Before ‘Godzilla Minus One,’ Its Director Made a Stellar Anime Adaptation

The Big Picture

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• Godzilla: Minus One is receiving high praise as one of the best takes on Godzilla in years, signaling great things for underrated director Takashi Yamazaki.
• Yamazaki has a diverse filmography, ranging from gripping live-action dramas to successful family-friendly animated films.
• Lupin III: The First is an animated cult classic in the making, paying homage to the beloved Lupin III franchise while pushing it in daring and fun new directions.

Godzilla: Minus One is already being praised as one of the best takes on the prolific King of the Monsters in years, and hopefully, the film’s early success is a sign of great things to come for its underrated director, Takashi Yamazaki. Before directing what has become the biggest IMAX opening ever for a live-action film at the Japanese box office, Takashi Yamazaki developed a fascinatingly diverse filmography. He has done it all, such as gripping live-action dramas like the Always: Sunset on Third Street Trilogy and the World War II epic The Fighter Pilot.

However, in Takashi Yamazaki’s more recent directorial work, he’s been responsible for a good number of successful family-friendly animated films. Moving on from profound live-action dramas that relish in realistic characters and storylines to wacky animated worlds seems like it would be a significant stretch for most filmmakers, but not Takashi Yamazaki, who continually excels in different genres. Takashi Yamazaki recently helmed two CGI sequels to the Doraemon series with the Stand by Me Doraemon movies. Takashi Yamazaki also directed an incredible video game adaptation with Dragon Quest: Your Story, which brought the world of Dragon Quest V to life in spectacular fashion. However, there is one animated movie by Takashi Yamazaki that stands tall above the rest as a remarkably entertaining adventure. An anime adaptation that pays homage to the long-running and beloved IP while also pushing it in daring and fun new directions. That movie is the animated cult classic in the making: Lupin III: The First.

What is ‘Lupin III’?

The Lupin III franchise has been around for quite some time, with the first issue of the original manga being published all the way back in 1967, making it nearly 60 years old. The fact that the series is still pumping out new stories to this day proves it’s become an IP that is worthy of being called timeless. For those unaware of the property, the Lupin III series primarily follows a master thief who has dedicated his life to finding the world’s greatest treasures. If it wasn’t obvious already, Lupin III is loosely based on the literary character Arsène Lupin, with the title character being the grandson of the world-famous “Gentleman Thief.”

Contrary to what the title might suggest, Lupin III: The First is far from the first movie to come from the franchise. There has been a wealth of movies based on the long-running series, both in live-action and animation. Even the legendary Hayao Miyazaki offered their own take on the character with the fan-favorite Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, which is stellar in its own right (Takashi Yamazaki is also a big fan of the film himself).

The best way to describe the general tone and style of Lupin III is Indiana Jones meets Carmen Sandiego. It follows a treasure hunter with a heart of gold, but he’s also an elusive criminal and thief who has eluded the law for quite some time. Though his intentions and desires may occasionally come off as selfish, Arsène Lupin’s grandson almost always chooses the side of good in the end over the course of his many adventures.

What is ‘Lupin III: The First’ About?

Lupin III: The First marks the first time that the series has ventured into CGI animation territory, which is not the most popular way to adapt anime and manga. However, Takashi Yamazaki already proved to be the right person for the job, with the Stand By Me Doraemon movies alone finding a perfect balance between photorealistic lighting and effects and character and production designs accurate to the source material. For the most part, storywise, Lupin III: The First starts things off completely fresh. While it’s not an origin story for Lupin III (Kan’ichi Kurita / Tony Oliver), as he’s been doing the master thief thing for quite some time prior to the movie’s start, the movie can still be watched without any prior knowledge or understanding of the IP. This makes Lupin III: The First really the perfect introduction to one of Japanese entertainment’s most prolific icons.

The story of Lupin III: The First actually begins with an all-new character named Laetitia Bresson (Suzu Hirose / Laurie Hymes). Laetitia is the granddaughter of a renowned archaeologist, though a radical group of former Nazis killed him and her parents. Led by Nazi agent Gerard (Tatsuya Fujiwara / Paul Guyet) and the vile Professor Lambert (Kôtarô Yoshida / J. David Brimmer), the fascist sympathizers recruit Laetitia (whom Lambert raised as her adoptive grandfather) to steal her real grandfather’s diary, which supposedly holds the coordinates to an ancient artifact of immense power. Unfortunately for Laetitia, Lupin III has already set his sights on the diary and steals it for himself, all while running away from his law enforcer rival, Inspector Koichi Zenigata (Kôichi Yamadera / Dough Erholtz).

Realizing that they have the same goal, Lupin III and Laetitia form an alliance to solve the mysteries within the diary and find the artifact it leads to. Their quest begins with the help of some of Lupin III’s more established companions, which include cool-as-ice gunslinger Daisuke Jigen (Kiyoshi Kobayashi / Richard Epcar), noble swordsman Goeman Ishikawa XIII (Daisuke Namikawa / Lex Lang), and fellow master thief Fujiko Mine (Miyuki Sawashiro / Michelle Ruff). The rest of the film is a wild globe-trotting adventure that even features ridiculous concepts like a crashed alien artifact and a deranged fascist trying to revive the Nazi party. In short, those are two things that the last two Indiana Jones movies tried and failed to do, while Lupin III: The First has a blast with them.

With Godzilla Minus One now in theaters, some may want to discover or revisit Takashi Yamazaki’s prior filmography. There is really no better place to start than Lupin III: The First, which is a beautifully animated and remarkably fun take on a beloved anime.

Lupin III: The First is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

Watch on Hulu