Lupin III: Pilot Film (1978)

Every TV-show has a pilot, but it is really rare we actually get to see the pilot for an Anime series. Lupin was too mature for it's time, so it's not surprising that no TV-channel would fund this project. The Lupin TV-series didn't get aired until five years later, when one had the guts to release a TV show of this. For that reason, I am really gratefull to TMS for bringing it here to the west so we all could enjoy it.

The first pilot (standard edition) is a great start to this series, but would most likely not catch most of the viewers attention ... as it's actually more like an introduction to the characters rather than a full fleshed-out episode. Most viewers will prefer to know the characters through the plot of the show. The animation is actually pretty good for something that is made by just a few people and tries to impress with explosive scenes and stuff blowing up.

The characters is great as always, but Lupin is the opposite of what he is now. Just like the seven first episodes of the TV series, Lupin acts like a dork and his classy sharm is nonexistent. He kills for fun and trolls Zenigata for no good reason and even tries to kill him in an explosion.

The voice acting, however, is mediocre. Lupin has a voice that does not fit him at all, which is also the case for every character on the show with the exception of Fujiko, which sounds like the one we are accustomed with. There is also only two OST tracks.

Not counting each characters introduction scenes, there are two plots in the episode. One where Zenigata and Lupin plays shogi over the phone, and another one where Zenigata tries to chase Lupin out from a big mansion. Both of these were fairly good, the only problem is that they are not connected to eachothers whatsoever.

The second pilot is just like the standard pilot, but with improved animation and voices as it was supposed to be aired alongside the Lupin movie. Lupin still has his pilot voice, which isn't really that impressive. The second version also cut some live-action nudity that was in the first pilot, most likely due to visible breast nipples on an american lady, as well as a naked white girl and black guy.

This may not reach fans of modern, computer animated Anime, but will be a great way to see how Anime was when it was hand-drawn and a great addition to Lupin fans. It's reasy to see how the Lupin character has evolved over the years and this will be the superior way to notice that.