Lupin IIIis one of Japan’s most enduring anime franchises, with a history stretching back to the 1960s. This series stars the half-Japanese grandson of the legendary Arsene Lupin, who travels the world hunting rare and unique treasures. He is a master of disguise, as well as a skilled marksman and inventor. While he is an unrepentant criminal with a penchant for cockiness, he has a heart of gold that belies his mischievous demeanor.
While the series initially started as a manga, the franchise is more well-known for itsvarious animated series and film adaptations. With multiple television series, specials, and even live-action films, Lupin III has grown to a massive franchise, so much so that it can be hard to figure out how best to get into the series. With the 50th anniversary ofLupin III’s first animated series having occurred just last year, it’s a good time to look back on the franchise as a whole and see how it grew into the mammoth it is today.
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It All Starts With The Manga
The original manga, written by mangaka Monkey Punch, was published inWeekly Manga Actionbetween the years 1967 and 1969, spanning fourteen volumes. Along with the main character Arsene Lupin III, the manga introduces many of the series' iconic characters, including the persistent Inspector Koichi Zenigata, sharpshooter Daisuke Jigen, master samurai Goemon Ishikawa XIII, and sometimes friend, sometimes enemy Fujiko Mine. While these characters would not appear as often in the manga as they would in the animated adaptations, they are still fairly frequent characters.
While the manga serves as the source material for the anime adaptation, it is quite different in atmosphere, featuring a darker and grittier story with graphic depictions of sex and violence. Lupin III himself is a much more crooked character who is more cavalier about killing and cares little about those he hurts. In addition, while Lupin III is rarely seen without his allies in the anime, they hardly ever work together in the manga. While the anime’s characterization and presentation of these characters would become mainstream, the manga offers a storytelling experience all its own. A second manga series ran from 1977 to 1981, but it is not as well known as the original.
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The Anime And Movie Adaptations
After an animated short in 1967,Lupin IIIwould receive its first animated series in 1971, which would run for 23 episodes. A live-action film would follow in 1974, and in 1977, a second animated series often calledNew Lupin IIIorLupin III: Part IIwould start airing. This is the longest running animatedLupinseries, running for 155 episodes. 2 episodes from this series would come to the US via VHS in 1994. These episodes wereboth written and directed by Hayao Miyazakiunder a pseudonym, and they would be his last work in the franchise.
In 1978,The Mystery of Mamo,Lupin III’s first animated film, would release. It would receive a follow-up withThe Castle of Cagliostroin 1979. This movie was also written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and it would become one of the most iconic entries in theLupin IIIfranchise. Despite this, it was not very successful in the box office. Output would drop slowly in the 80s, with a third animated series running 50 episodes and a third animated film calledThe Legend of the Gold of Babylonbeing the only major releases of that decade.
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Lupin In The Modern Day
Outside of a few films and OVAs, theLupin IIIfranchise would go mostly dormant during the 90s and early 2000s. Even so,Lupin IIIwould still air a new television special every year, a tradition that started in 1989 and continued annually until 2013. While these specials would often feature fun events (such as 2009’s crossover betweenLupin IIIandDetective Conan), these specials would often be the only thing thatLupinfans would get all year.
This all changed in 2012, when a new animatedLupinseries would air on television. However, this was not a trueLupin IIIseries, but a spin-off series titledThe Woman Called Fujiko Mine, a short series that featured the franchise’s resident femme fatale. This would be followed by a slew of newLupincontent, starting with a film sequel of theLupin III vs. Detective Conanspecial in 2013, a second live-action movie in 2014, and a movie follow-up toThe Woman Called Fujiko MinetitledJigen’s Gravestone, also in 2014. Finally, after 30 years of being off the air,Lupin IIIwould finally return with its fourth animated series, which would air in 2015.Lupin IIIhas continued to release new shows and movies since then, anda sixth animated series is still running to this day.Lupin IIIhas cemented its place in anime history, and hopefully it will continue to be a part of the culture and community for decades to come.
