tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
What a time to be a Lupin fan!

We recently got our first theatrically released Lupin film since 1996. It's another Detective Conan crossover, I haven't seen it yet but the fans (if not the critics) seem to like it. There's also a Japanese live-action movie in production right now (meh, boring). Maybe it'll be as insane as the seventies' live action film.

BUT THE MAIN THING: There's gonna be another animated theatrical release this summer, it's gonna be our first officially Jigen-centric movie ever, AND it's made by the same dude who made the 2012 Mine Fujiko TV series (which, okay, I had my problems with but the action and art style was uh-MAZING).

The title's gonna be The Tomb of Jigen Daisuke, and I.

I just love Jigen so much.

Look at that promo image oh my God.

There's a very adamant rumour that it's gonna be the send-off for Jigen's voice actor, who's famously held the role since 1969. I refuse to even think about, because obviously Kiyoshi Kobayashi is both gonna live forever and voice Jigen for all eternity.

No. Shush. All eternity.
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
Drawing will never be anything other than a sometimes hobby for me, so I know I'll never be churning out professional-looking things -- but even if I'm never 100% happy with anything I draw, I usually like some detail in it and feel proud about my improvement (I wish I could be as laissez-faire about my writing, but that's for another day).

Now I've reached this odd point where I'm fairly content with my art skills (I don't like using the word "art" for the things I do, "drawings" sound more appropriate to me), but I wish I was faster. I wish it didn't take me everything from six to ten hours to finish a simple drawing from sketch to render (and then, as I said, always with a lot of obvious flaws).

Anyway, this was a Tumblr prompt, so I tried to see how quickly I could do a drawing and still be fairly happy with it. I think it took me upwards to three hours or so.

The prompt was to draw my favourite Lupin character )

Anyway it's a break away from the big beefy superheroes. I'd forgotten how much fun it was to draw tall, lean Lupin characters.
tilly_stratford: (Cello in the rain)
Voice actor Goro Naya passes away at age 83.

Most famously he was the original voice of Inspector Zenigata in Lupin III (and the longest-serving cast member besides Kiyoshi Kobayashi, having voiced Goemon in the pilot episode), and is the second one of the original cast to pass away (he did a beautiful eulogy at Yasuo Yamada's funeral).

Goro Naya became my favourite member of that voice cast, mostly because he had such range - he turned the Zenigata from a sadistic asshole of the manga into a sympathetic civil servant. He also handled comedy so, so well, even when the gags didn't play to his strengths (like the running joke that Zenigata is terrible at English when he himself had the best English diction of the entire cast).

He had a very long and varied career both before and during his decades-long stint in Lupin III, both in anime (like in Space Battleship Yamato, Kamen Rider and Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind) and as a dubber of Hollywood films for the Japanese market (he was the regular dub voice for Charlton Heston, Clint Eastwood, Clark Gable, John Wayne and John Cleese). He did badass really well.

Really sad at this news. I think I'm going to rewatch some Lupin episodes now...

No holes

Oct. 31st, 2012 05:00 pm
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
The Lupin III completist in me is once again sated. I've finally seen the ten-minute OVA Lupin Family All-Stars, and it was delightful! It's based on one of the original manga chapters (minus the usual nudity, sex and, uh, colourful language - but it retained the surreal humour), and the animation is absolutely top-notch, even if the art isn't. It made me smile, though I'm sad to see the old voice cast go.

Also, heads up: A new Lupin TV film premieres in Japan this Friday. Based on the press release and trailer it'll probably be a lacklustre affair. When even the animation in the trailer seems low-budget, it's time to lower your expectations. It makes sense though, I suppose TMS poured the money into this years' TV series and then spent a few nickles and dimes on the annual TV film. Ah well, I know many are looking forward to another by-the-numbers Lupin film after the rollercoaster that was the Fujiko spinoff, and it's about Marco Polo's Il Millione!

Anyway, tonight's Halloween. I plan to put on a movie (maybe Mask of Dimitrios or maybe the 1931 Dracula) and draw some more. Got some bonbons in case some errant children knock on my door. It'll be a comfortable evening.
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
Oh gosh, watching the finale of the new Lupin series was one of the last things I did before I moved out of my rooms in Bergen and I've been busy so I've sort of had a week and a half to overthink it (and partially forgetting I was going to do another entry about it, oops) and wow my grammar is shot to hell right now.

But yes, the first Lupin TV series to run since the eighties has just finished and now I'm back to having watched every. single. bit of Lupin anime (apart from a recent OVA titled Lupin Family All-Stars, plus some silent sketches from the Mankatsu TV show), boo.

But yes, finale. And thoughts about the overall series. Mostly the latter.


Ep. 13: 'The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, part 2' )

Woo, finished! You survived! Here's your "I lived through Tilly's volatile reactions to the new Lupin TV series" medal!

Catch up!

Jun. 26th, 2012 08:20 pm
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
Ah gosh, only one episode of the new Lupin TV series remaining. And I've been too busy to do the recap of the episodes I've been watching - but here's a quick run-through!

