Lupin the Third

• 1. Introduction

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  Lupin the Third, a Japanese media franchise created by Monkey Punch, once left a calling card where a statue should have been. In 2009, a campaign called Lupin Steal Japan asked fans to suggest real objects for the fictional thief to take. One suggestion was the Moyai statue in Shibuya. It was removed for cleaning on the 7th of December. In its place appeared a card from the master thief that read "Thanks for the Moyai." The prank landed because the thief had enjoyed lasting popularity in Japan for decades. His manga debuted in Weekly Manga Action on the 10th of August 1967, and a seventh anime series premiered in 2021. So who is this thief, and who runs with him? Why did foreign releases hide his name for years? And why do his comics and his cartoons feel like two different worlds?

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• 2. The Gang

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  Lupin III has a habit that makes him famous: he announces his thefts. Before he takes a valuable object, he sends a calling card to its owner. That flair has earned him a reputation as the world's greatest thief. He is also the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the fictional gentleman thief.

  Daisuke Jigen is his right-hand man and best friend. Jigen is an expert marksman who can hit a target in 0.3 seconds. The two frequently work as a pair.

  Fujiko Mine, a femme fatale and Lupin's love interest, often joins them. So does Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a master swordsman whose blade can cut anything. Fujiko's loyalty has limits. She usually works alongside the others, but she sometimes exploits Lupin's interest in her to grab the treasure for herself.

  Hovering over all of them is Inspector Zenigata of Interpol. He has made arresting the group his life's work, and his pursuit of Lupin carries him around the globe. Each of these five was built from borrowed parts, and the borrowing began with a French novelist.

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• 3. Borrowed Faces

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  In 1965, the manga artist Kazuhiko Katō, writing under the pen name Monkey Punch, set out to create a new series. He had first read 15 stories by the French writer Maurice Leblanc, who invented Arsène Lupin. His goal was a comedy adventure that reflected the traits of that gentleman thief. He originally meant to keep the family tie between the two thieves secret, but others talked him out of it.

  Monkey Punch mixed Arsène Lupin with James Bond to shape a carefree fellow. He dressed Lupin in a red jacket, a color he considered flashy and sexually attractive.

  Fujiko Mine exists because the series was meant for a magazine aimed at adults. She was there to bring a female presence and to play a Bond girl role. Her first name came from a picture of Mount Fuji, with the female suffix -ko added. For her surname he chose Mine, which means summit. Early on, many women Lupin met were all called Fujiko but treated as different people from chapter to chapter. Inventing a new woman every week proved too hard, so she became a single character who changed her style often.

  Jigen was modeled on the American actor James Coburn, especially his role in The Magnificent Seven. His name was chosen to suit his unconventional personality. Goemon was added to bring a Japanese element into a Western-influenced series. He and Lupin began as enemies, but Monkey Punch decided they were on the same wavelength, and they became allies. Zenigata was conceived as Lupin's arch-rival, meant to create a "human Tom and Jerry" dynamic.

  When he began Lupin III, Monkey Punch was already writing another series, Pinky Punky. He enjoyed outlaw characters, and both series centered on them, so writing two at once felt easy. He loved puzzles and mysteries, including the television series Columbo and the novels of Agatha Christie. The Three Musketeers, the films of Alfred Hitchcock and Mad magazine also left marks on the manga.

  He saw Lupin and Fujiko as echoes of D'Artagnan and Milady de Winter. He described them as "Not necessarily lovers, not necessarily husband and wife, but more just having fun as man and woman with each other." Drawing Lupin appealed to him because the character could go anywhere without obstacles and do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Zenigata's strict personality stood in sharp contrast to that freedom.

  The series was only expected to last three months. Its popularity kept it going, though its creator admitted he was confused by that success. He believed the story could never truly end. If it had to, Zenigata and Lupin would finish as equals. They would both fail, both win, or both grow very old.

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• 4. The Name Problem

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  Monkey Punch never asked permission to use the name Arsène Lupin. At the time, Japan did not enforce trade copyrights. By the time Leblanc's estate launched legal action in Japan, the name was already considered part of common usage. North America and Europe saw things differently, so several foreign releases dropped the Lupin III title.

