Lupin the Third: The Secret of Mamo (1978)
"Rupan sansei" (original title)

Lupin risks death to learn the secret and intentions of a wealthy and seemingly immortal, but certainly ruthless, recluse.

Directors:

Soji Yoshikawa, Richard Epcar,

Writers:

Monkey Punch (comic), Atsushi Yamatoya,

Stars:

Yasuo Yamada, Eiko Masuyama, Kiyoshi Kobayashi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yasuo Yamada	...	Arsène Lupin III (voice)
Eiko Masuyama	...	Fujiko Mine (voice)
Kiyoshi Kobayashi	...	Daisuke Jigen (voice)
Makio Inoue	...	Goemon Ishikawa XIII (voice)
Gorô Naya	...	Inspector Koichi Zenigata (voice)
Tôru Ôhira	...	Starky (voice)
Kôsei Tomita	...	Chief Comissioner of Metropolitan Police (voice)
Hidekatsu Shibata	...	Gordon (voice)
Shôzô Iizuka	...	Flinch (voice)
Ichirô Murakoshi	...	Scientist (voice)
Shunsuke Shima	...	Dietman (voice)
Yûji Mikimoto	...	Police Officer (voice) (as Masaru Miyashita)
Kô Nishimura	...	Mamo (voice)
Haruo Minami	...	Egyptian Chief of Police (voice)
Fujio Akatsuka	...	President (voice)

Storyline

In Transylvania, Lupin III, the notorious international thief, is hung and no one is more suprised to learn of that than Lupin III himself, who was alive and well and nowhere near that area at that time. The answer to that mystery, begins to surface when Lupin gets a seemingly ordinary pebble from an Egyptian pyramid for his would-be girlfriend, Fujiko, the mercenary thief, who is in the employ of a mysterious figure known only as Mamo. Intrigued by this bizarre request, Lupin decides to get involved and finds himself in an international chase that has a greater scope and danger than he has ever faced.

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Plot Keywords:

transylvania | immortality | egypt | anime | execution by hanging | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes being able to put together a world-class art collection takes a thief... this time it takes an extraordinary thief!

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Geneon Entertainment [us]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

16 December 1978 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Lupin the 3rd: The Movie - The Secret of Mamo

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 500,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS), Pioneer Entertainment, Manga Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A total of 62,000 cells sheets were used.

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Goofs

During the chase in the sewer, the tires of Lupin's Mercedes Benz SSK are seen behind the water. In the next shot they are in front of the water. Note: This goof was corrected in both the Vap and Pioneer DVD releases.

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Quotes

Inspector Koichi Zenigata: It doesn't matter if you die a hundred times, that's not the point! As long as Lupin exists, I'm obliged to pursue him.

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Crazy Credits

In the closing credits, in a corner of the screen Lupin and Zenigata run from the missile barrage; this scene is intercut with previous scenes from the film.

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Connections

Edited into Cliff Hanger (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Super Hero"
(1978)
Music by Yuji Ono
Lyrics by Yôko Narahashi
Performed by Tommy Snyder
Published by Teichiku Records
(Heard only in the first English dub)

User Reviews

Fun, but not as good as Castle Of Cagliostro

I have just recently began to discover the Lupin III series. I purchased Castle Of Cagliostro(CoC) a few weeks ago. This film, while a fun adventure, lacks the fluidity of CoC. CoC builds up the excitement with subtle events as well as action filled moments. The Mystery Of Mamo seems to be rather disjointed at times. There are some high points followed by low points and back again, much like a rollercoaster.

One thing that I did not like was the animation style. I found the way Lupin was drawn and how he walked to be a bit...odd. CoC has better animation as well as more natural character movements.

Now, It may sound as if I did not like Mystery Of Mamo. That is not the case. The storyline is very enjoyable. More of a Sci-Fi theme compared to CoC. Watching Lupin constantly hit on Fujiko is quite humorous! As in CoC, Lupin shows some excellent ingenuity in how he deals with Mamo. Jigen and Goemon add their charisma to this film, more so than CoC. And the action is not missing from this film.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this film to any Lupin III fan. While not the fun-filled ride that Castle Of Cagliostro is, Mystery Of Mamo is still enjoyable to watch and does belong on the shelves of Lupin III fans.

One closing note. The car chase through the sewer with the helicopter, the hanging scene, as well as major amounts of footage from CoC, were used in a 1983 Laserdisc Arcade game titled Cliff Hanger.