FAQ

Which Lupin movie/series should I start with?

This is the most common question anyone has for the series.

It is really down to personal preference as Lupin can be anything that you imagine it to be. Do you want a mischievous thief who is more like an assassin? Do you want a wacky goofy thief? Or maybe you like your Lupin a bit more gentle and protective?

For the mature, gritty, "cool" side then give the Lupin the IIIrd film series (Daisuke Jigen's Gravestone, The Blood Spray of Goemon Ishikawa and Fujiko Mine's Lie) a watch. Well animated (mostly, Fujiko Mine's Lie has a few moments), action packed that is not afraid to show blood, deeper messages such as depression and family issues. It's not quite the same as The Woman Called Fujiko Mine and feels more Lupin focused, more in character. There are some issues especially with Jigen's Gravestone and the Fujiko scene though. The only problem is that if you go this way, there isn't as much out there with In Memory of the Walther P38 fitting the bill. There's the manga but that has its own differences with maturity and the early episodes of Lupin the Third Part I (episodes 1-7, 9, 12) even though Lupin Caught in a Trap has some vibes especially at the beginning. Lupin the Third Part 5 can also be mature but only for the first two arcs and in some ways more tame than the above.

If you want something remotely like an origins story, then Episode 0: First Contact is a good option as it sort of introduces the characters in a way that meddles with the story. You have Lupin being a thief, his connection with Fujiko, Jigen being a hitman to the mob before being the sharpshooter that we know, Goemon and his Zantetsuken and why Zenigata is after Lupin. As a note, Lupin canon is played very loose and can contradict if you watch something else.

Only got a few minutes to spare? Lupin the Third: Pilot Film. It is the first animated Lupin and it shows since this is from 1969 and feels like it. As a result, it shows Goemon to be more of a villain and introduces a character that was never seen again but it does introduce Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko and Zenigata as you would expect. Some of which gets recycled into Part 1. The only issue is whether you can watch something that old and some people don't/can't with some people only watching the latest things.

Lupin the Third Part I and Lupin the Third Part IV are also good places to start. Part IV is modern with a story arc while Part I was ground breaking at the time. They are also short enough but long enough to get a flavour of the characters. Part 1 has a tonal clash though. See the above if you want something gritty but if you want to watch something more family friendly of Lupin saving people and doing heists, the Miyazaki and Takahata episodes are to watch plus the animation is more expressive. The downside is whether you want to watch something from 1971-1972. Part IV has good animation and the way the story unfolds is interesting with secondary characters that mix with the plot. If you are a fan of say Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, it is sort of set up like that with some standalone episodes, story episodes and a mixture. It does seem to be mixed within the fanbase though and it is understandable if you can't get into Part IV.

An alternative and the seed where Lupin is generally based off is Lupin the Third Part II, the route that many Italians grew up watching throughout the years turning into fans and turned the Lupin III series mainstream in Japan. The characterisations from here moulded the series, the wacky goofy yet smart thief who is attracted to Fujiko (or other women) with the characters have a bond between each other. Outside of a couple where they are two parters or follow on (or follow on from Part I in one case), it is episodic. The episode length may seem intimidating but just watch an episode that you fancy. Some are serious and some are silly. It is an example of comfort watching where you have a spare 25 minutes not knowing what to do and want to watch an episode, you don't have to watch all 155 episodes unless you want to.

For some The Castle of Cagliostro is your only option as it is the easiest in terms of availability. High quality animation that still holds up, referenced countless times and was even one of Disney's favorite movies. The car chase, Lupin on the rooftop, Lupin and Jigen fighting over food, the scene that Lupin did for Clarisse and the climax are many scenes that people will remember. There are complaints from Lupin fans that the film is a good film but a bad Lupin film. Why? It is because Lupin mostly acts in a gentleman manner and more heroic compared to his usual questionable devious motives. Even Monkey Punch has issues with the characterisations but eventually really liked it at a distance.

It's really hard to say due to that when the opinion was made, it was and generally still is the most family friendly entry of the entire series along with Miyazaki and Takahata's Green Jacket episodes. Yet over the years there have been lighter takes of the series such as The Plot of the Fuma Clan and Farewell to Nostradamus. Not quite the same tone as Cagliostro but nowhere near Fujiko Mine.

From the looks of things, Lupin III: The First might end up being a good entry point to the series. If you like that then you might like some of the TV Specials, it even has the same red jacket/yellow tie combo!

Basically watch it your way.

