Lupin III: Dead or Alive (1996)
👍
Reviewed 08 Aug 2025
Yet another Lupin story in the long shadow of Hayao Miyazaki, this time with parallels to Castle in the Sky. Unfortunately, the film's weighed down by plot points that don't go anywhere, and one local character who's a competent woman with her own story gets weaker as the plot goes on. On the plus side, there's some fantastically eldritch environments, clever moves from all parties, doofy old operating systems, a coherent and multi-layered setting, and some great action (including a finale where Lupin shoots a guy after losing his gun). Actually not bad!