Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65261 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-01-28
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 150 minutes

Amazon.com
Since his animated debut in 1971, four years after his initial appearance in Manga Action, Lupin III has remained one of the most popular characters in anime history. Created by artist Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Kato), Lupin has starred in television series, feature films, and TV movies. These adventures are from the second TV season. Accompanied by crack shot Jigen, super-samurai Goemon, and sex bomb Fujiko, Lupin travels the world, pulling off fantastic heists and impossible escapes. Although he never manages to hang onto the loot, Lupin stays ahead of Interpol Inspector Zenigata, who chases the arch-thief with a fanaticism that rivals Wile E. Coyote's pursuit of the Road Runner. The decades-old animation looks decidedly cheesy, but the crude humor and offbeat appeal of the characters have won them countless fans on both sides of the Pacific. (Rated 13 and older: violence, nudity, profanity, risqué humor, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Classic anime!
Like many of the other reviewers here,I was introduced to Lupin &
company through the anime section of adult swim.I simply loved the charm of the show;the chemistry is all there.Lupin (the gentleman thief) and his wit,Jigen(the marksman) and his dry humor,Fujiko(the femme fatale) and her teasing alure and also Goemon (the samurai) and his fortune cookie-like messages of wisdom."The oak is proud like a man,but the blade is sharp like a woman!"Oh,and let's not forget the obsessive,zany Inspector Ziginata,whose attempts to catch Lupin are always in vain."I'LL GET YOU LUPIN!!"The show may seem a bit simple,and yes the drawings and color a bit dated(it was created in the early 70's),but like Speed Racer(although a bit more naughty!)this classic anime just has that special something that keeps you hooked!

Now for the dvd itself,I was pleased with the voice acting and the subtitle options;I personally watch it in english,as it's aired on adult swim.I'm almost positive that the english voice actress for Fujiko is the same one that does Faye Valentine on Cowboy Bebop and Suzuka on Outlaw Star!(compare them and listen for yourself) Speaking of Miss Fujiko,you get to see ALOT more of her on this dvd if you know what I mean!So no kids...
Yes,the "extras" where pretty lame,but I was just happy to have a nice collection of Lupin to watch whenever I want!If nothing else,I wished Pioneer would have gotten rid of those flimsy extras and instead added another three episodes!

In the end I was happy with my purcahse,and will buy other volumes to watch Lupin and his friends go on all sorts of gold heisting,tomb raiding,bank robbing adventures!

Japan's most beloved criminal arrives stateside!
I love the whimsical, fun adventures of Lupin III. The show strikes a nice balance between action, drama, and comedy. The drawing style is very quaint too... it just basically indicates right off the bat that you're gonna have a rollicking good time watching the show.

The English dub is very fresh and fun to listen to. Some updated cultural references are thrown in to make the show not so much dated (the show is supposed to be set in the 1970s), but it doesn't bother most people, especially me. For those that like to listen to the original Japanese with the English subtitles, well, hopefully you know some good Japanese, because the subtitles look like they were translated into simplified English. I think some of the Japanese nuances may have been lost in the English subtitles. That's probably the only drawback to this DVD.

If you're into chases all over the world, some wild action, and some really funny stuff, you can't go wrong with Lupin III.

Great series, so-so DVD...
If you only know Lupin III through Miyazaki Hayao's classic "Castle of Cagliostro," you may be in for a shock. These episodes, taken from the '73 season of the series, are closer to the bawdy, go-for-broke spirit of the classic manga by Monkey Punch. And fans of Cowboy Bebop will undoubtedly notice a more than passing similarity between Lupin, Jigen and Fujiko, and Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and Faye Valentine. (Indeed, CB's title sequence is virtually a rip-off of the opening titles of Lupin's later seasons.)

The good news: The DVD contains a generous six episodes, all of which are presented in fresh transfers with clean picture and sparkling sound.

The not-so-good news is that the subtitles are absolutely wretched. Japanese is so different from English, so reliant on context and subtleties, that it must be pretty much broken down and reconstituted into an English equivalent in order to get its humor and characterization across. Unfortunately, Pioneer didn't bother to do anything more than a cursory literal translation. As a result the dialogue is flat as a pancake, completely lacking in characterization, or humor, or any of the zip and snappy wisecracking of the original. At times it's even ungrammatical ("If the police stops us, we're done for.") and barely more coherent than a Hong Kong [copy].

While the English dub is better in this respect, those of us who prefer the talent of the original Japanese voice actors are in for a joyless experience. As a result, I won't be buying any further volumes of this series. A real pity.