{"id":156536,"date":"2021-01-17T15:16:27","date_gmt":"2021-01-17T12:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/reimagining-an-icon-in-lupin-iii-the-first\/"},"modified":"2021-01-17T15:16:27","modified_gmt":"2021-01-17T12:16:27","slug":"reimagining-an-icon-in-lupin-iii-the-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/reimagining-an-icon-in-lupin-iii-the-first\/","title":{"rendered":"#Reimagining an Icon in &#8216;Lupin III: The First&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Reimagining an Icon in &#8216;Lupin III: The First&#8217;<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.8-->In 1967, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/anime-manga\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"6\" title=\"Anime || Manga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">manga<\/a> artist <strong>Kazuhiko Kat\u014d<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 known better by his pen name, <strong>Monkey Punch<\/strong> \u2014 was tasked with making an \u201cadult-oriented <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a>\u201d for publication in <em>Weekly Manga Action<\/em>, a seinen-genre (intended for older boys and young men) magazine published by Futabasha. What Kat\u014d created was\u00a0<strong><em>Lupin III<\/em><\/strong>, (a.k.a. <em>Lupin the Third<\/em>)\u00a0an adventure-comedy featuring the titular gentleman thief descended from Maurice LeBlanc\u2019s famous literary character Ars\u00e8ne Lupin. The manga features sex and violence, often unsavory and frequently at the same time, along with dark humor and a fair bit of slapstick absurdity.<\/p>\n<p>The premise is simple and lends itself to episodic stories: Ars\u00e8ne Lupin III is the world\u2019s number-one thief. He is pursued by Interpol Inspector Zenigata, in what Kat\u014d described as a \u201chuman Tom and Jerry\u201d relationship, and occasionally teams up with frenemies Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko to pull off a caper. <em>Lupin III<\/em> was a surprise hit that outlasted Kat\u014d\u2019s three-month contract by over a year, with the original run ending in 1969. But additional official <em>Lupin III<\/em> manga, frequently featuring members of his supporting cast, have continued to be produced as recently as 2014, nearly all of which were written by Kat\u014d himself.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the character has had multiple televised anime series, beginning as far back as 1971. The first, known colloquially as <em>Lupin the Third Part I<\/em>\u00a0(or \u201cGreen Jacket\u201d), premiered to abysmal ratings, leading to the replacement of original director Masaaki Ohsumi with <strong>Hayao Miyazaki<\/strong> (yes, that one) and his Studio Ghibli co-founder, <strong>Isao Takahata<\/strong>. Miyazaki and Takahata took the series\u2019 tone in a much more family-friendly direction than Ohsumi\u2019s original manga-faithful adaptation. This more \u201ch<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y-go-lucky\u201d version of the character would go on to define the tone of the 1977-1980 run, known as <em>Lupin the Third Part II <\/em>(or \u201cRed Jacket\u201d), a.k.a.\u00a0<em>New Lupin III<\/em>. This was the longest-running <em>Lupin III <\/em>TV series and took Lupin and friends on globe-trotting adventures in the vein of <em>Indiana Jones<\/em>\u00a0or <em>Mission: Impossible<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Lupin the Third Part II<\/em>\u2018s popularity led to\u00a0two theatrical films, <strong><em>The Mystery of Mamo<\/em><\/strong> in 1978 and <strong><em>Castle of Cagliostro<\/em><\/strong> in 1979. The latter was Miyazaki\u2019s feature directorial debut, and this notoriety has propelled the film to become perhaps the most well-known piece of <em>Lupin III<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>, despite the fact that it flopped in its original release. <em>Castle of Cagliostro<\/em> and\u00a0<em>Lupin the Third <\/em><em>Part II<\/em> are the defining installments of the franchise \u2014 the former being an animation darling; the latter being beloved by a generation.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-361380\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Lupin-the-Third-2D.jpg\" alt=\"Lupin The Third 2D\" width=\"800\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Lupin-the-Third-2D.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Lupin-the-Third-2D-768x486.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The next forty years saw the release of four more televised anime series, seven more theatrical animated features, multiple live-action films, and even <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/boardgamegeek.com\/boardgame\/99777\/lupin-3rd\">an obscure Italian board game<\/a>. But there was still one significant step for <em>Lupin III <\/em>to take. In June 2019, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lupin_3rd_movie\/status\/1149124947068911616\">the poster<\/a> dropped for the feature film <strong><em>Lupin III: The First<\/em><\/strong>, revealing that the next adventure would be the franchise\u2019s first-ever venture into 3D animation (even the video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> is an arcade cabinet animated with pixel