Lupin III
Lupin the 3rd

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I will try to be brief because Lupin III is a simple yet effective manga. The story follows the world's greatest thief, Arsène Lupin III. He is the grandson of the notorious thief, Arsène Lupin, who was a character created by French author, Maurice Leblanc in the early 20th century. The Lupin III manga is episodic. Each chapter is it's own story and it usually depicts Lupin and "friends" trying to steal various items whether it be fancy jewels or other expensive items he wishes to chase after simply for the thrill of it.

He ... is joined by an array of characters such as Jigen (gunman), Goemon (Samurai), Fujiko (criminal and love interest) and Inspector Zenigata. Keep in mind, some characters are introduced later in the manga. Lupin is technically your main protagonist but he's not really a hero. In the anime shows/films, he is often portrayed as a eccentric hero despite the fact he's a criminal. He tends to help people more (mainly females) as well as going head to head with villains who are more devious than himself which inherently places him in the hero role. In the manga, Lupin cares only for his target. Later on you see some depth to his character where he shows his more human side, but you mainly see his dark side early on.

Lupin is a cold blooded criminal who will kill and rape whoever he pleases just because it's what he enjoys doing. Whether or not the characters he's hurting are innocent is irrelevant to him which is why the manga is so fascinating. Normally you would hate a character like Lupin but here you don't, and the brilliance of that goes to Monkey Punch who is responsible for this manga. Despite everything I said, Lupin III is a comedy through and through. Everything has humor to it even if the situation is dire. The characters are rather quippy and use a lot of word play. Characters always have a funny retort to everything and the exaggerated cartoony Mad-esque facial expressions really enhance the comedy in these scenes.

The whole look of the manga is presented in a very Western fashion. Monkey Punch considered Mad Magazine a huge influence and it shows in his manga. Characters are weirdly proportioned and have oddly shaped heads with often cartoon-like expressions which I mentioned earlier. It's very refreshing to look at considering the large amount of artists who more often have a very samey art style and it shows in many popular manga.

In conclusion, the manga is incredible. It's my favorite version of Lupin III and I've been following the series for almost 20 years. I can't recommend it enough especially if you enjoy black comedies. If you're someone who enjoys the more family friendly Cagliostro/Miyazaki type of Lupin stories, don't read this. It's irreverent and not something younger fans should check out. This ain't your grandma's Lupin...Well technically it is your grandma's Lupin..If you're grandma was a bad bitch with a shotgun in one hand and a cigar in the other. 10/10 manga. It's hysterically funny and easy to pick up and read. Check it out if you truly like Lupin or someone who enjoys caper stories.

My review will be based on the English release of Lupin's Greatest Heists, the collection released following the passing of MonkeyPunch, and thus is only on the selected 12 chapters, meant to introduce a new reader to Lupin.

I have never read Lupin, nor watched anything with him, and I found Lupin to be quite an interesting manga. While it's rough around the edges and certainly leans on the cruder side, something I am not particularly into, the originality of the character and writing of Monkeypunch keeps the story readable and well paced. Much of the story is not necessarily original, but something about Lupin ... is an endearing character despite his criminal nature.

The influence felt on Cowboy Bebop is undeniable, and it's hard to say if we would have Spike, or any of the bebop cast/presentation, without Lupin. Even the way ships are drawn, and the magic bullet blocking similar to Pierre Le Fou is incredibly reminiscent of something found in bebop.

I'm not the biggest fan of the art personally, and felt it wasn't exactly clear at times what was happening in the scene, but there is the chance that comes down to the printing. I intend to eventually come back and read more Lupin, so I was certainly engaged enough by these 12 chapters to want to find out more about these characters. Jigen, Goemon, etc seem quite interesting, and the ease of reading the manga makes it something I look forward to eventually completing.