Scotland Loves Anime to show four out of five Lupin the IIIRD films in 2025
For anime fans living in the United Kingdom, October and November are perhaps the most wonderful times of the year - and it’s thanks to the annual festival of animation, Scotland Loves Anime!
This year, the festival is branching out - all the way down south to London - no less, and it seems that Lupin the IIIRD will be featuring across the Glasgow and Edinburgh festival weekends in a big way. The festival will mark the U.K. premiere of the brand-new feature film, Lupin the IIIRD: The Movie ~ Immortal Bloodline, hitting the Glasgow Film Theatre on October 31st 2025, and the Edinburgh Cameo Picturehouse on November 16th 2025. The film’s director, Takeshi Koike, will be in attendance at the Glasgow showing, and will take part in a brief Q&A session during the event.
It is exciting to know that the first showing of Immortal Bloodline in the U.K. will at the cinema!
Then, on the same day in November, the first three Lupin the IIIRD OVA films, Jigen’s Gravestone, Goemon’s Bloodspray, and Fujiko’s Lie will play back-to-back at the Edinburgh Cameo Picturehouse on the 16th of November 2025. Unfortunately, it appears Zenigata and the Two Lupin’s will not be showing at the event, which creates an awkward story gap between Fujiko’s Lie and Immortal Bloodline for those watching the films in this back-to-back fashion.
Still - beggars can’t be choosers. When I first moved up to Edinburgh in 2012, I reached out to Scotland Loves Anime asking if they should show some Lupin, specifically Jigen’s Gravestone, and at the time, I was informed they would look into it. Since then, we have had The Castle of Cagliostro, The Mystery of Mamo, Lupin III VS. Detective Conan: THE MOVIE, and now this. Now - I am not saying this is all thanks to that e-mail I sent them, but you never know…! There is clearly someone on staff who is into Lupin III, and I am here for it.
2014s Jigen’s Gravestone will also be showing in Edinburgh as part of the event
Aside from the Lupin the IIIRD films, the festival also has a nice array of new and classic features - and to me, there definitely feels like a Lupin throughline to this year’s event. For example, Mamoru Oshii’s Angel’s Egg will be showcased in its newly restored format. Mamoru Oshii has recently worked on two episodes from Lupin III: Part 6 and was originally penned to direct 1985s Lupin III: Legend of the Gold of Babylon, but was dropped because the script was just too weird. Angel’s Egg was the film he directed and released after his script for Babylon was turned down (although Babylon released in July, and Angel’s Egg December, so there was likely some cross-over in production time between the two)!
Also showing at the event is Osamu Dezaki’s Golgo 13: The Professional. Osamu Dezaki worked on the Lupin III series throughout its original run, first as a storyboard artist, and ultimately as a director on five television specials (Bye Bye Lady Liberty, Mystery of the Hemingway Papers, Steal Napoleon’s Dictionary, From Russia With Love, and The Pursuit of Harimao’s Treasure). More recently, the minor character Juzo Togo from Lupin III: Part 6 was based on Duke Togo from Golgo 13. And, guess what? This character featured in an episode named The Killers in the Diner, which was directed by Mamoru Oshii!
Is your head hurting yet? Mine sure is!
Plenty more films will be at the event, including Redline, Promare, Project A-KO, Mobile Suit Gundam, Chao, and more. There is a LOT to see this year, so if you have the opportunity to go, definitely check out the list of films on the Scotland Loves Anime website to learn more. In addition to his attendance of to The Immortal Bloodline premiere, Takeshi Koike will also be at the Glasgow showing for Redline - so do not miss that, if you are in the area.
Weekend pass tickets for Glasgow showings are currently on-sale via the official website, whereas Edinburgh, London, and single ticket purchases are due to become available at a later date. Maybe I’ll see you there?
Big thanks to Douglas for the heads-up on this news story.