The only thing that I would personally avoid as an introduction are the Detective Conan crossovers because for one the Lupin characters aren't shown as much and in terms of their personalities. The Movie is even worse as characters like Goemon and Fujiko are down to almost references/joke like status as well as there are a lot more main Detective Conan characters than Lupin characters. Green vs Red because it is self referencing. Oh and Return of the Magician, avoid that one like anything.

What order do I watch the series?

Generally you can watch the series in any order however there are a few things to know:

If you want to see how Goemon joined the gang, watch The Coming of Goemon the Thirteenth and A Wolf Calls a Wolf. As for why, Goemon was not actually a character from the beginning especially in the manga and was only added to please Japanese audiences. This one is optional but would explain a few things regarding their relationship.

Watch Daisuke Jigen's Gravestone before watching The Blood Spray of Goemon Ishikawa and Fujiko Mine's Lie as they follow on from each other.

Watch Is Lupin Burning...?! before watching The Dashing Entrance of Lupin III and Lupin's Enemy Is Lupin as those feature Mister X and follow on from each other.

The Crazy Fantoma Mark III has to be watched before Flowers and Storms and a Thieves' Race.

Watching Part 1, Part 2, Part IV, The Castle of Cagliostro, Pursue Harimao's Treasure!!, will help Part 5 as there are references and some are right on the nose to the point of wondering who they are. They are also spoilers as well to their endings. Stolen Lupin is optional but would understand what Enzo Bron means by a certain term. The Day When Pops Was Adopted, Episode 0: First Contact and The Mystery of Mamo are optional as they are shout outs. There are also references to the manga especially the episode The Killers Gather in the Wasteland however the manga is not easily accessible and a few of the characters that were featured were never translated into English (they were translated into Italian, its the last few chapters of Shin Lupin).

For The Last Job, the chapter Fuma VS Lupin – The Great Treasure Hunt Operation! from Lupin III H and Lupin III M Neo Volume 5 are to be read however they are Japanese only. These explain Morgana's and André Maxim's motives before the special as it directly follows on.

What episodes/movies/TV Specials are recommended?

This is a question that again depends on your tastes so first we do the ones that are generally recommended.

The Castle of Cagliostro, The Fuma Conspiracy, Walther P38, Tokyo Crisis, Lupin the IIIrd films are the ones that fans often recommend. Some fans also like the first three digitally animated TV Specials Alcatraz Connection, Episode 0: First Contact and Operation: Return the Treasure, some of the older fans also like The Mystery/Secret of Mamo. Orders to Assassinate Lupin was considered one of the more popular TV Specials and recommended in Japan but its popularity is dropping over the years thanks to later entries. Goemon fans also like Burn, Zantetsuken! and was second in a popularity poll in Japan.

Usually recommended episodes are The Man They Called a Magician, One Chance for a Prison Break, A Hitman Sings the Blues, Hunt Down the Counterfeiter!, Beware the Time Machine!, Which of the Third Generation Will Win! and The Great Gold Showdown! for Part 1.

Part 2 is a choice from Steal File M123, Two-Faced Lupin, The Rose and the Pistol, The Wind Is Hot in Morocco, Lupin Dies Twice, Lupin Becomes a Bride, Computer or Lupin?, The Face of Goodbye at the National Border, The Woman Pops Fell in Love With, The Lupin Funeral March, The Day Pops Was Gone, The Combat Magnum Scattered in the Wasteland, Goemon's Close Call, The Target Is 555 Meters, Wings of Death - Albatross and Farewell My Beloved Lupin.

Going outside of the English fanbase shows some different recommendations on top of the above. The favorites are not only Wings of Death - Albatross and Farewell My Beloved Lupin but also Hot Shot: This is Fujiko, The Big Oildollar Plot and What Do You Think of Ukiyoe Blues?.

Other recommendations are The Dashing Entrance of Lupin III, Wads of Bills Bloom in the Rio Sunset, Hitler's Legacy, I Can Hear Nessie's Song, I'll Tell You How to Transport Gold Bullion, Is the Leaning Tower of Pisa Standing?, Tutankhamen's 3000-Year Curse, The Venice Superexpress, Wager on the Monaco GP, The Great San Francisco Chase, The Great Detectives Take to the Sky, Aim for the Oildollar, Witch of the Fourth Dimension, The Girl Who Travels Through Time, Madame and a Thieves' Quartet, Versailles Burned with Love, Lupin Is Fond of Chanel, The Wolf Saw an Angel, You're a Cat, I'm a Dried Bonito, Together with Lupin to Hell, Keep Your Hands Off the Hot Treasure, Fujiko's Close Call Rescue Operation, Lupin's Splendid Failure, The Mermaid That Disappeared in the Midnight Sun, Piano Symphony Zoo, The Arrest Lupin Highway Operation, Jigen and a Hat and a Pistol, Wad of Bills Given from God and The Hexagon's Great Legacy.

