Lupin III: Difference between revisions

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Depending on the story, Lupin may be the head of a four-man "gang" consisting of sharpshooter Jigen, master swordsman Goemon Ishikawa XIII (a descendant of the famous Japanese folk-hero of the same name) and Fujiko Mine, infamously overstacked femme fatale (her name means "Twin Peaks") Lupin's sometime-ally, sometime-rival, and sometime-love interest. Even after the gang breaks up (which happens frequently), Lupin and Jigen always stick together, and the other two are usually shoehorned into any adventures that crop up.

Lupin III is something of an [[Anime]] icon. The franchise started with the manga by Kazuhiko Katō (who goes by the pen name "Monkey Punch") in the [[The Sixties|1960s]]. The character first appeared on August 10, 1967. The original series ended in 1972, but several subsequent ones followed. Lupin and company have gone to star in three television series (with, for the first time in twenty-seven years, a fourth on the way) and countless movies, including ''[[The Castle of ~~Cagliostro|The Castleof~~ Cagliostro]]'', the directorial film debut of the legendary [[Hayao Miyazaki]]. If ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' is ''the'' classic [[Shonen]], this is ''the'' classic [[Seinen]].

Lupin III is something of an [[Anime]] icon. The franchise started with the manga by Kazuhiko Katō (who goes by the pen name "Monkey Punch") in the [[The Sixties|1960s]]. The character first appeared on August 10, 1967. The original series ended in 1972, but several subsequent ones followed. Lupin and company have gone to star in three television series (with, for the first time in twenty-seven years, a fourth on the way) and countless movies, including ''[[The Castle of Cagliostro]]'', the directorial film debut of the legendary [[Hayao Miyazaki]]. If ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' is ''the'' classic [[Shonen]], this is ''the'' classic [[Seinen]].

For some time (since 1989), it has been a standing tradition on Japanese TV for a new ''Lupin'' [[Made for TV Movie]] to premiere annually. A [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Om_UdToxqqE new series] called ''[[Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine|The Woman Named Fujiko Mine]]'' began in 2012, the first one in 27 years.

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Has nothing to do with the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' [[Harry Potter/Characters|character]].

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=== This series features examples of: ===

* [[Abridged Series]]: [[Team Four Star|KaiserNeko's]] brilliant but sadly short-lived one, which tackled eight episodes from ''Shin Lupin III'', including the [[Missing Episode|infamous Nazi one]]. Episodes can be found scattered around [[YouTube]].

* [[Absurdly Sharp Blade]]: Goemon's traditionally-made katana, Zantetsuken. Various explanations are given as to why it is so sharp, but generally it's just assumed to be due to the unusual metal of the sword.

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* [[Adaptation Distillation]]:

** The otherwise awesome manga often implied Lupin was a rapist. This was changed in the anime.

** The Lupin of ''[[The Castle of ~~Cagliostro|The Castleof~~ Cagliostro]]'' has even less resemblance to the Lupin of Monkey Punch's comics. [[Tropes Are Not Bad|It is still a great movie in its own right]].

** The Lupin of ''[[The Castle of Cagliostro]]'' has even less resemblance to the Lupin of Monkey Punch's comics. [[Tropes Are Not Bad|It is still a great movie in its own right]].

** The anime also isn't as wacky as the manga, although whether or not this is bad depends on the viewer.

* [[Affectionate Parody]]: Of [[Arsène Lupin]], obviously. The manga also spoofs ''[[Mission Impossible]]'' in one chapter, while the anime has parodied the ''[[Pink Panther]]'' movies, [[Superman]], ''The F.B.I'', and many others throughout its run.

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* [[Ambiguously Brown]]: Goemon and Zenigata, on and off, in the early manga, TV series, and movies.

* [[Animation Bump]]:

** Several episodes of series 2 (72, 77, 82, 84, 99, 105, 143, 145, 151, 153, 155), three movies (''[[Lupin III/Recap/The Mystery of Mamo|Recap]]'', ''[[The Castle of ~~Cagliostro|The Castleof~~ Cagliostro]]'' and ''Farewell To Nostradamus''), ''[[Lupin III/Recap/The Fuma Conspiracy|The Fuma Conspiracy]]'', and three specials (''Elusiveness Of The Fog'', ''Play The Lupin'' (a batch of music videos that were released on DVD and [[Blu-Ray]]) and ''[[Lupin III/Recap/Blood Seal Eternal Mermaid|Blood Seal Eternal Mermaid]]'') were done by [[Telecom Animation Film]].