  The renaming took several forms. The Streamline Pictures and Manga Entertainment English dubs called the hero "Wolf." The AnimEigo dub called him "Rupan." In France, the series became Edgar, Detective Cambrioleur, meaning Edgar, Detective Burglar, and Lupin turned into "Edgar de la Cambriole," or Edgar of Burglary. Monkey Punch's own view was that copying the same character design, behavior and face would be illegal, but using a name alone is not.

  The dispute sank an entire project in 1982. Lupin VIII was planned as a French-Japanese animated series from DiC Audiovisuel, with Rintaro directing and Shingo Araki handling character designs. It would have featured the descendants of Lupin, Goemon, Jigen and Zenigata. Two scripts were written, and one episode was fully animated with a music and effects track. The voice-overs were never recorded. Leblanc's estate wanted a large sum for use of the Arsène Lupin name in France, and the project was cancelled. That lone episode finally appeared in the 2012 Lupin III Master File box set.

  In 2012, Arsène Lupin entered the public domain in France, because 70 years had passed since Leblanc's death in 1941. The character is also free in any country that applies the rule of the shorter term. Foreign releases can now use the Lupin name.

  English-language rights, meanwhile, have passed through many hands. Streamline Pictures dubbed and released two films and episodes of the second television series from 1991 to 1995. Funimation Entertainment dubbed several specials and films from 2002 to 2006, then the fourth television series in 2013. Discotek Media now holds the first six television series and the first live-action film, along with many titles previously released by other companies.

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• 5. The Manga Page

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  Futabasha serialized the original manga in Weekly Manga Action until the 22nd of May 1969. It ran for 94 chapters, later gathered into 14 tankōbon volumes. More chapters, titled Lupin III New Adventures, followed from the 12th of August 1971.

  The critic Jason Thompson, in Manga: The Complete Guide, called it "a crazy, groovy 1960s world of dynamite and backstabbing, hippies and gangsters." He gave it four out of four stars. Critics and fans also note that the manga is far darker than the anime. It contains explicit sex and violence, along with dark humor that breaks the fourth wall. The animated versions are mostly family-friendly.

  In The Rough Guide to Manga, Jason S. Yadao pointed out that Lupin wearing a hat looks exactly like Zenigata. He called it a successful plot device that may take several attempts to understand before it pays off. He listed the series among 50 essential manga. Not every reviewer was won over. Allen Divers of Anime News Network praised the writing and action but found the art too primitive. Daryl Surat of Otaku USA said he could not tell most characters apart.

  A second manga, Shin Lupin III, began in Weekly Manga Action on the 23rd of June 1977 and ran until 1981. Tokyopop released all 14 volumes of the first series in North America between the 10th of December 2002 and the 6th of July 2004. It then published the first nine volumes of the second as Lupin III: World's Most Wanted, from the 7th of September 2004 to the 10th of July 2007, before cancelling it over low sales. Many early volumes still reached ICv2's list of the top 50 graphic novels. In 2020, Seven Seas Entertainment licensed two anthologies produced after Monkey Punch's death.

  Since 1997, many other artists have drawn Lupin manga in Futabasha magazines. On the 27th of August 2004, Futabasha launched Lupin III Official Magazine, a quarterly of stories by various authors. An isekai spin-off, Lupin the Third: Neighbor World Princess, began in Weekly Shōnen Champion on the 26th of August 2021.

  Monkey Punch never considered Lupin, Fujiko, Jigen and Goemon a true group, because each pursued separate interests. In the manga they operated individually. The anime would bring them together far more often.

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• 6. On Television

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  The television story began with a pilot nobody bought. Animator Gisaburō Sugii suggested adapting the manga to Yutaka Fujioka, the founder of TMS Entertainment. The result was Lupin the Third: Pilot Film, which introduced the five lead characters to attract interest and funding. Sugii, Yasuo Otsuka, Tsutomu Shibayama and Osamu Kobayashi made it, with Masaaki Ōsumi supervising. It was finished in 1969 and left unsold. Then in 1971, Yomiuri Television agreed to fund and broadcast a televised version, and the pilot was adapted for it.