The thing with Part 2 is that with so many episodes there is so much choice and different opinions. If you want my opinion, the ones above are great choices (outside of Fujiko's Close Call Operation and Big Oildollar Plot, wasn't keen on the episodes) but I would also add I Saw the Kindness of a Man's Heart in Jigen, Lupin Laughs at the Alarm Bell, Bad Guys Are Truly Big Villains (aka Super Lupin and the inspiration of the Gold of Babylon bike chase), Steal Everything of Lupin's (one of the more closer manga adaptations in feel), Lupin's Toughest Battle Ever and the lesser known To Whom Does Orion's Crown Belong?. For the more "crazy" episodes Diamonds Shining in the Robot's Eye, Lupin's Gourmet Heaven, The Chewing-Gum Disguise Operation and crazy in a different way The Mysterious World of Madame X.

Recommendations for Part 3, 4 and 5 are harder to find. All I can find for Part 3 outside the two feature lists are Goemon the Peerless, The Name of the Cocktail Is Revenge, Pops Gets Very Angry, The Day When Pops Was Adopted and Orders to Destroy the Atomic Submarine Ivanov. Part 4 is usually the first episode The Marriage of Lupin III and The End of Lupin III.

Both Reed Nelson and Lupin Central have done their own recommendations that you can find here [1] and here [2].

Note just because you see a list doesn't mean that they are the only ones to watch or are well known. Both Reed Nelson and Lupin Central have recommended Another Page however within the fans, it is one of the lesser known TV Specials. It is entertaining to watch and fast paced. Some you might disagree with those lists such as Pursue Harimao's Treasure!! is more favourable outside the fanbase, Sweet Lost Night is liked for its more lighthearted moments and many people consider Blood Seal - Eternal Mermaid to be one of the better later TV Specials.

For episodes, there are countless ones not listed here. With over 278 episodes, there is plenty of variety. Whether you are a more of Jigen or a Goemon fan, whether you want a serious episode or something silly, whether you want to see Lupin steal something or to take out a villain/old friend.

What is the episode where Zenigata gets kidnapped?

Surprisingly a common question. It's Episode 82 out of the Red Jacket series known as Pops Hostage Rescue Operation on the wiki, Rescuing Pops if you have the Discotek DVDs, Napoleon il Grande in Italian and Operation Daddio on Crunchyroll.

What misconceptions does the series have?

There are a few that the series has:

Have to watch 50 years worth of a show and they follow on

Not true in most cases. The Parts are mainly referring to localisation then adopting from TMS since Parts 1 and 2 just said Lupin III in their original runs while Part IV can also be referred to as Lupin III. Outside of Part 5 and mostly the final arc as well as a few episodes mentioned above regarding Parts 1 and 2, they do not follow on.

It is one reason why the fans give the names Green Jacket, Red Jacket, Pink Jacket and Blue Jacket to ease this. This problem is why some people think that they can't get into the series.

Part 3 is a wacky Looney Tunes styled cartoon

There's a famous saying, don't judge a book by its cover or in this case animation. Part III is more serious than you would think and outside of a few episodes mainly Leticia Who Loved Me, is more of the lines of Part 2 and even Part 1 in a few cases. Like the first two series, some episodes were adapted from the manga in their own way and more willing to use nudity at least early on.

Speaking of which, Part 2 had crazier storylines in some of its episodes probably due to influence from Seijun Suzuki who was the producer from Season 3. There is a reason or reasons why this misconception is fuelled. Yuzo Aoki. Yuzo Aoki had worked on Part 2 and much of the time, his episodes tend up to be the more crazy episodes that Yutaka Kaneko and especially Yoshio Urasawa had written. His animation style tends to be more looser and stands out.

Yuzo Aoki was the "director" of Part 3 and as mentioned in interviews, he wanted to go back to Monkey Punch's design of Lupin rather than the animated type that was drawn by Yasuo Otsuka. Hence why Lupin and Goemon had clefts, Goemon's hair, Fujiko has volume in her hair and Jigen's eyes are seen more than just a surprised reaction.

