movies/tv Lupin The Third Part IV

[Shanks 10,816]

Lupin The Third for those of you who are unfamiliar is a fairly old anime series that first started out as a manga in 1967, it became fairly popular having three different series called "parts" that have aired in the 70's and 80's in Japan with some episodes being dubbed into English. I first became a fan of Lupin The Third when they aired the dub on Cartoon Networks Adult Swim lineup years back and am seeing episodes I have never seen before thanks to the anime streaming service Crunchyroll. I found out recently that a new Lupin series was just released recently called Lupin The Third Part IV.

 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-12-28/crunchyroll-to-simulcast-lupin-iii-part-4-anime/.97027

[Envy 6,263]

Lupin the Third is pretty cool. I, too, really came to like it from Part II. Usually I don't even like episodic anime. I don't find that it's a format that anime usually excels at... The more episodic an anime is, the less likely I am likely to enjoy it. However, Lupin the Third (at least Part II, I've only seen part of Part III and very little of Part I), manages to keep my attention for each episode. Perhaps it's the mostly Western worldwide settings. Perhaps it's the awesome jazz/funk/rock music that could only have come from the 70s, or perhaps it's the characters (for example, gotta love Inspector Zenigata being a much more lighthearted humorous take on a usually serious character trope).

 

Nevertheless, I'm glad that Crunchyroll is going to stream the 2015 anime. Hopefully it stays true to the spirit of Part II.

[Shanks 10,816]

Perhaps it's the mostly Western worldwide settings. Perhaps it's the awesome jazz/funk/rock music that could only have come from the 70s, or perhaps it's the characters (for example, gotta love Inspector Zenigata being a much more lighthearted humorous take on a usually serious character trope).

Lupin The Third reminds me of two shows from my childhood, Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego with Lupin and his gang like Carmen and the literary basis for Lupin exhibiting the "honorable thief" trope and Inspector Gadget in large part due to the animation style being very similar and the worldwide travel. The irony behind Zenigata is his obsession with catching Lupin both aids and hinders his goal of capturing him at the same time. On the one hand he is rarely ever that far from him because of it, but on the other hand there are multiple examples where his own obsession with capturing Lupin got in the way and caused Lupin to escape. Lupin and his gang rely heavily on stealth as they pretty much have to but there are many times where Zenigata will give chase immediately upon seeing Lupin when following and waiting would be a much more effective strategy. Add a bit of humor to this obsession and clumsy antics and you have a rather hilarious character.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Shanks

[Envy 6,263]

Seeing Lupin the Third with modern technology just doesn't feel right to me. I really feel like they should have left the setting in the 70s.

 

I mean they're saying that Lupin the Third and his crew existed in the 1970s, but also existed in the 2010s just the same. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but it just kind of gets to me, because Lupin the Third has always been very much about its setting in the 70s.

[Shanks 10,816]

I mean they're saying that Lupin the Third and his crew existed in the 1970s, but also existed in the 2010s just the same. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but it just kind of gets to me, because Lupin the Third has always been very much about its setting in the 70s.

If that is the case than it seems this may be a reboot as opposed to an actual sequel, Lupin The Third was modern at the time because it setting reflected the time and it did make it possible that Lupin III could have been the grandson of the literary figure Arsene Lupin who was active in the early 1900's which they have directly stated in Lupin The Third (though the original literary figure looked considerably different). I suspect I will probably still like it, though probably not as much as the original.

[Envy 6,263]

If that is the case than it seems this may be a reboot as opposed to an actual sequel, Lupin The Third was modern at the time because it setting reflected the time and it did make it possible that Lupin III could have been the grandson of the literary figure Arsene Lupin who was active in the early 1900's which they have directly stated in Lupin The Third (though the original literary figure looked considerably different). I suspect I will probably still like it, though probably not as much as the original.

 

Well, 'sequel' is used pretty loosely in terms of the Lupin series, anyway. There is hardly any recurring story here, after all. If you watch it, you'll notice that they've thrown some tidbits in it that make it feel more like a Part IV as opposed to another 'different' series like that Fujiko one they did several years back.

[Shanks 10,816]

Well, 'sequel' is used pretty loosely in terms of the Lupin series, anyway. There is hardly any recurring story here, after all. If you watch it, you'll notice that they've thrown some tidbits in it that make it feel more like a Part IV as opposed to another 'different' series like that Fujiko one they did several years back.

