S3E3 - The Red Jacket Adventures: Lupin the 3rd Part II Review & Analysis

“Lupin, our manly drama ends today!”

Airing from 1977 to 1980, the second Lupin the 3rd TV anime – retroactively titled “Part II” – produced a whopping 155 episodes, and with the iconic red jacket and the entire five-person crew (Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, Goemon, and Zenigata) in tow for every adventure, this is the series that firmly cemented Lupin III as an enduring anime icon, and set the tone for many of his future capers. For today’s episode, we watched a selection of 27 episodes – see the full list below – and experienced a wide range of adventures, from Lupin and company stealing a vintage bottle of wine on Christmas, to Jigen helping a ballerina defect to the West, to ‘Pops’ Zenigata springing a daring trap for Lupin on the highway, to Goemon surviving a shockingly violent bout of torture, to two whole episodes devoted to an extremely surprising (and very funny) alternate history of Jesus Christ himself! Part II is truly a wild ride, with some absolute masterpiece episodes displaying some of the greatest animation in TV history, and almost always providing a big dose of fun.

Enjoy, and come back next week as we review Lupin’s most famous adventure with Hayao Miyazaki’s 1979 classic The Castle of Cagliostro, and look at the two episodes Miyazaki directed for Part II, Albatross – Wings of Death and Farewell, O Dearest Lupin!

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:20

Intro, History, and Part II Overview: 0:01:20 – 0:57:57

Eyecatch Break 1: 0:57:57 – 0:58:30

Episode-by-episode review, part 1: 0:58:30 – 2:22:00

Eyecatch Break 2: 2:22:00 – 2:22:29

Episode-by-episode review, part 2: 2:22:29 – 3:45:25

End Theme: 3:45:25 – 3:46:40

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“Welcome to Japanimation Station!” Lyrics by Sean Chapman, Music by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku. https://www.thomaslack.com

Full list of episodes watched (Japanese title/English title)

1 - "Lupin the Third's Gallant Appearance" / "The Return of Lupin the 3rd"

12 - "A Gift for the President" / "The Sleight Before Christmas"

13 - "The Great Chase in San Francisco" / "I Left My Mind in San Francisco"

20 - "Cornered Lupin" / "Hell Toupee"

21 - "Goemon's Revenge" / "The Last Mastery"

25 - "Encounter With the Deadly Iron Lizard" / "The Lair of the Land-Shark"

26 - "A Rose and a Pistol" / "Shot Through the Heart"

27 - "Where Did the Cinderella Stamp Go?" / "The Little Princess of Darkness"

30 - "The Wind in Morocco is Hot" / "Morocco Horror Picture Show"

32 - "Lupin Dies Twice" / "Lupin the Interred"

34 - "Lupin Who Turned Into a Vampire" / "But your Brother was Such a Nice Guy"

36 - "Uncover the Secret of Tsukikage Castle" / "The Riddle of Tsukikage Castle"

38 - "The Sweet Trap of ICPO" / "Happy Betrayals to You"

48 - "Lupin Laughs at the Alarm Bell" / "Vault Assault"

57 - "Computer or Lupin?" / "Alter-Ego Maniac"

58 - "The Face of Goodbye at the National Border" / "Gettin' Jigen with It"

66 - "Order: Shoot to Kill!!" / "Beauty and the Deceased"

69 - "The Woman Pops Fell in Love With" / "Zenigata Getcha into My Life"

85 - "The ICPO's Secret Plan" / "The Secret Order of ICPO"

94 - "Lupin vs. Superman" / "Lupin Vs. Superman"

97 - "Find Lupin the First's Treasure" / "Searching for Lupin I's Treasure"

99 - "The Scattered Magnum" / "Fighting Jigen"

112 - "Goemon's Close Call" / "Danger! Goemon"

114 - "The Secret of the First Supper" / "The Secret of the First Supper"

129 - "In Jigen, I Saw the Gentleness of a Man's Soul" / "The Kindness Of Jigen is Seen"

148 - "The Target Is 555 Meters" / "The Target is Five Hundred and Fifty Five Meters Away"

151 - "The Arrest Lupin Highway Operation" / "To Arrest Lupin, the Mission at Highway"