What is Lupin the Third?
Looking to get into the franchise but don’t know where to start?
Take your pick of jacket colour at the top of this menu to be taken to the relevant page!
Looking to get into the franchise but don’t know where to start?
Take your pick of jacket colour at the top of this menu to be taken to the relevant page!
Releasing July 30th 2024
The 2012 television special comes to the United States!
Marks the first time the film has released on Blu-ray in the United States
Includes Japanese language audio, with English subtitles
Special Features: Liner notes and TV commercials
Releasing July 30th 2024
The 2013 television special comes to the United States!
Marks the first time the film has released on Blu-ray in the United States
Includes Japanese language audio, with English subtitles
Special Features: Liner notes and TV commercials
Releasing September 24th 2024
The 2016 television special comes to the United States!
Marks the first time the film has released on Blu-ray in the United States and is the final “retro” Lupin release needed to catch up the entire franchise in the U.S!
Includes Japanese language audio, with English subtitles
Special Features: Clean opening, liner notes
Please click on one of the images above to be taken to the relevant digital shopfront.
Going from the top left down to bottom right…
First image shows Lupin ZERO (Japanese language dub via HIDIVE)
Second image shows Lupin III: Part 6 (Japanese language dub via HIDIVE)
Third image shows Lupin III: Green VS Red (Japanese language dub via Amazon Prime Video)
Fourth image shows Lupin III: Prison of the Past (English language dub via Amazon Prime Video)
Various classic Lupin III animated works are also streaming within the United States through HIDIVE, FUNimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu, Pluto TV and RetroCrush.tv - please check back regularly for updates, and note that an active subscription is required for viewing.
The Lupin III series has had a presence in the United States for longer than you might think. Its history spans back before the times of Discotek Media, and DVD’s in general, for that matter.
Hayao Miyazaki’s classic 1979 film The Castle of Cagliostro was shown at festivals across America in the early 1980s with help from the late American writer and historian Fred Pattern, along with his company, Streamline Pictures.
Although Pattern was a personal fan of the film and worked tirelessly to push its presence within the US, screenings fell short of expectations due to the audience’s lack of acceptance for a fully animated feature film. At the time, serious, live-action features were what drew in the crowds — and unfortunately, Cagliostro did not do well enough to be deemed a success.
During the 1990s, Streamline Pictures brought Cagliostro into people’s homes on VHS, along with a small selection of other Lupin III titles — including Lupin III: Tales of the Wolf (Lupin III's Greatest Capers) and Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo.
Thanks to this and positive word of mouth, the series slowly began to gain traction in the states — and in January 2003, an English dubbed version of the classic 1977 television series Part II began airing on Adult Swim.
The dub was produced by Pioneer / Geneon, and featured several cast members who are still involved with the series today, including Tony Oliver, Richard Epcar, Lex Lang and Michelle Ruff. This dubbed version strayed from the original Japanese script to create a sillier version of the original series — much to some longer time fans dismay. It contained modern references to websites such as eBay, and referenced the deaths of those who long passed after the show’s original broadcast in Japan.
Despite criticism of the script in later years, at the time, the show was popular enough to spawn various DVD releases, a localized video game for the Playstation 2, music CD’s and more. It ran for seventy-nine episodes before eventually getting cancelled.
Soon after, licensing company FUNimation began bringing various films and television specials to DVD with their own cast of voice actors, which included Sonny Strait, Christopher R. Sabat and more.
In more recent years, Discotek Media have begun working directly with TMS Entertainment to bring new and classic Lupin III releases to home video in the US. This was done with help from various long-time fans of the franchise, such as Reed Nelson, Brady Hartel and more. Various streaming sites, such as HIDIVE, FUNimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu, and RetroCrush.tv have also become home to various Lupin III television series, films, and specials — both new and old.
A special shout-out must be given to Luis Cruz for his fantastic Lupin III Encyclopedia resource, The Lupin III Fandom Wiki for all of their continued hard work, Mike and Ryan for their memorable Lupin Has 3 Jackets Podcast, and the (now defunct) Lupinthe3rd.com forum for helping keep the Lupin series discussion alive in the United States.
For more information on upcoming Lupin III related releases within the United States, please follow Discotek Media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
You can also follow TMS Entertainment USA through their official social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
