is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series produced by

Tokyo Movie Shinsha , formerly known as the is a Japanese animation studio owned by Sega Corporation. TMS is one of the oldest and most renowned animation studios in Japan, known for its numerous anime franchises such as ''Detective Conan'', ''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 ...

. The series aired on

Yomiuri TV JOIX-DTV (channel 10), branded as , is the Kansai region flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned by the , itself a subsidiary of Yomiuri Chukyo FS Broadcasting Holdings. FYCS is partially c ...

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

and other NNS stations 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 One, Part 1 or Part I may refer to: Music * ''Part 1'' (EP), a 2016 EP by Guy Sebastian * ''Part 1'' (O-Town EP), a 2017 EP by O-Town * '' Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made'', a 2009 album by Fol Chen * '' Part One (album)'' Televisio ...

''s green jacket and '' Part II''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 was the first film in the ''Lupin III'' franchise to feature the pink jacket with the second one being the 2023

original net animation An original net animation (ONA), known in Japan as , is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animat ...

''Lupin III vs. Cat's Eye''.

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 media franchise created by Monkey Punch. The series follows the endeavors of master thief Lupin III (character), Lupin III, grandson of gentleman t ...

, the grandson of

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin () 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 magazine '' Je sais tout''. The first ...

, 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, courtesy, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to stea ...

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 ...

'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 Goemo ...

, 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 and spy who regularly uses her attractiveness to fool her targets. ...

, the ''

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

'' 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 famous ...

, a master swordsman and the descendant of

Ishikawa Goemon was the leader of a group of bandits during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan. Over time, and especially during the Edo period (1603-1867), his life and deeds became a center of attention, and he became known as a legendary Japanese outlaw h ...

, 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 Japanes ...

, 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 was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toei ...

and

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...

from '' Lupin the 3rd Part I''. 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''. E ...

. 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. History Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retr ...

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

Reception and legacy

In 2018, Rose Bridges 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 ot ...

'' wrote that ''Lupin the 3rd Part III '' is known as the "weakest" of the ''Lupin III'' TV series, "largely for its animation quality but also for some particularly goofy plots." Her colleague Mike Toole lamented that, "nobody ever talks about Pink Jacket Lupin. Pink Jacket Lupin the 3rd is actually kind of awesome, but also weird and ridiculous." The sixth episode of 2018's '' Lupin the 3rd Part V: Misadventures in France'' was created as an homage to ''Part III''.

References

External links

* * *
Lupin III Part III on LupinEncyclopedia.com
{{TMS Entertainment 1984 anime television series debuts Part 3 Lists of Lupin the Third episodes Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming TMS Entertainment Anime series based on manga es:Anexo:Episodios de Lupin III#Serie 3 (1984)