The title will definitely be worth keeping an eye on. In spite of Jigen's Gravestone's unsettling, robotic, nudie midsection (I personally skipped over that part), it was a great high-action feature with a compelling story and eye-candy animation for the adult viewer. Its Goemon-y follow-up should hopefully prove similarly entertaining.

The "Bank of Liberty" title has been around for over a decade as part of TMS' (and previously, NTV's) international animation catalog (proof). From Russia With Love as its English title, despite being a completely accurate translation of the Japanese title (Roshia yori Ai wo Komete), is off-limits in English-speaking countries thanks to the famous James Bond film of the same name from which the Japanese title was obviously lifted.  Full disclosure: though I will likely be working on the English release, my personal desire that the film's English title should be something different from Bank of Liberty (a personal favorite being From Rasputin With Love) does not mean it will be any different in the end product.

The film has released on home video overseas, and judging from importing viewers, the general consensus on its quality seems to be that there is no general consensus. It hasn't had the overwhelming praise of Koike's Redline, but on Twitter and elsewhere, opinions have ranged between only fairly pleased, disappointed, and somewhat impressed by it. I understand the art style and animation are excellent but that it is far from revolutionary. I have yet to watch it myself, but will look forward to having the opportunity down the line. With Fujiko TV's moderate success as a dubbed production, let's hope for a North American localization down the road.

Discotek Media has revealed the final list of special features for the Castle of Cagliostro 35th anniversary re-release, coming later this month (December 23rd, to be exact...a week and one day after the film's Japanese debut 35 years ago). Here it is:

Besides an already recorded commentary track by Reed Nelson, extras were not announced in detail. The people working on the project have a few ideas in mind, including an entirely optional edited-for-cursing version of the Manga Entertainment dub, some unused storyboards put into animatic form, preproduction art, multiple subtitle tracks, or even Cliff Hanger footage and audio. However, because special features need licensor approval, these are only possibilities and not guarantees of inclusion. 

On an eerily similar note, Studio Ghibli today revealed a new Japanese megaset of Hayao Miyazaki's theatrical films, as far back as The Castle of Cagliostro all the way up to The Wind Rises, including a previously unreleased TV pilot film. It's roughly $600 for the Blu-ray version of this set, which lands in mid-July, but if you can wait a while, the standalone Blu-ray will be out August 6th. This marks the first time that Cagliostro has been inducted as part of the Ghibli ga Ippai collection proper (the 2001 DVD release called it a Ghibli ga Ippai "Special"). No announcements on extras or language features yet, but the listing mentions that the BD will be "remastered from the latest HD master," which seems to imply that it is not using a fresh HD transfer, rather maximizing the existing HD one seen on VAP's previous release in 2008 and other international releases. Only time will tell how the picture quality differs. And of course, that makes one wonder which transfer Discotek will use for the North American release, and the answer is: we don't know yet! Stay tuned.

A few days ago here at the LupintheThird.com offices, we received a copy of the Discotek Media/Eastern Star version of "Lupin the Third: Bye Bye, Lady Liberty" DVD. The cover looks great in print, and we're looking forward to giving our thoughts on the release, which will be in e-tailer shelves on March 25th.

As Discotek does not commission new dubs for their productions, this will include only Japanese language audio with English subtitles. The video has been newly remastered from HD elements, unlike the previous Japanese DVD. May 27th, 2014 is its release date.

And last but not least, in their Hemingway Papers announcement on Facebook, Discotek Media also announced a Blu-ray for a previously unannounced Lupin title will be announced for release later this year. They clarified that is was a title they have neither previously announced or released. This rules out some previously released fan favorites like Mystery of Mamo and The First TV Series, but leaves open the possibility of newer TV specials like Blood Seal: Eternal Mermaid, The Last Job, Princess of the Breeze, or even long-requested titles like Legend of the Gold of Babylon or even the revered Castle of Cagliostro. Time will tell what it might be!

More Lupin news to come!

The DVD will release early in 2014 and include extra features such as liner notes and a fan-recorded audio commentary. Further details are coming soon.

The main cast is as follows:

Lupin the Third: Shun Oguri

Daisuke Jigen: Tetsuji Tamayama

Goemon Ishikawa: Gou Ayano

Fujiko Mine: Meisa Kuroki

Inspector Zenigata: Tadanobu Asano

Director: Ryuuhei Kitamura (Godzilla: Final Wars, Azumi, Versus, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes cutscenes)

ANN reports that the lead actor, Oguri, "underwent 10 months of action training for the role, losing 8 kilograms (about 17.6 pounds)."

Our long-time forumite Jo had shared rumors of this project months, even years in advance, but this is the first time it has materialized into an actual announcement. We can only speculate what will come of it, but there are already shots of Oguri in the wild in what appears to be at least partial costume, and plausible rumors that the director wants to revise the character of Goemon to be a bit more believable. Much like Luis Cruz of the Lupin Encyclopedia observed, we'll [try to] refrain from comment until we see a trailer.

The first questions on everyone's mind are whether or not it will include the Manga UK English dub from the mid-1990s, and what other extras will be included. As for the dub, Discotek is still waiting on clearance for its inclusion, so it's a "maybe" at this point. We'll keep you posted. As for extras, they will probably be limited to anything TMS provides and maybe an original extra or two.

Discotek most recently released Lupin the Third: Green vs. Red, the 2008 Lupin OVA, in May of this year.