''Lupin the 3rd Part III: The Pink Jacket Adventures'', also known simply as is a Japanese

anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

television series produced by

TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as '' Lupin the Third' ...

. Part of the ''Lupin III'' franchise, it is the third anime television adaptation of the ''Lupin III'' manga series created by

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 ...

. The series aired on Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation between March 3, 1984 and November 6, 1985. Among English-speaking fans, the series is commonly known as the "Pink Jacket" series in reference to the title character's outfit, which replaces ''

Part I Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer *Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer * Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor * Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) ...

''s green jacket and ''

Part II Part Two, Part 2 or Part II may refer to: Films and television * "Part 2" (Twin Peaks), also known as "The Return, Part 2", the second episode of the third season of the TV series ''Twin Peaks'' Music * ''Part Two'' (Throbbing Gristle album), 200 ...

''s red jacket with a bright pink one. The feature film '' Legend of the Gold of Babylon'' (1985) was released in theaters during the original broadcast run of this television series, and remains the only film in the ''Lupin III'' franchise to feature the pink jacket.

Premise

The series centers on the adventures of

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 Arsèn ...

, the grandson of

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 ...

, the

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 ...

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 series of novels. He is joined by

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 ...

, crack-shot and Lupin's closest ally;

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 ...

, the '' femme fatale'' and Lupin's love interest who works against Lupin more often than with him; and

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 ...

, a master swordsman and the descendant of

Ishikawa Goemon was a legendary Japanese outlaw hero who stole gold and other valuables to give to the poor. He and his son were boiled alive in public after their failed assassination attempt on the Sengoku period warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His legend lives ...

, the legendary Japanese bandit. Lupin is often chased by Inspector

Koichi Zenigata , usually called and formerly Heiji Zenigata VII, is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his manga series ''Lupin III'', which debuted in '' Weekly Manga Action'' on August 10, 1967. He is named after the famous fictional Japane ...

, the rather cynical detective who has made it his life mission to catch Lupin.

Cast

Production

Yūzō Aoki, who had experience with the previous Lupin anime series as a key animator and storyboard artist, designed the characters and served as animation supervisor. Aoki proposed three character designs for Lupin in this series. A hard Lupin, a soft Lupin and a comical Lupin. His aim was to be in between the gritty style of Masaaki Osumi and the family friendly tone of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki from ''

Lupin the Third Part I ''Lupin the 3rd Part I: The Classic Adventures'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by TMS Entertainment. Part of the ''Lupin III'' franchise, it is the first anime television adaptation of the ''Lupin III'' manga series created b ...

''. Towards the later half of the series, the production team revised the initial character designs to allow for a more cartoonish and expressive appearance, with the aim, in Aoki's words, of achieving a "simple yet satisfying result." Due to the diverse animation teams involved, as well as the decision to have three character designs for Lupin, the designs and overall look of the show tended to differ greatly from episode to episode and even within the same episode, an intentional decision from Aoki which let the animators express a wide range of creativity. Music for the series including the opening and ending themes was written by

Yuji Ohno is a Japanese jazz musician. Ohno is known for his musical scoring of Japanese anime television series, particularly ''Lupin III'', and most famously the 1977 series '' Lupin III Part II'' and the feature film ''The Castle of Cagliostro''. Ea ...

. The opening theme "Sexy Adventure" was performed by Yūsuke Nakamura and the ending theme "Fairy Night" was performed by Sonia Rosa.

Release

A DVD box set of the series was released in Japan on May 26, 2002 by VAP, followed by a Blu-ray box set on February 22, 2017. In December 2020,

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 ...

announced that they had licensed the series for North American release. They released all 50 episodes in a Blu-ray box set on August 31, 2021.

Episodes

References

External links

* * *
Lupin III Part III on LupinEncyclopedia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lupin III Part III episodes, List of 1984 anime television series debuts Discotek Media Lupin the Third Lists of Lupin the Third episodes Nippon TV original programming TMS Entertainment es:Anexo:Episodios de Lupin III#Serie 3 (1984)