It’s silly, it’s campy, it’s based on a popular cartoon series and a popular comic book series, and it’s not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. No, this film is based on the classic Japanese comic series, Lupin III by Monkey Punch (pen name of Kazuhiko Kato), and it’s first full-length trailer is out now – the teaser trailer came out in April.
Make no mistake, the globetrotting thief was never as popular as the crime fighting reptiles (in America, at least), but there was a time (roughly from 2003 to 2007) when the Lupin III anime aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block, when Lupin III DVD’s lined the shelves (okay, probably just one shelf) of Best Buy’s Anime section, and when volumes of the Lupin III comic lined the shelves (yes, shelves plural) of Borders bookstores’ (remember those?) manga section.
Judging from the trailer, the live action film – directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus) – will follow the basic premise of most of its source material’s storylines: Lupin tries to steal something, helped by his associates Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko; things go awry; they uncover a greater plot; Lupin evades being captured by his nemesis, Inspector Zenigata.
Like most manga adaptations (and Japanese films in general) look forward to seeing Lupin III at anime conventions and film festivals.
Leave a Comment