad that this series has not been transfered to DVD but all good things come to those who wait.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Now if you haven't guessed by now I am a little biased towards Gunsmith Cats. It is probably favorite non-comedy Manga (that goes to Lupin III). But when I saw this I was very happy. They translated the energy and gunplay of the manga. They made a very good 3 episode stand alone story line. They also use the animation to make some very good visual jokes (Minnie May's hand grenades). While it is silly most of the time, when it comes to their interaction with the main villian it becomes very serious. The last episode is the most action packed and serious of the three. You can't simply watch one without watching the other two. I hope they will make more Gunsmith Cats Anime Eps and that Kenichi Sonada will make more Gunsmith Cats manga in the future. Bingo!

Story: B-
Animation: A
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: B- 

I am a devotee of the Leijiverse, the train that flys through space has always fascinated me and I personally think it is one of the coolest concepts in all of sci-fi. Of course that would never work in this country, we would see it and immediately cry fowl. We would ask how physically it would be feasable. But who cares, it still is extremely cool. But this 6 episode OVA only has a little cameo by the Galaxy Express 999 and Maetel. The story is about the pirate hero, Harlock and his ship. The story centers around another pirate that has stolen the center of the universe, a chunk of gold that would fit into your hand. We really shouldn't make the center of the universe out of a precious metal. Why not make it out of lead or monkey shit. Well he steals it and the gods of the universe awaken to destroy the universe to get it back. Not exactly the greatest of plots but it works. The problem the plot doesn't seem that connected together, it rambles about. Harlock going here and there until the last two episodes where everybody starts fighting. I know six episodes isn't that much to develop a story but Harlock really didn't develop much aside from the intial concept. I was hoping for more, but it wasn't all that bad, it was Harlock and Leijiverse. They managed to get every major character into it for a second or two so if you like Leiji watch it, if your not I wouldn't recommend this one to you.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Another very good anime series. This is another of those series that I saw on Sci-Fi Channel late at night back when they showed Anime at midnight. Iria is a very good character, both visually and in the story. She has spunk and a big gun. The action keeps this story moving along. I really have meant to see this again, but God only knows when we will get to it with all the anime that we have to see on Saturday night. If I do see this again I will give a better review.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

It is movies like this that make Anime better than most movies made in America. Set in an alternate past where the Nazi's won World War II. We have the SWAT Team clad all in black going around riddling everybody with bullets. But you would think there would be lots of blood and guts, but actually more of the movie is a love story and a story of politcal intrigue. The animation is luscious, everything is researched and exact. All the weapons are from real WWII era weaponry. After watching a lot of WWII movies and specials on the History Channel, I enjoyed the exactness of all the weapons, and cars. The story is extremely well written the parallels to the Little Red Riding Story. Everything is done perfectly in this Anime. Yes I know that I the picture I have isn't the special edition but I like this cover better. Don't forget one belt of ammo per man.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This is almost the same as the first Kindaichi Case Files Manga, the Opera House Murders. Same motivation, same setup, but different delivery. In the original it is the school production of the Phantom of the Opera, now it is a professional production. But Miyuki and Detective Kenmochi are there as is Kindaichi. They all go the Island where people start dying. It is a little shorted here and there, the principle victims are murdered just like in the manga but now they have changed as well. I like how they changed the workings of the mystery it makes you think a little more than if they just redid the manga. The only problem with this movie is the subtitles, due to the fact that I had to import it from Hong Kong the english subtitles are very literal and from time to time get a little confusing especially with the difficulty to diferentiating between the Japanese for he and she all in all a great Kindaichi mystery, even if you know the general outline and motive, you still get to guess a little at who is the killer in this version as compared to the manga. Hopefully this and the entire series will make it to American in DVD form soon, I really love this series.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Two boys go into the heart of the city, following a series of signs until they reach an open area. There is six other kids they play a game of hide and seek. But they quickly learn that the stakes they are playing for are much higher than they expected. For within this labirynth of alleys and tunnels lurk creatures, horrible demons. The two boys go to this area because one of their sisters went missing while playing hide and seek down there and they want to know what happened to her. They find themselves trapped by these demons and with no way out. This is a short little movie that isn't much on backstory but huge on visuals, and the visuals are really, really cool. These alleys remind me of the alleys in Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. The amount of detail is staggering and the ending is really cool too. This is a great little movie, it could have been longer but I think it would have spoiled the mystery of it all. Some people will probably complain about the short length but it is just so visually stunning it makes up for all the possible shortcomings people will undoubtfully find in this. It is a great Halloween feature to watch with your fellow Otaku in a dark room

