Monkey News: Worldwide Lupin
Welcome to this weeks edition of Monkey News, the news roundup for everything Lupin III!
Lupin III: The First will be getting a theatrical release in France!
The film is due for release later this year, courtesy of film distribution company Eurozoom.
Good news, French Lupin fans! The very first feature length 3DCG Lupin film, which launched in Japan in December 2019, is coming to theaters in 2020.
Courtesy of film distribution company Eurozoom and in collaboration with TMS, the film will have a theatrical run later this year. An exact launch date is yet to be announced.
Italy is currently gearing up for its own release of the film, featuring a full Italian dub, with it hitting cinemas from February 27th. Brazil, The Philippines and Spain will follow shortly after.
It’s still rather novel to see the Lupin name used on a French release, as the estate of Maurice Leblanc had the Arsène Lupin name under copyright lock and key for many years. Previously, the Lupin III character was referred to in the country as Wolf, Rupan and (most commonly), Edgar de la Cambriole.
Check out Eurozoom’s tweet announcing the localised version of the film over on Twitter by clicking here.
Lupin III: The First announced as nominees for the Japan Academy Film Prize for Animation of the Year!
Characters and above image owned by TMS and NTV.
Lupin III: The First has been nominated for “Animation of the Year” by Japan’s Academy Awards!
The 3DCG film sits alongside four other 2D animated nominees, including Sora no Aosa o Shiru Hito yo / Her Blue Sky, Tenki no Ko / Weathering With You, Meitantei Conan: Konjo no Fist / Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire and ONE PIECE STAMPEDE.
The Japan Academy Awards ceremony is currently due to be held in Tokyo on March 6th, 2020.
As the only 3DCG film on the list, the odds certainly feel stacked against Lupin III: The First. We have our fingers crossed it’s a win for our favourite thief, but alone being nominated for such a prestigious award is a feat that will no doubt leave the production team very happy. Deservedly so!
Check out the original article announcing the news over on Oricon by clicking here.
Lupin III: Part II complete series collection releases in Italy on DVD and Blu-ray in March!
This release will mark the first time the complete Part II series has released on Blu-ray outside of Japan.
Lupin III: Part II is getting a new release on DVD and Blu-ray in Italy!
All 155 episodes of the show, which have been a favourite in Italy since their original air date during the late 70’s / early 80’s, are coming to Blu-ray outside of Japan for the very first time. The Blu-ray version of the set includes 18 discs, while the DVD version contains 10.
Both versions of the set are listed as limited edition, and there is currently no information regarding any potential special features.
The set is currently up for pre-order over on Amazon Italy, with a release date of March 19th, 2020. Click here to pre-order the DVD version (38 Euros), and here to pre-order it on Blu-ray (105 Euros).
New Universal Studios Japan attraction Lupin III: The Live is open!
The live action Lupin III show is now open for business at Universal Studio’s Japan!
Lupin’s runaway play, also known as Lupin III: The Live stars park actors and actresses assuming the roles of Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, Fujiko and Zenigata. The play contains lots of thrills, featuring some daring wire based stunts from our hero and action packed chased sequences with Inspector Zenigata.
Lupin’s current Japanese voice actor, Kanichi Kurita, attended the park for dinner on Monday the 20th of January. Whilst there, Kurita took part in a short interview. It was not long until his delicious meal was interrupted by a passing Lupin and Goemon, who performed a few lines from their act behind the famed voice actor.
You can check out the two and a half hour live stream featuring the attraction, which includes Kurita’s interview, by clicking here.
