The origin story of the world’s greatest thief...

LUPIN ZERO

How did this boy become notorious gentleman thief “Lupin III”?

Since the initial serialization of Monkey Punch’s globally renowned “LUPIN THE 3rd” manga in 1967, Lupin III has taken the world by storm and has appeared in various media. However, despite his longstanding status and notoriety as the world’s greatest thief, there was once a time when even Lupin III, was young and inexperienced. Loosely based on Young Lupin III from the original manga, LUPIN ZERO will tell a nostalgic, yet brand new original story, finally lifting the veil cast upon Lupin III’s humble beginnings. Set during the era in which the original series was first published, the anime depicts Young Lupin III running around the streets of 1960’s Japan during the country’s economic boom. Production studio, Telecom Animation Film Co., Ltd., (responsible for several other LUPIN THE 3rd series titles) will handle the animation for the series, which will feature a retro and unique art style inspired by the past. Music for the show will be written by Yoshihide Otomo (Ama Chan, INU-OH), with arrangements of Takeo Yamashita’s musical works from LUPIN THE 3rd PART 1. A young boy climbs the staircase to villainhood. What was he thinking and what steps did he take?

This is the untold origin story of the world’s greatest thief.

▶ Watch the Trailer

Celebrating 50 Years of Lupin with Part 6!

LUPIN III: PART 6

2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the animated series, and thus Lupin is at it again! The new LUPIN THE 3rd PART 6 series is set to unfold with the theme of “mystery” with Lupin and the gang thrown into the modern age. What could be their next target?

▶ Watch the Trailer

Lupin - Official Trailer - Netflix

L U P I N

As a teenager, Assane Diop's life was turned upside down when his father died after being accused of a crime he didn’t commit. 25 years later, Assane will use "Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar" as his inspiration to avenge his father. A Netflix Original Series only on Netflix.

▶ Watch the Trailer

The History of Lupin The Third

THE HISTORY OF LUPIN III

With the release of Lupin The Third The First, now is the perfect time to look back on the history..no!... the LEGACY of the gentleman thief and his loving creator, Money Punch.

The series was created in 1965 by Japanese manga artist Kazuhiko Katō under the pen name Monkey Punch. His inspiration for the series was the fictional French gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, created by Maurice Leblanc. Before creating the series he read 15 of Leblanc's stories. The aim of the Lupin III series was to produce a comedy adventure series that reflected the traits of Leblanc's character. Originally the intention was to keep the blood ties between the two fictional characters secret, however he was convinced by others not to do so.

Monkey Punch combined elements of Arsène Lupin with James Bond to develop the character of Lupin III and made him a "carefree fellow". Lupin was given a red color jacket which Monkey Punch believes is a flashy, sexy color. As the series was to be published in a magazine targeted at adults, Fujiko Mine was created to add a female presence and to fulfill a "Bond girl" role. Her name was inspired by a picture of Mount Fuji, Monkey Punch added the -ko female suffix to create her first name, and chose "Mine" for her family name because of its meaning as "summit". At the beginning of the series, many of the women Lupin encounters are all named Fujiko, but are treated as different characters from chapter to chapter. Creating a new female character each week was too difficult for Monkey Punch so she evolved into a single character who changes style frequently. Jigen was based on James Coburn, especially his role in The Magnificent Seven, and his name was chosen to reflect his unconventional personality. Goemon was created to give an oriental element into an otherwise western series. Despite Lupin and Goemon originally being enemies, Monkey Punch decided that they were on the same wavelength. While Lupin, Fujiko, Jigen and Goemon frequently operate together for their own goals, the author considers them not to be a true group as they have their own individual interests. In the manga they operated individually, however in the anime adaptations the group tend to work together. Inspector Zenigata was conceived as Lupin's archrival to create a "human Tom and Jerry".

When Monkey Punch began Lupin III, he was already working on another series, Pinky Punky. Monkey Punch enjoys writing outlaw characters, and both Lupin III and Pinky Punky made use of outlaws as central characters. According to him, this made it easy for him to write two series without much pressure. Monkey Punch enjoys puzzles and mysteries such as Columbo and Agatha Christie novels, and was also inspired by The Three Musketeers and the movies of Alfred Hitchcock. He believes the characters of Lupin and Fujiko are similar to the characters of D'Artagnan and Milady de Winter, and describes them as "Not necessarily lovers, not necessarily husband and wife, but more just having fun as man and woman with each other". Another influence on the manga was Mad magazine. Monkey Punch said the appeal of drawing Lupin comes from the character being able to go anywhere without obstacles and being able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. However, this is contrasted by the appeal of Zenigata's strict personality. Originally the series was only expected to last three months, but due to its popularity, Monkey Punch continued to draw it. However, despite his happiness at its success, he has expressed confusion over its popularity.

