Jigen Daisuke live action film comes to Amazon in October!
Lupin III is diving back into the world of live action with brand-new spin-off film, Jigen Daisuke 「次元大介」!
The film is releasing “worldwide” (exact locations to be revealed) on October 13th, 2023, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Tetsuji Tamayama, who previously portrayed the character in the 2014 released feature film, will be returning to the role of Jigen. He is the second actor to take the role of Jigen in a live action Lupin III film, with Kunie Tanaka being the first in 1974’s Strange Psychokinetic Strategy.
Yoshimasa Akamatsu (BD ~Akechi Tantei Jimusho, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows) has produced the script for the upcoming film, and Hajime Hashimoto (The Detective Is in the Bar franchise, AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo, Shimauma, Signal) is on directing duties.
In preparation for his reprising of the role, Tamayama states in an interview with Natalie that he has watched the Lupin the IIIRD spin-off film Jigen’s Gravestone, and hopes to bring this cooler, more mature version of the character to television screens come October. Keeping with the darker theme, James Shimoji, who composed the music to the Lupin the IIIRD spin-off films, will be returning to score Jigen Daisuke.
The Natalie article covers some initial plot details, which I have translated below:
Lone-wolf Jigen Daisuke returns to Japan after a long period of time, in an effort to find the world’s greatest gunsmith. After some rather intense battles, our hatted hero’s trusty combat magnum is in need of some TLC, and said gunsmith is the only person up to the task. Curiously, it turns out the search for our gunsmith leads Jigen to a rather curious watch shop…
More details on the film are to be revealed closer to its release date. For now, you can check out the films first trailer embedded above, and its announcement over at website Natalie.
After Lupin ZERO wrapping up at the end of last year, and VS. Cat’s Eye releasing in January, a live action Jigen spin-off is not where I expected TMS to go next with the Lupin franchise. It is, however, in my opinion, a welcome diversion from the norm.
I would be lying if I did not first meet the announcement with some scepticism. While I enjoyed Strange Psychokinetic Strategy and the amazing 2017 Inspector Zenigata spin-off drama - the 2014 live action film left a lot to be desired. Taking a moment to think back, though, I quickly realised that while the live action film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura did not win the hearts of fans, it did do one thing right… the casting.
Shun Oguri as Lupin III and Tadanobu Asano as Inspector Zenigata were big gets for the film, and both appeared to take their appearance throughout it seriously. Meisa Kuroki played a gorgeous, cunning Fujiko, with Go Ayano trying his best to bring the stoic samurai Goemon to life on the big screen. It was Tetsuji Tamayama, however, that best looked the part. Fans on social media were swooning over his Jigen as soon as the character portraits were revealed, with some saying he was made for the role, and this rang true.
Tetsuji Tamayama as Jigen Daisuke in the 2014 film, Lupin III
In fact, despite issues with pacing and its overall narrative, all of the main cast members represented their anime / manga counterparts well. If there is one positive to take away from that film, it would be their performances.
It’s this fact that gives me hope for Jigen Daisuke - with fresh writing staff, a keen director on board, and an actor we already know can do the character justice, both Amazon and TMS may be on to something special. Now slightly older and more experienced, I have full confidence Tamayama will exceed that of his already good performance as Jigen from 2014. It’s encouraging to hear that he is channelling that Jigen’s Gravestone energy, as I think it would be a better fit for a standalone flick.
I’m looking forward to finding out how this all comes together. Keep an eye out for a full review of the film come October, which I will aim to post a few days after its release.
