YMMV / Lupin III

• Adaptation Displacement:
  • Unless you're French, you probably know the name "Arsène Lupin" from this franchise instead of the Arsène Lupin stories that inspired it.
  • Most people are also far more familiar with the Lighter and Softer anime adaptation Lupin III: Part II or the various films that followed than the original manga. Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (which was closer in tone to the manga) was somewhat controversial largely because many people were used to the softer Lupin usually shown on screen, and were blindsided by The Woman Called Fujiko Mine's more graphic content.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Manga!Lupin not only regularly scores with Fujiko but is an outright rapist whose capers can be anywhere in the moral alignment and committed for any reason, while Anime!Lupin is an unsuccessful Handsome Lech whose crimes tend to be either harmless or against Asshole Victims and Cagliostro!Lupin is a Chivalrous Pervert securely on the side of good.
  • Anime Lupin still scores with Fujiko, on occasion. Fujiko plainly admits it to Clarisse, in The Castle of Cagliostro, and she and Lupin get it on twice in The Secret of Twilight Gemini.
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: One episode of Lupin III shows Lupin in a race driving a six-wheeled car. At the time of production, the Tyrrell P34 was competing in F1, using the four small wheels up front to maintain traction while having better aerodynamics than a pair of taller wheels.
• Animation Age Ghetto: On Amazon.com, if you do a search under the genre "Anime" and go under the subcategory "Kids & Family", you'll find Lupin III DVDs. Because stuff like The Woman Called Fujiko Mine and Goemon Ishikawa's Spray of Blood are perfect for children! Though to be fair, quite a bit of Lupin III (especially Red Jacket) is perfectly suitable for kids. Just... not all of it.
• Archive Panic: The franchise was created in 1967 and has effectively never stopped. There are over 40 movies, six TV shows (when added together, has 291 episodes), and two live action movies. And then there's the manga series and its spin-offs.
• Awesome Art: Lupin's animation history has featured the best in Japanese animation: Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Dezaki, Gisaburo Sugii, Hisashi Eguchi, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Takeshi Koike and many others all contributed to working on a Lupin III feature, featuring their own distinct animation styles/trademarks.
• Awesome Ego: Lupin the 3rd is adored by the fanbase, and the biggest ego in the cast. He's proud of his success, and has relied on his notoriety since his introduction.
• Awesome Music: Has its own page.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The opening motorcycle chase sequence from The Legend of the Gold of Babylon gets a big "WTF" from a lot of first-time viewers. As a matter of fact, pretty much all of Legend of the Gold of Babylon gets a big "WTF" from a lot of first-time viewers.
• Bizarro Episode: The second series was especially prone to these. Having to release a new episode every week for three years meant they couldn't all be winners. Such as the one where Lupin wants to steal a cat who eats nothing but pencil shavings. Or the one where he decides to go to the moon using a popcorn-powered rocket. Or the one where he steals a diaper so an old lady can write a newspaper article. No, these are not the results of some random generator somewhere.
• Cargo Ship: Goemon is very attached to Zantetsuken, whether he's lamenting having to use it to cut worthless objects or (especially in The First) outright prioritizing it over his own life.
• Complete Monster: See here.
• Crazy Is Cool:
  • Lupin. Just Lupin. This is the guy who can sprout a chute from his buttcheeks.
  • Zenigata. The man has chased Lupin underwater on a normal car, and, in one memorable occasion, rode a torpedo on dry land. If that doesn't qualify...
  • Every cop at Zenigata's orders. Just watch the second car chase in The Fuma Conspiracy, in which they pursue Lupin inside the corridors of a hotel (it takes Fujiko landing her bike on one of the surviving police cruisers, throwing sleeping gas in Zenigata's car and bringing Lupin a smoke grenade to escape).
• Cult Classic: In the US, as one of several that aired on [adult swim].
• Damsel Scrappy: Fujiko; when it's not stealing a cursed ruby, it's getting locked in a prison full of DNA-seeking homing missiles, and when it's not that, it's realizing only just a bit too late that working for the evil psychic dwarf with a god complex was maybe not such a good idea, and when it's not that, it's being kidnapped by a mad scientist, or put into a coma by a castle full of lesbians, and when it's not that... you get the idea. She gets enough moments of competence (and clearly the love between her and Lupin is genuine enough, if plagued by mutual Commitment Issues) to avoid this trope... but it's not hard to see why some might disagree.
