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is a
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
created by Kazuhiko Kato aka
Monkey Punch , known by the pen name , was a Japanese manga artist, best known for his series ''Lupin III''. Life and career Katō was born in Hamanaka, Hokkaido; he began drawing at a very young age, but did not draw manga until junior high school, when h ...
as the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
for his
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series ''
Lupin III , also written as ''Lupin the Third'', ''Lupin the 3rd'', or ''Lupin the IIIrd'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It follows the endeavors of master thief Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène ...
'', which debuted in ''
Weekly Manga Action is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Futabasha. It is currently published twice a month, on the first and third Thursday. The magazine was originally formed as and began publishing weekly from July 7, 1967. It is considered the f ...
'' on August 10, 1967. According to his creator, Lupin is the grandson of
Maurice Leblanc Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...
's
gentleman thief A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to ...
Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...
. Acknowledged across the globe as the world's number one thief, Lupin is a master of disguise and deduction, marksmanship, and inventor of numerous handy gadgets. His fun-loving, foolhardy incongruity covers a brilliant mind always extemporizing and re-evaluating. As such, he has been responsible for heists no right-minded individual would believe possible. While occasionally arrested and jailed, typically by his ICPO nemesis Inspector Koichi Zenigata, he always succeeds in escaping unharmed. The original manga differs significantly compared to the family-friendly
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
incarnations through its explicit depictions of sex and violence, with Lupin's character also differing as a result. Additionally, he and his famous gang, beautiful
Fujiko Mine is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his manga series ''Lupin III'', which debuted in ''Weekly Manga Action'' on August 10, 1967. She is a professional criminal who regularly uses her attractiveness to fool her targets. Unlike t ...
, cool triggerman
Daisuke Jigen is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his manga series ''Lupin III'', which debuted in ''Weekly Manga Action'' on August 10, 1967. Jigen is the marksman, aide-de-camp and best friend of Arsène Lupin III. Along with colleague Goe ...
and incomparable samurai
Goemon Ishikawa XIII is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his manga series ''Lupin III'', which debuted in '' Weekly Manga Action'' on August 10, 1967. Goemon is a thirteenth generation descendant of the renegade samurai Ishikawa Goemon. He is famo ...
, rarely work together in the manga version, but are nonetheless an inseparable team in various anime productions.


Creation

The aim of ''Lupin III'' was to produce a comedy adventure series that reflected the traits of Leblanc's Arsène Lupin character. Originally, the intention was to keep the blood ties between the two fictional characters secret. However, Monkey Punch was convinced by others not to do so. He combined elements of Arsène Lupin with
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
to develop the character of Lupin III and made him a "carefree fellow". In the original manga, Lupin and his team typically work individually for their own goals. Monkey Punch explained it is only in the anime that they frequently operate together, suspecting some unwritten rule that all five main characters have to appear in every episode. He believed that Lupin and Fujiko were similar to the characters of
D'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fra ...
and
Milady de Winter Milady Laurence de Winter, often referred to as simply Milady, is a fictional character in the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas, père, set in 1625 France. She is a spy for Cardinal Richelieu and is one of the dominant a ...
, and described them as "Not necessarily lovers, not necessarily husband and wife, but more just having fun as man and woman with each other". Inspector Zenigata was conceived as Lupin's archrival to create a "human
Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
". Monkey Punch said the appeal of drawing Lupin came from the character being able to go anywhere without obstacles and being able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. However, this is contrasted by the appeal of Zenigata's strict personality. Monkey Punch said that he believed the ''Lupin III'' story could never end but that if he had to, both Zenigata and Lupin would end up as equals. They would either both fail, both win or both get very old. In typical anime style, Lupin's appearance is racially ambiguous and tends to oblique his origins. He has black hair plastered flat with what is either a
widow's peak A widow's peak is a V-shaped point in the hairline in the center of the forehead. Hair growth on the forehead is suppressed in a bilateral pair of periorbital fields. Without a widow's peak, these fields join in the middle of the forehead so as t ...
or a V-shaped bang. His trademark sideburns extend from ear to nearly the chin. Outside his preference for large and rather plain boots, Lupin is a sharp dresser. He typically wears a button-down shirt, tie, chinos and a brightly colored
sports jacket A sport coat, also called a sport jacket (or sports coat or sports jacket in American English), is a men's smart casual lounge jacket designed to be worn on its own without matching trousers, traditionally for sporting purposes. Styles, fabrics, ...
—exclusively red in the manga, while in animation his jackets are various colors which
color-code A color code is a system for displaying information by using different colors. The earliest examples of color codes in use are for long-distance communication by use of flags, as in semaphore communication. The United Kingdom adopted a color ...
his TV series (green for ''Part I'' and ''Part 6'', a few OVAs and ''The Woman Called Fujiko Mine''; red for ''Part II'' and most films and television specials; pink for ''Part III''; blue for ''Part IV'' and ''Part V''). In some images, Lupin is depicted as being cross-eyed; however, this may be a comic flourish by the artist(s) rather than a physical characteristic.


