Lupin III: Green vs. Red

Green vs. Red is an interesting anime. This OVA celebrates the 40th anniversary of Lupin, and it includes a bunch of nods to previous Lupin anime. Pretty much every criminal on the planet has taken to disguising themselves as Lupin, and we end up seeing pretty much every Lupin character design used, even the pink jacket. A new main character for this is a guy named Yasuo, named after Lupin's original voice actor, who looks just like Lupin and wears a green jacket. Meanwhile, the real Lupin in the red jacket and his partner Jigen are doing their thing as always. They're on the run, all sortsof random wackiness happens to them, and there's a constant mob of fake Lupins causing them trouble. Pretty much, a lot of this is somewhat somber slice-of-life stuff focusing on the Yasuo guy. This is decent stuff, though of course it's kind of odd for a Lupin story. As for the story, well, its pretty much just Yasuo competing with Lupin to try and become the "real" Lupin. Fujiko is only in this briefly, although there are some interesting scenes where Yasuo sees her and it's animated like a psychedelic trip. Goemon pretty much has a cameo role, and Zenigata is great as always. This is a pastiche, sort of an abstract, arty anime that pays some tribute to that laid back Lupin feel of old. The actual story however is pretty esoteric, and not entirely satisfying. All in all, this is an interesting anime that is somewhat thought provoking and beautifully animated. While it's not a proper entry in the Lupin series, it's still well put together and worth a watch.

From what I see, people don't understand the true meaning to it. One of the characters is called Yasuo, named after the voice actor of the original Lupin who died in 1995. He first started with the Green Jacket like how Yasuo in the movie is. This movie is to celebrate 40 years of Lupin the Third, what better way to celebrate than to reference the guy that help the character come to life? The plot doesn't make sense because it's supposed to reference all the Lupin movies and other things. If you "truly are a Lupin fan" then you would understand most/all the reference.There is a hidden meaning to it all, though it mostly concerns the future of the series and lore, since this was an original of Monkey Punch, can't say that it has a solid plot for sure. But if you're well versed in the World, Lore and History of Lupin the Third and you want more lore, see references, or have a laugh at the jokes, I highly recommend this movie. As a fan of Lupin, I enjoyed it from beginning to end, though I recommend you watching it more than once to fully see what's going on. That is all, thank you for reading.

What a terrible movie over all, and quite possibly the worst Lupin movie yet. An absolutely indulgent, mindless mash of aborted ideas. The story makes very little sense, though it could be justified as a story purely by sake of argument. The plot is weak, and the social commentary jaded and clumsily stated. The worse part of all, is this: the primary reason to see this movie never materializes. The one promise, Green vs Red! - never really happens. There's Green in conflict of Red. Perhaps some passive aggressive pseudo dueling between Green and Red. A lot of questioning about who is the 'real' Lupin.By the time the movie works its course, there really isn't any Green vs Red at all. There's no build up, there's no pay off. There's no resolution. The supporting cast is there, but painfully under utilized and not in the least bit compelling. Also there is no resolution to any premise, and there is never an attempt to explain the core of the movie, in part or in whole. David Lynch huffing paint and attempting to do a flip book with his feet, would possibly make more sense than this patchwork of "what if"s. Oh, btw... any of the side characters one might form some sort interest in or emotional investment with, well their stories aren't resolved either. On the positive side, the art is very nice. The use of different styles, artistically is a nice touch (though a bit jarring in one segment). There appears to be a tribute to Shinichi Watanabe, so that's kind of nice, too. I just ran out of good things to really say about this movie. Overall, a complete waste of time. I would even say that this is the ultimate "FU" to any long time Lupin fans.

The story is all over the place. After the second watch I kind of get the narrative and it's not linear at all, it really hurts my brain... My best attempt of telling what time did a certain scene happen is by checking whether Green's girlfriend (or maybe ex) has the ring he gave her. And some of the side-story really has noting to do with the plot,for example: the entirety of Logan's plot line can be cut out easily. In the end I kind of get what the director/writers wanted to do with this film. And I don't really like what they wanted to say.Yea, the idea is interesting: there's never a real Lupin, all of them are just copies without an original, and the greatest of them all get to be recognized as the "real" one. Which could explain the difference of all the Lupin from different series/films having various personality and appearance. However this made a light-hearted franchise unnecessarily heavy, especially for a anniversary special. Also, the narrative is too complicated for it's own good.