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2015 Lupin III TV Anime's New Video, Ending Theme Revealed
posted on by Egan Loo
Enka singer Sayuri Ishikawa is performing the ending theme song for the first new television anime series in three decades to star Lupin III. Hello! Project producer Tsunku wrote the lyrics for "Chanto Iwanakya Ai Sanai" (I Won't Love You If You Don't Say It Straight), which will debut when the anime premieres in Japan on October 1. Yuji Ohno, a veteran composer of the Lupin III franchise for many decades, scored the song.
A new promotional video also debuted on Wednesday. It features a new recording of Ohno signature "Lupin III Theme," footage of the gang's escapades in Italy, and the new character Rebecca Rossellini.
Text: My name is Lupin III
Lupin: I'm stealing back what's already been stolen, that's all.
Jigen: Word of advice, pointing a gun at me is...
Goemon: Until I've paid back my debt, I will protect you.
Fujiko: Which do you prefer?
Zenigata: I won't let you get away until I die, Lupin!
Rebecca: Because I'm your wife! I'm Mrs. Lupin!
Lupin: Lupin III
Lupin: I'll take what I claim!
Ishikawa notes that each episode will end with the new song's last line, "Yamete, yamenaide, chotto matte" (Stop, don't stop, wait a while) and asks people to enjoy the song. Tsunku notes that this song features a female as the protagonist, and that it depicts the conflict in this woman's heart. He added that it was a joy and an honor to collaborate with Ohno who has worked in the world of Lupin III for several decades.
The 1,389-yen (about US$11.65) single (pictured below) for "Chanto Iwanakya Ai Sanai" will go on sale on October 21 with four tracks. The other tracks include "Nihiru ni Ai Shite" (Love Me With Nihilism") with lyrics by The Boom rock band's vocalist Kazufumi Miyazawa (Pokémon Heroes - Latias & Latios, live-action Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen's Toshimichi Ōkubo), and the Lupin III standards "Love Squall" and "Memory of Smile."
The 24-episode anime will premiere as Lupin III - L'avventura Italiana on Italian television on the Italia 1 channel on August 29. It will then premiere on Japanese late-night television on NTV and other stations on October 1 at 1:29 a.m. The story of the new series takes place in Italy and San Marino, and it features a blue-jacketed Lupin in his 20s.
Rebecca is the young president of a conglomerate based in the Republic of San Marino, the story's setting. She has also worked as a model and an actress, and has become an international "gossip queen" due to rumors of affairs with many celebrities. She has an independent wild streak, as well as a secret she cannot tell anyone.
The new series will be the first full-fledged Lupin III television anime series to star the legendary thief character since 1984-85's Lupin III: Part III ended three decades ago. Sayo Yamamoto and TMS Entertainment made the Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine television anime spinoff in 2012.
Franchise veteran Kazuhide Tomonaga (key animator on Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo and Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, particularly the iconic car chase) is serving as chief director, and Yuichiro Yano (Moyashimon, Francesca, Mujin Wakusei Survive, Patapata Hikōsen no Bōken) is directing at Telecom Animation Film. Writer Yuuya Takahashi (Donten ni Warau, Tiger & Bunny, Lupin the IIIrd: Daisuke Jigen's Gravestone) is in charge of the series scripts. The franchise's veteran composer Yuji Ohno again composes the series' music.
After announcing in October that his laryngeal cancer had returned, Tsunku revealed in April that he had his vocal cords surgically removed. Tsunku has composed music and provided lyrics for most of Morning Musume's songs as well as for other Hello! Project idol groups. He was the lead singer of the rock band Sharan Q. That band performed the opening theme songs for the Orphen television anime and the DNA² ending theme song "Single Bed," which became a nationwide hit.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web (link 2)
