Lupin III

Lupin III or Lupin the 3rd (ルパン三世, Lupin the 3rd, not Lupin 3) is an anime and manga series originally created by manga artist Kazuhiko Katō (加藤一彦) under the pen name Monkey Punch (モンキーパンチ) in 1967 as a part of Weekly Manga Action. It began as a parody of a series of movies based on a series of novels by Maurice Leblanc featuring a French gentleman thief named Arsène Lupin. One of the last movies in the series, featured Arsene Lupin's son, Lupin II. Presumably the title character in this series is his son.

Related Topics:
Anime - Manga - Monkey Punch - Weekly Manga Action - Maurice Leblanc - French - Gentleman thief - Arsène Lupin

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In Monkey Punch's original manga series, Lupin is a sex maniac with an extreme lust for women that can never be satisfied; yet, he somehow remains a likeable character. This parody of the Lupin character was inspired by MAD Magazine; in fact, the art style of the early manga has a very striking resemblance. The manga has since spawned three TV series (episodes of the second series now appear in English on DVD and aired on Cartoon Network), and many movies and TV specials which continue to this day. It is also the inspiration for other anime and manga series, perhaps most notably Cowboy Bebop. Some episodes and movies were even directed by Hayao Miyazaki, one of the most well-known anime directors.

Related Topics:
MAD Magazine - DVD - Cartoon Network - Cowboy Bebop - Hayao Miyazaki

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The name Lupin III caused a legal problem for the series. Monkey Punch did not seek permission to use the Lupin name from the estate of Maurice Leblanc. The estate agreed not to pursue any legal action, provided that the usage of the name remained within Japan. Therefore, when Lupin material was licensed for overseas usage, the name had to be changed. Streamline Pictures renamed Lupin "Wolf." Animeigo went with "Rupan III," which is how Lupin's name is actually pronounced in Japanese (in English it is usually pronounced LOO-pahn, but not LOO-pin). In France, he was named "Edgard de la Cambriole" (though "de la Cambriole" is likely to be a nickname or a nom de guerre). The Lupin name passed into the public domain in the early 1990s, but Nippon Television had continued to offer licensing for the Lupin TV specials first under the name "Cliff Hanger" (based on the laserdisc game of the same name, which used footage from Lupin Vs. the Clones and The Castle of Cagliostro), and later under the name "Chase Tracer."

Related Topics:
Maurice Leblanc - Streamline Pictures - Animeigo - Japanese - English - Public domain - 1990s - Nippon Television - Laserdisc - Lupin Vs. the Clones - The Castle of Cagliostro

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The second series began distribution and translation in United States in 2003 by Pioneer, and included a very tongue-in-cheek English dub, which included modern popular culture references (such as eBay and Shaquille O'Neal) and spicier more comedic dialogue, which received ambivalent feedback from cult fans. The first 28 episodes have been translated, and enjoyed a series of DVD volumes and multiple runs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, but due to the lackluster popularity, the show's American future remains ambiguous. In the summer of 2004, however, Lupin III's popularity seems to be on the rise, perhaps due to additional exposure on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim line up. Geneon Animation (formerly Pioneer) has already obtained 52 more Lupin the 3rd: The Red Jacket Series episodes, bringing the count of US licensed episodes to 89. Geneon plans on releasing these episodes on DVD in the next few years, but there is little word, however, on whether Adult Swim plans on acquiring the rights for more episodes, even though Lupin III's ratings have been good compared to other shows that aired on the rather unfavorable 1:30 am time slot. As for the Lupin movies, FUNimation has the rights to ten of them, four of which have already been released, the theatrical feature, Lupin III: Dead or Alive, was released on February 22, 2005, while the five others will be released throughout 2005 and 2006 with a period of two months in between each release. The manga is published in English by TokyoPop.

Related Topics:
United States - 2003 - Pioneer - Tongue-in-cheek - English - Dub - Popular culture - EBay - Shaquille O'Neal - Cult - DVD - Cartoon Network - Adult Swim - Manga - TokyoPop

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Lupin III was parodied by FLCL, where Kamon Nandaba, Naota's father, dresses up as Lupin and tries to impress Haruko Haruhara. He was also parodied in Excel Saga, where Nabeshin (director self insert) dressed up as Lupin. Episode 10 of the series Fullmetal Alchemist contains a parody of Lupin III character Zenigata, in the form of a detective that dressed in the same trademark outfit and focused his entire career on catching one particular thief.

Related Topics:
FLCL - Excel Saga - Fullmetal Alchemist

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