Lupin the Third: Jigen's Gravestone

"There ain't room in this world for two top gunslingers!"

“Lupin the Third: Jigen’s Gravestone” (which has a bunch of other alternative titles that I’m not even going to bother listing here) is the small, 51-minute continuation/spinoff linking the previous, revitalized Lupin franchise installment with the most recent, its name simply being “Lupin the Third: Part IV.” This particular ‘film,’ however, centers on a plot centering around a hitman confusingly targeting someone who no one expected to be targeted in the first place: series main character, Daisuke Jigen.

First off: just take a look at the absolutely breathtaking screenshots I’ve put in this article. No, really: the animation featured here is gorgeous. Whether it’s during a car chase, visiting a graveyard, or just relaxing after a successful caper, this film doesn’t spare its beautiful colors, great cinematography, and sharp character designs for a single second. Simply put, if you’re looking for a great wallpaper for your computer, phone, or just any other device that has a ‘wallpaper’ setting in the first place, “Lupin the Third: Jigen’s Gravestone” has you covered, just about 100 times over.

Continuing on from these ‘technical merits’ praises, the soundtrack from this 50-minute-odd film is also quite good as well, given that there are only so many tracks you can fit in such a runtime as this special holds. It’s not among the greats, mind you, but it’s certainly memorable in its own right, and that’s more than enough for me.

But, above all, “Lupin the Third: Jigen’s Gravestone” is just a small, quaint, and interesting little film. It’s certainly interesting in its own right, sure, but, overall, only someone who has seen some form of “Lupin” before will truly connect with what they’re seeing.

For such a short film, I didn’t expect to have that many flaws with it, but the exact thing that made me doubt that I would have any problems with it was the very cause itself: the runtime. I do think that a shorter runtime fits this inclusive story rather well, but this runtime was just a little bit… too short. The second half (and I’d wager even the second quarter) is perfectly fine, but the introduction to all of what’s going on, given that there is a larger conspiracy behind the scenes, was just a bit too ragged at the start, making it jump all over the place for about 15 minutes, although it did almost instantaneously get better after it got over its initial hump.

Though, despite the fact that only those who have seen a “Lupin” installment before, and the fact that it does, indeed, not seem to have a huge direction for the first quarter, “Lupin the Third: Jigen’s Gravestone” is, above all, a largely enjoyable film. It has its serious moments, comedic moments, and (most prominently) stylish moments, which all culminate for one big, great “Lupin” experience.

7.5/10- Despite having a somewhat jumbled first quarter, and being (for the most part) inclusive only to those somewhat familiar with the “Lupin” franchise, “Lupin the Third: Jigen’s Gravestone” is still an extremely entertaining film, with plenty of great animation, memorable music, and an always-intriguing plot, just as what a “Lupin” installment should be.