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With a franchise as old as Lupin III some lows are expected. Alcatraz Connection isn't a low, exactly, but the comparison with other installments is inevitable.

With such a wacky track record, the worst thing a Lupin III installment can be is boring. Alcatraz Connection isn't boring. It's fun and wacky in it's own way. The cartoonish features are to the max in the special and I think that's quite nice.

Lupin and Jigen are fine and their usual selfs. Zenigata is maybe the best thing in the special, he's sharp and funny. Unfortunately the shorter end of the stick ended up with Goemon and ... Fujiko.

Fujiko is a character that more often than not is done dirty by writers (no pun intended). A lot of times she's given nothing to do besides being fanservice, and most of the times I can get past that. But in Alcatraz Connection not only does she do basically nothing, she actively hinders the other characters, is constantly whining and is absurdly incompetent. It was very annoying, I was expecting some backstabbing, some manipulation, some gun action from her and nothing. If you're a Fujiko fan, this special isn't for you.

And Goemon. Now, the "Goemon is tricked by the infatuation he has on this random woman" is a staple and I know that. But at least other installments in the Lupin III franchise build that subplot up a bit more, this one just throws it out of nowhere. Goemon is still a badass with a sword, but he is very much underused here.

The appeal of Lupin III comes primarily from it's characters. And unfortunately Alcatraz Connection doesn't deliver completely on that end, because 2 of the 5 man-band are lacking.

There are some enjoyable and funny scenes and the plot is mostly ok, so it wasn't a waste of time and I wouldn't even say I hate this special. But it sure won't be one of my favorites.

So, I'm not sure if this is correct, I might be wrong and this is just speculation. But I think this is the thing that inspired Lupin III The First, not The Castle of Cagliostro, as the director had said.

And I feel Eternal Mermaid is way more consistent, plotwise, in comparison. Both movies are great, don't get me wrong, and I love them both.

It has some interesting internal mythos that manages to suspend your belief (unfortunately some Lupin stuff can't pull this off, it's rare but it happens), the characters are at their best here, specially Fujiko. It touches on Lupin's relation to his ... grandfather, a theme I really enjoy when it shows up. Sympathetic "episode" related characters who are very cute and bounce off well with Lupin.

It gives Goemon a rival. There are some nice moments with Jigen (I do think the duo was a biiit underused, but with a cast this big, it's not rare for this to happen and I kinda already expect it from these 1h30 specials.

I think the only major criticism I have for this special is it's portrayal of Zenigata, I know each character changes a bit from iteration to iteration, but even if I, for example, didn't enjoy too much Full Hard Boiled And Harasser Zenigata from The Woman Called Mine Fujiko, I will say that he at least was very competent. Zenigata in Eternal Mermaid just kinda stumbles along the plot, being there because He Has To. I didn't hate him in it, I'm always endeared by how much he believes in Lupin's integrity, but I felt he deserved more credit.

I guess that's all, overall a very good watch, I recommend it to anyone who likes Lupin III.

The animation is great, the acting is great, the soundtrack is great.

Shame 13 episodes seemed to be a short amount of time to cover the chunk of the comic they wanted to adapt. Not a very good adaptation, everything was very rushed and the things that were cut to make up for time simply butchered characters like Yoo Mira.

Bit of a nitpick, but it really doesn't sit right with me that the voice acting is japanese when the original comic is in korean.

But at least I can say the anime made me interested in the original comic, so maybe that's enough. I'm aware many ... comic fans didn't even think they'd ever get an animation, so I'm not too harsh on the anime, I still had a good time watching it.

Tipe of story that begins out of the blue and ends in the same way. Well, it can't be blamed because there is only one chapter.
It was funny reading it because all the main characters remind me of other Obata characters. One good example is Kakizaki, that is like a mix of L, from Death Note, and Ral, from Ral Grad.
It's a quick story, rather confusing sometimes but I like it.
Art great as aways, Obata is a wonderfull artist, although I think re can't forget L. XD