The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)

	Also Known As: "Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro" (original)
	Year of first release: 1979
	Director: Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away)
	Actors (voices): Yasuo Yamada, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue
	Country: J
	Genre: Adventure, Animation
	Conditions of visioning: 17.02.2014, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: The famous thief Lupin and his mates are going after the money counterfeiter in Castle Cagliostro, where they will unveil a grander plot.
Review: Continuing with my Miyazaki series, this time I wanted to watch his first movie as director. It was produced when the Ghibli company was not existing yet, and was a feature-length film associated with a successful TV-series (Edgar de la cambriole in French) for which Miyazaki already directed some episodes. Note that he also directed some episodes of the Sherlock Hound TV-series that I loved as a child, and I am seriously thinking about acquiring those two series now. Well, I have just ordered Sherlock Hound... As I read in the interesting review in the Mad Movies magazine I already wrote about, The Castle of Cagliostro is not as "thought-provoking" as the future Studio Ghibli movies, it looks more like the episode of an animated TV-series (which it is) but of excellent quality. As for Porco Rosso, the quality of the Blu-ray image is impressive and one can fully appreciate the work of the animation artists. I particularly liked the two car chases at the beginning of the movie. The story of big-hearted thief is quite typical of the Japanese manga and animation we know of that time: Sherlock Hound, Cowboy Bebop, City Hunter, Cat's Eyes... but one can feel the Miyazaki influence with the themes of Nature and the apparition of a steampunk flying machine. I am definitely looking forward to seeing more of his work.
Rating: 7 /10