Lupin III, Vol. 1

Lupin III #1

by Monkey Punch

Monkey Punch's Lupin III franchise follows the exploits of master thief, Lupin III, and his fellow partners-in-crime, Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko. Over the 35 years since the first installment of Lupin's exploits appeared in print in Japan, the franchise has spun off a total of 3 separate manga series (comprising dozens of volumes) and hundreds of animated TV episodes, theatrical features, and original video productions. Take a healthy dose of James Bond, add a splash of The Thomas Crown Affair, filter through the warped prism of Mad magazine... stir throughly... and multiply by about 12... the resulting cocktail might just begin to capture the irrepressible lunacy of Lupin III.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Crime, Adventure, Mystery, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1967

About the author

Kazuhiko Katō known by the pen name Monkey Punch (モンキー・パンチ) was a Japanese manga artist, best known for his series Lupin III.

Reviews

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first go into another venerable and high-esteemed franchise, and that first go wasn't particularly impressive. The stories don't stand up to modern day at all, being confusing to follow and offensive and not particularly entertaining anyway. Though I did like the art: it was an interesting look into manga artwork before they were standardised into the modern cutesy big-eyes-small-mouth mold.

It's bound to get better at some point, what with how popular it ended up being, so maybe I'll have a look at more of the character later. The Ghibli movie perhaps. For the time being, though, I've got other things to read.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, light-headed slapstick comedy. It has enough sex, sadism and violence to get branded as "Not for under 18 years" in some countries -- not an uncommon fate for Japanese manga. (Come to think of it, quite funny though because I read most of the original series when I was only 7 years old... it must have contributed to my perversity, eh?)

Many of the episodes are highly imaginative, with a healthy dose of cartoonish silliness. Lupin III generally behaves more like a cheeky schoolboy than a pro thief, and I just couldn't help falling in love with him in spite of all his irresponsible sex pursuits (some of which are borderline rapes).

[Rachel Szewczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not not not like the Lupin of "The Castle of Cagliostro". It's gritty, dark, and a bit misogynistic. That so said, it's a compelling read and Lupin is an enjoyable, hard-luck character. I recommend it if you are looking for something a little pulp-like

[William Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigh.

Casual misogyny ruins yet another fun crime/adventure graphic novel from the past.

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great characters, great art, and great gags, but I find that the stories themselves feel rushed and a tad bit confusing. It's ok though, since all those other things carry this comic extremely well.

[Rees · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fall asleep to Lupin III every night. It’s my comfort show.

Ironically (and for once), the show seems a lot better than the manga. Still going to read this manga at a slower pace, but it’s no replacement for the shows. Even the episodes copied from some of these chapters do a better job with their material than this manga. (Episode 4 of Part 1 is pretty much copy/paste of the manga’s second chapter, and much like its specific episode, it’s probably a standout chapter of this volume. Episode 2 of Part 1, a copy/paste of this volume’s seventh chapter, shows how the anime does a way better job than the manga.)

That said, it’s a classic, and a pretty quick read. Can’t wait to see Goemon appear in some of the chapters.

Seriously, though: it’s probably a better idea to watch some of the anime before reading the manga. The manga just doesn’t compare or hold up to the anime.

(Watch Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo. It’s a good starting place and one of my all-time favorite movies.)

((Here’s one of the best songs ever, “Love is Everything”, from Lupin III Part 2: https://youtu.be/_TcbhRNjoLs?si=75zZU...))

[♡︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

MASSIVE suspension of disbelief is needed for this volume which marks the beginning of the classic Lupin III series. the stories were disjointed and the art style (maybe it gets better later) made the plots even harder to figure out and follow. there were some funny moments but those moments would have been better if i had known what was exactly happening.

[Meu Suzuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is unique that most main characters are criminal. However they have a principle and philosophy so they are cool. These stories are very short but I was exiting because there are many mysterious cases and Lupin fight with a man who doesn’t die. In addition, Lupin is very intelligent and he is always positive even he is in terrible condition. He is a super hero.

[Yuki Murata · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw movie several times so I thought it would be enjoyable at first, but it was quite different.
The drawing looks very old and little bit rough, I can tell that it is one of the classic Japanese manga at a glance. Moreover, the face of Lupin and Zenigata were so alike that I could not which is Lupin or Zenigata. I was confused often while reading. I think it was much difficult than guessing the meaning of the vocabulary I didn’t know.

