Castle of Cagliostro

Since we're talking about Hayao Miyazaki films, I figured I'd talk about one that got me into an anime series.

Already a popular anime, Hayao Miyazaki directed the Lupin III (The 3rd) movie Castle of Cagliostro.

{Plot}

After doing a job on a casino, master thief Lupin III and his right hand man Daisuke Jigen discover that all the money they had stolen was legendary counterfeit. On the way to a small European country called Cagliostro, their car gets a flat tire and they stop to replace it. While replacing it, a girl who looks like a bride speeds by in a carand is being chased by several men, instantly causing Lupin and Jigen to chase after them. After losing the girl, they go on a quest to steal the girl from the evil count trying to marry her by force for a treasure in the family bloodline.


It's a great movie to me. It's got a lot of action and comedy, there's impressive stuff and the plot is interesting, and I like the characters. Lupin has tools and tricks for every occasion and has many talents that get him around the tightest security measures. Personally it's one of my favorite movies, and being my first Lupin III movie, I owe it a lot.

Movie trivia: Did you know that this movie is technically the first Lupin III movie to be seen in America? It wasn't released as a regular movie, but rather a laser disk arcade game. It was like Dragon's Lair and other popular laser disk games during the craze where you pressed a button or moved a joystick to keep a cartoon playing. Choosing wrong would end the cartoon, but playing it right would let you watch the whole scene. The character's name was changed to Cliff and the game was titled "Cliff Hanger"

All in all, I think it's a fun movie. To me it's a good way to get into the Lupin III series, which is one of my favorite anime if not my favorite anime.