Personality

In Monkey Punch's original manga, Lupin is cocky, quite crude, and for the most part remorseless. He is very much the ladies' man, often using them for his own gains, and is not beyond forcing himself upon women who resist his advances. Mike Toole of
Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
referred to the character as a "rough, drunken, lecherous crook." This is in stark contrast to his better-known anime self, who although a skilled thief, occasionally comes off as a chivalrous goofball who enjoys helping those less fortunate than he. Furthermore, Lupin often takes it upon himself and his gang to stop criminals engaged in more violent crimes and leave them for Zenigata to arrest. In the anime, while he fancies himself a
Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...
, his actual success with women is erratic, appearing to fluctuate with the writer. Even though his gang's loyalty has been an issue, with Fujiko willing to betray and cohort Goemon promising to eventually kill him, Lupin will still drop everything to come to their aid in a helpless moment; further the team would rather face torture than to betray Lupin (or he betray them) to a third party. This rule of loyalty curiously extends as well to Inspector Zenigata, whom Lupin considers a respected friend and opposition. The Inspector reciprocates this regard and out of gratitude has vowed never to attempt to kill Lupin. Lupin's vendetta against the Tarantula Gang in '' In Memory of the Walther P-38'' was partly settling of past betrayal and mostly vengeful payback for their shooting and nearly killing Zenigata. It seems Lupin loves to steal more than actually having the treasure he sought. Lupin relishes more in the challenge of stealing and, as long as he succeeds in the heist, is usually not that upset when he ends up empty-handed; there have been times he has lost the object or intentionally thrown it away. There have also been times when Lupin stole an object only to give it to someone else, such as if it rightfully belonged to them or they needed it more than he did. When not involved in criminal activities, Lupin usually spends his time dating beautiful girls, fishing, race car driving, attending formal dinners, playing pool, casino gambling, and participating in
café society Café society was the description of the "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafés and restaurants in New York, Paris and London beginning in the late 19th century. Maury Henry Biddle Paul is credited with ...
. His favorite foods seem to be mostly
French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...
, sushi, and seafood; when on a job he may settle with ramen noodles. In '' Lupin the Third Part V'', he is shown with an affection for
galette Galette (from the Norman word ''gale'', meaning "flat cake") is a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat round or freeform crusty cakes, or, in the case of a Breton galette (french: Galette bretonne ; br, Krampouezhenn g ...
s. He also smokes cigarettes and occasionally cigars and
kretek Kretek () are unfiltered cigarettes of Indonesian origin, made with a blend of tobacco, cloves, and other flavors. The word "kretek" itself is an onomatopoetic term for the crackling sound of burning cloves. Partly due to favorable taxation ...
s; in the manga, he's seen smoking a briar pipe. His preferred cigarette is the famous French brand
Gitanes Gitanes (, " Gypsy women") is a French brand of cigarettes, owned and manufactured by Imperial Tobacco following their acquisition of Altadis in January 2008, having been owned by SEITA before that. History Gitanes was launched in 1910 in fo ...
. Lupin is a celebrated race car driver, competing in several international events when time allows. He's also a skilled sleight of hand artist who loves to befuddle his opponents with various gimmicks: i.e., a cigarette which explodes into confetti, a gun with a spring-loaded boxing glove that clobbers the shooter, and bubble gum that becomes plastique after brief chewing.