  YTV began airing the first series on the 24th of October 1971. It lasted 23 episodes, ending on the 26th of March 1972. Ōsumi started as director, but Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata replaced him. In Anime Classics Zettai!, Brian Clamp and Julie Davis describe it as serious and dark, close to the manga, and focused on disputes between Lupin and other criminals.

  NTV began the second series on the 3rd of October 1977. It ran for 155 episodes, until the 6th of October 1980. Clamp and Davis sum it up as a caper comedy. Monkey Punch believed the voice work of Yasuo Yamada was a major reason for the anime's popularity. Rob Lineberger of DVD Verdict wrote, "Lupin the Third is James Bond meets Charlie's Angels with Scooby-Doo sensibilities." Two critics, Chris Beveridge and Mike Crandol, disliked the English dub because Pioneer Entertainment filled a late-1970s series with modern references. Both still reviewed the series itself positively.

  Lupin the 3rd Part III began on YTV on the 3rd of March 1984 and ended on the 6th of November 1985 after 50 episodes. In 2012, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine aired 13 episodes on NTV, from the 4th of April to the 27th of June. Part IV: The Italian Adventure, produced by Telecom Animation Film, is set in Italy and San Marino. It aired for 26 episodes on Italia 1 beginning on the 30th of August 2015, and for 24 episodes on NTV in Japan. Part 5, in 2018, moved to France, home of the title character's grandfather and namesake. It ran from the 4th of April to the 18th of September and included 24 episodes and an OVA. Part 6 premiered on the 10th of October 2021, during the 50th anniversary celebration of the first anime.

  From 1989 to 2013, TMS made a new animated special for NTV every year. The tradition began with Bye Bye, Lady Liberty on the 4th of April 1989. A crossover, Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan, aired on the 27th of March 2009 and drew a record audience share of 19.5. In 2011, Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid introduced new voice actors for Fujiko, Zenigata and Goemon. It was the first change in 16 years. The veteran cast of Kanichi Kurita, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue, Eiko Masuyama and Goro Naya reunited one last time for a short animation in the 2012 Master File box set.

  Reviews of the specials ranged from positive to mixed. Beveridge called Island of Assassins the best non-TV Lupin experience since The Castle of Cagliostro. IGN's Jeremy Mullin gave Missed by a Dollar eight out of ten for its twists. Secret of the Twilight Gemini drew mixed reviews for poor animation and a B movie-style plot.

  On the 24th of October 2022, TMS announced Lupin Zero, a six-episode prequel net animation directed by Daisuke Sakō. It follows Lupin's adolescent days and premiered on the 16th of December 2022. Beveridge gave it an "A," praising the actual violence and blood of the original manga. Gunawan of Anime News Network, who also gave it an "A," likened the bond between Lupin and Jigen to classic buddy cop films. On the 27th of January 2023, the CGI crossover Lupin the 3rd vs. Cat's Eye premiered as a worldwide exclusive on Amazon Prime Video.

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• 7. On the Big Screen

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  Hayao Miyazaki directed The Castle of Cagliostro in 1979, a year after Sōji Yoshikawa's The Mystery of Mamo. Cagliostro was not an initial box-office success. Repeated re-releases built its fame, and Animage readers eventually voted it the best anime in history. It was the best-selling anime DVD in May 2001 and the third best in June. Chris Beveridge gave it an "A+." Some fans insist it is not a true Lupin title, because Miyazaki turned the ruthless criminal into a family-friendly hero. Mike Crandol of Anime News Network, while admitting Cagliostro is the best known, named The Fuma Conspiracy as the finest Lupin animation.

