Lupin VIII: A Canceled Spinoff Retrospective | Legacy of Lupin

[@shelbymckinney8888]

I still consider the fact that Lupin the 3rd is partially responsible for Inspector Gadget existing is one of the weirdest facts ever. Also, am I the only one love a crossover between those two.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

With Gadget's dumb luck, he'd manage to capture Lupin for good.

[@shelbymckinney8888]

@@SomeOrangeCat Or a least for a few seconds LOL.

[@glitzen05dood]

To see a battle between these two, would've been amazing.

[@itzorin600]

Actually it would be an interesting crossover and I'll love to see inspector gadget versus lupin the 3rd it'll be hilarious Dad it would be Dr claw that uses lupin

[@itzorin600]

I will love to pay money to see that as a movie or a special

[@LichSnail]

I was always convinced that Lupin The 3rd inspired CowBoy Bebop & these real drives it home more.

[@CloudConnection]

It definitely was. I know Shinichiro Wantanabe was definitely influenced by Lupin III when making Cowboy Bebop. Spike Spiegel shares a lot of traits with Lupin himself, at least in terms of personality and attitude

[@lelioimphra]

I read somewhere (can't remember where or which website sadly, maybe wikipedia lmao) that Watanabe was indeed inspired by Lupin III to create Spike Spiegel. In fact he is more of a fusion between Lupin and Jigen, the detail of always smoking crooked cigarettes being evoked, as it is a signature move from both Jigen and Spike. Idk if there's any more hint to justify that inspiration, i haven't looked at it in more depth

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Definitely liked the overarching theme of this Zenigata being convinced that this Lupin is a criminal, thus giving him a need to try to catch him.

[@Gojiro7]

Its been confirmed before that parts of this scrapped Lupin show was used in the conception of Inspector Gadget, even stating that Zenigata was among the influences behind Gadgets design and this shows use of silly high tech gadgetry (namely the use of mechanical arms) lead to gadgets iconic extrendo bodyparts

[@T2266]

not gonna lie, kinda want to see a remake of 8th.

[@sketchman7392]

Maybe TMS could use some of the ideas and stuff of Lupin the VIII to make a movie. You have a Lupin play detective who has the same "adult" nature as his ancestor and have the story challenge him in a way to see if he's more like his ancestor or have himself be his own Lupin.

[@The_Blue_Otaku]

Maybe a Lupin the 5th spin off movie fallowing a 60 year old Lupin the 3rd and his 19 year old grandson going on one last adventure

[@sketchman7392]

@@The_Blue_Otaku An interesting idea! 😊👍 Maybe TMS Can consider this if they wanted to re-explore this concept with old Lupin The Third wanting to give his future relative the first big adventure of his life out in space. 🌃

[@Truenofan86]

@@sketchman7392 How about bringing back Lupin the 3rd junior ? Since he was a character in the manga it could work as a TV special

[@sketchman7392]

@@Truenofan86 Go up against the likes of Detective Conan? That might be amusing to see happen someday! 😁👍 We already had crossovers between the two characters already.

[@paperluigi6132]

@@Truenofan86”Lupin the 3rd Jr.” So Lupin IV?

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

Inspector Gadget has lots of gadgets, but Lupin III wants to freak the ladies with his gadget...

[@Confussed-Oddish]

Technically the original Arsène Lupin was a detective so it does make sense for his ancestors to fallow in his footsteps.

[@hotrod0331]

You mean descendants.

[@joadarium9605]

I’ve actually would’ve been on board with this. And I’ll give the manga a look too because I love how they made Lupin VIII more like his ancestor, the 3rd, but still give him his own personality and made him his own person with the big shift from thief to detective. Sure, it wouldn’t be a good introduction to Lupin, but it would’ve made a decent quaint spin-off

[@Inspiration_Date]

I would love to see TMS revisit this concept sometime in the future. Lupin III is more widely recognized globally now than he was back then, so making Lupin VIII today wouldn't be so alienating, and DiC is a dead company now due to various mergers, so no stiff animation to deal with. Now is actually a better time than ever to give Lupin VIII a second attempt.

[@conradojavier7547]

DiC would have lived longer as a Distributor for Anime in the 80's.

[@chumbusi8147]

We were robbed of this masterpiece.

[@kris_0520]

Zenigata: hears the word robbed. Also Zenigata: LUPIIIIINNN!!

[@PercyandDuckfan94]

On the other hand, we wouldn't get Inspector Gadget if it did happen.

