Hello and welcome to G-Views, where SoL reigns supreme, moe is respected and Dokuro-chan sucks poopie. The following CinAnime review could very well be the most impact making crossover for old school animeniacs, as a legendary thief and detective collide, or rather, team up in this special presentation. Doods and peeps, I give to you, L3 vs DC!
Genres: action, comedy, mystery
Themes: thief
Running Time: 1 hour and 44 minutes
G-Rating: 8/10
First of all I am not a devoted follower of either series but am well aware and acknowledge their legendary status. After all, both have what I think the longest running anime series in history that I’m aware of spanning over hundreds and hundreds of episode for both shows. I’ll review this as a movie and not base it on how faithful it is to both series. So yeah, Wiki all the information you need from both shows.
Short bio on the major cast of characters who appear in the special:
Lupin the 3rd:
Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of the fictional gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin, is considered the world’s greatest thief, known for announcing his intentions to steal valuable objects by sending a calling card to the owners of his desired items. His right-hand man and closest ally is Daisuke Jigen, an expert marksman who can accurately shoot a target in 0.3 seconds. Although Lupin and Jigen frequently work as a two-man team, they are often joined by Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a master swordsman whose sword can cut anything, or Fujiko Mine, a femme fatale and Lupin’s love interest. Although Fujiko usually works together with the others, she occasionally exploits Lupin’s interest in her to steal a treasure for herself. Lupin and his gang are constantly chased by Inspector Koichi Zenigata (Pops) of the ICPO, who has made it his life’s work to arrest them, chasing Lupin across the globe. On the rare occasions he catches Lupin, Zenigata secretly hopes Lupin will escape so he can continue to chase him. Regardless of whether Lupin and his followers succeed or fail, they are always looking for the next heist.
Detective Conan:
Jimmy Kudo was a 17-year-old high school prodigy and who frequently worked with the police.[1] However, when visiting a carnival one day, he was attacked by two members of a mysterious crime syndicate while investigating a case of blackmail. He was forced to take a newly developed experimental poison that was supposed to kill him. He was left for dead, but due to a rare side-effect unknown to the two men, instead of killing him, the drug transformed his body into that of a child.[2] In order to hide his identity so he can investigate the whereabouts of the syndicate, revealed to be called the Black Organization, he adopts the pseudonym Conan Edogawa.[3] To search for leads to the syndicate, he manages to move in with his childhood friend Rachel Moore, whose father, Richard Moore, works as a private investigator
To describe this special in one sentence: A combination of plots many have seen before all rolled up into one mystery with action and hilarity included. Add two legends to the mix and you’ve got a basic presentation with high entertainment value for both fans and newcomers alike. There’s really not much I can say about the rest of the plot because of how straightforward it is.
Now for those who are wondering: since the title is L3 vs DC, do they actually fight each other or match wits? The answer is no. They do their own thing, using their own styles and eventually meet and team up to finish the case.
Minor spoiler: Conan and Lupin don’t meet each other until an hour into the special. You do see both of them, but on separate times. Still, for fans of both shows they made it especially awesome whenever the two are at the same place at the same time. So yeah, it gets better after the hour mark, but the 1st half isn’t too shabby either.
The music uses upbeat and jazzy music that reminds me of 80′s cop and detective shows. It also features familiar themes from both series as expected.
Animation: It feels like a combination of old school and new school at the same time; like bringing an animated show of the past and giving it a modern makeover while still keeping the charm it already has.
In conclusion: This felt exactly like Trigun: Badlands Rumble. It contributed nothing to either series but was rather a dream team type pairing. I’m pretty sure that fans of both series should check this out. As for those who don’t follow either show, I have a strong feeling that this special may convince you to check both shows out.
