"Rupan sansei: Part II" (1977) TV series 1977-1980

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writer:

Monkey Punch (comic)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

13 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Fantasy

Plot:

Lupin the Third, grandson of the "gentleman thief," Arsene Lupin, traveles the world in search of challenging loot to steal...

Plot Keywords:

Anime | Sequel | Character Name In Title

Cast

Yasuo Yamada	...	Arsène Lupin III / ... (155 episodes, 1977-1980)
Kiyoshi Kobayashi	...	Daisuke Jigen / ... (82 episodes, 1977-1980)
Gorô Naya	...	Inspector Kouichi Zenigata (82 episodes, 1977-1980)
Richard Epcar	...	Daisuke Jigen (79 episodes, 1977-1979)
Jake Martin	...	Inspector Kouichi Zenigata (79 episodes, 1977-1979)
Tony Oliver	...	Arsène Lupin III (79 episodes, 1977-1979)
Eiko Masuyama	...	Fujiko Mine (78 episodes, 1977-1980)
Makio Inoue	...	Goemon Ishikawa XIII / ... (78 episodes, 1977-1980)
Lex Lang	...	Goemon Ishikawa XIII (76 episodes, 1977-1979)
Michelle Ruff	...	Fujiko Mine / ... (76 episodes, 1977-1979)

(more)

Series Directed by
Kyosuke Mikuriya		(81 episodes, 1977-1980)
Hayao Miyazaki		(2 episodes, 1980)

Series Writing credits
Noriaki Yamazaki		(2 episodes, 1977-1979)
Hayao Miyazaki		(2 episodes, 1980)
Monkey Punch		(unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Gina Nuccio	....	additional adr editor (1 episode, 1980)
Thanos Kazakos	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Richard Epcar	....	adr director (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS)

Distributors

• Cartoon Network (2003-2006) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

Lupin the 3rd (USA)
The New Lupin III

Runtime:

30 min (155 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | French | Italian | Tagalog | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:14+ (TV rating)

Company:

Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS)

Trivia:

The live-action rights have been picked up by Schindler's List producer Gerald Molen.

Quotes:

Fujiko Mine: [scamming and romancing a Frenchman] But of course, "mein petite escargot".
Frenchman: "Your little... snail"?

Movie Connections:

Edited into Rupan sansei: The Typing (2002) (VG)

Lupin's back!!!!

This is a great anime series. Granted, I feel that some of the movies are better, but this is a pretty wacky show, with some of the funniest humor of any anime. Each episode features Lupin and co. usually getting into some sort of big heist, which usually ends up in him matching wits with a rival criminal, whether it be his love-interest/rival Fujiko Mine or some evil arch criminal, and then of course there's Inspector Zenigata.

Granted, compared to the extremely "R" rated manga, this stuff is kiddy material, but it's still not intended for kids. Some of Lupin's...er, morales, are definityly not intended to be seen by kids ages 12 and under.

Of course, with the good comes the bad, and the bad in this case is the horrible dub that Pioneer gave to this show. Using horrible MODERN-DAY American in-jokes to make it more accessible to American viewers has to have been the worst U.S. dub of an anime in English since FUNimation's Dragonball Z. Avoid the TV show on Cartoon Network at all costs, and only listen to the Japanese audio track.

Sadly, two of the show's best episdoes have not yet been released on DVD. These two episodes are none other than the ones directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Oddly enough, they were released in the U.S. a decade ago on home video under the title, "Lupin III's Greatest Capers." If you can find it, get it, since they probably won't show up in the U.S. for a while. Just be prepared for some painfully bad dubbed voices, particularly Jigen and Fujiko's voices.

BOTTOM LINE: One great show, but it too has been ruined by the poor use of English dubbing.