Anime

It appears that winter is the new summer for the Lupin franchise; 2009 saw the crossover special air in March. February 12 will see the 2010 special air as announced by the Mainichi Shimbun (Japanese); titled The Last Job, the plot revolves around a Japanese artifact found in a Nazi sanatorium. A band of ninjas led by Morgana battle against Lupin for this treasure; the big twist is Zenigata will supposedly die at Morgana's hands.

Already, fandom is buzzing that this will be a turning point in the franchise, and this time they could be proved correct. Naya Goro, Zenigata's voice actor, has not been in good health or voice in recent years; he could be retiring leaving a large and unique hole to fill in the cast. The question remains if the writers can introduce a new antithesis for Lupin that the audience will embrace.

Then again, they replaced Lupin's voice with a similar one and kept the character going; maybe they have plans to do the same for Zenigata. A new direction for the franchise or just another stale gimmick (cf. $1 Money War as one example)? We'll find out in two months.

Wonders never cease... After the disappointing sales of Fuma Conspiracy, Discotek decided not to release Legend of the Gold of Babylon. Instead, they saved their pennies and according to their recent blog post licensed Episode:0 First Contact. There are no more details other than a vague 2010 release date.

I'm going to lay it all out for you people; Episode:0 is held up as one of, if not the, best Lupin TV specials released. If the sales are disappointing for this release, you can kiss the notion of anyone licensing a Lupin title in the US goodbye for a decade or two. So, pre-order the instant you see it announced on Amazon, RightStuf, wherever. And don't stop there... spread the word and get your friends to check it out. Discotek is throwing us a huge bone here; let's reward them!

From 2ch to ANN, the news is going out that Lupin will be starring in his first (that we know of) official crossover when an special episode of Detective Conan airs later this year. Fortunately, it sounds like this is in addition to rather than a replacement for the annual Lupin TV Special.

You can wave your fanboy flag in Reed's forums. I'll remain cautiously optimistic about this gimmick.

A new attraction has opened in Tokyo Dome City, and it features our favorite thief! Visitors will be handed a PDA and set loose into the attraction navigating traps and puzzles in Lupin's hideout to find the treasure. You can read more at ANN; ah... must save up and get there before it leaves...

As of yesterday, the official Japanese Lupin site posted a small news bite announcing the date and title of this year's special. Airing on July 25, it is roughly titled Lupin the Third: sweet lost night ~magic lamp's nightmare premonition~.

Yeah... OK then... Not much else to go on right now, so begin the wild speculation!

Following up on my video review, I've written down my thoughts on Green VS Red. Enjoy!

According to Hot Shot News, the upcoming Green VS Red OVA is getting a marketing boost through "Lupin the Night!", three days worth of events.

Monkey Punch will be attending a March 8 event at the Toho Cinemas in Roppongi Hills. He will also be signing 500 autographs at the Tokyo Anime Fair on March 29.

The March 8 appearance will also feature a pre-screening of the new OVA along with a number of films and specials. Other Toho theaters will screen the OVA and a smaller selection of titles on the 15th.

Via DannyChoo.com, an article in the Mainichi Shimbun has revealed the release date for the OVA, some plot and cast information, and a few pictures. The OVA will be released on April 2 and will revolve around the green and red jacket Lupins vying for the "Ice Cube" treasure held by the military organization "Nighthawks".

Additionally, Hirano Aya will be voicing a character. Once I learned a release date was set, I checked the usual online stores to see if there were any pre-orders available. This turned up even more interesting news.

The OVA will be released in two flavors; the first is a typical DVD+BGM CD combo (pre-order at DiscStation or Amazon JP. The second flavor is a two disc set that come with a figure (pre-order at DiscStation or Amazon JP). On the second DVD will be interviews, making of information, etc.

No pictures yet of the figure included, but I imagine it will mimic the green/red jacket Lupin combination pictures we've already seen.

A very brief teaser trailer for the upcoming OVA Green Vs Red is up at Lupin-3rd.net. If you want to save a copy to your hard drive, you can access the movie directly.

Wizard recently posted their "Top 50 Fictional Weapons"; Goemon's Zantetsuken place a respectable 31. The franchise may be running on fumes in the US, but it is good to see it getting some love on a small level.