True, the old Lupin is much more episodic in nature in other words you could skip over multiple episodes and still know what is going on while the new Lupin series seems to be much less so with it being a continuous arc. Every episode so far takes place in Italy and even the intro mentions Italy and there are a lot of interesting things to see and steal in Italy but one thing I miss from the old Lupin is the fact that they traveled all over the world. They could be in France one episode and then be in China or the US in the next one. Agent Nix seems like a rather interesting character, he reminds me of that Interpol agent in Lupin The Third Part II that was given orders to kill Lupin in this one episode except unlike him he has another side other than his more bloodthirsty one.

[Kivil 1,721]

I personally have never heard of this. But it does sound pretty neat. I hope you have a good time read this! Maybe I'll read it one day!

[Envy 6,263]

True, the old Lupin is much more episodic in nature in other words you could skip over multiple episodes and still know what is going on while the new Lupin series seems to be much less so with it being a continuous arc. Every episode so far takes place in Italy and even the intro mentions Italy and there are a lot of interesting things to see and steal in Italy but one thing I miss from the old Lupin is the fact that they traveled all over the world. They could be in France one episode and then be in China or the US in the next one. Agent Nix seems like a rather interesting character, he reminds me of that Interpol agent in Lupin The Third Part II that was given orders to kill Lupin in this one episode except unlike him he has another side other than his more bloodthirsty one.

 

I think this series is still pretty episodic in nature. It's definitely much more episodic than the story-driven Fujiko series from a few years ago. I'd say it's episodic more like Cowboy Bebop/Samurai Champloo, though, as opposed to purely episodic.

 

I agree with you 100%, though. I miss the random worldwide settings of the old Lupin series'. That certainly is an appeal for the franchise. Still, I'm glad it's Italy, and not stuck in some Japanese setting the whole series. I feel bad saying that, but it's just such a generic setting for anime (for extremely obvious reasons). I enjoy seeing different settings. Italy is one.

 

Still, the feeling of this series is still drastically different from the old Lupin's. It just doesn't feel anywhere near as goofy. As if they're still trying to implement aspects of the serious Fujiko series in. I'm sad. I miss Zenigata waving his arms and shouting "Lupin!!!!" and then comically throwing his hat on the ground and jumping on it when he loses to Lupin.

[Shanks 10,816]

Still, the feeling of this series is still drastically different from the old Lupin's. It just doesn't feel anywhere near as goofy. As if they're still trying to implement aspects of the serious Fujiko series in. I'm sad. I miss Zenigata waving his arms and shouting "Lupin!!!!" and then comically throwing his hat on the ground and jumping on it when he loses to Lupin.

Yeah it is, it feels more serious and a bit darker though the original manga from what I hear was like that as well. I miss alot of the humorous moments involving Zenigata's single minded obsession to capture Lupin and his often over the top frustration of Lupin once again getting away. You still see the obsession in the new series, except without the laughs at least for the most part. I haven't heard there was a Fujiko series until you mentioned it, is it any good? I have always found it hilarious the way she leads Lupin on and how everyone else can see it except for Lupin because he can't stop thinking with his dick.

[Envy 6,263]

Yeah it is, it feels more serious and a bit darker though the original manga from what I hear was like that as well. I miss alot of the humorous moments involving Zenigata's single minded obsession to capture Lupin and his often over the top frustration of Lupin once again getting away. You still see the obsession in the new series, except without the laughs at least for the most part. I haven't heard there was a Fujiko series until you mentioned it, is it any good? I have always found it hilarious the way she leads Lupin on and how everyone else can see it except for Lupin because he can't stop thinking with his dick.

 

How far are you into it? I just got finished with episode 7, and I actually really liked both episode 6 and 7. It seems like maybe they've gotten into the groove of making it feel more like Lupin by then. The episodes before that, not so much...

 

The Fujiko series - titled "The Woman Called Fujiko Mine", I don't know what to really say about it. Except that it is a much darker and story-driven take on the series. There's not much humor to it, and thus one who enjoys the rest of Lupin might not enjoy it so much. Regardless, it's only 13 episodes long if you feel like checking it out.