The Manga Origins of Lupin ZERO
DUDE!
Did you see that teaser for “Lupin ZERO”?
Cartoony character designs, a new cover of my favorite Part I track, hand-drawn cars (after Part 6, that's a big deal, okay?), and exactly the fresh take that the franchise needed!
A flashback series to the adventures of a teenage Lupin III! Why didn't anyone think to do this before?!
...okay, you've already read the title of this piece, and probably already know that Lupin ZERO is taking some cues from a story arc in the original manga.
Image Source: Lupin III, Vol. 4, TOKYOPOP
But what exactly is this story?
Glad I asked.
Chapters 37-40 of Monkey Punch's 1967 Lupin the Third series (presumably published in “Weekly Manga Action” in '68) were centered around our lovable larcenist's escapades as an adolescent. At the start of it, there's a message from Lupin saying he's going on vacation for a few weeks, and is leaving us these tales from his past to hold us readers over until he returns:
WARNING: spoilers for these four stories follow!
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CHAPTER 37: Lupin III vs Arsène Lupin
Arsène Lupin is dying.
However, the aging gentleman thief doesn't believe it. And, despite being bedridden, is still training his grandson to succeed him. As a final challenge, he sends the kid to an old house, where he has an hour to go through every room and then return. If he succeeds, he gets his grandfather's entire estate.
But, before setting his grandson loose, Arsène Lupin has Lupin III sign an agreement without allowing the boy to read it first.
Maybe I should’ve said he was the “former gentleman thief”…
As a suspicious Lupin III leaves his cackling grandfather, an old man enters the room, and Arsène Lupin begins throwing money at the guy.
Lupin III enters the training house, and is immediately attacked by what appears to be an assassin.
Meanwhile, Arsène Lupin is throwing more money and beautiful women at this old man, who says that all he wants is his son back, but he's eventually worn down, and signs an agreement as well, giving his son over to Arsène Lupin.
Several years ago, I once read a review of this volume by a big Arsène Lupin fangirl who was actually amused by how he was portrayed here, since it's at such odds with his traditional depiction
Lupin III deduces that the assassin targeting him is actually Riggs (Joe in the Japanese version), an escaped murderer. Lupin III defeats Riggs, and makes his way back to his grandfather's home, where he learned that the agreements that he and Riggs' father signed were contracts to donate their heart to Arsène Lupin in the case of their death, meaning that no matter who won, Arsène Lupin gets to live.
DAMN, that’s, uh…kinda dark.
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CHAPTER 38: Inheritance
Japanese Title: Heritage of 7200 Billion
These title pages were done in the late 80s for the tankobon compilations
It seems that Arsène Lupin's scheme last week didn't quite pan out, as it's now the day of the old man's funeral.
Ms. K, the maid/servant/governess/whoever she is has to retrieve Lupin III (wearing his now-trademark suit and tie), by shutting down his lecherous advances, and dragging him into the room by the collar.
I would blame his behavior on teenage hormones, but let’s be honest: Lupin’s like this as an adult, too
As Lupin III plays with a recliner in the background, Arsène Lupin's lawyer reads off the condition of the will: his estate has been divided into five, and everyone present will have to draw lots to see who gets what.
Arsène Lupin's associates end up with billions in cash, jewelry, and property.
This guy gets “three beautiful slave girls” in addition to everything else, which is, uh, not cool, and I’m assuming an invention of the writer of the English version
Since Lupin III was tied up after the recliner launched him through the air earlier, he goes last, getting...
Thief, soldier, lover, detective, spy...and author? Is there anything Arsène Lupin COULDN'T do?
...oh. Well, he gets the mansion, too, and is quite displeased by all of this.
Upon visiting the house, Lupin tells the winners of the funeral lottery that it's impossible to enter the house, saying that the entrances are all sealed up.
The others become convinced that there must be something special hidden inside, if Arsène would go through all that trouble to hide it. In order to solve the mystery of what's inside, they trade their inheritances with Lupin.
The associates open the front door and see that the entire mansion is filled with money. As Ms. K drives Lupin away, she asks him how he convinced them to trade with him, and the kid is just poring over his grandfather's Book of Thievery.
The now-broke mourners dive into the money blocking the front door...and discover that the money is a wooden facade, hiding an empty mansion.
Full disclosure here: ...this is my favorite of the “Young Lupin” stories. It's pretty funny (the recliner gag gets me every time), there's a fun twist at the end, and it's awesome seeing Lupin defeat these crooks by just using his brain and the writing of his grandfather.
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CHAPTER 39: Prodigy
Japanese Title: Questionable Child
Lupin has run away from home and has pulled off his first big heist, with the help of an accomplice (who looks startlingly like Lupin does as an adult).
The accomplice starts to get greedy when finding out how much Lupin is worth, and attempts to stay in the kid's employ after their partnership is over, even resorting to blackmail by threatening to tell the police where he is. Too bad for him…
DAMN!
Elsewhere, Ms. K is watching with amusement as an unnamed police inspector searches Arsène Lupin's mansion for clues as to Lupin III's disappearance.
