Lupin 3rd: Missed by a Dollar

Lupin is one of anime's most classic thieves. Missed by a Dollar is one of the more recent films in the long running movie series. In this film Lupin and his gang are in a race against a greedy bank executive for a broach that is said the have brought good luck to some of history's most notable rulers. The competition for the broach becomes so intense that Lupin comes very close to death at the hands of some hired thugs. While things don't look good for Lupin or his gang, their clever antics seem to pull them through yet again.

The Lupin 3rd series is very interesting relative to many of the other anime shows out there. It has been running since the 1970s and over that time had many different directors, animators, and actors. Some of the films have a very serious and dark atmosphere to them, while others have so much silliness that you'd think they were an after school special. While I have always been a fan of the more serious films that house some comic relief, I was quite thrilled to find out that Missed by a Dollar fell into this category.

Although this film was released in 2000 it still had much of the vibe from the older Lupin films. Having a personal preference for the older films, this was a huge plus for me. The animation and artwork were clean but not over polished, keeping the retro feel without compromising picture quality. The soundtrack was true to form as with the other Lupin films, playing the theme song around every turn. The plot and storyline were well done, however, not as strong as I had hoped. Being that the Lupin films are so well done (in my opinion), I do tend to hold them to a higher standard.

Overall, this is a great film for fans of the Lupin franchise to check out if you haven't already done so. If you are new to the series, the nice thing is that you can jump in from almost any movie, so why not make it this one? Being that Lupin is one of my favourite series (up there with Gundam) I'm an advocate for it. If you're looking for a series with good storylines, comic relief, mystery, and action then any of the Lupin movies is worth checking out!