English Dub Review: Lupin the Third “Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid”

 

Overview:

World-renowned thief, Lupin the Third, has set his sets on some extremely extravagant prizes over the course of his infamous career. It often looks like no target, as dangerous or mysterious as it may be, is beyond Lupin’s crafty capabilities. Lupin may finally be in over his head when he gets roped into a fantastical heist to acquire the legendary jewel, the Mermaid’s Scale. It initially looks like Lupin’s task is not going to be very taxing after he successfully steals the gemstone from an underground auction. Frustration quickly sets in when Lupin learns that the gem is not only a fake but that the client who hired him has turned up dead. On top of that, Misa, a young girl who claims to be immortal, gets kidnapped by Himuro, a corrupt arms dealer. He’s set on using her and the real Mermaid’s Scale to gain the treasure of the Yaobikuni and unlock the secret of immortality in the process. Lupin’s mission suddenly gains an extreme urgency as the fate of the world may depend on him obtaining this treasure before Himuro.

Our Take:

One of the major problems with Lupin the Third is that it’s a series that’s been around for 50 years in some form. In addition to the multiple anime series that the franchise has spawned, there have been over ten feature films and nearly 30 feature-length television specials. This means that there is a lot of Lupin content, and in the case of the series’ television specials, there is basically one being churned out every year. This acts as a nice tradition for Lupin the Third, but it also means that these television specials are incredibly sporadic in terms of quality. Many of the earlier specials find fresh and epic adventures worthy of Lupin and his crew, but there are definitely diminishing returns on these exploits, with many of them feeling like rehashes of earlier Lupin adventures.

Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid is the 23^rd Lupin the Third special and it comes during a rough patch for the show’s specials. The previous entries featured flashy storylines that capitalized on a crossover with Detective Conan and the supposed death of Zenigata, but didn’t amount to much substance. Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid instead pursues a more wondrous and fantastical story that feels reminiscent of other Lupin outings like Sweet Lost Night or Elusiveness of the Fog. While Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid is a big step forward with a whimsical quest at its core that contains outlandish elements like the hunt for immortality, it feels empty in many ways. Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid is an engaging story that’s confident in straying from the standard Lupin blueprint, but it lacks the magic and Studio Ghibli-esque energy that it’s desperate to achieve, in spite of cultivating a similar look.

Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid takes some time to really get moving and show it’s hand. It’s hard to initially get excited over the special’s jewel heist premise when precious gemstones have been the centerpiece of several Lupin outings. However, it’s eventually revealed that the real treasure here isn’t so much the Mermaid’s Scale jewel, but the unbelievable things that it allows access to—like defying death. Often Lupin’s adventures involve him on the pursuit of famous relics or encountering noble faces from histories like Marco Polo or Leonard Da Vinci, but Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid ventures into decidedly more supernatural territory.

Lupin has skirted the edge with inconceivable concepts like time travel before, but this kind of story is a far ways away from the simple, grounded narratives that launched the series. It’s like what Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is to Raiders of the Lost Ark—or The Fate of the Furious to the original Fast and the Furious. Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid actually handles this supernatural makeover rather well and it makes for a fun deviation for the series. It’s with this crazier content that Eternal Mermaid’s Ghibli aesthetic works especially well. Eternal Mermaid also entertains a certain level of deniability up until a point that creates some mystery over where the truth lies. However, if you’re looking for a realistic story that goes back to the basics of a clever heist, Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid may not be for you.

Early onto Lupin’s mission he’s get saddled with a 14-year-old girl named Maki who turns into his unintentional sidekick through this adventure. Lupin on babysitting duty could really go poorly, but Maki is a fantastic character who has an incredible passion for becoming a thief. She’s very entertaining and an actual asset to Lupin. What’s great about this dynamic is that Lupin tries to be a strong role model and dissuade Maki from her dreams by going on extensively about how bad it is to be a thief, but in the process it causes him to really examine why he does something that’s so inherently wicked. His own words prompt more contemplation in himself than they do in Maki.

This introspection reaches an interesting head when Lupin comes to understand that the treasure that he’s after is actually the one treasure that his grandfather, Lupin the First, was obsessed with but never able to actually acquire. His existential angst over his path in life suddenly takes on the weight on his past generations. This is still Lupin the Third so it’s not like Lupin’s crisis goes to Neon Genesis Evangelion levels of despair, but it’s still pretty deep for the generally carefree character.

Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid’s fable-like story and the characterization for Lupin’s gang and their allies is well handled, but the film’s villain, Himuro, is a major setback. He’s not necessarily a bad antagonist, but he’s very one-dimensional. He makes such a strong entrance and then goes down a muddling direction. It’s not that his goal isn’t scary, but it almost feels too stereotypically supervillain. He goes out on a whimper rather than a powerful finish. Lupin’s journey as a whole also goes out on a fairly anticlimactic note as the dangerous sealed land that he ventures to for the treasure is hardly as intimidating as it’s billed to be.

One of the genuine strengths of the Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid is that it looks particularly gorgeous. Telecom Animation Film puts together a very slick package that’s still able to return a more traditional, classical look without feeling dated. There is also some wonderful use of light and shadow throughout the special’s more dramatic moments. Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid features beautiful, flowing animation that takes advantage of the more whimsical story. That being said, the special is surprisingly light on the action sequences. It’s not entirely void of busy fight sequences or chaotic chase scenes, but they’re few and far between. Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid is much more concerned with the secrets surrounding Misa and the coveted treasures.

Curiously, one of the most memorable scenes from Eternal Mermaid is Bearslayer’s vicious murder. It’s incredibly graphic as far as Lupin the Third is concerned and the animation is able to properly convey the horrors of this crime. This grisly moment effectively creates some serious fear over the assassin that’s done the deed, but it’s not able to fully recapture this anxiety again later. It’s still a little jarring to see such bloody content show up in Lupin.

Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid was a bit of a big deal when it initially aired in Japan since it featured a new voice cast for the series for the first time in over 15 years. In terms of Eternal Mermaid’s dub, the usual suspects from Discotek Media are back and they’re even more comfortable in these roles since it’s actually one of their most recent Lupin the Third projects. Tony Oliver, Richard Epcar and company all excel here, but Cristina Vee also makes a solid impression as Misa.

Lupin the Third: Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid is bound to be a divisive entry in the Lupin canon due to its heavy dip into science fiction and fantasy. It’s a project that may lose long-time fans of the series, but in many ways, it’s also a perfect entry for a Lupin newcomer to jump in on. It’s not afraid to take some risks and it allows the new characters in the story to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid rises to the occasion in these departments, but it’s a special that still feels lacking. The whole experience looks very pretty, but much like the fraudulent Mermaid’s Scale gem that Lupin encounters, it’s inauthentic and hollow at times. Even still, with the deluge of Lupin the Third content that’s available, Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid is a winner that’s entertaining and creative enough to warrant your time. However, if you happen to be immortal and have all of the time in the world then you really have no excuse for not checking this one out.