Lupin III: The First (Japanese: ルパン三世 THE FIRST, Hepburn: Rupan Sansei Za Fāsuto) is a 2019 Japanese 3D CGI-animated comedy action-adventure heist film based on the Lupin the Third franchise created by Monkey Punch, to whom the film is dedicated. Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, it was animated by Marza Animation Planet and TMS Entertainment, and is the first 3DCG installment in the franchise. The film stars Kanichi Kurita as Lupin III, Kiyoshi Kobayashi as gunman Daisuke Jigen, Daisuke Namikawa as samurai Goemon Ishikawa XIII, Miyuki Sawashiro as Fujiko Mine, and Kōichi Yamadera as Interpol detective Zenigata.
Set during the late 1960s of the Shōwa era, the film follows gentleman thief Arsène Lupin III and his crew to Paris and Brazil to find the whereabouts of the Bresson Diary, a treasure even Lupin's grandfather Arsène Lupin failed to catch.[2] A battle for the mechanical diary is unleashed as a Nazi treasure-hunter group led by Lambert and Geralt are also in a race to steal it, with the prize that whoever deciphers its mystery will be the owners of an enormous fortune.
Lupin III: The First was released to the theaters in Japan on December 6, 2019 distributed by Toho, with a later worldwide release planned for 2020. Eurozoom [fr] released the film in France on October 7, 2020. GKIDS released the film in North America on October 18, 2020.[3] The film was one of the selections for Annecy as well as the 43rd Japanese Academy Awards.
The film earned critical acclaim, with praise directed towards its plot, vocal performances, faithfulness towards the source material, and, in particular, the animation. Many felt the series transitioned well into CGI, praising the level of detail and fluidity.[4][5][6][7]