This inspector character isn't all that interesting, but I admit this part made me laugh
Ms. K offers to help the inspector, and we cut to her driving Lupin out into the wilderness to uncover where he stashed the loot, only to be ambushed by cops.
Ms. K doesn’t have much characterization or personality, but I always found her design to be cute
The inspector asks where the money is, and Lupin claims he hid it on Ms. K, who attempts to prove her innocence by insisting on letting the officers and inspector strip search her. Lupin, however, uses this as a distraction to slip away and commandeer a gatling gun that happened to be nearby(?)
Ms. K asked if the money was inside the mansion, so I guess that's where they are, which I suppose explains the gun
Lupin throws the inspector a pair of scissors and instructs him on what to do.
Our tale ends with Lupin driving away in a dump truck carrying a bunch of rocks that are hiding the money, leaving Ms. K, the Inspector, and officers chained together at the wrists, half-naked from being instructed to cut their clothes off.
I, uh, don’t…what?
The weakest entry in this arc, I think. It's just dumb, and a lot of stuff is unclear. Like, I assume the opening is Lupin escaping from his home, and the 7.2 billion is his net worth (like the newspaper implies)...but the narration from adult Lupin implies he just pulled off a heist and everyone is talking about the 7.2 billion as something to be recovered. Which is it?
Monkey Punch is my all-time favorite cartoonist, and I adore his work, but even I can admit that he had the occasional off week
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CHAPTER 40: A Chip off the Gold Block
Japanese Title: Spear Kid (honestly not sure what this one means)
Image Source: Lupin III, Vol. 5 (TOKYOPOP)
A man is escaping from prison, and is picked up in a car by two other inmates and a cop working for them.
Lupin is at home, reading manga and listening to the radio when he hears about the breakout. The escapees are listed as the assassin, Daikichi, bank robber Kyohei Jin, and infamous thief...Lupin the Second.
Think he was reading Weekly Manga Action?
Lupin III immediately runs to his father's grave and asks his late grandpa why he lied and said that Lupin II was dead. Ms. K smirks and says that he shouldn't be surprised, since she learned long ago to never trust a Lupin.
Elsewhere, the escapees and dirty cop are sitting around a campfire. Before they head off, the cop gives Lupin II and his accomplices guns to arm themselves with, only for Kyohei Jin to shoot the cop down, saying “he would've turned us in”.
Lupin II is PISSED, but gets over it fairly quickly
Lupin II informs the men that he's set to inherent a large sum of money (presumably from his father), but there's a problem: an impostor is posing as his son. Lupin II claims his real son died years ago, and they need to take out this wannabe.
Later, Lupin III is watching TV when the three escapees crash in on him. Thanks to spring-loaded spikes in the wall, Kyohei Jin and Daikichi are killed almost immediately, as Lupin III is questioning if the third escapee is truly his father.
Lupin II escapes from the booby-trapped chair he's in, kidnaps Ms. K, and flees to a barn. Lupin III follows him there, and his father threatens her life, despite Lupin III telling him that the police are now outside.
Oh, the Inspector is back. Yay.
As Lupin III tells the police his story, Lupin II and Ms. K drop the act, revealing to us that this was mostly a test to see if Lupin III is ready to take over the Lupin Empire, confirming that this dude actually IS Lupin the Second.
The police burst in and Ms. K tells them that Lupin II has fled to the mountains.
Okay, fine. The Inspector gets some good lines, I’ll admit.
In actuality, Lupin II is disguised as a police officer and goes to flee on a stolen motorcycle, only for his son to pop up in the sidecar and point a gun at him, while criticizing his disguise ability.
Lupin III is briefly reunited with his father, and ends a chapter with a slapstick injury for the first time. Truly a monumental day for the kid
The final part of this arc is probably the most popular, mostly due to giving us a glimpse of Lupin II, which not even the anime does all that much. It even lets us see the two generations of Lupin interacting, and it's a pretty fun little adventure.
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This is NOT the manga we’re talking about today, but it’s pretty entertaining.
Image source: playerone.vg
Now, these four chapters aren't to be confused with Monkey Punch's short-lived “Lupin Junior/Kid Lupin/Lupin the Brat” manga, which is from at least a decade later, and is about Lupin III Jr., the son of Lupin III
(Seriously. Not “Lupin IV”, but “Lupin III Jr.” C’mon, that's amazing)
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Anyway, this is a popular arc among fans of MP's manga, and for good reason. Lupin being given a backstory and some development that the anime never adapts is a pretty fascinating premise, even among the unpredictable and experimental nature of the original Lupin manga (maybe I should write an article about all those weirder, nonstandard stories. Hmm...).
How much will “Lupin ZERO” take from this?
The teaser shows Lupin in his school uniform from Chapter 37, but the hairstyle is more like what he has in 38-40
(Image source: Lupin Central)
Probably not a whole lot, but, who knows?
I never thought I'd see this get adapted at all, much less as a six-episode series. I'm excited for it, and I hope to see you folks around Lupin Central for our coverage!
Until then, this is The Amazing Chris Godbey!™ saying …