Story: B+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A 

At times baffling other times hauntingly beautiful, and still other times giving you the distinct sensation you are watching this while standing on your head high. A antique dealer gets obessed over this girl he sees in the reflection of a glass, he becomes so obessed that when she materializes and takes over his body as a vessel to remove the bad energy from other objects he is still totally into her. The story is incredibly strange and at times rather hard to follow but the animation is incredibly singular, it tilts the camera and comes at you from funny angles and has a very interesting colour palette. The very original animation really saved this series for me, when the story got muddled and hard to follow at least I was able to enjoy the pretty pictures in front of me and enjoy them as their own form of art. Dark and strange but not all that bad if you are into atypical anime, if you are looking for a standard bright shiny happy shoujo anime look elsewhere this is weird, psychological, and at times baffling but still with a strange redeming quality to it.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Fun nothing but pure fun and enjoyment. While you can draw numerous parallels between Spike and Jet with Lupin and Jigan, it doesn't really detract from either series. Castle of Cagliostro is one of those Anime that everyone will like. While the seventies animation looks a littled dated it is still looks better than anything made by Disney since the early 80s. I still want to see the rest of the Lupin 3rd movies and series, but I have heard that most of it doesn't stack up with this great title. This title goes back into the hallowed antiquity of my Otaku-ism, shortly after I was introduced to anime by my best friend Josh, I went to the Blockbuster on Bonaforte Boulevard next to the Dunkin Dounuts in Pueblo and went looking for more anime. In the cartoon section of the Blockbuster were a couple of really old Speed Racer Tapes and the Castle of Cagliostro. The tape was super old and the tracking sucked like a Thai hooker when the Navy is in port but I watched it about six times that weekend. It is a great movie that anyone should enjoy.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

