646f9e108c The master thief Lupin III and his cronies continue their globe-trotting exploits, with the stubborn Inspector Zenigata ever at their trail. Lupin the Third, grandson of the &quot;gentleman thief,&quot; Arsene Lupin, traveles the world in search of challenging loot to steal, along with his companions: The sharpshooter Daisuke Jigen, the swordsman Ishikawa Goemon XIII, and the deadly beauty Fujiko Mine. Chasing them to the ends of the earth is the redoubtable ICPO officer Inspector Koichi (The Ol&#39; Man) Zenigata. Whether it&#39;s a billion dollars&#39; ransom menat to save the city of Pisa, Italy, a solid gold van, or the mask of Tutankamen, Lupin will go after it! This is a great anime series. Granted, I feel that some of the movies are better, but this is a pretty wacky show, with some of the funniest humor of any anime. Each episode features Lupin and co. usually getting into some sort of big heist, which usually ends up in him matching wits with a rival criminal, whether it be his love-interest/rival Fujiko Mine or some evil arch criminal, and then of course there&#39;s Inspector Zenigata.<br/><br/>Granted, compared to the extremely &quot;R&quot; rated manga, this stuff is kiddy material, but it&#39;s still not intended for kids. Some of Lupin&#39;s…er, morales, are definityly not intended to be seen by kids ages 12 and under.<br/><br/>Of course, with the good comes the bad, and the bad in this case is the horrible dub that Pioneer gave to this show. Using horrible MODERN-DAY American in-jokes to make it more accessible to American viewers has to have been the worst U.S. dub of an anime in English since FUNimation&#39;s Dragonball Z. Avoid the TV show on Cartoon Network at all costs, and only listen to the Japanese audio track.<br/><br/>Sadly, two of the show&#39;s best episdoes have not yet been released on DVD. These two episodes are none other than the ones directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Oddly enough, they were released in the U.S. a decade ago on home video under the title, &quot;Lupin III&#39;s Greatest Capers.&quot; If you can find it, get it, since they probably won&#39;t show up in the U.S. for a while. Just be prepared for some painfully bad dubbed voices, particularly Jigen and Fujiko&#39;s voices.<br/><br/>BOTTOM LINE: One great show, but it too has been ruined by the poor use of English dubbing. The first episode of the series re-unites Japan&#39;s favorite comic felon with his gang: crack shot Jigen, steely samurai Goemon and devious ex- girlfriend Fujiko on a cruise that turns out to have a surprise party scheduled just for them! The action moves on through a dizzying blur of international hot spotsthe gang attempt one wildly improbable heist after another, usually with unexpected results. Past enemies from the earlier TV show make return appearances, and the Loch Ness Monster has a guest spot. The series creators stick closely to manga artist Monkey Punch&#39;s distinctive Sergio Aragones-influenced cartoon style, which is both a plus and a minus; everything has a uniform kookiness that can sometimes be distracting, especially when the setting requires a posh look.<br/><br/>In addition to the elaborate heists which characterize the series, occasional episodes go seriously weird and mystical, with lots of mind- bendingly surreal elements: telepaths, beams that induce suicide, a nun who deals in mass hypnosis (!) to name a few. Series villains often sport the towering arrogance and ambitions of James Bond supervillains. <br/><br/>This series really hit its stride in the second season with a run of truly fine episodes. Great heist action, elaborate chases, exotic locations and outrageousness are all featured hereLupin&#39;s gang tries to recover Peking Man&#39;s Bones, steal a golden lion from the Australian government, rob a casino and finally steal the crown jewels of England. This final episode is the best of the discLupin disrupts a royal wedding to get a crack at her majesty&#39;s crown! <br/><br/>Fast moving, with good looking action animation and well written (if often wildly implausible) heist schemes, untimely double-crosses and good background art depicting the globe scattered locations, there is lot here to enjoy.
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