Lupin II is a character of Lupin III (Manga) and its adaption in Lupin the 3rd Part 1.
Lupin II is the son of the legendary Arsène Lupin, who took up his father's mantle as a notorious thief. Sometime during his later career, he sired a son who was third in line to be named Lupin, allegedly with his wife Tomoe. According to Tomoe, this was a marriage Arsene didn't approve of. Not much is known about the thief or his actual whereabouts but according to various sources he is dead.
Appearance[]
Lupin II has a different design in all of his appearances. In an early manga chapter, he appeared rougher with a beard and longer sideburns.[2] In a later chapter, he appeared to be a gentleman wearing a suit, combed hair and being clean cut.[3]
There were only two animated appearances of Lupin II. In the series, he looked a lot like his father, and wore a top hat, cape and monocle just like him, but had long, shaggy hair and a beard, while his father had a thin, neatly waxed mustache.[4] In TV Specials, he resembles a younger Lupin with a green jacket.[5]
History[]
At some point after Lupin III inherited Arsène Lupin's legacy, Lupin II escapes from prison along with several of his fellow inmates. He elects to hunt down Lupin III stating to his collaborators he believes that he is an impostor and that his real son died years ago. Arsène told his grandson that Lupin II was dead and even erected a tomb for him. A young Lupin III confronts his father and demands to know the truth. Miss K, a collaborator of Lupin III dating from when his grandfather was alive tries to convince Lupin II to tell the truth, revealing that he was merely testing his son but decided that he was not ready yet to lead. Once the cops surround the building they're in, Lupin II sneaks out disguised as one with his son tagging along having seen through the disguise. Lupin II purposefully crashes the sidecar of his motorcycle into a tree, leaving his son behind as he leaves.[2]
He inflicted the sole defeat of a Jito-style swordsman with a dagger 25 years before Part 1 Episode 7, which, if taken into context with when the episode aired, means 1956. The dagger was forged the same way as Goemon Ishikawa's Zantetsuken, the "sword that cuts steel" following the Book of Secrets stolen by Arsène Lupin in the 19th century. It details the creation of the original in the Kurotori Mountain area during the 19th century. This swordsman eventually managed to steal both the blade and the book, creating a new Zantetsuken with the secret.[4]
His partners were George Takigawa and Ken Makita, the world's best safecracker, who worked with him in Paris.[6] Dr Nomil was his best friend.[7] Lucrezia Borgia is a fan of Lupin II. Her comments were that no matter the job, she found him handsome and much, much cooler than Lupin III.[8]
It is implied that he was the same as his father in terms of his gambling to the point where someone came to his house and he gave Napoleon's Dictionary to pay off his drinking debts however he got attacked. He was also a womanizer.[5]
Farewell to Nostradamus features a jailbird named Philippe who Lupin called "Uncle", although it's not known if Philippe is really Lupin II's brother.
Death[]
In the anime series, Lupin II is dead. He has been killed in a train bombing by a villain called King who sought to take over the "Lupin empire".[6] King was also meant to kill Lupin III, but only badly wounded him.[9]
This account took place in a story of dubious continuity since other backstory elements of the main characters are provided and quickly discarded, as some example of Monkey Punch's use of multiple choice backgrounds for them. Namely, this story contained Daisuke Jigen and Lupin III being childhood friends, Jigen having a sister (who was being held hostage by King). In the same story, Lupin II's killer was the father of one of the Fujiko Mines.
While he was dead in both early manga chapter and anime series,[2][4] in later manga chapter it is revealed that he is still alive but with a different character design.[3] In Lupin III Chapter 94, Lupin is tearfully re-united with him on their private island.
Notes[]
- He is never given the name "Arsène" in original Japanese media.
- Due to copyright reasons regarding the Lupin name in France, he was renamed as Archibald de la Cambriole in the French dub of Part I.
- If La Comtesse de Cagliostro is taken into account, he has a half-brother named Jean.
- If Part 1 Episode 7 was set when it was made, that means he stole from the Jito-ryu Commander in 1956.
- Steve Kramer gives Lupin II a fairly similar voice to Tony Oliver's Lupin III, but deeper and gruffer.
- He shares his Japanese voice actor in Lupin Zero with his son's appearance in The Plot of the Fuma Clan.
References[]
- ↑ Lupin II Character Story on Lupin Zero Website. lupin-zero.com (in Japanese)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lupin III Manga — Chapter 60
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lupin III Manga — Chapter 94
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lupin the 3rd Part 1 — Episode 7
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 TV Specials — Steal Napoleon's Dictionary!
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lupin the 3rd Part 1 — Episode 21
- ↑ Lupin the 3rd Part 2 — Episode 16
- ↑ Lupin the 3rd Part 2 — Episode 135
- ↑ Lupin III Manga — Chapter 12