Character Spotlight: Lupin the Third

For some, life is a game and it’s only fun in the hardest difficulty. If people say something is impossible to steal, well then, someone has to prove that wrong. Lupin the Third is that someone. He may be one of the smartest people who ever lived and uses it to perform nigh-impossible criminal acts. How does one become the most world-renowned thieves of all time, surpassing your own family’s infamy? Let’s find out!

Arséne Lupin III is the grandson of the infamous French thief, Arséne Lupin, a man who scandalized the world in the late nineteenth century. His grandson took the world by storm and proved to be just as good, if not better, than his grandfather by becoming the world’s greatest thief at a rather young age. In his early years, Lupin was a crass, crude and violent man. He took what he wanted and didn’t really care what that meant to others. He worked alongside master marksman, Daisuke Jigen, and modern day samurai, Goemon Ishikawa XIII with the occasional assist or trouble from Fujiko Mine, a fellow thief who is just as skilled as Lupin and has his admiration which she uses to her advantage often.

Lupin was still rather young when he was considering retiring, but meeting a young girl he helped rescue seemed to change his whole outlook on life. The rough edges became kinder, the trickster rouge wasn’t going to be as brutal as he started, now he could even be a trickster hero. His career was always about finding ways around a world that says no but he’d often find people he could help in the process. It was never about the actual items he’d steal, it was about the adventure and the thrill of pulling off the impossible. When you mess with order, eventually someone will stand against you, for Lupin that’s Interpol Inspector Koichi Zenigata, who would follow Lupin to the ends of the Earth if it meant putting him in jail.

Just as no security system could keep Lupin out, no prison can hold him for long, in fact, it’s often all part of some master plan he has. Lupin spends his non-criminal time either gambling, partying, or some combination with other outlandish behaviors. Eventually all that fun starts to pale in comparison to that next big heist he’s probably been cooking up since the moment he succeeded at his last theft. Lupin is a man of desire, he desires, he goes after it and will often succeed at winning over most involved. His bond with his gang is strong, Lupin is easily willing to die for Goemon, Jigen, Fujiko, even Zenigata, who he calls Pops. This can even go the other way, especially with Zenigata willing to sacrifice his job if it means keeping Lupin safe so he can arrest him when it’s possible.

In his career, Lupin often ends up dealing with ancient secrets, bizarre inhuman beasts, cults, murderers, previously believed dead historical figures, and all manner of strangeness. He loves to use an arsenal of gadgetry and cars that is on par with James Bond and Batman. He’s a master of disguise that he can whip up complicated and incredibly detailed face masks and costumes in a short time. He loves a good grappling hook watch which has gotten him out of all sorts of near death mishaps and he tends to carry a German Luger for when things get too hot. Lupin is known for leaving behind a simple caricature of his own face as part of his calling card when he often announces his crimes in advance to further the difficulty for his own fun.

A world traveler, Lupin steals from a wide variety of countries the way someone may visit different stores in a single shopping center, but where a normal person may go from a shoe store to the jeweler next door, Lupin may steal the British Crown Jewels from the heart of the Royal Family and then be off to Morocco to take part in a deadly game of poker. He even got married in Italy to Rebecca Rossellini, a wealthy heiress who married Lupin so she could start her own career as a world-class thief. The world loves Lupin’s devil may care thievery as he tricks the stubborn and wealthy alike, all with a devilish grin.

There you have it! Lupin the Third has been around since the 60s and the series has always kept that aesthetic even while the rest of the world changed. Lupin was basically saved as a series by Hayao Miyazaki, of Studio Ghibli fame, who would even direct one of Lupin’s forays onto the big screen. He’d be the one to make the more cretinous Lupin become the beloved trickster hero he’s known for today. Lupin is so popular that the country of Italy actually helped fund the fourth series and have their own original character of Rebecca Rossellini added to the series. So beloved is Lupin that a country will fund a season just so their own character can enter his world of gentleman thievery. His current series sees him in his grandfather’s homeland, where he’ll go next? He’s been on the big and small screen, live action and animated, so wherever it is, he’s gonna likely steal something we never thought possible. See you next time!