Those of our readers with a taste for Japanese animation, Japanese comic books, Japanese cinema, or maybe just Japanese people, were probably drawn to our article showing off images images from Ryuhei Kitamura’s live-action adaptation of the manga Lupin III. Those same people were definitely wondering when the film’s first trailer would be released. Well otaku and Japanophiles, wait no more. It’s here.
This first trailer doesn’t show much – it’s a teaser, what did you expect? – but it does tell us a few interesting things. First: Kitmura appears to at least be attempting to capture the look of a comic book from the 1960s – which Lupin is – with its older looking cars and somewhat saturated color pallet. Second: the plot may somehow tie in Lupin’s (the character) ancestor, the fictional French thief, Arsene Lupin; as we can see by the white guy in trailer talking about Lupin’s “legacy.”
One important thing to note: this actually isn’t the first live-action adaptation of Lupin III. In 1974 a film was made titled Lupin the Third Strange Psychokinetic Strategy (aren’t Japanese titles awesome?). Unlike the manga and anime adaptation which were generally serious stories with a good helping of humor thrown in, Strange Psychokinetic Strategy was a straight up wacky comedy – think of it as the 1960’s Batman of the Lupin III franchise. It and the original animated series are available at Discotek Media.
What the hell, check out the original film’s trailer while you’re here.
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