“Lupin. He’s a nice man. But he’s cool.” 

Welcome to Season 3 of Japanimation Station: The Classic Adventures of Lupin the 3rd! This season, we will be exploring the countless capers of one of the most enduring icons of anime from his very first animated appearance in 1969 up through the dawn of the 21st century. In today’s season premiere, we go through the history of Monkey Punch’s original Lupin the 3rd manga, the creation of the 1969 pilot film, and finally do a deep dive on Lupin’s first anime TV series, 1971’s Lupin the 3rd, retroactively referred to as Part I. It is one of the most fascinating, unique, and compelling shows we’ve ever seen, a series essentially divided in half between early episodes helmed by Masaaki Osumi, which are more adult and irreverent a la Monkey Punch’s manga, and the later caper-centric episodes directed by the men who would go on to found Studio Ghibli, Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki! Both visions of the series are equally accomplished, and the series sees a wide range of animation giants pass through its doors – including Yasuo Otsuka and Osamu Dezaki – and by the end, Lupin the 3rd has started to settle on a template that will serve it well for decades to come. 

Enjoy, and come back next week as we review Lupin’s first animated theatrical film, the 1978 classic The Mystery of Mamo! 

 

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:20

Intro to Season and History of Lupin: 0:01:20 – 0:42:14

Lupin the 3rd Part 1 History and Review: 0:42:14 – 2:06:15 

Eyecatch Break: 2:06:15 – 2:07:03 

Episode-by-episode Review: 2:07:03 – 3:22:59 

End Theme: 3:22:59 – 3:24:14 

 

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“Welcome to Japanimation Station!” Lyrics by Sean Chapman, Music by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku. https://www.thomaslack.com