art). Kat\u014d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/natalie.mu\/comic\/news\/339288\">was credited as saying<\/a>, \u201cI\u2019ve been looking forward to a 3DCG <em>Lupin III<\/em> for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Imagine being the first person to animate Mickey Mouse in 3D and being told that Walt Disney was looking forward to seeing his creation in 3DCG for the first time. That\u2019s what it felt like for the <em>Lupin III: The First<\/em> animation team to hear of Kat\u014d\u2019s excitement. Never mind the anticipation of all the fans who\u2019ve been following fifty years\u2019 worth of franchise history and their expectation for this movie to live up to its legacy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe pressure was there,\u201d admits rigging supervisor <strong>Tatsuya Akagi <\/strong>in an email to FSR\u00a0ahead of the film\u2019s US home video release. \u201cThe great thing about dealing with popular characters is that there are already a lot of great examples of great work. But on the other hand, it means that we would need to create a new style that is as great as what\u2019s already been done. The transition or \u2018translation\u2019 to 3D was about determining what the essence of Lupin was about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Animation supervisor <strong>Tomokazu Sakamoto <\/strong>adds, also via email, \u201cWe made sure we were incorporating all the existing characteristics of the IP and were conservative when making new attempts. We didn\u2019t try to change things when it was unnecessary, but we did experiment when something that worked in 2D didn\u2019t translate well into 3D.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The team\u2019s results demonstrate that their efforts paid off. <em>Lupin III: The First<\/em> is a delightful watch. The characters\u2019 movements are exaggerated and lively and always maintain a strong sense of key posing and distinct silhouette. There are moments when the sharp movements almost look like the film was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Inbetweening\">animated on twos<\/a>. As Sakamoto recalls, \u201cIn the early stages of the project, we considered animating on twos, but that created some difficulties on the cloth simulation. So in the end, we chose full animation. We were shocked to see [<em>Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse<\/em>] had solved the problems we faced when the trailer came out a few days after we made our decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That is an apt comparison because, much like\u00a0<em>Spider-Man:<\/em> <em>Into the Spiderverse<\/em>, <em>Lupin III: The First<\/em> has a deep respect and love for both the history of the property and the art of animation. This is evident from the very first moments of the film as the opening title sequence is structurally a beat-for-beat reimagining of the 1977 anime\u2019s intro credits.<\/p>\n<p>The narrative of the new film resembles <em>Castle of Cagliostro<\/em> in structure as Lupin and company\u2019s pursuit of treasure leads them into a far more sinister and high-stakes plot. Legacy is a running theme of the film \u2014 the artifact that drives the story\u2019s myth-arc is the only thing that the original Ars\u00e8ne Lupin was never able to steal. By successfully pulling off this caper, Lupin III ventures into a realm that the Lupins of decades past \u2014 including his grandfather and his own previous animated incarnations \u2014 could never reach.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-361381 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Lupin-the-Third-3D.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Lupin-the-Third-3D.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Lupin-the-Third-3D-768x317.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Kazuhiko Kat\u014d passed away in 2019, before the Japanese release of <em>Lupin III: The First<\/em>. It\u2019s absolutely tragic that he was unable to see this true culmination of his creation win so many awards and hearts. But the movie\u2019s post-script features a quote from him from July 2017: \u201cI\u2019d like to keep sending Lupin out for adventures all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Lupin III: The First<\/em> fulfills the wishes of Kat\u014d on many levels, not only as a story of a globe-spanning adventure, but as a production that drew from globe-spanning talents and as a film that has garnered globe-spanning critical praise at Annecy, Sitges, and the Japanese Academy Awards. What began as a three-month manga contract has reached a truly international stage, and that\u2019s a pretty amazing achievement. You can and should catch it for yourself.<\/p>\n<p><em>Lupin III: The First<\/em> is now available on Steelbook, Blu-Ray, DVD, and digital.\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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What Kat\u014d created was\u00a0Lupin III, (a.k.a&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Lupin-the-Third.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1416,89867,32301,73391,73392,89868],"class_list":["post-156536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-animation","tag-annecy","tag-hayao-miyazaki","tag-lupin-iii","tag-lupin-iii-the-first","tag-monkey-punch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}