The Castle of Cagliostro

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) is an adventure anime you can watch online on iFILM. It marks the feature directing debut of Hayao Miyazaki, made years before he founded Studio Ghibli.

Master thief Arsene Lupin III cleans out a casino, only to find the cash is "goat money" — flawless counterfeit. The trail leads to Cagliostro, a tiny European duchy that has forged banknotes for centuries. Once there, the heist takes a back seat: Lupin meets Clarisse, a young princess being forced to marry the country's cruel Count. With sharpshooter Jigen, the samurai Goemon, the slippery Fujiko circling, and Inspector Zenigata forever on his heels, the thief sets out to crack the castle's secret and free her.

Everything that would define Miyazaki is already here: rooftop chases that seem to fly, lovingly drawn machinery, a rescue that asks for no reward. The famous shot of Lupin leaping across the towers was later studied frame by frame by Steven Spielberg. Adapted from Monkey Punch's manga, the film became the franchise's high-water mark. Watch The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) online on iFILM.