** Several episodes of series 2 (72, 77, 82, 84, 99, 105, 143, 145, 151, 153, 155), three movies (''[[Lupin III/Recap/The Mystery of Mamo|Recap]]'', ''[[The Castle of Cagliostro]]'' and ''Farewell To Nostradamus''), ''[[Lupin III/Recap/The Fuma Conspiracy|The Fuma Conspiracy]]'', and three specials (''Elusiveness Of The Fog'', ''Play The Lupin'' (a batch of music videos that were released on DVD and [[Blu-Ray]]) and ''[[Lupin III/Recap/Blood Seal Eternal Mermaid|Blood Seal Eternal Mermaid]]'') were done by [[Telecom Animation Film]].

** Telecom has also worked on ''The Legend Of The Gold Of Babylon'' (Backgrounds, Key, In-Between and Finish Animation), ''Seven Days Rhapsody'' (Key Animation by Toshihiko Masuda) and ''Sweet Lost Night'' (Backgrounds) as well.

** The [[Oh! Production]] episodes of the 2nd series that (pre Telecom) Kazuhide Tomonaga did Key Animation on (which are episodes 4, 8, 14, 20, 25, 31 and 63, he was also stationed at Oh! Production for ''Mystery Of Mamo'' as well) and [[Hayao Miyazaki]]'s stuff (manly series 2 episodes 145 and 155 and ''The Castle Of Cagliostro'', he also worked on the first series as well).

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** In ''Mystery of the Fuma Clan'', Zenigata has actually quit his job and become a Buddhist monk because he believes Lupin to be dead. When asked why, he says that if he prays enough, Lupin may be reincarnated as a law-abiding man.

* [[Anti-Hero]]: Lupin and the gang are still ''thieves'', even though they are fundamentally decent people. The villains they face are more often than not [[Complete Monster|Complete Monsters]] that make their comparatively harmless thefts seem benign in comparison, or they can more than afford what he steals, especially if it's insured. In one case in particular Lupin reasoned that he was actually doing the victim a ''favor'', since the insurance payout would be greater than the worth of the object stolen.

* [[Art Evolution]]: Between series, Fujiko often gets a redesign. Sometimes even within series! By the middle of series 3, the designs for all of the main cast has significantly changed from the squarer-jaws in the opening credits to a thinner, more angular face. Whether this is actual evolution, devolution, or just [[Off-Model]] is left as an exercise to the viewer.

* [[Asshole Victim]]: Related to Lupin's desire for challenge, he limits himself to stealing from "people who can afford the loss", "Dangerous killers", and "jerks" (frequently, he claims to only rob from people who are all three of the above). Zenigata has used this as a clue to sniff around the client whom [[Gentleman Thief|Lupin has forewarned]].

* [[Author Filibuster]]: The 2008 special ''[[Lupin III/Recap/Green vs. Red|Recap]]'', targeted at nuclear weapons, bizarrely.

* [[Badass]]: Pretty much all five main characters.

* [[Bad Bad Acting]]: Zenigata at the end of ''[[The Castle of ~~Cagliostro|The Castleof~~ Cagliostro]],'' complete with [[Lampshade Hanging]] from the head of the ICPO, who is watching the events live on TV.

* [[Bad Bad Acting]]: Zenigata at the end of ''[[The Castle of Cagliostro]],'' complete with [[Lampshade Hanging]] from the head of the ICPO, who is watching the events live on TV.

* [[Battle Butler]]: Jodo in ''[[The Castle of ~~Cagliostro|The Castleof~~ Cagliostro]]''. He is head of the nation's ninja-expies.

* [[Battle Butler]]: Jodo in ''[[The Castle of Cagliostro]]''. He is head of the nation's ninja-expies.

* [[Barbie Doll Anatomy]]:

** The manga averts this one by replacing genitalia with gender symbols. However, the anime, especially the second series, uses it quite a bit. Especially when Fujiko is involved.

