Happy New Year, an end of year update for 2021
Hey everyone,
It’s Lee here, the site administrator for Lupin Central.
We are merely a few hours away from saying “toodles” to 2021, and ringing in 2022. No matter what your plans are and where you are in the world, I hope you have a safe and happy New Year celebration tonight!
To be honest with you, I have never truly loved New Year. Mentally, I feel this is my lowest point of the year. I dislike saying goodbye to the Christmas holidays, and all of the festive fun that they bring. These days, I also cannot help but feel a sense of dread, as I wonder where things are about to go in regard to the state of the world. I sincerely hope 2022 is a better time than 2021, for all of us.
With that said, it does give us some time for reflection - and thankfully, as Lupin III fans, we have had a lot of good stuff this past year, with plenty more to come.
Next year also marks the tenth anniversary of Lupin Central.
It is crazy to think that we have been going for nearly a decade, since our inception on Tumblr back in 2012. Back then, I was extremely excited for The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, and decided to create a small blog to help share news and thoughts on the series. Since then, we have had three further Lupin III television shows, with the latest one still ongoing! I am truly proud of how Lupin Central has grown over the years, and could not be happier with its current state.
I consider our current viewing figures way beyond anything I could ever have imagined back then. Although I am pleased with the content we produce, I think that this boost in numbers is also in part thanks to how much the Lupin III series has grown overseas. The series is more popular now abroad that it ever has been, something we have TMS, Discotek Media, Sentai FIlmworks and you, the fans, to thank for.
Looking ahead, we have some fun content planned to help celebrate the occasion, so please stay tuned!
For now, let us take a quick look back at the year gone by, and also moving forwards as we enter 2022.
See you in 2022!
Lee
Top five Lupin III announcements of 2021:
Lupin III: Part 1 is finally getting an English language dub, 50 years after its first broadcast!
Lupin III: Part 6 was announced early in the year, and is currently broadcasting for the first time
Plenty of new releases and announcements from Sentai FIlmworks (HIDIVE) and Discotek Media, including Part 1, Mystery of Mamo, and Episode 0: First Contact to name just a few
Neighbor World Princess, a new Isekai spin-off manga released in Japan!
A special collaboration café opened its doors at PLUS TOKYO in Japan, all themed around the characters and world of Lupin III!
Top five Lupin Central website achievements for 2021:
Had a record year for viewing figures, with over 47,000 unique visitors, and over 150,000 individual page views in 2021 alone
Our most viewed stories are "Where to watch Lupin III: Part 6" with over 3,800 views, and "Lupin III: Part 6 announced" with over 2,500 views
Created our release radar section, which is continously updated with new announcements and recent releases
Joined Ko-Fi, a huge thanks to everyone who has supported us thus far
Ran a daily Lupin III themed quiz over on social media, which ended with our big “Mamo Takeover” on Twitter
Had TabbieWolf join as an author on the main website, who has already begun to write some stunning articles!
Top five things to look forward to in 2022:
Continuation of Lupin III: Part 6, as “act two” kicks off on January 8th, 2022!
Potential announcement of new Takeshi Koike spin-off film, the fourth in the series
More Lupin III content coming from both Discotek Media and HIDIVE, with digital plus home video releases of Lupin III: Part 1, The Mystery of Mamo, Episode 0: First Contact, and more!
The release of more Lupin III books, with both the ultimate guidebook and Magnetic Press art / history book to look forward to
The second Lupin III: Part 6 OST from Yuji Ohno and friends, which includes a new ending theme, due to premiere online shortly!
