Lupin the Third: Bye Bye Liberty - Close Call! (1989)

The first Lupin the Third annual TV special, directed by Osamu Dezaki for Tokyo Movie Shinsha and aired on Nippon TV in April 1989. Lupin sets out to steal the Statue of Liberty itself as cover for a hunt through a computer virus, a mafia heir and a legendary jewel, launching the yearly TV-special tradition that carried the franchise through the 1990s. (IMDb)

Watches

Rolex Day-Date: Lupin's dress watch in the special is drawn with the Rolex Day-Date's signature layout, the wide day window arced at 12 over a fluted bezel and President-style bracelet. A Japanese collector survey identifies it as a Day-Date on that reasoning and suggests the then-current ref. 18238, hedging its own call at "ninety percent". The reference sits narrower than hand-drawn art can carry, and the cel palette renders the case silver-toned where the 18238 is yellow gold, so the row stays at model level with the survey's 18238 reading recorded here rather than asserted. (1016watch-style)
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