[Daken Howlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primo volume della classica serie di Monkey Punch.
Il volume contiene diverse storie che diventeranno puntate dell'anime originale(per intenderci,quello con la giacca verde)e introduce diversi dei personaggi principali della serie,da Zenigata a Pycal,passando per Fujiko Mine e Jigen.
Le storie sono incentrate su un mistero destinato a risolversi con un colpo di scena,e la varietà e la qualità dei colpi di scena in questione rendono la lettura molto piacevole ed imprevedibile.
Purtroppo l'introduzione di alcuni personaggi,sopratutto Jigen e Fujiko e troppo rapida e confusionale,in parte perché i suddetti personaggio non hanno ancora raggiunto la loro forma finale e verranno notevolmente modificati nel corso della serie.
Nel complesso,la serie è una classico manga d'azione con un buon livello di ironia e una buona scrittura sopratutto per i colpi di scena finali,e sicuramente riesce a resistere egregiamente alla prova del tempo.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I due episodi con l'evasione di Lupin e Pycal il mago sono praticamente quasi identici alle due puntate della bellissima prima serie televisiva ispirata dal manga. Meravigliosi!

Per il resto il Lupin fumettistico é molto piú surreale e sporcaccione di quello animato, ma le storie sono talmente divertenti e fantasiose che quasi non ci si fa caso.

Lettura altamente consigliata a tutti i fan troppo cresciuti del ladro piú famoso del mondo.

[Max Pacheco · Rating 2 out of 5]

This foul fellow is not the man I met in the Miyazaki film.

[Christian Garrido · Rating 1 out of 5]

Si no es por el interés histórico, y el gancho que supone haber disfrutado de su adaptación animada que no tiene nada que ver con el manga, esto no vale un duro. La cosificación de la mujer llevada al paroxismo, la repetición de esquemas (aunando estos dos, todo capítulo tiene la obligada escena con Lupin forzando a una mujer que acaba encantada, claro), el porque sí de las resoluciones así como el molonismo todopoderoso del protagonista y lo confuso de su narrativa y desarrollo argumental, a pesar de lo autoconclusivo de sus episodios, hacen que su lectura no sea nada recomendable más allá de como labor de arqueología otaku para saber de dónde venimos, y de lo que se puede mejorar cuatro conceptos interesantes con manos más capaces, como evidentemente eran las que estaban tras el anime del mismo nombre y al que esto no hace justicia.

[Brandon Montgomery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the manga came first, most of us probably encountered it after the show, and it provides a fresh take on the series.
The dark themes and unscrupulous character traits, along with a healthy dose of sex and violence, are present as they are in the first series, but it's mixed with the slapstick humor of the third series.

Overall, it's entertaining but the art style is just plain bad, with most characters looking almost exactly the same and some pretty sparse environments. Most stories feel like they end before they actually get going, turning each one into something like a glorified comic strip.

Is it as good as the TV adaptions? No... At least not yet. There's a few more volumes of this to read, though most of them are OOP, I'll keep reading. I'm interested to see how the stories and art progresses.

[Jaime Guzman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to buy this book at a garage sale for very cheap. I know of Lupin the III from Hayao Miyazaki's Castle Caglistro which was awesomely fun.and entertaining.
These tales of Lupin the Third by Monkey Punch were far from what I expected. What threw me for a loop was the violence towards women and made it rough for me to continue reading. The art work though was top notch with a very distinct 70s look to it.
This book had none of the charm that was depicted on the screen in the Lupin movie and I would suggest to pass this one by.

[Cavak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Besides trickery, naked ladies, and slap-stick humor, none of the series's basics are there yet. Lupin and Zenigata look almost the same. And the English translation bizarrely uses "gi" for Fugiko and Gigen. It's humbling to know that a popular series took time to create a core familiar to later Lupin III fans.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, action-based manga with lots of comedy. Recommended for fans of the anime.

[Daniel]

While I liked seeing the origins of the character, I think the anime is better.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

the art is more ralph steadman than average manga

[Ed C · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of the Lupin III animés I was given this as a present, the original 60s manga stories. I have to say, although I did like it it was a bit hard going at times, because Monkey Punch is very madcap in his style, sometimes I lost track of what was going on from panel to panel, and just what was going on in each. But overall it was very enjoyable, because it was so madcap, and so thoroughly Lupin-esque. It's clever and inventive, but also very obvious and crass, taking lowbrow by the horns. Lupin is such a loveable character, and if you can get past the oddity of Monkey Punch's world, it is a good read. I'll definately look for the next volume now the series has its feet.

[Kurt Rocourt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cool thief with a bad ass but noble crew. It has a background with Lupine the First in that this is about what would be his Japanese grandson. A grandson who follows in his grandfathers path to become the greatest thief in the world. Add his partners of a samurai, a yakuza, and a femme fatale to get yourself a cast of characters who create a unique mix. The story takes a backseat to the wild action the characters go through in this book. It's also a older manga. This still holds up to me and I think it always will.

[Nicolo]

after watching 'Castle of Cagliostro' countless times as a kid, I finally got my hands on this manga to find out more about the gentlemen thief 'Lupin the Third'. The movie is faithful to the original character and I enjoy immersing myself in the adventures Lupin has.

[Garnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read entire series...Volumes 1-14

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've watched the majority of the Lupin anime before reading the manga. The manga is quite graphic! I'll have to keep reading to make a formal decision

[Pacman]

it great