Lupin III

The best animated serie ever made! That wonderful japan anime was the first (and maybe since today the only) that describes the life of a gang in the crime world. Lupin The Third, the greater thief of the 20th century, his friend Jigen, a great gunman, his girlfriend Fujiko, the most sexy character in the japanese anime, and the samurai Goemon, enemy and friend at the same time, fight against the inspector Zenigata of the japanese police and against a lot of super villains, gangsters and criminal associations. The action, the violence, the sex, the adult target, weapons and cars made this cartoon a unique experience, with some humor, a lot of suspense and a wonderful soundtrack.

While this show does suffer from a terrible pilot episode and occasional bad writing, this first Lupin the Third series is a landmark in the history of animation. One of the first animated TV shows intended for adults, it was a failure upon its initial airing, and took years of reruns for it to get a boost in popularity.

The show is of course dated in some ways. The animation is of the limited 60s/70s variety and the music is psychedelic. But as someone who watches movies much older than this, it's not that distracting. The show is full of action, comedy, and great characters.

It's less kooky and formulaic than the later 1977 Lupin series, and the first half of the show is especially dark. Lupin was rarely ever as borderline villainous as he is in the first half of this series, save for his manga incarnation.

Many modern anime fans won't give it a second look, but if you appreciate anime history or just plain animation history, then Lupin III is not to be missed.

Lupin III is many things to Japanese people and otakus alike: he's an icon that's been around for generations and for some is a cultural susbstitute for the likes of characters like Batman and Sherlock Holmes, or even James Bond. Lupin III is a fun but underrated franchise outside of good ol' Nippon (Japan) and that's odd considering Lupin has more western appeal than other animes which have garnered wider followings even if they follow their Japanese roots more closely. Without Lupin, we'd still have an anime industry but it probably wouldn't have matured in the way millions have known the anime industry as it has become.

Lupin III was very much a pioneering series for the medium of anime, and even taking away the historical value it's still an entertaining show to watch, and the crime caper film feeling to the stories really helps boost the series' engagement with the viewer. The criminals in Lupin are the ones we love to see doing what they do best: p!ss off the authorities and making it count.

What else is there to say about Lupin? Just give the show a watch asap. If you're a self- proclaimed anime buff like I am, watch this piece of Japanese visual history before your eyes and see for yourself if the series helped make anime what it is today. I can honestly see where a lot of the industry gained the confidence to tell more adult stories; and it's all thanks to this classic show.

Lupin III: probably my favourite anime franchise outside Cosboy Bebop.

This is a legendary anime series about some instant classic characters, the Lupin gang. This is amazingly ahead of it's time, being the first anime starring criminals, the first gritty comparatively more realistic anime with guns and such. Not just for anime, it's ahead of it's time in general.

Most importantly, it's still a joy to watch nearly 40 years later. Lupin is the cool, laid back antihero. This laid back style, helped by the very cool soundtrack, is still influential today in titles like Cowboy Bebop. Lupin has other sides to him too of course, he has an ego, and he'll laugh like a maniac and take on any challenge. And of course, he gets pretty excited when there are ladies around, especially Fujiko.

The supporting characters are great here. You have Jigen, Lupin's partner and best friend. He's very cool himself, a smooth criminal, but he's also the voice of reason, a more mature criminal. Then you have Fujiko, the classic femme fatale cat burglar, she is Lupin's love interest, and often his rival. Then there's Goemon, the renegade samurai with a strong moral code, who can cut anything. And of course, Inspector Zenigata, who tirelessly dedicates his life to capturing Lupin.

Lupin is episodic, featuring 23 self contained stories. Although there is one plot that takes two episodes early on, with Goemon out to defeat Lupin. One episode Lupin is in prison, another time him and the gang have explosive watches put on that they can't take off. These are all great stories.

An interesting thing about this series is that it has two different feels to it, depending on who is directing. Masaaki Osumi directs episodes 1-7, 9, and 12. These are the more dark and gritty episodes, and sometimes have a melancholy feel. These episodes are amazing, giving us the depth that the Lupin characters are built on.

The founders of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, direct episodes 8, 10-11, and 13-23. These episodes are also superb, with a more fun and upbeat feel, closer to what Lupin is known for today. You can tell Miyazaki is involved when Lupin starts saving cute damsels in a gentlemanly heroic way.

All in all, Lupin III is a classic series, which is still going strong today with movie specials. I recommend checking this out, it's must see anime.

The animation is, as expected, a but janky, but the series in itself has generally stood well the test of time. It's fun, it's entertaining, it has an excellent music score reminescent of movies of this era like the Female Prisoner Scorpio series or Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (on a side note, it's incredible how Fujiko Mine reminds me of Tura Satana from that cult classic), with episodes more verging on proper noir and others with more absurd premises. Great Seiyuu performances and an easy to digest runtime (I rewatched this series in a couple of days) complete the package.