Earlier this week, the former Cartoon Network now Adult Swim Anime programming block Toonami announced on their Facebook page they would be airing Lupin the Third: Part 5 starting June 16. This isn’t a huge surprise seeing as they did air all of Part 4, getting back most of the classic Adult Swim Part 2 dub cast for it. While who’ll voice the English version of Part 5 hasn’t been announced, it’s probably safe to assume the Part 5 cast will return for it as they did for Discotek’s release of the film Lupin the Third The Legend Of The Gold Of Babylon last November.
It’s been a sad April for Lupin fans with the passing of the manga’s original creator Monkey Punch. Fans and his fellow creators alike have expressed many sentiments about his passing. Knowing that Lupin the Third: Part 5 will air on American television is at least a small consolation. The franchise is now over 50 years old, originally debuting in 1967, yet still delights audiences all over the world. Those who haven’t watched the new series yet, due to either time constraints or just preferring the English voice cast, will now have another chance to experience the fantastic world of Lupin.
Speaking about Part 5 specifically, in my not so humble opinion, it bars none the best TV anime of the past few years. People loved Part 4, but I think Part 5 blows it out of the water. The show is full of life and charm and a love of animation that makes it absolutely required watching. I’m also very fond of the Part 2/4 dub cast, it’s one of the most endearing out there. So if you’re stateside and haven’t watched this phenomenal show consider toon-ing into Toonami in June. Sorry, I won’t make that pun again.
Toonami will start airing Lupin the Third Part 5 June 15. We’ll have to wait for dub cast announcements in the meantime.