The Mystery of Mamo (1978)

 The Mystery of Mamo (1978) dir. Soji Yoshikawa, Tokyo Movie Shinsha 

By 1978 Lupin had moved beyond the Green Jacket series and the lived action version. The second series, ('Red Jacket') was already in it's third season and more successful than the previous series. How would the first animated Lupin do?

Inspector Zenigata rushes through the Transylvania countryside to no place other than Castle Dracula. Why? Seems his long-time foe Lupin the 3rd was caught by the authorities and hanged. He breaks into the crypt but the whole thing was just a ruse by the Lupin. 

So naturally our dogged detective heads to Egypt. Why? To prevent Lupin from stealing the Philosopher's Stone, which our thief does. Why does Lupin want the stone?

Because Fujiko wants it, of course. Why does Fujiko want it? Because her employer wants it. Fujiko steals it from Lupin in Paris, but it turns out to be a fake. This does not please Fujiko's employer, who proceeds to unleash hell on a nearly global scale against our thief and his gang. 

This doesn't sit well with Jigen and Goemon, but Lupin swears to dump Fujiko. This promise lasts until she shows up and asks for help. She drugs Lupin and helps Flinch (who's been taking orders from Fujiko's boss) kidnap him.

Jigen figures out where the plane is going, but before he does much, he and Goemon are kidnapped by the CIA. They get released when they can't give the agents anything useful, but they head to a small Caribbean island owned by the very rich and very eccentric millionaire Howard Lockewood. Lockewood, as it turns out, is Mamo and Mamo is the one who's been ordering Fujiko around. 

What does he want with the stone? Immortality, and he's willing to share it with Lupin and Fujiko, at least until Lupin annoys him enough. What is the secret of Mamo?

Pretty good but boy is this a dense sucker. Lupin is a bit more like the manga than the previous television portrayals, plus this has a much stronger use of science fiction than previous stories so that might be a bit jarring to other fans. Lupin himself comes across as a bit flat, with most of the characterization going to either Jigen or Goemon. Fujiko suffers the most, as it is a bit baffling why the other characters put up with her constant betrayals throughout the film.