It is ever so hard to define Lupin in an anime world of trope filled Shonen, Shojo, comedy, slice of life, supernatural, magical, mecha laden, tournament seeking, violent, monster of the week, moe and ecchi filled titles that anime is begrudgingly dumped into.
But if you want a little taste, Lupin is James Bond mixed with Mad magazine with an anime flair.
First off, this is a great nostalgic flashback to the lupin series that came before. Especially Lupin part2. It almost feels like a successor to Hayao Miyazaki's time long before Ghibli was a studio.
Now, do you want a Lupin title to start with? One to call your own? Normally, I would say watch at least a few Lupin or at least Castle of cagliostro, but for those of you who want to dive right in, here is a little backstory to Lupin.
Lupin is a fancy thief who leaves a calling card of the treasure he is about to steal. He wears the coolest (or tackiest) suits known to man (4 colors for the most part; Red, Green, pink and Blue) He is a bit of a perv, and tries to hop in bed with the solo main star female of the franchise at all times names Fujiko.
Jigen is a hired gunslinger who was former mafia. His hat is his calling card, normally covering a mop of hair which eyes for the most part. He is a fast draw, and can normally shoot with almost inhuman acuracy. He is a partiner in crime with Lupin and his right hand man.
Goemon is a descendent of a famous Samurai, and as such is a Nipon traditionalist. He often wears samurai garb and carries a sword named Zantetsuken, which can cut through almost anything. He is basically a hired sword. However, he works with lupin in a lot of capers and as such has become a reliable ally and friend to Lupin. He has at times been at odds with Lupin, but for most of the franchise is more of a help.
Fujiko is the yin to Lupin's Yang. She is a fellow thief and complex in motivations. Depending on the series, she is either a crafty cold hearted manipulator of lupin, using her charm to get what she wants, Or she is a capable part of the team helping Lupin and the gang... Well, untill later where she is a crafty cold hearted manipulator of Lupin... Let's just say she keeps Lupin in check, seems to like him most of the time, and loves money and power.
Finally, not part of the band, but part of the quintet of main characters, is the helpless Zentigata. He is the hapless inspector who works with Interpol on the apprehension of Lupin and his gang. His lifelong quest is much like Javier in Les Miserables. He is capable in his job and quite skilled, except where Lupin comes in. Most of his actions are merely a comic add-on to the main villain in the story, which shows up along the way in any single Lupin series.
So, there you have it for a quick fill-in of the series. Lupin has capers. Some capers are where he goes after a treasure, runs into a baddie who wants it back, fights off the big baddie's men or women but still wins out. Sometimes he has to go after some treasure to help out those in need like a makeshift letcherous Robin Hood.
Where does the latest iiteration live?
It starts off as an independant set of storys with a overarching chrater in the form of Divinchi. But it decides to add one of the first new ongoing characters of any meaning to the Lupin francise in Rebecca Rossellini. To date, she is the most fleshed out main character for a female since a Woman Called Fujiko Mine, of the Lupin franchise.
Rebecca is 1/4 cups Lupin fanatic, 1/4 cups adventurer, and finally a 1/2 cup of impulsive 20 something young woman exploriring herself. I honestly want more of her in the upcomming Lupin Franchise. It grows old that Lupin and his merry band of men, have no female counterweight other than Fujiko who uses female charms to ensnare her captive male audence. Don't get me wrong, I love her and her highly sexualized ways, but I like the fact that there is a female who can stand her own on skill and money allone.
Now I am not saying she does not have a few flaws. She is inherently under Lupin's charm, and it gets a bit 1 dimensional in the second act. But her grand motives are laid clear in subsequent episodes and I actually felt quite a bit for her plight by the end of the series.
The Animation:
Do you enjoy fully drawn cell footage that feels as organic as a trader joes doing anime? I have the title for you. It takes a few cuts from here and there, but for a fully developed animation that was first broadcast in Japan and Italy as it was released, it is one of the best organic titles I came across. I know that any animation is aided by computerized development that artistically colors and rendered frames helping a former team of 20 do the same job in 5, but it just had that old-school vibe. I almost felt someone storyboarded every shot and hand cobbled it together before the shading.
Sound is fantastic.
Use the Japanese opening, but at least check the Italian opening once. it has that vibrancy and opulence of the artist who penned the Gravestone of Jigen movie. The voices have been changed in the case of almost all of the characters since Lupin's inception (other than Jigen) but almost all of the cast who has been doing Lupin recently has returned. And they all seem to have had enough time in their respective roles to put out perfectly timed lines of dialog with just the right inflection to make all of the Quintet to come alive.
Characters.
Most Lupin do not excel in building anything new to the Lupin franchise (Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Jigen's Gravestone, and possibly a few episodes in the old franchise where Jigen marries withheld) other than he does his Robin Hood move and saves the day. But his Lupin has Lupin becoming confused on his devotion to Fujiko vs his newfound admiration for Rebecca. Fujiko too has to come to terms that she must have more than friendly feelings toward Lupin. Jigen and Goemon have integration that is in the form of standalone episodes that show their character and what they find in morals.
Overall, seeing that I have seen the peaks and valleys and read the manga, I know when Lupin is retreading the past like a well-oiled machine (all of the TV specials) and when the franchise takes chances, like the latest Goemon title that is being released.
So, if you want a cool title that is well animated (and let's face it, did you get into anime for the animation and look or not?) you can't go wrong with what was one of 2015s and 16s best titles.
Screenshots
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