As a result of the freedom, the animation is inconsistent among the series where it can change part episode especially later on. He also devised three different character designs; the early episodes that take cues from Monkey Punch (1-12), the mid "ugly" look where Lupin looks like a camel (13 but usually from 15-32) and Part 2 but wackier and looser (32-50). The latter was also the design of The Legend of The Gold of Babylon that itself was one of the causes of the misconception. As a note, Monkey Punch was inconsistent when it came to drawing Lupin in the manga but not to that extreme. Also Yuzo Aoki wasn't much in the series due to the movie so he only worked on a few episodes himself, checking the storyboards and left the rest to the animation studios, he also stated that he changed the character designs because he kept feeling uncomfortable about them and wanted them simplier.

Only the later episodes get close to this with Episode 40 being the stand out.

He along with other Lupin staff such as Kenji Kodama later worked on City Hunter for Sunrise that itself feels like it was inspired by Part 2 (Ryo Saeba is similar to how Lupin is with Fujiko). From his last interview, it seems that Yuzo Aoki regrets how Part III turned out due to his inexperience.

The misconception doesn't help due to the Part 5 episode Lupin VS The Smart Safe.

What series/movies are dubbed into or are in English?

Unlike some anime/manga series that are completely translated into English, the Lupin series is not quite as lucky.

Here's a list of ones that were dubbed into English with their English titles:

• The Mystery of Mamo / The Secret of Mamo (four times)
• The Castle of Cagliostro (twice)
• The Legend of the Gold of Babylon
• The Fuma Conspiracy
• Farewell to Nostradamus
• Dead or Alive
• Lupin III: The First
• Part 2/Red Jacket (Episodes 1-79, 145 and 155)
• Part IV
• Part 5
• The Woman Called Fujiko Mine
• Jigen's Gravestone
• Goemon's Bloodspray
• Fujiko's Lie
• Goodbye Lady Liberty / Bye Bye, Lady Liberty
• Voyage to Danger
• Dragon of Doom
• The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure
• The Secret of the Twilight Gemini
• Island of Assassins
• Tokyo Crisis
• The Columbus Files
• Missed by a Dollar
• Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid
• Goodbye Partner
• Is Lupin Still Burning...?

As a note to Goodbye Lady Liberty, The Fuma Conspiracy and Castle of Caglistro (depending on what dub you have) is that due to copyright reasons, Lupin is not called Lupin. This may annoy people. The Funimation dubs also pronounce Lupin differently that again might annoy people.

If you can read subtitles, a bit more in luck as Part 1, all of Part 2, Part 3, The Mystery of the Hemingway Papers, Steal Napoleon's Dictionary, From Russia with Love (aka From Siberia with Love), Alcatraz Connection, Episode 0, Operation: Return the Treasure, the Detective Conan crossovers and The Last Job are officially translated into English. Only Part 3 is not in a physical form as of the time of writing. The rest are fan translated with questionable subtitles (outside of Another Page / Marco Polo, Lupin Family Lineup and Prison of the Past where the translation is good) and some spinoffs like Mankatsu and Lupin Shanshei are not even translated at all.

If you are going down the manga route, only Lupin III and New Lupin III (translated as Lupin III: World's Most Wanted) have been translated into English. Even then there are mistakes, the stories are rewritten as they go along and World's Most Wanted was partly translated. The series is also out of print but scans are lurking somewhere. Italy is better as they have all of New Lupin III but the later entries are also not translated.

Why isn't this dubbed and will there be future dubs?

It's hard to say really as there are multiple answers and depends where you are but first a bit of history.

The time gap between Lupin the 3rd being released in Japan and being released in other countries varies. Italy was at the right place at the right time because they got Part 1 and Mamo when the anime boom was kicking off, Part 2 started in Italy when it finished in Japan creating something that lasted for generations. Due to this and having a large enough fan base, chances of an Italian dub is greater than any other language. They are missing out on Goemon's Blood Spray, Fujiko Mine's Lie, Goodbye Partner and Prison of the Past though.

Spain did try with the Telecinco dubs of Part 1, 2 and a partial dub of 3 as well as the Animax dubs of Parts 1 and 2 later on however the interest doesn't seem to be there. It's why there was no redub of Part 3 or later entries and mainly restricted to a few movies.

France despite copyright problems did also try with various movies, TV Specials and an attempted dub of Part 2 but only to 52 episodes and even as late as 2005 had a dub of Part 1 well... Edgar de la Cambriole. It is not as bad however it seems that the fan base in France is just too small... Even the Blu-ray release of Part 1 seems to be a limited edition.

