Animation studio TMS Entertainment recently announced a new Lupin III project for 2021! Does the international gentleman thief have one more trick up his anime sleeves?
On Friday, the company’s English-language Twitter account tweeted about ‘a special project in the works’ to ‘mark the 50th year since Lupin was first animated.’ Since then, the company has been silent about exactly what sort of Lupin-related project it will put out.
2021 will mark the 50th year since Lupin was first animated. To commemorate we have a special project in the works. More info coming soon… https://t.co/xyPUzsnzN7
— TMS Entertainment (@tmsanime) November 20, 2020
The Japanese-language Twitter account had a similar message, except that it included a link to Lupin World, a part of the official Lupin III website. As of Monday morning, the page has a neat timeline of the entire history of Lupin III, starting with the first manga in 1967. The first anime series came out in 1971.
TMS also posted the video on the Lupin III website and on YouTube:
Unfortunately, the video doesn’t tell us anything new, but it features what sounds like one of Fujiko’s voice actors. (Understandable for a series which has been around for 50 years, they’ve made some changes along the way.)
Well, you don’t have to be Zenigata to do a little sleuthing. As it turns out, there’s a lot of Lupin-related news to sift through, including new Blu-rays and DVDs, re-broadcasts of old Lupin III movies and specials in Japan, and even a Lupin III-themed game/event in Tokyo. Of course, none of that is 50th anniversary-worthy.
What’s Past Is Prologue
For now, we can only speculate on what this new special project will be. There have been five separate TV anime versions of Lupin III. Part 5 concluded in 2018. Is the time ripe for a Lupin III: Part 6?
There have also been many movies, including Hayao Miyazaki’s wonderful and unique interpretation of the character in Castle of Cagliostro. The franchise has also had a Crisis on Infinite Lupins of sorts with Green vs. Red, and crossovers with TMS’ other big cash cow, Detective Conan. Last year’s Lupin III: The First broke new ground by rendering the thief in glorious 3D CGI animation.
It’s hard to know what TMS can do to top all of that. But, whatever it is, we are looking forward to it.