• Die for Our Ship: For the above-stated reason, Fujiko's gotten hit with this more often compared to her cohorts, though with her more proactive role later in the franchise and the rise in popularity for morally ambiguous female characters, the fandom's warmed up to her considerably. However, het pairings with her are still in the relative minority.
• Escapist Character: Lupin, to a degree. Monkey Punch has stated in an interview with Anime News Network that "what [he] really likes about Lupin is his freedom, his boundless freedom that allows him to do whatever he wants whenever he wants and never really be tied down to anything or anyone in particular."
• Estrogen Brigade: Despite the series clearly being a seinen, the sometimes unintentional Ho Yay moments between the lead males in the anime entries have managed to attract a growing female fanbase.
• Fan Nickname: Because of Recycled Title use early in the franchise, the first three TV series have earned fan nicknames based on the colour of Lupin's jacket.
  • Lupin III: Part 1 is the 1971 series, which is nicknamed "Green Jacket".
  • Lupin III: Part II is the 1977 series, which is nicknamed "Red Jacket".
  • Lupin III: Part III is the 1984 series (Legend of the Gold of Babylon included), which is nicknamed "Pink Jacket".
  • Lupin III: The Italian Adventure was quickly named "Blue Jacket" before the title was even announced. The nickname though ultimately faded from use when later installments kept the blue jacket instead of replacing it.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Both the producers and some of the fans would like to ignore the pink-jacket era (consisting of the third anime series and Legend of the Gold of Babylon) altogether.
• Fetish Retardant: The second manga series often falls into this, due to its more cartoony art style and more explicit scenarios.
• Foe Romance Subtext: Mostly between Fujiko & Lupin, as Fujiko is constantly back-stabbing & stealing from Lupin despite being an unofficial member of his gang. But also between Lupin & Zenigata, who are pretty friendly for eternal rivals.
  • Part 1: Fujiko & Lupin get married after Lupin tells Fujiko he only has a day left, but Mamo makes Fujiko disappear for a few hours afterwards. This somehow annuls their wedding & they have a second wedding, which Lupin runs out on, screaming that he wants to remain single. Despite this, every episode after this, Fujiko cuts her hair short & dresses more conservatively, only betraying Lupin once after this & becoming a regular in the gang for the rest of the season.
  • Part 1: Zenigata starts off the series basically wanting Lupin dead more than arrested. At some point, he realizes chasing Lupin is his only goal in life. While he takes pleasure in successfully capturing him, he panics if someone doesn't break him out in a timely manner, & gets furious when anyone else tries to arrest him.
  • Part 1: Zenigata falls to his knees in tears when he thinks Lupin has died in an explosion. He imagines Lupin going to Heaven instead of Hell. Realizing he's been tricked yet again, he swims out to Lupin & threatens to chase him all the way to America.
  • Castle of Cagliostro: Lupin & Zenigata working as a team, sharing a cigarette, running around in their underwear.
  • The Fuma Conspiracy: Zenigata, thinking Lupin dead, becomes a monk to pray for Lupin's spirit. Upon learning Lupin is alive, his purpose in life restored, he chases him relentlessly throughout the movie. The first time Zenigata sees Lupin's face, he looks relieved & happy. He very quickly & without question believes Lupin's accusation about the other cop he's with being a crook. Upon learning that Lupin is in a cave that's about to collapse, he tries to run in head-first to save him without a thought for his own safety.
  • Part 2: Red jacket series starts off with Lupin repeatedly kissing Zenigata on the cheek after not seeing him for 5 years. Zenigata calls him a pervert. This is followed by a scene of a 90% naked Goemon getting attacked by a burly man in the massage parlor. Episode ends with Lupin depressed that Zenigata died in the Sirloin ship fire. When Zenigata shows up riding a turtle, Lupin is pleased that their game of chase will resume.
  • Part 2: Lupin develops a new habit of sometimes blowing Zenigata a goodbye kiss before running off.
  • Part 2: Lupin & Zenigata are getting shitfaced drunk together at a palace full of half naked women dancing around. They are pouring wine directly into each other's mouths & clinging to each other in occasionally promiscuous poses.
