Lupin the 3rd

This is one of my favorite Anime TV series.

I first saw it off of the DVD line up after seeing a few Movies of Lupin the 3rd.

I never seen it or heard of it on TV.

But doesn't matter since I own most of the DVDs of the series so far.

This is known as the Second TV series of lupin the 3rd. Aired from 1977-1980 in Japan. It took 26 years for this series to get debut in English. It couldn't of aired back in the 80's cause back then people think Cartoons are only for kids.

But this ain't no kids show. Has some swearing, violence, nudity, and use of drugs. If this were to air back 20 years ago then it be edited and chopped up banded the episodes that aren't appropriate for little kids to see.

So it's good for a popular Anime TV series to finally hit the USA shores since America changed the way it sees cartoons.

The English version is good, funny, and uncut. Please it has some mentioning of modern day jokes which don't fit in the actual time period it's in. Such as one character mentioning Ebay or stuff that wasn't around 26 years ago.

Still funny even with those jokes. Those who prefer seeing it in Japanese will know the DVDs have the old Japanese Track with them.

I'm not a huge fan of anime, but for some reason, I love Lupin. Ever since it premiered on Adult Swim back in January, I've gotten a huge liking for it. Plus, it's so darn entertaining!!!

The cool thing about this show is how Lupin, and company in each episode always encounter a bad guy who may have something involved with what they're after. Of course to add more trouble is the restless Interpol inspector Zenigata whose been after Lupin for 7 years. In between these factors is off the wall antics, sexual themes, and lots, and LOTS of cleavage(courtesy of Fujiko).

Overall I like the show. It's pretty appealing, and it won me over from day one. If you've never seen this show, I suggest you check it out. You may like it.

P.S. Fujiko is HOT for a cartoon!

SSJAniFan explains the heart of the show. Lupin The Great (English Title) funneled through the Anime sub-culture until it made way to Adult Swim (most immediately).

This is one of the early greats, sweeping America from the 'China Towns' of San Fran, Toronto, Seattle and New York in 1975. Some have compared this show to "Scooby Doo", but the show is more sophisticated, with plenty of 'adult' content as earlier noted.

The one overlooked aspect of the show is it's English language cast, which includes the indelible Tony Oliver. Anthony or Antonio starred in some of the classic early Anime series, including the groundbreaking "Robotech". Along with his co-star on the show, Lia Sargent, Oliver never fails to appear in even the latest series, like "Last Exile".

Campy at times, but necessary in the sometimes overbearing world of Anime dramas. Maybe a live action version will be made someday, but I hope the charm of the show remains on the original cells.

With the main problem being the lackluster, progressive cartoonification of the traits of the characters from the first part, being that of Rupan Sansei progressively becoming less and less a gentleman's thief and more a stupid's thief who throws away a fortune for a billionaire groupie, Fujiko Mine (who, incredibly enough, is the only one showing proper thievery, crime skills, guts and intelligence amongst all the Rupan Sansei group) progressively and forcibly presented as ONLY interested in monetary gain and nothing else and when she doesn't show that is reprimanded because of 70's sexism, Jigen is slowly reduced to a caricature spouting misoginyst lines who the facto does not act as a misogyn because reasens and Goemon is out there doing stuff. And unfortunately, by season three, the writing which in season one and two was pretty good turned from acceptable to bad to godawful with a whole slew of badly written, nonsensical episodes where things happened with no resonance whatsoever, with the only saving point of again showing the intelligence of the real leader of the Rupan Sansei gang (you guessed it, her name being Fujiko Mine) and nothing else. I was onboard with the idea of throwing the characters in more out-of-this world, wacky situations a là Silver Age but not at the expense of bad writing and ridiculization of their main characteristics. My rating for this series is 8 for the first two seasons and 5 for the third one, which I dropped by episode 89, hence a generous 7. I won't bother with the fourth season.

The first episode of the series re-unites Japan's favorite comic felon with his gang: crack shot Jigen, steely samurai Goemon and devious ex- girlfriend Fujiko on a cruise that turns out to have a surprise party scheduled just for them! The action moves on through a dizzying blur of international hot spots as the gang attempt one wildly improbable heist after another, usually with unexpected results. Past enemies from the earlier TV show make return appearances, and the Loch Ness Monster has a guest spot. The series creators stick closely to manga artist Monkey Punch's distinctive Sergio Aragones-influenced cartoon style, which is both a plus and a minus; everything has a uniform kookiness that can sometimes be distracting, especially when the setting requires a posh look.

In addition to the elaborate heists which characterize the series, occasional episodes go seriously weird and mystical, with lots of mind- bendingly surreal elements: telepaths, beams that induce suicide, a nun who deals in mass hypnosis (!) to name a few. Series villains often sport the towering arrogance and ambitions of James Bond supervillains.

This series really hit its stride in the second season with a run of truly fine episodes. Great heist action, elaborate chases, exotic locations and outrageousness are all featured here as Lupin's gang tries to recover Peking Man's Bones, steal a golden lion from the Australian government, rob a casino and finally steal the crown jewels of England. This final episode is the best of the disc as Lupin disrupts a royal wedding to get a crack at her majesty's crown!

Fast moving, with good looking action animation and well written (if often wildly implausible) heist schemes, untimely double-crosses and good background art depicting the globe scattered locations, there is lot here to enjoy.