List of Lupin III television specials

This is a list of television specials of the Japanese media franchise Lupin III, based on the manga series by Monkey Punch that debuted in 1967. Beginning in 1989 with Bye Bye, Lady Liberty, every year until 2013 featured a 90 minute Lupin III anime television special that aired on NTV at 9:03 on Friday evening. Since then, they have been released irregularly, with the 27th and latest being November 2019's Prison of the Past.

Each television special features its own unique story, with plots generally centering on the adventures of gentleman thief Lupin III, and his criminal gang: Daisuke Jigen, crack-shot and Lupin's closest ally; Fujiko Mine, femme fatale and love interest who works against Lupin more often than with him; and Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a master swordsman and descendant of legendary Japanese bandit Ishikawa Goemon. Lupin is often chased by ICPO Inspector Koichi Zenigata, a dogged detective who has made it his life mission to catch Lupin. The 2009 Lupin III vs. Detective Conan special is, as the title suggests, a crossover between Lupin III and Detective Conan and as such features characters from both series.

Manga Entertainment released the first special on home video in the United Kingdom and Australia in 1996 as Goodbye Lady Liberty, using an English dub that they created in London with an American-British cast.[1] Funimation purchased the North American releasing rights to specials five through twelve in 2002, in a package that also included the two theatrical films Farewell to Nostradamus and Dead or Alive. They re-titled several of the animations for their release.[2] Discotek Media has released all 27 Lupin III specials in North America as of 2024, including those previously licensed by Funimation. They began with Episode 0: The First Contact in March 2010, and completed all 27 with Italian Game in September 2024. They also released the Lupin III vs. Detective Conan special and its theatrical film sequel on October 27, 2015.[3]

Specials

Production notes

• While recording Voyage to Danger in 1993, Lupin's voice actor, Yasuo Yamada, took a sudden illness, and his standing became unstable. By the last part of the recording, Yasuo recorded his voice while he was in a chair. Yamada went on to reprise the role one last time in Dragon of Doom the following year. However, his health continued to decline during its recording. He died of a brain hemorrhage in 1995, at the age of 62. Kanichi Kurita took over the role of Lupin that same year.[55]
• 2007's The Elusiveness of the Fog aired as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of the Lupin III manga. Just as the OVA Return of Pycal brought back an old villain in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the anime, the character of Mamou had previously appeared in both a story in the original Lupin III manga and the thirteenth episode of the first anime series. He is treated in this special as if Lupin's gang had never met him before.
• 2011's Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid brought new voice actors for Fujiko, Zenigata and Goemon for the first time in 16 years.[55] Miyuki Sawashiro took over Fujiko from Eiko Masuyama, Daisuke Namikawa took over Goemon from Makio Inoue, and Kōichi Yamadera took over Zenigata from Gorō Naya. They have continued to voice the characters in all other media since.
• 2016's Italian Game is a spinoff of Lupin the 3rd Part IV: The Italian Adventure. In addition to around 40 minutes of original content, it reuses scenes from three episodes of that series — "The Wedding of Lupin the Third", "0.2% Chance of Survival", and "Nonstop Rendezvous".[56]

Reception

The Lupin III television specials released by Funimation have received reviews varying from positive to mixed. The most well-received seems to be Island of Assassins, with Chris Beveridge of Mania.com describing it as "the best non-TV Lupin experience ... since The Castle of Cagliostro",[19] Missed by a Dollar received an eight out of ten rating by IGN's Jeremy Mullin, who stated it starts off as seemingly a simple heist film, but turns out to have plenty of twists.[57] The least well-received of Funimation's releases is Secret of the Twilight Gemini, which received mixed reviews due to the animation and its B movie-style plot.[17][58] Mania.com gave 2002's Episode 0: The First Contact an A+ and hailed it as the best TV special made to date.[59]

In 500 Essential Anime Movies Helen McCarthy called Liberty her personal favourite of the Lupin TV specials. She describes it as "light, funny and entertaining" and "terrific entertainment".[60]

See also

• Lupin III
• List of Lupin III Part I episodes
• List of Lupin III Part II episodes
• List of Lupin III Part III episodes
• List of Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine episodes
• List of Lupin III Part IV episodes
• List of Lupin III Part V episodes

External links

Lupin III (anime)