  • Part 2: Lupin & Zenigata meet in Morocco, where they spend the episode chained together at the neck. They disguise themselves as a local couple, & two men try to buy Zenigata. The first guy finds out Zenigata is a man & accuses them of having "that kind of relationship." He tells the second that he can't part from Zenigata because he loves "her." Latter, Zenigata falls off a train & right into the hands of the legion. Instead of escaping, Lupin comes to heroicly save Zenigata.The episode ends with Zenigata chasing Lupin into the sunset.
  • Part 2: After being tricked by Fujiko over false maps tattooed on women's backs, Lupin is digging on an island when Zenigata comes out of nowhere riding a very phallic torpedo & chases him on it.
  • Part 2: Zenigata hears that the assassin Puma has shot Lupin. First he refuses to believe Lupin is dead, then he completely breaks down in tears, saying Lupin is his only reason to live, then starts rubbing his cheek against Lupin's face. Then he immediately runs out the door with a gun screaming that he'll shoot Lupin's killer, & is immediately arrested by a fellow officer.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: It's quite popular in Italy. In fact, it's so beloved there the Italians have forgotten he's French/Japanese. He's got localized comics, a live-action film, clothes with him and his gang on are considered "cool" to wear, and smoking a cigarette downward is called "Jigen-style". Italy was also one of the very few countries outside of Japan to get a localization and dub of the 1971 TV series (the "Lupin III: Part 1" series). You can find some Facebook pages made as a tribute to the series. Even the main characters have pages mostly or solely dedicated to them. It got to the point that the new 2015 Lupin the 3rd cartoon series not only will take place in Italy and San Marino, but will also first premiere there as well!
• Hotter and Sexier: A LOT of fans pointed out how, of all the classic Lupin characters in Lupin III: The First, Jigen got this◊ but good. He's much hunkier and with some perma-stubble added to his cool beard, turning him into a dreamboat.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Lupin has been shipped with all of his team members and Zenigata, and those same cohorts have similarly been shipped with one another, or sometimes all at once.
• Les Yay: It is a seinen, after all. A fairly light amount but it is there such as in the Columbus Files where Fujiko woke up in a bed belonging to a young woman by the name of Rosaria. After Rosaria explained to Fujiko that Rosaria brought her here after she found Fujiko's unconscious body nearby but jokingly reassured her that "I didn't do anything to you." The episodes where they contain cults of scantly clad curvy women can occasionally give that vibe as well. Especially when one of them tries to seduce Fujiko... only to punch her in the stomach and point a gun at her when she refuses. One manga chapter has Fujiko disguised as Lupin ready to have sex with a sultry Femme Fatale to get her hands on her treasure, and ends with Fujiko clinging face to face to the other woman, both stark naked.
• Macekre:
  • The Cliff Hanger laserdisc game, made using footage from The Castle of Cagliostro and Mystery of Mamo.
  • The Carl Macek dub of Castle of Cagliostro contains one of Macek's most infamously cheesy "translations": when Goemon slices off Lupin's burning clothing, "Once again I've cut a worthless object" becomes
    Goemon: Should've worn an asbestos suit.
  • This complaint has also been leveled at Funimation's dubs of the TV specials due to the consistently incorrect pronunciations of certain characters' names. This was finally fixed in The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, where the names are finally pronounced correctly.
• Magnificent Bastard: See here.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • A minor meme within the English fandom is Goemon's "QUICK, TAKE MY HAND!" from the English dub of "Farewell to Nostradamus".
  • Also, from Episode 0: First Contact, Zenigata tries to order a HANBEEEAAAGAAAHHHH!
  • Lupin's trademark jacket comes in four different colors – Green, Red, Pink, and Blue. Fans actually refer to series and movies by which color jacket he's wearing.^note  Technically five, if you count the White Jacket seen in the 1974 live-action movie (which most fans don't). The red jacket in particular is the most recognized and typically the most referenced, often serving as a sort of shorthand Shout-Out to the franchise itself... if it's not a shout-out to a certain Lupin-obsessed director.
  • The Lupin Dive, and Fujiko's boxing glove-on-a-spring.
  • A minor meme in the Italian fandom is using "argomenti" as an Unusual Euphemism for breasts, especially Fujiko's. This originated in an Italian dubbed episode of Lupin III: Part 5 in which Lupin refers to "Fujiko’s arguments" when he had referred to her breasts in the original Japanese. This had a minor spread in the English speaking fandom as well.
  • "LUPIN. HE'S A NICE MAN. BUT HE'S COOL."
