Lupin III: Italian Game is the twenty-fifth television special and is connected to Lupin the 3rd Part 4. It aired on January 8, 2016, after thirteen of the series' twenty-four episodes had been broadcast.[1] The special extensively recycles footage from "Part 4 Episode 1", "Part 4 Episode 3", and "Non-Stop Rendezvous", the last became a DVD/Blu-ray-exclusive episode since it was aired in Italy and later in the United States. The story ties together several plotlines established in these episodes.
Italian Game features a notable opening, with animation directed by Kōji Morimoto. The opening sequence pays extensive tribute to the Lupin III manga.
Synopsis[]
Rebecca Rossellini has been kidnapped! Born to a prominent family of the Republic of San Marino, the young CEO of the Rossellini conglomerate operates the largest hotel chain in Italy. Rebecca is surrounded by no shortage of celebrity gossip. However, an enthusiastic fan named Pietro stages a kidnapping and train robbery.
In fact, a mysterious person is pulling the strings behind the scenes. He calls himself the Masked Count, and before Rebecca was kidnapped he issued a challenge to Lupin, suggesting a contest: to see who can first obtain the famous inheritance of the Count of Cagliostro. The paths of British MI-6 Agent Nyx, Italian Police Chief Sergio, paparazzo Salo chasing Rebecca, and the Count's descendent Gaspare all cross. Who really is the Masked Count? And will Lupin be able to overcome the trap set by the Masked Count? The curtain rises on the most dangerous Italian Game![2]
Cast[]
- Japanese
| Characters | Voice Actors |
|---|---|
| Lupin III | Kanichi Kurita |
| Daisuke Jigen | Kiyoshi Kobayashi |
| Goemon Ishikawa XIII | Daisuke Namikawa |
| Fujiko Mine | Miyuki Sawashiro |
| Inspector Koichi Zenigata | Kōichi Yamadera |
| Rebecca Rossellini | Yukiyo Fujii |
| Robson Zuccoli | Jin Yamanoi |
| Nyx | Shunsuke Sakuya |
| Percival Gibbons | Shinshū Fuji |
| Pietro Panini | Mitsuaki Kanuka |
| Masked Count | Kenjirō Tsuda |
| Gaspare Balsamo | Bin Shimada |
| Salo | Unshō Ishizuka |
| Sergio Cardone | Atsushi Miyauchi |
| Patrick | Hiroshi Tsuchida |
| Marco Zoff | Hajime Odagi |
| Lionello | Kazuyoshi Azuma |
| Crown Prince James | Shimizu Hidemitsu |
Additional voices:[3]
- Chikara Deushi as Staff Member A
- Naoto Tsuchiya as Staff Member B
- Tomisaburō Horikoshi as Director
- Kōsuke Sakaki as Robson Acting Role
- Yū Seki as Pietro Acting Role
- Kazuya Saji as Clerk
- Kazuhiro Imamura as Guard
- Toshifumi Nakabayashi as Agent A
- Masasomi Yamahashi as Agent B
- Kashin Furuya as Agent C
- Eichigoya Kosuke as James' Aide
- Miyako Senda as Female Voice
- Italian ("La Partita Italiana")
| Characters | Voice Actors |
|---|---|
| Lupin III | Stefano Onofri |
| Daisuke Jigen | Alessandro D'Errico |
| Goemon Ishikawa XIII | Antonio Palumbo |
| Fujiko Mine | Alessandra Korompay |
| Inspector Koichi Zenigata | Rodolfo Bianchi |
| Rebecca Rossellini | Giulia Catania |
| Robson Zuccoli | Antonio Sanna |
| Nyx | Maurizio Montecchiesi (as Nix) |
| Percival Gibbons | Danilo Di Martino |
| Pietro Panini | Gabriele Patriarca |
| Masked Count | Jacopo Venturiero |
| Gaspare Balsamo | Alessio Cigliano |
| Salo | Unknown |
| Sergio Cardone | Neri Marcorè |
| Patrick | Massimiliano Virgilii |
| Marco Zoff | Nicola Braile |
| Lionello | Daniele Valenti |
| Crown Prince James | Gianluca Izzo |
