Lupin III Makes His Way to Universal Japan

Fans of “Lupin III” will soon have a chance to run with the Lupin Gang as a new Universal Studios Japan attraction is revealed to feature the series.

Announced to arrive in the first half of 2019, the new attraction will be converting the XR rides in the Osaka theme park into a “Lupin III” theme. The new attraction will be a part of the Universal Cool Japan initiative, which the park has been running since 2015. With the “ultra-sensory” VR experiences of the XR rides, fans will be able to experience an adventure with the classic characters.

In addition to the ride, an “entertainment restaurant” is also announced to make an appearance at the theme park. So far it has been described to have a mix of comedy and “hard-boiled charm.” Other than this, the only thing confirmed is that the ride will be operational from January 18 to May 26.

“Lupin III” refers to two things, the character himself and the franchise. With the franchise, it first began in 1967 with a manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It was serialized in the Weekly Manga Action and ran until May 1969 with a total of 14 volumes.

From the manga, a franchise was spawned and it includes numerous manga, two versions of an animated pilot film, six animated television series, eight theatrically-released animated films, two live-action films, six OVA works, twenty-five animated television specials, two musicals, many music CDs, and several video games.

Most recently, the franchise has released a spring anime titled “Lupin III: Part V” and it had reached its end this month after a 24 episode run. The series was directed by Yuuichirou Yano, written by Gou Zappa and produced by produced by Telecom Animation Film.

Lupin III the character himself is a master thief and escapist who is the grandson of Arsène Lupin. Considered as the world’s greatest thief, he is best known for announcing his intentions to steal valuable objects by sending a calling card to the owners of his desired items.

The franchise tells of his different adventures and exploits as he is joined by Daisuke Jigen, an expert marksman who can accurately shoot a target in 0.3 seconds, Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a master swordsman whose sword can cut anything, and sometimes Fujiko Mine, a femme fatale and Lupin’s love interest. All the while, Lupin is chased by Inspector Koichi Zenigata of Interpol, who has made it his life’s work to arrest them, pursuing Lupin across the globe.

Source: Crunchyroll News