Naturally, the work itself is created as a Take That! to Britain, and almost any reference to Arsène Lupin will also include a reference to Sherlock Holmes. However, many works will be referencing Lupin simply because he is the archtypical Gentleman Thief. All of these works have shown some degree of Homage or Shout-Out to this classic Phantom Thief. Or maybe they were just lucky enough to see him during a crime....
Examples
Anime and Manga
- Cat's Eye has a French thief as a rival to the main characters, her name is "Lupin's Bride".
- Doraemon: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum opens with an Imagine Spot where Nobita daydreams himself as Sherlock Holmes the master detective, dueling against Arsene Lupin (referred directly by name).
- Episode 2 of Fist of the North Star, "The Deadly Fist of Lingering Regret! The Future is Sighted in the Barren Desert": "Kaitoo Lupin", meaning Lupin the Phantom Thief a.k.a. the original Arsène Lupin, Yeah, I'm pretty much the next Arsène Lupin!
- Kaguya-sama: Love Is War has a Phantom Thief steal a bunch of balloon and leave a calling card with the name "Arsène" on it. The characters In-Universe note the reference, although the thief did have another reason for using the name.
- Lupin III will always be an autonomic reference to this work, but some examples stand out.
- The Made-for-TV Movie Lupin III: Blood Seal ~Eternal Mermaid~ tells the story of a treasure that Arsène Sr. supposedly failed to recover.
- SD Gundam World Heroes has a character based on Arsène Lupin; Arsene Gundam X, who's also based on the GX-9900 Gundam X.
Comic Books
- In the Disney Ducks Comic Universe story The Black Knight, the eponymous Black Knight is a French Gentleman Thief whose real name is Arpin Lusène. He's really an Affectionate Parody of Arsène Lupin, exaggerating Lupin's talents to the point of being an Impossible Thief, but also inheriting his Noble Demon traits.
- Lupin appears in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier as a member of a French counterpart to the League called Les Hommes Mystérieux.
Film
- In the Drive portion of Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Drive & Gaim: Movie War Full Throttle, Shinnouske and the gang try to stop a thief known as Ultimate Thief Lupin. He later gains the ability to transform into Kamen Rider Lupin.
Literature
- The Countess of Cagliostro appears as an antagonist in the Massive Multiplayer Crossover Angels of Music.
- Aria the Scarlet Ammo has a character sometimes called Lupin. She is the great-granddaughter of the original Arsène Lupin. The enemy of Sherlock Holmes's great-granddaughter, Aria. She's obsessed with surpassing her legacy and being known by her name, rather than by her family name.
- Undead Girl Murder Farce has Lupin teaming up with the Phantom of the Opera to steal a diamond from Phileas Fogg. The Cage User detectives, the Royce agents and Sherlock Holmes are there to stop him.
Live-Action TV
- Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger, also produced by Toei, pretty much acknowleges Arsène Lupin as a historical figure... whose most precious collection turns out to be a MacGuffin armory.
Magazines
- In a Dragon article about Lupines, canine humanoids from the world of Mystara, mention is made of a brilliant Lupine thief called Arsène Lupine.
Video Games
- Final Fantasy X-2 has a character with the name LeBlanc, which is a reference to Maurice Leblanc, the French writer who created the Arsène Lupin series.
- The main Persona of the protagonist in Persona 5 is named Arsène, after this thief. Fitting because the main protagonists in the game are Phantom Thieves themselves. His third-tier Persona in Royal is named Raoul, a common alias used by Lupin, and also his middle name. 'Raoul' is also implied to be the thief's true first name in the story The Queen's Necklace.
- The café the protagonist stays in for the year is named LeBlanc, after the author, Maurice Leblanc.
- Paul Toledo, the Thief from the Commandos series is also known by the nickname of Lupin.
- The Great Ace Attorney Duology actually features Sherlock Holmes as a major character. However, to avoid any legal issues with the Doyle Estate for the English release, the localizers renamed him as Herlock Sholmes, after the Captain Ersatz version Maurice Leblanc made for Arsène Lupin.
- Also from Ace Attorney, in Trials and Tribulations, there's Mask☆DeMasque (real name Ron DeLite) and Detective Luke Atmey, who serve the respective Gentleman Thief and Great Detective roles of Arsène Lupin and Detective Ganimard, with the twist that the phantom thief is actually the good guy.
Western Animation
- Night Hood is a cartoon series based on the original stories by Maurice Leblanc. The series is set in the 1930s.
Real Life
- In 2010 a couple ran out on a restaurant bill in London totaling over £500. It turned out the booking had been made in the name of "Lupin". When he was eventually caught he admitted to eight other offenses. No word on whether he used the same name every time.