  • Lupin, Jigen and Goemon's epic laugh is one of the older memes from this franchise, and was occasionally overlayed on top of other characters laughing or used as a reaction when it was fresh.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Despite being largely Lighter and Softer than the Green Jacket series, Part 2 episode "When the Devil Beckons to Lupin" is quite dark: Lupin has an encounter with Mephistopheles. Who then brags about having the former's heart in his hand. And then squeezes it, making Lupin writhe in pain on the floor, while surrounded by creepy marionettes laughing at him in unison. It's soon revealed to be All Just a Nightmare Sequence induced by a Creepy Doll Mephistopheles uses to hypnotize Lupin in his sleep to steal the episode's macguffin for him. The reveal of who Mephistopheles truly is, his motive and his demise in the ending is both horrifying and tragic.
  • In the Goodbye Lady Liberty TV special, the scene where Fujiko is forced into a possession ritual by the Three Masons sect might make your skin crawl.
• Referenced by...: Lupin has his own Expy in Dick Tracy, in the form of recurring art thief "Art Dekko", who has a remarkable resemblance and was created back in 1980(!)
• Ron the Death Eater: Fujiko gets hit with this a bit in the fandom (even on this very wiki). Yes, she's the least reliable member of the gang, and even works against them on a semi-regularly basis, but to listen to some of the fans, it's unusual to have a job go by without her betraying them, and she'd sell them all out in a heartbeat, both of which are patently false. She works with the gang about as often as she doesn't (which even then doesn't always mean working against them), and her plots against the gang are usually con jobs which put them at most at no more risk than getting arrested, which is basically an annoyance to them, unless something goes wrong, and when the chips are down and the gang (especially Lupin) is actually in mortal danger, she'll step in to help (heck, a few times she betrayed the gang because she wanted them out of danger). Really, her bigger failing is probably her overconfidence: while she actively works against the gang relatively rarely (and seems to actively go out of her way to not endanger them when she does so), she's the most likely member to operate independently, and has dragged the gang into more than her fair share of sticky situations when she gets in over head and needs bailing out. Of course, exactly how unscrupulous she is and how varies heavily Depending on the Writer.
• Smurfette Breakout: Fujiko's fame reached a climax in 2012, when after forty years and much begging by the fans, she had a spin-off series that featured her and the rest of the Lupin gang as a series-long Origins Episode, similar to the Monkey Punch era titled Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
  • In Japan, the franchise was hit hard by this when TMS replaced the principal voice cast for the The Fuma Conspiracy OVA. They admitted they did it purely for budgetary reasons – they didn't have a lot of cash, the original voice actors were incredibly expensive, and they preferred to spend that cash on the actual animation. The end result was some of the best animation ever to come out of the Lupin franchise (probably second only to Cagliostro), but fans were extremely upset about the voice changes and stayed away in droves in protest. TMS was so chastised by the catastrophic failure of the experiment that they still have not attempted a wholesale cast change since.^note  Fuma aside, the only major cast change between 1977 and 2011 was in 1995 when Yasuo Yamada was replaced by Kan'ichi Kurita following Yamada's death... and Kurita had been personally handpicked and trained by Yamada for just such a possibility.
  • A similar reaction was Averted during the major cast shakeup in 2011, which saw Fujiko's, Goemon's, and Zenigata's actors retired and replaced with much younger sound-alikes. This lack of outrage is probably due to the fact that by that point, all of the remaining original cast were in their seventies (Goro Naya was in his 80's), and they increasingly sounded like it. Indeed, in the "Fujiko Mine" TV series that premiered the next Spring, Kiyoshi Kobayashi (the only original cast member not to be retired) sounds noticeably older than everyone else.
• Unintentional Period Piece: Main character Arsène is established as being the grandson of legendary Gentleman Thief Arsène Lupin, whose official birth year is 1874, with his aventures taking place between 1900 and 1920. When the manga was created back in 1967, it made perfect sense, but nowadays Arsène would either be very old or even dead, or he'd have to be Arsène Lupin's great-great-grandson at least in order to be in his prime.
• Woolseyism: Tokyo Pop's translation of the manga is clearly not a direct translation, with so many jokes added in that it borders on Gag Dub sometimes. That said, it works, with each volume having at◊ least◊ several◊ laugh out loud moments in the dialogue that weren't there before, usually with added snarking, or a Precision F-Strike, complimenting the "R-rated comedy" nature of the series.

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