The US (and to a lesser extent English speaking countries) had a larger timeline gap. Like France due to copyright issues it took until the mid 1990s before it was safe enough to release thanks to the work from Streamline Pictures however they folded soon after. It caused a mini interest so it was split between two companies. Pioneer/Geneon handled Part 2 while Funimation did the TV Specials as well as Farewell to Nostradamus and Dead or Alive. Part 2 flopped in the US when it was aired, one because the rougher looking early episodes when digital animation was starting to pop up so not as many people checked it out and two the dub was mixed among people. Geneon also folded even when they tried DVD only releases. Sales of the Funimation stuff also wasn't reported to be great and made more money on Dragon Ball Z even though the TV Specials were more modern than the 1977 episodes of Part 2 and by the end were only six years apart compared to Japan. This also affected the release of Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) as the timeline was just too far apart for people to try the series because of the animation, Gundam became a bit of a cult classic especially in the UK even though they got the series even later than the US on Blu-ray.

Slowly but surely Lupin developed a fanbase. It was really The Woman Called Fujiko Mine series and Part IV that gave it momentum. They were modern, for Part IV the subtitled versions were released much faster and the dub was around two years apart compared to Japan and Italy. Nothing like the 25 year gap for Part 2. Some of the older ones such as The Legend of the Gold of Babylon (planned since 2007) and Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid were later dubbed. Part 5 was dubbed and shown a year later. Discotek and TMS took a gamble and it paid off.

That explains the backstories but why weren't the earlier ones dubbed? In short, it is down to interest or lack of interest but for more detail.

Part 1 is due to the age even with Miyazaki's name attached to the series that gets more sales. There is one problem though... As mentioned here due to the poor condition and missing archives of the sound to the point of even affecting the soundtrack releases, it is extremely unlikely that any future dubs including English will ever be made. The Spanish Animax dub that currently is the last dubbed release was cleaned up in terms of its sound however there are missed cues in the episodes switching to Japanese audio. There is also the issue of Lupin Caught in a Trap, the second half of the original master no longer exists.

Part 2 is tricky. Since there are 155 episodes, it costs a lot of money and a lot of time to dub them. Sadly the Lupin series is not strong enough to sustain a dub of that many episodes. People for years wanted to continue the English dub from Episode 80 however dubbing 75 episodes worth is a bit of an ask and even then the fanbase might argue whether to continue the loose style of the dub or to do it faithfully causing a clash of styles plus there is no Dan Lorge as Zenigata anymore. Probably at this point if Part 2 gets dubbed, it should be started again from the beginning but more faithfully like recent dubs.

Part 3 is down to interest. Even though Part 3 has a rise in popularity over the years from nothing to something, it is still considered the weakest series by many. The other issue is that it is partly owned by YTV (who air the series in Japan). Italy needs a redub of this series too, it is just too censored to enjoy even with the classic voice actors.

As for any future dubs, if people buy and watch the dubbed entries of Lupin then it would give more of an incentive. Interest does sometimes help providing it is done tastefully. Spamming on Facebook/Twitter like people wanting a 3rd season of Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas wouldn't work as TMS doesn't exactly have the rights to the series (Saint Seiya is generally Toei and the production committee in this case if they were interested making another series, not TMS or Toei). After all companies listen to two things, interest and money.

Where can I watch the series?

This is a region exclusive question as it varies online depending where you are in the world.

For the US you are lucky as they are available on Crunchyroll, Parts 1 to 5 with Part 2 having the English dub of Episodes 1-79 (as they were based off the Geneon masters). Discotek also releases the series with a vast amount of content with all of the above being on DVD and/or Blu-rays or going to be released in the future. They are available to purchase here: [3] Some are out of print though and the Blu-rays are region locked. Funimation also released some on DVD and The Woman Called Fujiko Mine on Blu-ray however they are out of print and the picture quality is not as good as the Discotek releases.

There is also Tubi.tv that TMS themselves have put Parts 1 and 2 on there, its Japanese with English subtitles though. This might be an advantage for those who live outside the US and want to watch Parts 1 and 2 legally, if you have Opera as your web browser you might be able to watch it if you want the least hassle option.

