Lupin III: The Columbus Files

This is a list of television specials of the Japanese media franchise Lupin III based on the Lupin III manga written by Monkey Punch beginning in 1967. In a tradition that began in 1989 with the television special Bye Bye Liberty Crisis, every summer since then featured a new 90 minute Lupin III television special that would air on NTV at 9:03 on Friday evening, usually in the last week of July or the first week of August (Bye-Bye Liberty Crisis and Seven Days Rhapsody diverted from that trend, however).

Each television special features its own plot (see specific pages for details), but the general theme centers on the adventures of Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series of novels. He is joined by Daisuke Jigen, crack-shot and Lupin's closest ally; Fujiko Mine, the femme fatale and Lupin's love interest who works against Lupin more often than with him; and Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a master swordsman and the descendant of Ishikawa Goemon, the legendary Japanese bandit. Lupin is often chased by Inspector Koichi Zenigata, the rather cynical detective who has made it his life mission to catch Lupin.

FUNimation Entertainment purchased the American DVD distribution rights to television specials five through 12 back in 2002 in a package that also included the two theatrical films Farewell to Nostradamus and Dead or Alive. Several of the television specials were re-titled for their American DVD release. All of the licensed movies and television specials have now been released on DVD.

Source: Wikipedia