The latest Lupin film our dashing thief sets his eyes on the mysterious treasure of Zufu, the Drifting Island. So Lupin and his pals, Jigen and Goemon go to the mysterious skeleton covered island. They reach the mysterious vault beyond the aircraft carrier beached in a mountain only to find the treasure is guarded by a very strong security system that sends them packing, minus the seat of Lupin's pants. Lupin has to find the key to turn off the killer security system but between them and their millions in loot is the psychotic ruler of Zufu, the colourfully named General Headhunter, an army of bounty hunters gunning for Lupin's 1 million dollar bounty, Zufu's secret police, and of course Inspector Zenigata along with a cadre of Interpol Police. This has a different tone than many of the Lupin TV Specials and movies, this one is much more action oriented, take the James Bond style prison break to the run ins with the Zufu army, action is the number one in this movie. This is one of the more popular Lupin titles of late and is helmed by Monkey Punch himself so if anyone could make a popular Lupin title it is him. On thing that keeps popping into my head is Cagliostro, the whole General Headhunter, and his daughter Emera thing reminded me a lot of the Castle of Cagliostro. But don't fret, this is still Lupin there is plenty of humor, especially from the freed prisoner who likes to drink. Monkey Punch must love Jigen because he gave all the best lines to Jigen in this movie. The best laughs in the movie come from Jigen, Fujiko, who has really big hair in this movie, plays a good part and for once isn't trying to screw Lupin out of the treasure. This is another great Lupin movie, I still haven't found one that I loved. This one has some great action with good humor. It just goes to show that Monkey Punch knows his Lupin and how to make a great movie.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This really is nothing more than a 12 minute introduction to the major characters in the Lupin series. It is still very enjoyable to a Lupin Fan such as me. My favorite part is Fujiko's introduction, if there was ever a more 60s opening I don't know what it is. The oddest part is the nudity that flashes in the background, actual human nudity. There are a couple of oddities to Lupin fans, namely Goemon being introduced as Lupin's second major adversary this is from the manga where for several volumes Lupin and Goemon were opponents before coming allies. Another character introduced but never used is Superintendent Akechi, who was a character in the manga but never made his big break into the anime. This is incredibly hard to find, my copy is not in the greatest shape but it is still an excellent little Lupin collector's item and worth a watch if you are a fan of the series, if not it isn't absolutely necessary to see it.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This OVA starts off in true Lupin Fashion with a daring robbery during Carnivale where Lupin and Jigen are stealing these special crystals, the only problem, somebody else has their eyes on them, namely Pycal, the Magician. For those who don't know who Pycal is and claim to be Lupin Fans, shame on you, your lie has been exposed, for those who are scratching your heads in confusion I shall humor you and explain. Pycal was a villian from the original manga and the original anime series, Green Jacket, who used magic for criminal ends. Such a popular character was he that they brought him back for this OVA. He disguises himself as Zenigata and gives Lupin one hell of a chase. He then follows Lupin and Jigen to Greece wher Goemon is competing in a martial arts competition, and because he is Goemon kicking everyone's ass. While in Greece Jigen is attacked by allergies and Fujiko comes in search of Lupin's help, now the gang is all here. She too is collecting the Celestial Crystals, like she wouldn't be. I absolutely love the use of the manga pages when Lupin has his flashback of Pycal, mainly because I recognize the pages from the manga and was in on the reference. What transpires is a fight for control of the crystals and to unlock their secret which can give you the power to conquer the world. This was a good OVA it was very even with respect to Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko. I have always liked Pycal, I thought he was a kick-ass villian and it was cool they brought him back. His demise was a little unclear but it is a minor complaint. This is a great series, the animation was really stellar, the CG was a little rough but this was from 1998 when they were starting to experiment with synthesizing CG and hand drawn animation. It was a little short but the story did fully play out. Make sure you watch through the end credits to see three little short extra endings. Lots of Lupin Fun worth a watch.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Lupin is captured in Transylvania and hung for his crimes. The only person who does believe this is true is, of course, Inspector Zenigata. He travels to make absolutely sure, by driving a stake through Lupin's heart. But it isn't Lupin, but it looks just like him. Now Lupin is back to his old tricks by stealing artifacts from Transylvania, China, and then Egypt. It is there Zenigata corners them in the Pyramids of Giza. After elluding Zenigata and the entire Egyptian Army they return to Paris where they meet with Fujiko, who is double crosses Lupin, as usual, who is working for a mysterious man named Mamo who is searching for the Philsopher's Stone, the secret to immortality. The chase goes from Paris, to a remote island in the Carribean where Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon face off over Fujiko and it appears that their parternship is over. While going their seperate ways, Lupin is captured by Mamo, and Jigen and Goemon are captured by the US Government. The US Government representatives are absolutely hilarious as War Mongering Cowboys. Now the unstoppable trio are on a collision course with destiny and the mysterious Mamo. This is the second Lupin Movie, second to the Pilot movie of course. It came out after the first season of the second TV Series, or Red Jacket. It is really, really, really great. It is like an episode of the series but with a much higher quality of animation, and some truly hiliarous camera tricks, my favorite by far involves when Goemon and a goon are facing off and Goemon leaps at him. The Goon lands and starts laughing then suddenly the screen splits into three pieces, the camera turns to reveal Goemon has cut his head into three pieces. The dub is fabulous like all of Pioneer's dubs with the same voices as the 2nd TV Series, Castle of Cagliostro, and the PS2 Video Game. Fabulous Lupin Movie, a rival to the greatest of the Castle of Cagliostro.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Lupin is called to meet with Dolune, a big wheel in the European Underworld that knew Lupin when he was just a rookie. As he lies dying he entrusts half a diamond to Lupin telling him it will led him to a treasure worth billions of francs, the Treasure of the Gelts. He is traveling to Morocco when Zenigata and an army of French Police invade his train at the same time a helicopter drops off a bunch of assassins led by a really flamboyant man with a whip. Lupin barely escapes and makes it to Morocco where he meets up with Fujiko who seduces him into bed where she tries to pump him for information but the assassins come to break up the party. Fujiko is pissed and goes looking for information where she is hired by a mysterious old man who has an eye for beautiful thieves. Lupin meets up with Jigen who takes him to meet with an old woman who knows the secrets of Dolune and the Gelt Tribe. The whip boy comes again and this time Lupin is saved by Lara, the heiress to the Gelt Royal Family, who is quite the plucky one. Fujiko gets captured by a faction of the Gelt who want the treasure for themselves, this leds to whipping and nudity which is never a bad thing, especially when it involves Fujiko. There is a great scene with Fujiko in a g-string and Goemon blushing as he looks down at her. They defeat the evil society of the Gelts, who look an awful lot like the villains from Castle of Cagliostro from the hunched over armoured villains to the cloaked leaders. I liked this, it is Lupin after all but Jigen and Goemon feel a little tacted on and they do throw a lot of characters at you, the Gelts, the Igos, the ICPO Commisioner, the Gelt Guerillas, there are a lot of characters to keep track of in this little TV Special, a lot of Lupin Fans aren't especially big fans of this but it satisfies my Lupin cravings so I loved it despite the little flaws. This is the first Funmation Lupin TV Special Release so the dub is a little lower quality than Geneons, but Geneon's Lupin Dub is probably the best dub of any anime ever but it is still pretty good except one pesky problem that drove me batty. It is Jigen, he always calls Lupin 'boss' they are partners, Butch and Sundance, Sonny and Cher Lupin doesn't employ Jigen. Another fact, Funmation has two subtitle tracks, a dubtitle and the actual Japanese translation, this confuses some people but we are here to help. Great Lupin Fun.