  More animated features followed. Seijun Suzuki co-directed The Legend of the Gold of Babylon in 1985, and Farewell to Nostradamus arrived in 1995. In 1996, Monkey Punch himself directed Dead or Alive. Takeshi Koike directed Jigen's Gravestone in 2014, and Takashi Yamazaki directed The First in 2019. In 2023, Lupin appeared in a crossover with City Hunter, City Hunter: Angel Dust, with Kanichi Kurita and Akio Ōtsuka reprising Lupin and Jigen. Koike returned in 2025 with The Immortal Bloodline, the first traditionally animated solo feature in nearly 30 years. A prequel net animation by Koike was announced on the 1st of May 2025 and released on the 20th of June.

  Live-action versions have fared less kindly. The first, released on the 3rd of August 1974, brought back the whole main cast except Goemon. After the dark first television series, it leaned heavily on slapstick and physics-defying stunts.

  Ryuhei Kitamura directed a second live-action film, released on the 30th of August 2014. Shun Oguri played Lupin, with Meisa Kuroki, Tetsuji Tamayama, Gō Ayano and Tadanobu Asano filling out the gang. Critics in Japan and the West were largely negative, especially after its showing at LA EigaFest. They faulted the direction, screenplay, editing, and costumes. They also disliked that most dialogue was in English, which left the Asian cast with poor delivery. Yet the actors were frequently seen as well cast. Some viewers called it "an enjoyable time to be had to the whole family."

  A third live-action film, centered on Jigen, reached Amazon Prime Video internationally on the 13th of October 2023. Tamayama returned to the role he played in 2014.

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• 8. Beyond the Screen

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  More than 50 soundtrack albums have been released in Japan by Columbia Music Entertainment and VAP, including the work of Yuji Ohno. The labels also issued 15 collections of jazz arrangements by the Yuji Ohno trio, the Lupintic Five and the Lupintic Sixteen. Critics have singled out the voice acting and the Ohno scores for praise. On the 8th of September 2007, Ohno and the Lupintic Sixteen played a live concert for the series' 40th anniversary. Double, Ego-Wrappin' and The Ventures have all covered the music.

  The thief has also stepped onto stages and into arcades. Taito released a stealth game in Japanese arcades in 1980. In 1983, Stern released the laserdisc game Cliff Hanger in North America. It reused footage from The Mystery of Mamo and The Castle of Cagliostro in the style of Dragon's Lair, but changed the names and wrote an original plot. Heiwa has produced pachinko and slot machines since 1998. The musical I'm Lupin ran at the Sunshine Theater from the 5th to the 8th of November 1998. The all-female Takarazuka Revue staged Lupin III: Go After the Queen's Necklace! from the 1st of January to the 2nd of February 2015. A kabuki play ran at the Shinbashi Enbujō from the 5th to the 25th of December 2023.

  Other creators have openly admitted debts to the series. Shinichirō Watanabe, director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, told Newtype Japan he was heavily influenced by Masaaki Ōsumi's work on the first television series. Video game designer Hideo Kojima compared Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid to Lupin, saying Snake became a sharp-tongued, joke-telling flirt. He also partly based his character EVA on Fujiko Mine. In Azumanga Daioh, the character Tomo Takino idolizes Fujiko and keeps referring to herself by that name. In 2006, rapper Lupe Fiasco referenced Lupin III in Kanye West's "Touch the Sky."

  The franchise has left its mark on the Japanese landscape too. On the 30th of March 1984, the series became the last animated work on the cover of the Japanese TV Guide before a policy limited covers to real-life images. In 2008, the "Lupin III: Labyrinth Trap" attraction opened at the Tokyo Dome City Attractions amusement park. In 2011, a Ginza exhibition displayed over 300 related items, including Monkey Punch's original manuscripts. In 2012, the Hokkaido Railway Company unveiled Lupin III-themed trains on the Hanasaki Line between Kushiro and Nemuro, to honor Monkey Punch, a native of Hokkaido. Between the 1st of April 2014 and the 31st of March 2015, the city of Sakura accepted applications for Lupin III license plates, limited to 3,000 across four categories. Monkey Punch lived there until his death in 2019. In 2017, a fish on the American series FishCenter Live was named Lupin the Third.

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