Return of Pycal

Lupin III: Return of Pycal
	A screenshot of Lupin from the OVA.
ルパン三世生きていた魔術師; (Rupan Sansei Ikiteita Majutsushi)
Original video animation
Directed by	Mamoru Hamatsu
Written by	Ryō Katsuragi
Music by	Yuji Ohno
Studio	TMS Entertainment
Licensed by	NA: Discotek Media;
Released	April 3, 2002
Runtime	48 minutes

Lupin III: Return of Pycal (Japanese: ルパン三世生きていた魔術師, Hepburn: Rupan Sansei Ikiteita Majutsushi, lit. "Lupin III: The Magician Lived") is a 2002 Japanese original video animation based on Monkey Punch's Lupin III manga. Directed by Mamoru Hamatsu and released on April 3, 2002, it is the second OVA in the Lupin III franchise. The story features the return of the magician Pycal, in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the manga's first television anime adaptation. Return of Pycal won an Excellent Work Award at the 2003 Tokyo International Anime Fair.^[2] It was released in North America on July 27, 2021, by Discotek Media.

Plot

When Lupin attempts to steal a gem, he is interrupted by Pycal, a magician who was considered to have died after facing off with Lupin in the past (chapter 7: "Magician" of the original manga and episode 2: "The Man They Called a Magician" of the first anime series). Pycal, once a trickster, now seems armed with real magical abilities, and seems determined to get his revenge on Lupin.

Release

Return of Pycal was released on VHS and limited edition DVD by VAP on April 3, 2002.^[1] The limited edition DVD set includes a CD-ROM with a puzzle game, which if beaten would provide a password for ZIP files containing wallpapers, and a CD of the soundtrack. On April 23, 2003, a standard DVD version and a standalone CD of the soundtrack were released separately.^[2]^[3] Vap released Return of Pycal on Blu-ray on September 15, 2010.^[4]