Ep. 8 - 11. Some spoilers. )

Which brings us up to date - the penultimate episode!

The One With the Fun Fair


A casual reminder that, yes, the villains are owl men. And that Lupin wears fabulous beatle boots.

Ep. 12: 'The Woman Called Mine Fujiko, part 1' )

So yeah, just one more episode to go - gosh, has it been thirteen weeks already? Sadly I'm not quite sure when I'll find the time to watch it, seeing as I'm pretty busy with moving this week... But man, it better be memorable, that's all I ask.
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
Ack, I feel bad about not having blogged about the new Lupin TV series for ages. "Feel bad" not in the "oh no I'm letting down my ~audience~" way but in the "this is something I like doing and I want to do it all the time", but currently it's a question of computer issues. Well, the issue being that I don't have my computer. But I've caught up with the show now and I plan on returning to Bergen and my computer in a few days, and then we're back in business.

Because yeah, there are only two episodes left of this series and now I'm getting invested. Figures.

To be honest I'm just inordinately relieved that things are starting to add up! We're getting answers! Of a sort! And boo to this show for keeping the audience completely out of the loop for nine episodes! That was kinda annoying!

I mean there's still stuff I hate about Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna (it's taken me ten weeks to memorize that title) - like, Jesus does it get pretentious at times, and also fuck off Zenigata, but I'm reaching this zen state where I'm coming to terms with how 80% of my enjoyment comes from how completely gorgeous the art and sound editing is, and when has being a Lupin fan NOT been about enjoying something with obvious flaws?

Well I'm waiting with my final judgement until the end, but at least I'm interested in seeing how it ends now!
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
Well, "Cuban". Featuring Che Guevara Fidel Castro "Philadel Kest".


Ep. 7: 'Music and Revolution' )
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
An actual Fujiko-centric episode in the Fujiko spinoff, by jove!

I'm left with more questions than ever. Except that all Catholic schoolgirls are lesbians, that's apparently a given.


Ep. 6: 'Prison of Love' )
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
A.K.A THE ONE WHERE LUPIN AND JIGEN FINALLY MEET. WOOOO.


Ep. 5: 'Bloody Triangle' )
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
So halfway through my train journey I thought "Hey, I still haven't watched that Lupin episode" and seeing as the car was virtually deserted I set up my laptop, hoping the battery would last through half of it at the very least.

It lasted four minutes. Not enough to get any sort of grip on what the plot was about, but just enough time to take in what is pretty much the first scene in this series to genuinely shock me.


Again, pretty much my reaction.

Ep. 4: 'Living in Love, Living in Song' )
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
Which got grating REALLY fast. But anyway: New Lupin III episode, introducing everybody's favourite descendant of that folk hero they boiled in oil.


I had the same reaction.

Ep. 3: 'The Lady and the Samurai' )

So okay, the first episode introduced Fujiko, Lupin and Zenigata, the second was a Jigen episode, the third one was a Goemon one. I have, officially, not a single clue what the next episode might be about, ooooh exciting!
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
Whathisname. Fedora. Chinbeard. Can draw in 0.3 seconds flat (and that number totally got a mention in the episode, gosh!).


Episode 2: 'Magnum .357'. JIGEN EPISODE.

Cut for reaction and images and spoilers )

Visually it's a disappointment compared to the first episode, but less eyecandy means more plot which is a good thing except the things that felt kind of strange and new. Overall I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. A rewatch is in order.
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
I have finally FINALLY FINALLY figured out how to smoothly play 10bit HD on this dying computer (it involved a billion new codecs, a new player, a lot of scary reconfiguration, halting just about every non-essential process, setting the el-configuration to High Performance, and also physically balancing the computer between my knees so that it wouldn't get overheated quite so fast), which means there are a lot of episodes and movies I'm now actually able to watch!

So first thing, I rewatched the new Lupin episode. Obviously. Ohmansovisuallyalluringohmydearlord.

So although I know I spewed out a huge text post about my initial reaction, here's a more shallow one. With lots of images.

cut for disjointed CAPS LOCK )
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
(Do these episodes actually have individual titles? I just don't know. Anyway, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, episode 1: 'A Master Thief vs. A Female Phantom Thief')

I remember being in Eastern Norway last month when the news of the new Lupin TV series broke, so it's appropriate I've returned and watched the first episode.

So, an after-midnight reaction post based on a hideously compressed stream (darn those people only torrenting gigantic HD video files my rickety old computer can't even play):

Time to break out The Pointed Captilatization, no spoilers )


Definitely style over substance, but the first episode was pretty and sleazy and tolerable and if it continues like this, I'll be pleased!

(Also I plan to rewatch it in non-shitty quality ASAP.)
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
You probably haven't the slightest idea of what's coming, do you. Like a squishy little earthworm cheerfully crossing a busy footpath.

There's gonna be a new Lupin III TV series starting in April! The first one since 1985! There's gonna be a Lupin TV show in my lifetime!