Skills

Physically, Lupin is a man of average strength, but he can throw a surprisingly good punch. He is incredibly flexible and fast, and his manual dexterity is cat-like in precision and quickness. His talent in the art of disguise borders on the superhuman, with him able to flawlessly impersonate any man or woman in face, voice and costume after minimal observation. This skill is so complete that he can even fool close friends and family members of the subject. His skinny body enables him to easily impersonate larger individuals by use of oversized outfits, with attack paraphernalia usually making up the disguise's bulk. His favorite disguise has always been that of Inspector Zenigata, which incenses his adversary to no end. Lupin possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of various topics, such as history, the different sciences, fluency in multiple languages, etc. He shows amazing intuition and quick awareness of his surroundings. Lupin favors the long outdated
Walther P38 The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the costly Luger P08, ...
as his principal firearm. He is shown to be an excellent marksman, having on at least one occasion fired directly into the barrel of another gun, although not quite on a par with Jigen. Despite the criminal nature of his activities, Lupin has a strict code that he follows in order to not taint his reputation. Lupin dislikes killing and takes care to use non lethal means to achieve his goals. When Lupin believes he has an illness causing him to become a compulsive killer he asks Jigen to kill him to save the lives of any potential victims. While killing is against his nature, he is willing to fire upon any enemy who threatens his friends or allies. Lupin is a talented driver, motorcyclist and pilot. His favorite automobiles seem to be either the
Mercedes-Benz SSK The Mercedes-Benz SSK (W06) is a roadster built by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz between 1928 and 1932. The name is an abbreviation of ''Super Sport Kurz'', German for "Super Sport Short", as it was a short wheelbase development o ...
or a souped up 1965 Fiat 500 F, most famously seen in ''
Castle of Cagliostro is a 1979 Japanese animated action-adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with animation produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS). It is the second feature film featuring Monkey Punch's master thief Arsène Lupin III, f ...
''. Also worth mentioning is the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750. In the case of the SSK, one of the rarest cars in the world, one problem or another seems to cause the car's destruction in virtually every episode it's featured. Lupin either has several SSK models in possession, owns a selection of counterfeit models, or is talented to the extreme at auto repair and reconstruction. Lupin is a formidable escape artist, capable of cracking any safe or escaping from shackles in moments. He can even use his restraints to entrap his would-be captor before making his departure. Seemingly prepared for all contingencies, he can break free of confinement even when surrounded. In spite of his facade of reckless childlike antics, i.e., taunts, silly faces, and leaving notes of his next caper, Lupin's brilliance for tactics and originality belies any underestimations his behavior may have implied. In the '' Lupin III vs Detective Conan'' special, not only did he figure out Conan was far more intelligent than he appeared, but had also discerned his identity as
Shinichi Kudo , known in some major English adaptations as Jimmy Kudo, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the manga series '' Case Closed'', created by Gosho Aoyama. A high school detective, he is forced to ingest the lethal poison after an ...
.


Origins

Lupin's ethnic origins have been specified in the second anime series (2nd TV series, episode 118) as well as being mentioned in the manga as half Japanese and half French. In the 2008
OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
'' Green Vs. Red'', a dossier held by Zenigata indicates his place of birth as "unknown". However more evidence exists of his French background while his race appears Asian. While recent productions have begun to cast doubt as to his relation to the original Arsene Lupin, the manga and virtually all the anime make it clear that he is indeed the grandson of LeBlanc's original hero. In the first TV series, episode 13 ("Beware the Time Machine!"), Lupin tricks Mamo Kyosuke by dressing as a Japanese peasant and acting as though they are in feudal Japan. Lupin specifically states to Mamo that the ancestor whose face he most resembles was Japanese. When Mamo "meets" this ancestor (Lupin in disguise), Lupin states that he would like to marry some girl by the name of Mylene Lupin from France someday. This indicates that Arsene Lupin himself, LeBlanc's hero, is a quarter Japanese. Lupin often speaks of both his famous grandfather and his father, both of whom were thieves. He occasionally quotes his grandfather's advice and has attempted to complete or repeat heists attempted by his ancestors with good or bad luck.


