Lupin III TV Series Edited

Pioneer has confirmed and addressed edits and alterations that will appear in their upcoming first volume of the Lupin III TV series American DVD release.

The original Japanese episode 3, “Hitler’s Legacy,” is being left out of the initial American release, to be inserted in a later volume of the DVD release. According to Pioneer, “While Anime fans certainly understand Lupin, the uninformed public remains extremely sensitive to any references to Hitler and the subject matter will certainly offend the audience that does not care to consider the topic within the context of the show. The launch of Lupin would not survive any negative press or stereotypes from this type of publicity.”

The video footage in the American version has been slightly digitally edited to “remove certain trademarked images and logos from the footage and swap out a few musical elements.” These changes were made by the original Japanese copyright owner and are outside the control of Pioneer USA. Although replaced with English text in the episodes on the first volume, the original Japanese episode titles are intact in the previews, and, beginning with volume 2, the original Japanese episode titles will be unedited and subtitled throughout.

The English language dub “has been updated to give Lupin a more current feel,” but the subtitle track is an accurate, literal translation of the Japanese dialogue.

Pioneer concludes, “We found that despite some issues that may cause us trouble, Lupin The 3rd was just too much fun to pass up and we are doing our best, given the conditions forced upon us, to make everyone feel the same way. Please support Lupin The 3rd in its launch so that we may have the opportunity to release the title in its entirety for everyone to enjoy!”

Source: Anime on DVD