Monkey Punch has said that he believes the story can never end but that if he had to, both Zenigata and Lupin would have to end as equals. They would either both fail, both win or both get very old.

▶ Watch the Video

The Amazing Title Scene for Lupin III: The First

LUPIN III: The First

Lupin III: The First, the upcoming CG animated film entry in the Lupin III series of high-flying anime thievery, looks. Just. Freaking. Incredible. Toho is really outdoing themselves so far as animation quality is concerned with this one, and it merges the stunning style of Lupin with clarity and visual acuity that is one of the biggest advantages of good CGI.

Now, Toho has released the James Bond-style opening for the new film, which is a fabulous sequence that captures the mood, the style, and the characters of the film. You get to meet suave thief Lupin, his ally Daisuke Jigen, the samurai Goemon Ishikawa III, leading lady Fujiko Mine, and the mysterious Leticia.

This looks like a thrilling, gorgeous adventure, and its U.S. premiere should be announced soon.

▶ Watch the Opening Credit Scene

Lupin III THE FIRST CG Anime Film's 2nd Trailer

Lupin III: THE FIRST

[Source: AnimeNewsNetwork] TOHO began streaming a trailer and teaser for Lupin III THE FIRST, the new anime film in Monkey Punch's Lupin III franchise on Wednesday. The teaser reveals new cast members for the film, and also reveals the film's story, which centers on Lupin teaming up with a woman named Leticia to steal the Bresson Diary, a treasure that even the first generation Arsène Lupin could not steal. 

The new cast members include (Note: Character name romanizations are not official.):

• Suzu Hirose as Luticia
• Kōtarō Yoshida as Lambert
• Tatsuya Fujiwara as Geralt

The film is the franchise's first 3D CG feature-length film. It will open in Japan on December 6. Takashi Yamazaki (Stand By Me Doraemon, Dragon Quest: Your Story) is directing and writing the film.

Lupin III creator Monkey Punch recently passed away on April 11, but the film's website posted an October 2018 message in which he had expressed his excitement over imagining how this fresh take on his character would turn out. The tagline on the website reads, "Well, let's get started."

Lupin the IIIrd: Fujiko's Lie (Lupin the IIIrd: Mine Fujiko no Uso) is the most recent film in the franchise, and it opened in Japan on May 31. The film ranked at #1 in the mini-theater rankings in Japan in its opening weekend. TMS Entertainment screened the film at Anime Expo on July 6.

The film is the third film in a series consisting of 2014's Lupin the Third: Jigen's Gravestone and 2017's Lupin the IIIrd Chikemuri no Ishikawa Goemon. Takeshi Koike directed all three films, and Yūya Takahashi wrote the scripts.

Lupin the Third: Part 5 is the most recent television anime in the franchise. The anime premiered in NTV's AnichU programming block in Japan in April 2018. Crunchyroll streamed the series in Japanese with English subtitles as it aired in Japan. TMS Entertainment USA offered the series' first 12 episodes for digital purchase in the U.S. on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon Digital last November. Adult Swim's Toonami block began airing the anime on June 15.

▶ Watch the Trailer

LUPIN III THE FIRST (2019) Trailer

LUPIN the 3RD goes 3D

[Source: AnimeSuperhero] What is the world’s sneakiest thief, Lupin the 3rd, up to now? And how will Inspector Zenigata catch him now that he has a Z-axis?

A new Lupin the 3rd movie was just announced by Toho Animation, called Lupin III: The First. For the first time, it renders Lupin and his allies / frenemies in CGI, and though that might make you apprehensive at first, they’ve actually made it work. The transition between dimensions was pretty seamless here; everyone looks and moves as they should.

Gunman Jigen, swordsman Goemon, flirtatious Fujiko Mine, and the man himself all appear in the minute’s worth of clips we get; there is plenty of action, death-defying leaps, frustration and/or humiliation on the part of Zenigata, and Lupin’s iconic yellow car.

Lupin’s movie career has been an exercise in extremes. Nothing could truly top Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro, the first feature from animation legend Hayao Miyazaki.

Lupin III: The First will be out December 6 in Japan; a US release has not been announced yet. Lupin’s creator, Kazuhiko Kato aka “Monkey Punch,” died last April.

