Lupin III's Greatest Capers
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Lupin III: Greatest Capers is a compilation of two episodes from the second Lupin III television series that was released on video from Streamline Pictures.
The episodes included were:
- Albatross: Wings of Death (episode 145) [original title: Shi no tsubasa Arubatorosu, literal translation: Albatross, the wings of Death]
- Aloha, Lupin (episode 155) [original title: Saraba itoshiki Rupan yo, literal translation: Farewell, beloved Lupin]
the latter being the final episode of the second series.
What was unique about these two episodes was that both were directed by Hayao Miyazaki (who had previously directed the second Lupin III movie The Castle of Cagliostro) under the pseudonym Teruki Tsutomu. The episodes were produced by Studio Telecom, which produced 11 of the 155 episodes of the second Lupin III series, including the two episodes Hayao Miyazaki directed.
In the episode Albatross: Wings of Death, Lupin and the gang have to rescue Fujiko from Lonebach, a weapons dealer who is planning to sell a new type of nuclear weapon and is using his huge airplane The Albatross (a Dornier Do X) to transport them.
In Aloha, Lupin, a lanky and strong robot is robbing jewelery stores in the Tokyo area, all in the name of Lupin III. The reason behind the thefts is all part of a plan by Maki Oyamada, the robot operator and the Lupin gang to show the world how dangerous the robots can be if they are used in warfare. Meanwhile, Inspector Zenigata feels that something is not right with this case and as this episode shows, not everything is what it seems.
The robots used in Aloha, Lupin were also used in Castle in the Sky, an animated feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
The robots in Aloha, Lupin were ALSO a great tribute to the first Superman film serial, with some shots nearly identical to those found in "Superman." The robots themselves were very similar in design to the "Superman" robots also.
The title Aloha, Lupin stands for two things: not only was this the final episode of the second Lupin III series, but it was also Hayao Miyazaki's farewell to the series, as this episode was the last time the director would ever work on the Lupin III series ever again.
Due to legal reasons, Lupin's name is changed to Wolf and his real name is pronounced "Loo-pin" for this video release.