Voice actors

Arsène Lupin III was first voiced by
Taichirō Hirokawa was a Japanese voice actor and narrator. He was born in Tokyo on February 15, 1939, and died on March 3, 2008, in Shibuya from cancer. His death was announced at the beginning of the 2nd Seiyu Awards. Roles Film * Lupin the Third: Pilot Film (1 ...
in the
CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...
version of the 1969 pilot film for the first anime, while
Nachi Nozawa was a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from Tokyo. He was affiliated with Office PAC at the time of his death. His real name was . Nozawa was the official dub-over artist of Al Pacino and Alain Delon. Also he was known ...
voiced him in the pilot's TV version. However,
Yasuo Yamada was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. Career Yamada left the faculty of literature of Waseda University, and had performed in many stage, radio, and television productions. He appeared in performances of plays by Hisashi Inoue. His ...
was given the role when the first anime was actually produced (1971–72) and continued to voice Lupin until his death in 1995, with one exception. Due to budget concerns, TMS decided not to employ the regular voice cast for the 1987
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
'' The Fuma Conspiracy'', with
Toshio Furukawa is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator affiliated with Aoni Production. He is married to fellow voice actor Shino Kakinuma. Career He became famous for his roles in his career as Kagege (''Keroro Gunso''), Kai Shiden (''Mobile Suit Gun ...
voicing Lupin.
Kanichi Kurita is a Japanese actor, voice actor and comedian. His most famous role is as the titular character of the anime series ''Lupin the Third''. He inherited the role from Yasuo Yamada after the latter's death in 1995, and his first role as Lupin was i ...
took over the role after Yamada's death and he continues to voice Lupin III to this day. In the ''Lupin Zero'' prequel ONA series, Lupin is voiced by
Tasuku Hatanaka is a Japanese actor, voice actor and singer. Biography He voiced Yuma Tsukumo in the anime series ''Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal'', Ushio in ''Ushio and Tora'', Ikoma in ''Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress'', Gō Nagakura in ''Battery'', and Fudō Nomura in ' ...
. Due to a lack of localization credits on any known prints, Lupin's English voice actor in the 1979
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
/
Frontier Enterprises was a Tokyo-based company dedicated to the dubbing of Japanese films and media for the English language. Frontier did jobs for Toho International, Toei Animation and Shochiku Company, dubbing their films into English for export. Along with ...
dub of ''
The Mystery of Mamo ''The Mystery of Mamo'', also known as ''The Secret of Mamo'', is a 1978 Japanese animated science fiction adventure action comedy film; it is the first animated film of the ''Lupin III'' franchise created by manga author Monkey Punch. The film was ...
'' remained unverified until 2018, when a chance discovery by fans revealed the voice actor to be Tom Clark. From 1992 to 1995,
Bob Bergen Robert Bergen (born March 8, 1964) is an American voice actor. He voices Warner Bros. cartoon characters Porky Pig and Tweety and has voiced characters in the English dubs of various anime. He formerly hosted the children's game show '' Jep!'', ...
voiced Lupin in
Streamline Pictures Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English-dubbed Japanese animation. History Founding Founded in Los Angeles, California, in late 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first No ...
' dubs of ''
The Castle of Cagliostro is a 1979 Japanese animated action-adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with animation produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS). It is the second feature film featuring Monkey Punch's master thief Arsène Lupin III, f ...
'' (in which the character was renamed "The Wolf" to avoid legal complications with
Maurice Leblanc Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...
's estate), episodes 145 and 155 of the second anime (collectively released as ''Lupin III: Tales of the Wolf'' and later ''Lupin III's Greatest Capers'') and ''The Mystery of Mamo''. For
AnimEigo AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. Founded in 1988 by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams III, the company was one of the first in North America dedicated to licensi ...
's 1995 release of ''The Fuma Conspiracy'', Lupin, named "Rupan" in the dub, was voiced by Robin Robertson. In
Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyro ...
's 1996 dubs of ''The Mystery of Mamo'' and '' Bye Bye, Lady Liberty'' (retitled ''Secret of Mamo'' and ''Goodbye Lady Liberty'' respectively) for the UK market, Bill Dufris provided Lupin's voice, where the character was renamed "Wolf III". In Manga's 2000 dub of ''The Castle of Cagliostro'', produced in cooperation with
Animaze Animaze.. iNC was an American production company known for producing English language dubs for many high profile anime series, such as '' Cowboy Bebop'', ''Trigun'', ''Code Geass'', and ''Wolf's Rain'', and video games, such as '' Xenosaga Epis ...
,
David Hayter David Hayter is a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is well known as the English-language voice actor for Solid Snake and Naked Snake in the ''Metal Gear'' video game series. He wrote the film ''X-Men'' and co-w ...
provides Lupin's voice; due to the non-
union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
nature of the project, Hayter was initially credited as "Sean Barker". Hayter was also involved in the production of
Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
's re-release of the film, and re-voiced several of his lines for a "family-friendly" edit of the Animaze/Manga dub produced exclusively for Discotek.
Sonny Strait Sonny Strait is an American voice actor, ADR director, and writer at Funimation, known for his work on a number of English versions of Japanese anime series and as an illustrator for the independently published comic book series '' Elfquest.'' C ...
voiced Lupin in
Funimation Entertainment Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
's dubs of several TV specials and theatrical films between 2002 and 2005, and in their 2013 dub of '' The Woman Called Fujiko Mine''.
Tony Oliver Tony Oliver is an American voice actor best known for voicing Rick Hunter from ''Robotech'', Lancer from ''Fate/stay night'', and Arsène Lupin III from ''Lupin the Third''. He helped produce the live action shows ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ...
voiced Lupin in the Phuuz dub of the second anime and ''The Mystery of Mamo'' for Pioneer/Geneon, as well as the video game '' Treasure of the Sorcerer King'', between 2003 and 2006. Oliver reprised the role for Discotek's dubs of the fifth and sixth anime.
Keith Silverstein Keith Silverstein is an American voice actor, known for lending his voice to English Versions of Japanese anime and video games, affiliated with Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Viz Media, Studiopolis and Funimation. He is best known for his roles as ...
voiced the character in the
Bang Zoom! Entertainment Bang Zoom! Entertainment is an audio post-production studio with its headquarters in Burbank, California, in Greater Los Angeles. It has worked on anime, video games, television series, feature films, and original animation projects. Their work ...
dub for Discotek's 2015 release of the '' Jigen's Gravestone'' film.


