Lupin Zero

How did this young boy become notorious gentleman thief "Lupin III"?

Loosely based on Young Lupin III from the original manga, Lupin Zero will tell a nostalgic, yet brand new original story, finally lifting the veil cast upon Lupin III's humble beginnings. Set during the era in which the original series was first published, the anime depicts Young Lupin III running around the streets of 1960's Japan during the country's economic boom.

A young boy climbs the staircase to villainhood. What was he thinking and what steps did he take? This is the untold origin story of the world's greatest thief.

(Source: TMS Entertainment)

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Related Anime

Sequel:

Lupin III

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Characters & Voice Actors

Lupin III, Arsene

Main

Hatanaka, Tasuku
Japanese

Jigen, Daisuke

Main

Takeuchi, Shunsuke
Japanese

Lupin II

Supporting

Furukawa, Toshio
Japanese

d'Andrésy, Albert

Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu
Japanese

Marina

Supporting

Miyamoto, Yume
Japanese

Youko

Supporting

Hayami, Saori
Japanese

Shinobu

Supporting

Yukinari, Toa
Japanese

Lupin I

Supporting

Yasuhara, Yoshito
Japanese

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Staff

Kouda, Takahiro

Producer

Sakou, Daisuke

Director

Tange, Yuuji

Sound Director

Yonetani, Yoshitomo

Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"AFRO" by LUPIN'68

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Ending Theme

"ルパン三世主題歌Ⅱ" by Tavito Nanao

Reviews

Feb 3, 2023

Ionliosite2

Recommended

Lupin Zero is the latest series in the 50 years old Lupin III franchise, and it presents itself as a prequel set during Lupin’s childhood, explaining the story of how this young boy became the titular thief the series title refers to. This review is coming from someone with no prior experience with the Lupin III franchise, and who in fact decided to use this being a short prequel to introduce himself to it, so I may have missed some references and late arrival spoilers people familiar with the other series would know, but I have to say that this series has a lot of ... style I really dig.

The plot of Lupin Zero can be divided in two parts, the first 4 episodes being episodic adventures that mostly serve show the characters and their dynamic, and the last 2 episodes are about a criminal crisis breaking in Tokyo that forces Lupin to choose if he’ll become a thief like the rest of his legacy. While the latter is obviously a foregone conclusion, I’d say that the ride is what’s more important in this series, with the last episode change of Lupin dropping his blue school uniform in favor of a black suit with tie and a green jacket on top being the perfect representation of the theme that all these 6 episodes share: Lupin’s journey to adulthood.

Even if the plot isn’t much to talk about beyond its themes, the characters are the aspect that really made this series stand out. Lupin is a charming trickster overflowing with creativity, while his classmate Jigen is a serious and relatively down to earth boy who is still willing to get into troubles along with Lupin, so the relationship between these two bounces off really well. The other characters aren’t explored as much as those two, but they’re so bold in presentation you can see their personality shine, from Lupin I being a cartoony but clever villain, Lupin II being a master of disguise who sees his talent at this job like a curse, Albert and his great confidence on his training under the First that only gets shattered by Lupin himself, and even Youko, who spends much of the series as just a pretty face, has some surprising depth shown by the end. There’s good chemistry in all the interactions here and that helps with the tone this series is aiming for.

I’m normally not the kind who pays much attention to animation, as I think a good story can carry bad animation, but Lupin Zero’s art style just had me fascinated from the first episode, as it goes for a retro look clearly imitating the cel based animation seen in pre-2000s anime, so I found that a complete delight as someone who loves that style. Even if there’s some CGI help in some episodes, this series really looks like it could have come out in the 90s, and the dedication that would’ve needed to achieve earns my respect for the studio.

All in all, I think that Lupin Zero is a series worth checking out for both fans and non-fans of the Lupin III franchise, with its clever tricks and slapstick, good comedic timing, well done action choreography, and a simple episodic plot that still feels like it delivers a clear message on what it wants to be.

Thank you for reading.

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Jan 15, 2023

Gman77700

Recommended

Spoiler

Lupin Zero is possibly the best series to come out since part 4, which is a shame because there are only 6 episodes. Zero recaptures the feeling of the classic part II and III comedy with plenty of nods to the original that started it all. The series gives an origin story to Lupin and shows how he becomes the thief we know him as.

Plot 7/10
The main plot is about Lupin's struggle to choose how he wants to live his life, His father and grandfather have to opposite paths set for him, but he refuses to live by any rules but his own. The show ...

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Poll: Lupin Zero Episode 5 Discussion link2601 - Jan 6, 2023	15 replies	by bucciest »» Apr 27, 2023 7:24 PM
Poll: Lupin Zero Episode 6 Discussion ropiel - Jan 13, 2023	19 replies	by Swiggy »» Apr 15, 2023 2:28 AM
Poll: Lupin Zero Episode 2 Discussion link2601 - Dec 16, 2022	14 replies	by Swiggy »» Apr 14, 2023 4:57 AM
Poll: Lupin Zero Episode 1 Discussion Ranxomare - Dec 17, 2022	19 replies	by Swiggy »» Apr 14, 2023 4:30 AM
Poll: Lupin Zero Episode 4 Discussion link2601 - Dec 30, 2022	8 replies	by Nemo_Niemand »» Mar 3, 2023 5:54 AM

Lupin Zero

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Lupin III, Arsene

Jigen, Daisuke

Lupin II

d'Andrésy, Albert

Marina

Youko

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Lupin Zero

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

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Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

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