So heads up; If it's absolutely awesome* that means I'll never stop squeeing about it, and if it's complete rubbish** I'll probably talk even more about it so I can pick it apart and use the pieces to mend my broken heart. Even if it is terrible in every way, I'll still watch all thirteen episodes the moment I can get my hands on them. Because at some point I became one of those fans, obviously; A forty year old franchise, and I'll be damned if I don't get to study ever little piece of it.

But you needn't worry, I'll use cuts. Because spoilers. And, uh, "sensuality" I guess.


*Takeshi Koike is in charge of character designs so there's every possibility it'll look stylish as hell.

**The series is going to be Fujiko-centric (the one whose main character trait is that she has enormous boobs, you remember) and the show is apparently going to be "sensual". Oy.
tilly_stratford: (DW: Jamie/Doctor - true wuv)
The universe is just overflowing with things that makes me happy these days!

There's the two previously-lost Doctor Who episodes from the sixties that have been discovered in Australia! I knew it! I knew the world wasn't so unfair that it'd leave us derived of Patrick Troughton in such a fabulous hat.


Delightful.

Secondly, and pretty much simultaneously, the newest Lupin TV special appeared online - with English subs! The plot's a mess, the tone is all over the place (a gory Miyazaki tribute??), but the new voice cast made a fair debut (though I'm reaaally hoping Kōichi Yamadera's gonna grow in the role of Zenigata), the heists were fun, and the animation and art really were surprisingly good.


Hey it had Green Jacket references and the SWAT team, I'll overlook the bad writing this time.

Thirdly, my pal Åsmund's lent me his copy of Red Dead Redemption and I'm loving the hell out of it so far. I know it's just Grand Theft Auto in the Wild West but that makes all the difference. I even love the minigames - the horseshoe tossing, shooting rabbits, breaking in wild horses - I'm having so much fun!

Aaand finally, today I bought my train ticket. Traveling over the mountains on Thursday, with Linni as well. It's gonna be great seeing everybody again (and eating some real food!).
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
I've been listening to snippets from the soundtrack of the upcoming Lupin III TV special so now I'm getting all proper excited about it. There's big band swing and seventies' funk (Hammond organ! Wacka-wacka guitars!) so everything's as it should be.

So yeah, prepare for me unloading a massive amount of fan joy one of these days is what I'm saying. I'm sure it'll hardly be a cinematic masterpiece but it is the first Lupin special to air with me actually caring about it, so it'll be an event no matter how poor the actual product may be.

Following the production has been... interesting. First that business of TMS inexplicably advertising for a new Lupin TV series and then going "wait don't mind us, we meant TV special" (the jury's still out on whether a TV series is secretly in the works), then the talk of new Miyazaki-inspired designs -


- then there was The Great Pachinko Fan Fiasco (which I might have to lay out here one day, it's pretty funny in hindsight), not to mention the surprising decision to replace more than half of the regular voice cast (Zenigata, Fujiko and Goemon get new voices this year - I'm reeaally going to miss Goro Naya as Zenigata, he's had the part since 1971).

I guess that brings you up to speed, you're all prepared for (skipping past) me writing the world's nerdiest reaction post. It airs in Japan December 2nd, and then the wait begins for some kind soul to sub and upload it.

And I'm just saying, it's titled Blood Seal ~Eternal Mermaid~, and so far absolutely every Lupin episode and movie concerned with anything mermaid-related has taken place in Scandinavia (thank you H.C. Andersen!) so bets are on.
tilly_stratford: (Lupin III: Go getter)
I wanted to try out Paint Tool Sai, but for lack of a motive I thought "Hey, I've been having a lot of crazy dreams lately, let's pick one and illustrate it".

Okay as for the dream, I blame two things:

- Me buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming Lupin movie TV special (December 2nd baby! Though of course I have to wait until some friendly fansubber has taken pity on us foreign fans).

- A LOT of late-night reading of Mists of Avalon, which is obviously stuffing my subconscious with various Celtic imagery.

AND THE RESULT IIIIIS )

I'm definitely sold on using Sai though. You draw a line, and then you can do so much fun with it! It's been ages since I dared to draw anything directly on the computer, but Sai makes it fun! Okay so there are things I've yet to figure out (hooo boy did I wind up with a lot of levels at the end), but as an art software it's pretty damn neat!
tilly_stratford: (ST: Relevant to my interests)
Crossposting because this has been the highlight of my week so far:

Yesterday as I was liveblogging Island of Assassins on Tumblr, I made an offhand comment in a tag about zombie Zenigata.

Before I'd even made it halfway through the movie, Fungii - fellow Lupin fan and artist extraordinarie, and wonderfully silly person - unveiled this:


Just in time for Halloween too!

(Fungii is of course also the creator of such wonderful images such as Luppire, lupinshiba and Lounge King. Lupin fans are wonderful people).

I keep grinning every time I see horrendous decomposing Zenigata up there. The fact that I'm a broken person has never been more obvious.

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