While his creator passed away
only this April, “Lupin III” has already come a very long way as a multimedia
icon of Japanese pop culture. Ever since the late Kazuhiko “Monkey Punch” Kato
introduced the character in 1967, Arsene Lupin III has stolen the hearts of
fans, particularly of the multiple anime series, films and other media like
videogames that have come out over the decades. One of these movies is even considered
an all-time best anime film ever made. It even got a live-action big-screen
adaptation in 2014. But there has never been a 3D-animated “Lupin III” movie
ever made, until one announced recently.
Comicbook.com has it that a new “Lupin III” movie, the 13th
in franchise history, was announced last week. “Lupin III: The First” is aptly
titled due to being the first film featuring the master thief of manga and
anime to be computer-animated in 3D. Perhaps even better news than that is the
effort of the animation team to maintain the 2D characteristics of the main
cast designs even while turning them into three-dimensional art, something fans
of the iconic manga and anime will certainly appreciate.
One more thing the “Lupin III” connoisseur
might enjoy is the “period” wherein this movie might take place. As longtime viewers
might know, the different TV series featuring Lupin and the gang can be
classified according to what color jacket the rogue protagonist wears. Here
Lupin is in his red jacket, which he wore in the second series which aired
1979. This marks the transition of the character from the amoral take in the
first series (“green jacket,” 1971) to a slightly more wholesome and potentially
heroic shift for Lupin, despite still being a thief.
Minimal hints of a story can be
seen in the trailer. It appears Lupin III has to help a new female character,
even as he and his gang plot to do another epic heist. The touchstones
identifying each principal cast are all intact during the teaser, from Jigen’s
pistol marksmanship, to Goemon slicing stuff up with his Zantetsuken, to Fujiko
overcoming opponents with sex appeal and grit, to Inspector Zenigata still
hell-bent on catching them all. Action sequences feature an aerial dogfight
with antiquated aircraft, and Lupin apparently navigating a tunnel line with
rapid-firing lasers.
“Lupin III: The First,” produced
by Toho, will premiere in Japan on December 6. There have been no announcements
yet on an English dub (possible since the fifth TV series from 2018 is airing
on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim), or a limited US theater release.
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