For the UK/Ireland and possibly also the English speaking countries such as Scandinavia and the Netherlands, there are less options. Crunchyroll is still an option but only restricted to Parts IV and 5. Anime Limited has released Part IV on Blu-ray, both Japanese and English versions however the Japanese release is out of print. It might be still available to buy online (or to import the French Blu-ray as it is identical). The Castle of Cagliostro is there, both streaming and physically but not as good as the Discotek release. The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is out of print and hard to get. The rest are DVD only or even VHS. Parts 1-3 are not available and only a few movies/TV Specials were released by companies. The Funimation/Discotek DVDs might work but no guarantee whether your player would work and since Discotek pulled out of DVDs, this means that this is no longer an option.

Australia and New Zealand have it worse as they are more or less just have The Castle of Cagliostro. Since those regions have a monopoly in anime releases with most by Madman and their lack of interest in the series, it means that it is unlikely to move out of this bubble. Strangely they got the live action film on Blu-ray...

For other countries. Japan has a large range of options to watch from TV channels (Tokyo MX, Animax, NTV for new content), streaming services (Amazon Prime, Netflix) and physical media. The only exception is that they do not have The Legend of the Gold of Babylon on Blu-ray unlike the US but will play.

Italy it is on Mediaset channels (usually Italia 2 but also Italia 1) that are also on its Mediaset Play streaming service and many of the films/TV Specials/series are on DVD and Blu-ray but currently do not have Fujiko Mine, Part IV, Part 5 (on physical media) or Goodbye Partner (dubbed). They did have a Sky Atlantic Lupin III channel but it was brief and had some of the TV specials remastered. France has a few series, movies and TV Specials on DVD with Blu-ray getting Cagliostro, Fujiko Mine, Jigen's Gravestone and Part 1. Spain has a few out of print DVDs of a few movies and a Blu-ray of Cagliostro but currently no channel airs the TV series. Germany also has a Blu-ray of Cagliostro and a few TV Specials on DVD however they are also coming on Blu-ray. Spain and Germany also received the Lupin III vs Detective Conan movie on Blu-ray.

TMS sometimes releases various episodes onto their Youtube channel however it depends on your region whether you can watch them or not. Some Lupin series, movies and TV Specials are on Amazon Prime but again depends where you are. Netflix has The Castle of Cagliostro and is available in more regions.

Sadly if you live outside those regions, these are not available on your streaming services and any releases might be bootlegs. Also not everyone has a region free player.

Please note that these are official releases. While I can't say about where to get the series due to policy however do know that the others are there somewhere either as downloads or as streams, including the option to watch streams on Italia 1/2.

Where can I read the manga?

Depends where you are from. Japan has them in both physical and digital formats, the latter mostly from the Lupin III Official Magazine ones. Italy has Lupin III and Shin Lupin III has physical but no digital formats, think Spain is the same despite the lack of interest.

For a majority of the world, you would have to either know Japanese or if you don't import/buy out of print copies. There is a lack of interest for the manga as not only is the character different than what many Lupin fans expect but also it has some stuff that would feel uncomfortable for some.

There are places online that have uploads of the manga but can't tell you where due to policy. I do know though that the Tokyopop scans of Lupin III and World's Most Wanted are around with the latter recently uploaded, a few Lupin III/New Lupin III are fan translated, much of Lupin III Jr. (aka Lupin Kozo) is fan translated and think Lupin T has one fan translation. If you dig really deep you find the Japanese Lupin III, all of New Lupin III manga and low quality of the Lupin III Official Magazine ones (e.g. Lupin H, Lupin Italiano).

Will there be another entry to the series?

Highly likely yes. For TMS, Lupin the Third along with Detective Conan are their bread and butter. There will be Lupin series/movies/TV Specials for years to come. Since Monkey Punch was mostly hands off in terms of the anime, it has been the work of others within TMS, Telecom and other companies that are involved.

There might be a few years where the series will take a break like now but in some way Lupin will bounce back.

Even if Sega sells/closes TMS or another company buys the rights in the future, chances are that either someone makes a series or movie is high. Lupin III is one of those series that is part of the mainstream in Japan and will be until they had enough.

The manga on the other hand will most likely not to get any more entries as Monkey Punch did not have a successor even though illustrators such as Yamakami Masatsuki and Miyama Yukio did do Lupin III manga.

Will this character be in the next series/movie/TV Special?

This is at the time of writing referencing Ami Enan and Albert d'Andrésy, two characters that people liked in Part 5. The answer is that, we simply don't know.

People didn't expect Goro Yatagarasu to return for Prison of the Past as outside of the core group, characters rarely return if they are not already dead... usually. Most TV Special characters stay in a TV Special. The current exceptions are Mister X, Pycal, Kyosuke Mamo and a few others. The only thing that I can say is if a writer likes using that character, they might return.