The directorial power of "Lupin the Third: Lupin vs. the Duplicate Human" to convey facts with ridiculous pictures [Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 41

The TV animation "Lupin the Third Part 5" has been on air since April. The first feature animated film in the "Lupin" series was "Lupin the Third: Lupin vs. the Duplicate Human," released in December 1978. In that year, "Star Wars" and "Encounter of the Unknown" were major science fiction blockbusters in Japan. Lupin vs. the Duplicate Human" was also a work of great visual scale, featuring science fiction elements such as a clone human who has been duplicating himself for 10,000 years to rule the world, and a giant brain that is launched by a rocket into space.

Truth is Strong and Short, Lies are Eloquent

In "Lupin the Third: Lupin vs. the Reproduction Man," shocking depictions continue, starting with the execution scene of Lupin III at the beginning of the film.
First, let us look at the scene of Lupin's execution. On the black screen, there are three or four white lines across the screen. The lines slide downward in time with the sound of footsteps. In other words, we know that these lines are stairs. As soon as the footsteps stop, the screen goes black. And then, at the same time as the eerie sound of a creak, a wooden door opens, and the man's foot briskly descends. The next cut shows the back view of the man with the noose tied around his neck. The next shot is the full body of the man hanging from the wooden death stand. The background, however, is blown white, and both the man and the execution table are painted in black and white. The picture-making is too simple to be realistic.

Similarly, Lupin and his partner Daisuke Dimeji try to escape on a motorcycle through a police siege, and Lupin and his friends are astonished to see that their hideout has vanished without a trace. All are depicted simply, in colorless line drawings and silhouettes, making effective use of the situation of being in the searchlight and the setting sun. The lack of realism makes the power and impact of the scenes come across more strongly.
In the latter half of the film, the richly drawn pictures also appear. A large color illustration of Lupin smiling surrounded by Batman and Wonder Woman appears on the screen. The next cut reveals that it is a page from a magazine being viewed by a special assistant to the President of the United States (Lupin is actually being torn to pieces by an earthquake caused by his enemies).

In other words, what is true is simple. （The lies (like the illustrations in the magazine) are more eloquent. Lupin the Third: Lupin vs. the Duplicate Human" seems to follow such a style of direction.

Gomon's sword cuts through "the movie itself.

In the middle of the film, Lupin and his friends are trying to escape from Mamoru, the replicant, when they are confronted by Flinch, a large man who works for Mamoru. Ishikawa Gomon, a master swordsman, cuts Flinch, who is wearing an alloy vest, in passing.
However, the tip of Gomon's sword snaps off. Flinch looks back with a smile on his face. Now, in the next cut, something strange happens. On the rock, Gomon's shoulders slump in disappointment. Did the Flinch defeat him?　Concerned, Dimentional rushes over to Gomon. At that moment. The entire screen was split into three parts and shifted to the left and right!　The entire movie screen itself, including the dimensional body and the rocks in the background, is cut off in three pieces!
Now, when the cut switches to a close-up of the flinch. His face is split into three parts, just as in the previous cut. The middle of his face is cut off and shifted to the right. Flinch has a "Huh?" look on his face. Flinch's expression says, "What?" and he rushes to put his face back together with his hands. However, in the next cut, the Flinch's legs wobble and he falls into the sea. The Flinch's face had been cut off by Gomon.

This scene, too, lacks any sense of reality, but the fact that Gomon won and that Flinch was cut is conveyed "strongly and briefly" by cutting the screen itself.
Animated films are made up of 24 frames per second. The frame of a film is square. Within this constraint, the filmmaker must try to create an expression that will make the audience go "ah-ha!" Will the facts in the film be conveyed realistically if the film is made in 3D, if the chairs are shaken according to the scene, or if water or smells are sprayed on the audience?　No matter how surreal the picture, if it is strong and short, it will come across as true. And "Lupin VS Reproduction Man" teaches us that the more redundant a lie is, the more it appears to be a lie.


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)

Original story: Monkey Punch (C) TMS