Lupin III anime attractions with original stories coming to Universal Studios Japan theme park

Brand-new caper for anime’s greatest thief is latest installment of Universal Cool Japan project.

Lupin III is a hard guy to catch. Anime’s most famous occasional gentleman/perpetual thief has been on the lam since his manga debut in 1967, and he’s managed to stay one step ahead of the law over the past five-plus decades by hopping around the globe from one exotic location to another, meeting beautiful women and finding priceless treasures along the way.

But thanks to some recently acquired intel, we now know exactly where Lupin and his gang will be turning up next. Osaka’s Universal Studios Japan has just announced that two Lupin III attractions are coming to the park. They’re part of the latest installment in its ongoing Universal Cool Japan series, which takes iconic Japanese-created anime and video game franchises and gives them the top-tier theme park treatment.

The first of the two Lupin attractions is being billed as an “XR Ride,” which sounds like it might be similar to the Final Fantasy VR roller coaster that was previously part of the Universal Cool Japan offerings. We’re not sure what the “X” stands for, though, but in Japanese marketing the letter is often read as “cross” and denotes a mixing of elements or media, so perhaps the ride, which USJ promises will have “a sense of speed that goes beyond common sense,” will incorporate some sort of augmented reality features.

In addition to the XR ride, the park will also be opening a Lupin III restaurant, where it says the “food entertainment” will be wrapped in an atmosphere of hard-boiled coolness and comedy, just like Lupin’s adventures themselves. USJ also says the restaurant will have an integrated backstory, which, along with the plotline for the XR Ride, is an original narrative developed just for Universal Cool Japan, echoing the USJ-exclusive story created for the park’s ongoing Sailor Moon attraction.

▼ Trailer for the currently airing Lupin III Part 5 anime TV series

The new attractions are set to open on January 18, with Lupin making yet another escape when they close down on May 26.

Source: Universal Studios Japan via Comic Natalie via Otakomu
Top image: Universal Studios Japan

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