Completely original special to tell story of Jigen's betrayal

TMS Entertainment revealed on Friday that Lupin III: Goodbye Partner , the 26th Lupin III anime special, will air on NTV as part of the channel's "Friday Roadshow" timeslot on January 25 from 9:00 p.m. to 10:54 p.m. The same timeslot will also air the 25th anime special, Lupin III Italian Game, on January 18.

The new special will be the first "completely original" special in approximately six years, and will feature Lupin wearing a black jacket. The special will have a theme of "Jigen's betrayal." In the story, Jigen is after Lupin's life, and Goemon cannot forgive a friend's betrayal, and is enraged. The special will feature a showdown between Jigen (considered "the strongest rival ever") and Lupin and Goemon.

Jun Kawagoe (Lupin III: Operation Return the Treasure, Cyborg 009 Vs. Devilman, Innocent Venus) is directing the anime at TMS Entertainment. Takehiko Hata (The Aurora) is penning the script, Hirotaka Marufuji (Lupin III: the Last Job key animator, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress chief animation director) is serving as character designer and chief animation director, and franchise composer Yuji Ohno is returning to compose the music.

The Lupin the Third: Part 5 anime series premiered in NTV's AnichU programming block on April 3, and aired 24 episodes through September. Crunchyroll streamed the series in Japanese with English subtitles as it aired in Japan. The new series moves the story's setting to modern France. While Lupin still uses classic cars and traditional guns like the Walter P38, he also employs the Internet, mobile devices, and other digital gadgets to take on his foes.

Source: Comic Natalie