Jigen Daisuke

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For the fans of anime and manga, the name Jigen Daisuke immediately draw a lot of attention. The gun master sidekick (or rather partner) of Lupin III is always present and adds touches of cynical humor. Tetsuji Tamayama was back as Jigen Daisuke, 9 years after the first live action film of Lupin The 3rd (2014). Tamayama played Jigen as age appropriate older and more grounded. Inspired by one of the anime story where Jigen damaged his gun, this film explored a more emotional journey rather than gun fight after gun fight. The story brought 1 traumatic little girl, 1 old retired female gun smith, 1 notorious cold hearted girl boss mafia, 1 shadowy knife fighter, 1 damaged battle magnum and 1 Jigen Daisuke. Of course there gun fights, it wouldn't be titled Jigen Daisuke if this movie didn't have several gun fights. Despite having cool gunfights, I do believe it could be far better by dropping 2 cameos of old partner.

(I'm a bit biased here due to Jigen being my favorite character and me being a huge fan of the series so take this review as you like) Things I really enjoyed: This movie surprised me with its realism and inclusiveness (I'm referring to Oto not speaking/being mute and Adele being in a wheelchair. Also Jigen showing deeper emotions) Hand to hand combat sequences were well directed and done. All of the actors did an amazing job The set pieces and locations were great The cinematography wasn't perfect but it was better than I expected Things that pulled me out of the movie: The end fight was a bit unrealistic Some scenes were confusing/ not well placed Jigen's and Oto's relationship develops a bit too fast Sometimes the movie goes too fast and sometimes too slow A few too many side characters. Overall I really enjoyed the movie. It was well directed, the characters were interesting and the action was enjoyable to watch. Honestly, I expected much worse from the movie but I was more than happy to see I was wrong. (Also it got me in tears at some points so-) The movie wasn't perfect but it was entertaining and even emotional at times so I recommend watching.

Starting out the first few minutes I wasn't so sure what I was in for, but was intrigued. The story progression is a bit drawn out, this could have been edited for a really compact short film and kept all the story elements and action and still fit in a tidy comic book style story telling. This really tries to give the main charachter a heart and it doesn't translate all that well, clearly they mean for it to have a touching emotional bond type of character interaction but it still feels like in the end this guy has the task of finding a home for a lost dog rather than a psychologically damaged child. They should have downplayed the childs trauma so his sometimes calous interactions aren't so unappealing or made him more emotionally complex. Or better yet get rid of that story arc altogether. Some action sequences are really well thought out and unique, and others seam padded for lack of creativity and just for filler. One thing that was impressive was the production value, so much grand scenery and complex atmosphere, it was really well planed in some areas. So whomever was the team on this I can hope to see more by them as a lot of this was really well done. Another thing is how he was going to great lengths to get this gun repaired, and you would think a person who was so particular about his weapon, he would have this same character trait about other things in his life, they really could have explained this obsession by making a bigger deal out of other choices he makes. It just got boring having this gun be the focus of the story and when he finds this supposed master of the craft it becomes a quest that just stagnates. Still with the things I criticise, it was an enjoyable watch, and maybe these flaws helped, because overly polished filmes don't allow for faults, and these things give the film some charachter, giving a chance for lowered expectations to really enjoy the highlight of this production.

JIGEN DAISUKE is apparently a spin-off from the live action LUPIN THE III movie from 2014 which I haven't seen. I'm aware that the characters came to life in a '60s manga, but the only adaptation I know is the decent Ghibli version, THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO. Anyway, this one features Lupin's sharpshooter sidekick in a solo adventure which sees him arriving in a small town to get his gun fixed. It turns out that the place is run by a drug empire led by a sadistic wheelchair-bound villain, so the scene is set for the usual showdown. Sadly, this is pitiful stuff: it goes on forever, the action scenes are pretty poor, and the script full of endless, mindless chit-chat. No thanks!

This film ended up being way better than I had expected. As the title implies, this movie is entirely focused on Jigen. None of the other main characters from the Lupin III franchise make an appearance here, and considering the subject matter, that was probably for the better. The gist is that Jigen's magnum breaks, so he seeks out a gunsmith named Yaguchi to fix it, and in doing so he winds up standing in the way of a huge criminal empire run by a literal mass child murderer. Jigen becomes a sort of father figure to a young girl named Oto, who is targeted by the aforementioned criminal organization. Thats about all I can summarize without going into spoilers. This movie is seriously dark; possibly the darkest Lupin movie ever produced. Despite that, for every scene of shocking brutality, theres an equal amount of levity and heart. Jigen, Oto, and Yaguchi have an interesting found-family dynamic that hasn't really been explored well in other Lupin media. Oto is mute as a result of trauma, so Jigen has to figure out how to communicate with her, and ends up growing closer to Oto in a parental way. We also get to see Jigen lose his composure in a very serious setting. Normally, Jigen losing his cool would be played for comedy, but here its dead serious, and its conveyed to the audience brilliantly. There are some problems though. I think the movie could probably be cut down by 20 minutes without losing much. Some scenes drag on way too long. The VFX is also somewhat wonky; theres some bad face warping effects and noticeably out of place glass simulations, but otherwise it wasn't too bad looking. The fight choreography is great, and theres some really creative action sequences that feel reminiscent of other Lupin III media. I'm not sure what else to say about this film. Its not the best movie in the franchise, but it is probably the darkest and one of the emotional ones though. If you're a Lupin fan, you'll most likely appreciate this movie. Even if you aren't familiar with the series, this is a standalone entry that doesn't rely on any other shows, movies, or specials?