Appearances in other media

Lupin makes an appearance as a guest character in the 2012 game ''Girls RPG Cinderelife'' developed by Level-5 for the
Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
. The character has also been used in television advertising for motorcycles, gasoline, razors, fast food companies, etc.


Reception

Allen Divers of
Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
(ANN) called Lupin "one of the most recognized figures in Japan" with many homages and references in other series. Similarly,
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
's Kara Dennison said that even if someone has not seen a ''Lupin'' title, they have "almost certainly experienced something either inspired by or paying tribute to him and his gang." Lupin was voted the eighth most iconic anime hero by Mania.com.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
ranked Lupin as the fifteenth best anime character of all time in 2009, placing him on the 16th spot in 2014. After completing his involvement with the ''Lupin III'' franchise in 1980,
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
wrote an article in ''
Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. Oth ...
'' where he discussed his view of the series and the character. He stated that Lupin was "truly a character of his era" but that as the franchise progressed he had been overtaken by the real world. Despite this, Miyazaki still thought fondly of Lupin's early days. For the
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It takes place in modern-day Tokyo and follows a high school student known by the pseudonym Joker who transfers to a new school after being falsely accused of assault and put on probation. ...
'', its creative team originally asked themselves how a character like Arsène Lupin III might win appeal in modern society. Anime director and voice actor
Shinichi Watanabe is a Japanese anime director and voice actor. He is best known for his over-the-top adaptation of Rikdo Koshi's ''Excel Saga'', in which he appears as the character Nabeshin. Watanabe stated that the nickname Nabeshin (a name blending of ...
is known for dressing like Lupin in his daily life, a trait which is extended to his avatar character in ''
Excel Saga is a manga series written and illustrated by Kōshi Rikudō. It was serialized in '' Young King OURs'' from 1996 to 2011, and its individual chapters were collected and published in 27 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shōnen Gahōsha. The series fol ...
'', Nabeshin.


See also

* *


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lupin Iii, Arsene Lupin the Third characters Comics characters introduced in 1967 Fictional French people in television Fictional Eurasian people Fictional gentleman thieves Fictional gunfighters Fictional Japanese people in anime and manga Male characters in anime and manga Vigilante characters in comics