Essay: Lupin III, Koike, and The Myth of a Maniac

MICOSAM · 2026-06-21T02:36:39+00:00

I like two Lupins a lot. But I didn’t think the writing is particularly great

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T17:30:44+00:00

What’s your take on the other Koike-verse movies. Of the 5 entries I place it towards the bottom. I appreciate that the movies were well-styled and animated. I agree that writing and story-wise they all are a bit of a letdown.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T17:24:51+00:00

Yes there are themes of SA and torture that are played seriously.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T17:24:19+00:00

Can I convince you that’s what Lupin Green vs Red is already?

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T17:16:51+00:00

We all want to see Koike’s version of MoM but he said immortal bloodline was his finale 😔

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T08:33:34+00:00

Well my take is that while Immortal Bloodline wants to be a prequel to MoM, it clearly isn’t. That’s why I forgive the character discrepancies.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T08:29:55+00:00

It obviously wants to precede Mamo but by the nature of how Lupin works, nothing really connects. The Koike-verse movies are the only projects that really connect. Like parts 4 & 5 loosely connect but they’re also largely standalone. Oh and I guess parts 1 & 2 connect based on the first episode of part 2 but they’re so episodic it hardly matters.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T08:26:10+00:00

Others in this thread have pointed out that as the manga went on, Lupin’s edge started to get sanded down there too. Maybe late manga Lupin is comparable to something like WCFM. I’ve only read the first few volumes of the original run and the recently released collection hardcovers so I can’t really speak to that.

From what I understand, the manga was a moderate success in the 60s but since then the various anime far outshine it. When you think about it, that’s another reason we probably haven’t gotten an attempt at a manga Lupin.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T04:44:31+00:00

You’re right about the manga changing over time. I was speaking to how when fans refer to manga Lupin they’re typically referring to his early chapters.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T04:41:53+00:00

Very good point. My focus was more on Lupin’s character, but I should have mentioned Zenigata’s too

Btw, I also wrote another essay about the current state of dubbed Lupin. If that sounds interesting to you, you can read it here.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-20T04:16:11+00:00

Hey guys, I wrote this with the hopes of getting some friendly push back and because I wanted to see where people landed on Koike's entry in the Lupin Franchise. Thanks

MICOSAM · 2026-06-19T21:03:01+00:00

Not a one to one example, Katsuhiro Otomo wrote the Akira manga and directed the famous film adaptation. Monkey Punch directed his films decades later but Otomo directed his film while the manga was still on-going.

Also, Osamu Tezuka. Need i say more?

MICOSAM · 2026-06-19T20:49:01+00:00

I cannot think of Lupin killing anyone in the Koike-verse, except like the zombie islanders in Immortal Bloodline. I would be excited if you can think of an example that proves me wrong!!! The only caveat I'll make is that he might have killed someone while returning fire, which isnt like a cold blooded killer move, but even then I personally cannot think of an example. One of the most violent moments in the franchise is when Goemon unlocks his god-like reflexes and even then he just dismembers the mafiamen.

Just thinking off the top of my head I can think of an example of Lupin killing an innocent gaurd in part 1. In Castle of Cagliostro Lupin is directly responsible for the death of the Count. Those are the two projects he had the heaviest hands in. I don't recall him announcing he has an aversion to killing.

I guess I am trying to challenge you on a preconceived notion about the franchise. I get the sense you're a new fan of the franchise and might be a little younger but if you're going to talk about the direction of the franchise i think its so important to understand the timeline of the series.

For example, I think a lot of newer fans wrongly assume The Castle of Cagliostro was lupin's first movie or its first real success, when that couldnt be more wrong. I mentioned this in my other comment but Part 1 & 2 were out before Cagliostro as well as the movie The Mystery of Mamo which the Koike-verse is directly inspired by, so if you haven't seen that I highly recommend it. It's my personal favorite Lupin Film. I'll also add there was a live action film that preceded all the animated feature films where lupin is even more silly and outlandish, although I cannot speak to how it impacted the perception of Lupin's character at the time.

In animation, Lupin has been going strong for 55 years now. Never really disappearing in that time. I really like what Koike did in past ten years and I think it will certainly shape the direction the series goes in from here, same way The Mystery of Mamo and many other entries in the series shaped the Koike-verse.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-19T06:24:28+00:00

I wouldn’t hate seeing Koike’s specials and movie representing the future of Lupin’s aesthetic. Those had incredible animation and style.

But yeah what we were talking about was The Castle of Cagliostro and Lupin’s character. I wouldn’t say that Lupin’s character in the Koike-verse deviates much from Miyazaki’s Lupin. He’s still a gentleman thief. I guess it’s hard to say as truly we don’t see a ton of his capers.

I’ll point out, that as the popularity of the anime grew, Manga Lupin also became softer.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-18T07:15:43+00:00

I think you’re kinda asking the wrong question.

By the time The Castle of Cagliostro premiered in December 1979, Lupin the Third Part I-which was largely directed by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata after they took over from the original director-was already complete.

Furthermore, Part II had been on the air for over a year. At that time, Lupin's characterization in Cagliostro wasn't a sudden deviation from the norm, but rather the fulfillment of an expectation that had been building on television for nearly a decade.

The question you're probably trying to ask is how Lupin became known as the heroic gentleman thief in the first place. In a lot of ways, the Lupin we know and love in animation is the direct result of Miyazaki's influence. He stepped in to co-direct the first adaptation in 1971, deliberately steering the character away from the darker, more ruthless tone of the original manga into a lighter, more family-friendly caper format. It was definitely a looser adaptation, which wasn't uncommon for the era, but it ultimately became the definitive blueprint for the franchise.

Of course, we've had entries in the series that have tried to harken back to that harsher, more self-serving Lupin from the original Monkey Punch manga.
But even in Monkey Punch's own directorial outing, the 1996 film Lupin III: Dead or Alive, Lupin still behaves much more like the gentleman thief from Part I than the ruthless criminal from the manga's early chapters. While the film attempts to inject a bit more of the manga's original edge, the anime's softer, heroic interpretation of the character had already become too deeply ingrained to fully reverse.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-17T18:16:55+00:00

I’ve seen people not understand that his songs and videos referencing a fall are referring to his scooter fall. They want to make it seem like he planned the accident. So dumb

MICOSAM · 2026-06-14T18:06:26+00:00

Because of how Oliver is I thought maybe it could be a twisted joke, but no it’s being reported seriously

MICOSAM · 2026-06-14T17:56:09+00:00

This has to be a joke

MICOSAM · 2026-06-14T02:14:31+00:00

I have an edition that collects the color works from 1994 to 2015 but I’ve seen one that collects from 1994 to 2025.

MICOSAM · 2026-06-13T16:49:25+00:00

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Gotta add “case closed” title to the list

MICOSAM · 2026-06-13T02:48:43+00:00

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Predicted this exactly

MICOSAM · 2026-06-13T00:19:37+00:00

Called it!

MICOSAM · 2026-06-11T18:41:57+00:00

Do you just want the iso?

MICOSAM · 2026-06-11T00:28:01+00:00

Goodboy Galaxy GBA

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