Creator of Lupin III Passes Away

MONKEY PUNCH

(May 26, 1937 – April 11, 2019)

81-year-old manga creator, Monkey Punch,
passed away on April 11 due to pneumonia
[Source: Anime News Network]

• Lupin III manga creator Monkey Punch (real name: Kazuhiko Katō) passed away on April 11 due to pneumonia. He was 81. 
• Monkey Punch was born in Hamanaka, Hokkaido in 1937. He made his major debut with Playboy Nyūmon in Futabasha's Manga Story magazine in 1965. Lupin III then launched in Futabasha's Manga Action magazine in 1967. Due to the popularity of the series, the first Lupin III television anime adaptation premiered in 1971. The franchise has since inspired numerous television anime and films, as well as live-action works and games.
• Beginning in the 1980s, Monkey Punch received honors such as Comic-Con International's Inkpot Award, Romics' Golden Romics, the Association of Media in Digital (AMD) Awards' Meritorious Service Award, and Tokyo Anime Award Festival's Meritorious Service Award. In recent years, Monkey Punch had been studying 3D art using CG, and he served as a guest lecturer for manga production at major universities. 
• The Lupin III franchise's newest anime film, Lupin the IIIrd: Mine Fujiko no Uso (Lupin the IIIrd: Fujiko Mine's Lie), will open in Japan on May 31

New Lupin III TV Series

L U P I N   the   T H I R D

The new opening theme to the Lupin the Third TV anime airing in Japan this Fall.

Live-Action Lupin III Footage Revealed

LUPIN III

[Source: AnimeNewsNetwork] The story will follow Lupin and his partners in crime before they became a gang. They will infiltrate the high security of the Ark of Navarone, a gigantic fortress-like safe, to lay claim to the Crimson Heart of Cleopatra within. It is said that whoever possesses this treasure shall "unite the world."

The movie stars (from left to right in the images above) Tadanobu Asano as Detective Kōichi Zenigata, Gou Ayano as Goemon Ishikawa, Shun Oguri as Lupin, Tetsuji Tamayama as Daisuke Jigen, and Meisa Kuroki as Fujiko Mine. An original character, Lupin's nemesis Michael Lee, will be played by Jerry Yan (Meteor Garden) of the popular Taiwanese group F4. Other cast members include South Korean actor Kim Joon (South Korean Hana Yori Dango) and Thai actor Thanayong Wongtrakul (The Man from Nowhere).

The first live-action adaptation of Lupin III in four decades will open on August 30. The movie began filming on October 3 and finished principal photography on December 26. The production shot in Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines.

The film is now in the middle of the final steps of editing, and the staff aims to complete post production and the film itself at the end of June. Ryuhei Kitamura (Azumi) is directing the film, and Mataichirō Yamamoto wrote the script.

First Look at Live-Action Lupin III

 

--  L U P I N   III  -- 

[Source: AnimeNewsNetwork] The first official character visuals from the new live-action film of Monkey Punch's Lupin III manga debuted on Wednesday. It stars (from left to right) Tadanobu Asano as Detective Kōichi Zenigata, Gou Ayano as Goemon Ishikawa, Shun Oguri as Lupin, Tetsuji Tamayama as Daisuke Jigen, and Meisa Kuroki as Fujiko Mine.

The photoshoot caused even Monkey Punch to remark, "Looks good. This is going to be quite a movie." Notably, Oguri is wearing the red velvet jacket and yellow necktie of the second television anime series. He underwent 10 months of action training with sticks and lost eight kilograms (about 18 pounds) for the role. Oguri wields Lupin III's favorite Walter P38, while Tamayama bears the familiar Smith & Wesson Model 19 Combat Magnum as Jigen. Kuroki performed her own wire action stunts as Fujiko.

The first live-action adaptation of Lupin III in four decades will open on August 30. It will tell an original story while being faithful to the original work. Lupin III and his gang will infiltrate the high security of the Ark of Navarone, a gigantic fortress-like safe, to lay claim to the Crimson Heart of Cleopatra within. It is said that whoever possesses this treasure shall "unite the world."

The movie began filming on October 3 and finished principal photography on December 26. The production shot in Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines. It is now in the middle of the final steps of editing, and the staff aims to complete post production and the film itself at the end of June. Ryuhei Kitamura (Azumi) is directing the film, and Mataichirō Yamamoto wrote the script.

Take Yoshida, a writer and a friend of director Kitamura, had told the website zakzak that the director intends to change the setting to make the characters modern. Yūki Meguro played Lupin in the first live-action film, 1974's Lupin III: Strange Psycho-Kinetic Strategy.

Sakura, Japan Gets Lupin License Plates

If you are one of the lucky residents of the town of Sakura in Japan this month, then you don’t need to be told what to get excited about, but for those not currently residing under a Japanese rock, Sakura has been awarded 3000 limited edition motorcycle license plates bearing the image of anime superstar Lupin the Third. The plates are being issued to honor Lupin creator Monkey Punch, a resident of Sakura, and there will be four colored versions, three for motorcycles and one for microcars.

Both residents and non-residents of Sakura can enter an application for the Lupin plates at the city’s official site beginning on January 15, 2014.