Additional voices:[4]
- Piermichele Polignano
Staff[]
- Original work: Monkey Punch
- General director: Kazuhide Tomonaga
- Director: Yuichiro Yano
- Screenplay: Yuya Takahashi
- Character design: Hisao Yokobori
- Character design assistants: Haruka Inete, Asami Taguchi
- Art director: Yasuhiro Yamago
- Colour design: Tomoko Yamamoto
- Director of photography: Jiro Tazawa (T2 Studio)
- CG Director: Kazuhiro Tamura
- Editing: Yoshihiro Kasahara
- Sound director: Hiroshi Shimizu
- Sound effects: Shizuo Kurahashi
- Recording: Yuki Ikeda
- Music: Yuji Ohno
- Planning and production: Shuhei Katō
- Planning: Ryota Kato
- Associate producers: Tadashi Suzuki, Miyuki Moriya
- Music producer: Hotta Takuya
- Animation producer: Tomoki Iuchi
- Animation production: Telecom Animation Film
- Planning and production: Nippon Television
- Production and copyright: TMS Entertainment
Notes[]
Episode Notes[]
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Due to that Italian Game was three episodes recycled into a storyline with changes,
- 1:25-3:27 / 6:43-21:46 - This uses footage from Non-Stop Rendezvous. The major difference between the two is that Pietro Panini is taking orders from the Masked Count while in the episode, it was his own decision to kidnap Rebecca. The opening at the cinema and the ending where Rebecca decided to make a movie out of her experience was cut.
- 27:20 - This uses footage from The Marriage of Lupin III.
Airing Notes[]
- The TV Special was requested by NTV to be aired as part of the Friday Roadshow, originally Venice of the Dead was going to air on this air date and would have been Episode 15[5] however plans changed so the episode ended up being unaired and originally became a DVD/Blu-ray exclusive as Part 4 Episode Bonus 1. Later the episode was featured in the 2016 Lupin the 3rd Festival in Hamanaka Town. Due to this TV Special, it meant plans for Non-Stop Rendezvous to be the final episode were also cancelled. Both episodes eventually ended up on streaming sites as Episodes 25 and 26.
- Due to the rights of the TV special being different than Lupin the 3rd Part 4, the special could not be bundled with the series and has not currently been dubbed into English.
- There was a screening of the TV Special in the US that happened in Anime Expo on July 3, 2017.[6]
Other[]
- The TV Special has a reference to The Castle of Cagliostro where Rebecca says that "if there was a modern day Count Cagliostro, he would be Lupin!"
- The Italian dub was made for both the 50th anniversary of the series and 30th anniversary of Yamato Video.
Releases[]
Japan[]
- DVD March 23, 2016 (VPBY-14473, VAP)
- Blu-ray March 23, 2016 (VPXY-71423, VAP)
USA[]
- Amazon Prime February 10, 2021 (TMS, Japanese with English subtitles)
[]
References[]
- ↑ "New 'Lupin III Italian Game' TV Anime Special Airs on January 8". Anime News Network. December 12, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
- ↑ テレビスペシャル「ルパン三世 イタリアン・ゲーム」 ２０１６年１月８日よる９時～ 金曜ロードSHOW!にてテレビ初放送！
- ↑ ルパン三世 イタリアン・ゲーム. www.mau2.com (in Japanese)
- ↑ https://www.antoniogenna.net/doppiaggio/film1/lupin3-lapartitaitaliana.htm AntonioGenna.net (in Italiano)
- ↑ Amazon Prime Lupin the Third Part IV Episode List (second entry as the first entry has a placeholder date)
- ↑ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-06-22/anime-expo-hosts-u.s-premiere-screening-of-lupin-iii-italian-game-special/.117820