English Dub Review: Lupin the Third Part IV “Lupin’s Day Off”

Who’s a good doggy?

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Lupin, Jigen and Goemon are returning a dog for a $1 million EU reward which at first is supposed to be a fun drive but it turns into your typical “road trip” type scenario. Running out of gas, various distractions, and hungry passengers dot the path…oh and Inspector Zenigata is hot on Lupin’s tale. When the guys get to their final destination, a yacht on a pier where the dog’s obsessive owner is, the place is swarming with cops so Lupin’s got to be a bit more creative in order to claim his prize. Unfortunately, we learn the dog has no interest in returning to its owner and instead swims ashore to owners that would look way better in a bikini.

Our Take

This show is so damn good. Even with a simple premise, Lupin manages to be one of the most exciting series on Adult Swim’s Saturday night. Certainly featuring more lineage to say Looney Tunes than anything Japanese, Lupin flips the script on the common “road trip” premise by doing the business that the live-action efforts can only dream about or shell out multi-millions for in VFX. The show is hilarious, and the aesthetic of the series is in the upper echelon in animated production.  Do yourselves a favor, seek out this show and get into it. In terms of serialized content, Lupin is one of the best anime ever that allows you to jump into the madness at any time because the show isn’t taking itself too seriously in that department, kind of like a Japanese take on Wile E. Coyote but in an Italian setting.