A Memorial Anime is in Production for "Lupin the Third's" 50th Anniversary

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the “Lupin the Third” manga, a memorial episode was announced to be in production. Revealed on the last broadcast of the “Lupin the Third Best Selection” special program on Nihon TV the episode is to be titled “Lupin wa Imamo Moeteiruka?/Is Lupin still burning?”

There is no confirmed release date for the episode but it has been noted that the title for the episode mirrors the title of the first episode of the TV anime first season aired in October 1971. In addition to this, the creator of the series will be acting as the general director for the memorial anime produced by TMS Entertainment. To mark the news, a comment was posted on the official website of the franchise by the creator himself.

In Monkey Punch’s message he stated:

“Thank you for supporting ‘Lupin the Third’ for 50 years. In this memorial anime, we expressed the contents that were filled with the past ‘Lupin the Third’ and also included new challenges in animation. I would be glad if you enjoy watching it. Please continue to support ‘Lupin the Third’!”

“Lupin the Third” is an action comedy manga series that was written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. Released in August 1967, the series was serialized by Weekly Manga Action before the first manga series ended in May 1969 with 14 volumes.

In the aftermath of the first manga series, the “Lupin the Third” work soon became a media franchise as it released numerous manga, two versions of an animated pilot film, five animated television series, eight theatrically-released animated films, two live-action films, five OVA works, twenty-six animated television specials, two musicals, multiple music CDs, and several video games.

Currently the franchise is running its fifth series in Italy. The story of the work takes focus on Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc’s series of novels and his own adventures as a master thief. One of his well known marks as a thief is that he announces his intentions to steal valuable objects by sending a calling card to the owners of his desired items.

Source: Crunchyroll News