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* [[Crime-Time TV]]: Lupin fits in the [[Con Man]] and [[Gentleman Thief]] category, showing it doesn't have to be a one-or-the-other approach. The films tend to focus on the "help the police catch the really bad guys" variant.

* [[Crossover]]:

** ''Lupin III vs [[Detective Conan]]''. Not only works, but also feels like a remake of [[The Castle of ~~Cagliostro|The Castleof~~ Cagliostro]]. Go figure.

** ''Lupin III vs [[Detective Conan]]''. Not only works, but also feels like a remake of [[The Castle of Cagliostro]]. Go figure.

** One could argue this is the premise of the series itself: Lupin from [[Arsène Lupin]], Zenigata from "ZENIGATA HEIJI COVERS ALL OF EDO", Jigen from any American Western, Goemon from Japanese folk legends, and Fujiko is your standard [[Bond Girl]].

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Many people underestimate Lupin because of his smartass attitude, and come to regret it. Zenigata also gets underestimated by bad guys, only to find out the hard way that he's (sometimes) head inspector of Interpol for a reason (Judo black belt, anyone?).

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** A similar plot plays out in the second (1977) TV series, only this time it's some arrogant rich guy who challenges Lupin to outwit his supercomputer and steal his treasure. Lupin can't outwit it, so he just follows Zenigata, who wants to return a coin he stole before the system was turned on.

* [[Instant Dogend]]: Jigen has this as a characteristic prop, and at least once has lit up a ''discarded butt from Lupin's car ashtray''.

* [[Interpol Special Agent]]: [[Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist|Inspector Zenigata]] of ''[[Lupin the Third]]'' is said to be an agent of Interpol. The local cops seem pretty uncaring of what he asks them to do, though, but sometimes he has police forces under his command. Hell, they may be at the level of paramilitaries -- they're seen dropping in on parachutes towards the end of ''[[The Castle of ~~Cagliostro|The Castleof~~ Cagliostro]]''.

* [[Interpol Special Agent]]: [[Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist|Inspector Zenigata]] of ''[[Lupin the Third]]'' is said to be an agent of Interpol. The local cops seem pretty uncaring of what he asks them to do, though, but sometimes he has police forces under his command. Hell, they may be at the level of paramilitaries -- they're seen dropping in on parachutes towards the end of ''[[The Castle of Cagliostro]]''.

* [[Involuntary Charity Donation]]: A villain in one episode decided to donate all his money to charity when he was told he was about to die. When he discovered he'd been misdiagnosed, he hatched a plot to pretend Lupin had stolen his money, so he could keep it all to himself. In retaliation, Lupin tricked him into ''really'' donating his money.

* [[Kaleidoscope Hair]]: Fujiko, who between three TV series, five feature films, and several [[Made For TV Movies]] has gone through various shades of blonde, brunette, and red. Sometimes it's as part of her role as a [[Master of Disguise]], but it usually comes with no explanation other than [[Depending on the Artist]].

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** The [[Manga UK|Manga]] dub of Castle of Cagliostro tends to drift into this terrority too, though not as much as either [[FUNimation]] with the TV-specials or Geneon with the TV series. A notable addition might be the PG-13-level profanity in some of the dialogue.

* [[Toyota Tripwire]]: A limousine driver does this to Zenigata during the opening chase scene in ''The Last Job''.

* [[Tranquilizer Dart]]: Subverted in the crossover with ''[[Detective Conan]]''. Conan uses his dart on Inspector Zenigata, who is so tough that it wears off in no time (though he still goes down quickly). Conan is pretty surprised when it wears off.

* [[Universal Adaptor Cast]]: While the setting never explicitly changes, there can be [[Genre Shift]] from episode to episode. The default story is the caper, but it can veer into a vampire/monster story or [[Film Fic]] just as easily. A lot comes from who takes the lead in a specific story: Jigen stories can become romantic tragedies, Goemon stories become [[Samurai]] tales, Fujiko stories are laden with intrigue and deception, and Zenigata stories become madcap comedies.

* [[Unspoken Plan Guarantee]]: Frequently. The more thought and planning we see go into a caper, the less likely the gang will have any loot by the end.

* [[Vehicular Sabotage]]: A favorite trick of Lupin's when he's being pursued. He'll either sabotage them himself or have Goemon slice them to ribbons beforehand.