[@OperationFatGuy]

there's still time. if we have lupin zero, we can have this

[@GrosvnerMcaffrey]

​@DoctorEdgarMcQuack I don't know what's stopping them from starting over now there's no restrictions

[@ZakWolf]

From the brief clips i saw with audio, I think Shuki Levy and Haim Saban did the music score. They had a long partnership with DiC, and I've heard enough of their music for DiC, Ruby-Spears, and the Filmation "Masters of the Universe" shows to easily recognize their signature 1980s music style. Just listen at 19:05 here, and it's hard to not think "Masters of the Universe"... kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3fUq32BrbWehck

[@themysteriousspeeddemon]

Maybe if Lupin the 8th was once a theif that ultimately converted into a detective, due to his more good nature and less selfish attitude could work better. i mean this could have potential to make a great story for the show if they went that route.

[@The_Blue_Otaku]

If Lupin VIII wasn't cancelled after only one episode I bet there would have been a episode were Lupin the 3rd shows up after crashing Kyōsuke Mamō's time machine and being stranded in the 22nd century for the episode

[@vohloo9797]

While the animation is more segmented and drawn with lesser frames, I still think it has things going for it. For example: I think soms of the pose to pose animations the chatacters do are pretty nice, the character designs remain on model through out a majority of the pilot (it's a personal pet peave of mine). Adding to the staying on model part I'd also say it's somewhat impressive since there designs are fairly detailed, or at least more detailed then the ones you'd see in some western cartoons. And the overall aesthetic is really nice, in both the futuristic world and more rounded designs the characters have (really has a nice blend of 80's anime and cartoon). Really wish they continued it. Seems like a show I'd really like, specially since it seemd to have the pacing of part 1, that more methodical style is one I'm a big fan of (the part 1 Pycal episode remains one of my favorites for that reason).

[@Yoxiv]

Would be fun to see the idea revisited in some way. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised they didn't recycle it into a movie with Lupin III. While the series usually stays within a certain realm of realism, I could see a one-off movie where Lupin and co get frozen and wake up in the future to commit hijinks, perhaps with Zenigata having frozen himself to await Lupin's return. Of course, even just reviving the concept as it was intended; with Lupin's descendant, could be a lot of fun if handled just right. Take a cue from the manga and restore some of the adult elements, but maintain the distinctions like Lupin VIII following a more noble profession while still having some of the naughtier traits of his predecessor

[@ZeASK]

It is fascinating and mindboggling in equal measures that this show was almost a finished production. I had never heard of this before but I'm definitely going to try and get my hands on that manga if nothing else for curiosity's sake

[@weirdproq]

Nice video. I've been curious about this for awhile, so it's nice to see someone review it.

[@e-convoy1783]

If this series was finished, then I imagine there would've been a crossover episode between Lupin the VIII and Lupin the III!

[@OperationFatGuy]

Kyosuke Mamoh would return again

[@tipulsar85]

It all depends on execution, I would love it more if the episodes we given the okay to be a touch more like the manga chapters we got for it.

[@Doodle1678]

Jigen sucking on lollipops instead of smoking is actually hilarious. Maybe we could have still gotten a Jigen has a toothache episode because he ate too many sweets LOL

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Oh covering that previously mentioned 8th, thanks for that. Will be interesting to learn the history of this one

[@joechill6327]

I kinda adore these designs and while I wish we got a whole series, it's only for historical purposes. I couldn't imagine if this was the West's introduction to Lupin and company, history would be a lot different I think.

[@vicman3122]

I'm so happy that this wasn't a TV series, this could have destroyed the Lupin's legacy as Boruto is doing with the Naruto's legacy

[@SamRetroGaming]

Agreed. I'm surprised more people aren't talking about this

[@szymon3754]

You mean Lupin fighting, the fake Lupin?

[@henriray1440]

Not going to lie, if someone manages to find all of the footage and transcript for the pilot episode. I would not mind seeing the current Lupin dub cast (Tony Oliver, Richard Epcar, Lex Lang, Michelle Ruff, and Doug Ernholtz) doing voice work for said pilot episode.

[@Jothomas214]

This one feels clean

[@ViewpointProd]

Nice to see someone mention astro 80, my gateway to anime. Infact, now that i'm an adult, i actually am freinds with some of the cast of the english dub

[@Drixenol86]

Because it was before Arsene Lupin was in public domain.

[@GrosvnerMcaffrey]

Could they have gotten around it by pronouncing his name Lupin instead of Lupawn like funimation did?

[@Drachenhannes]

So given that time travel is a thing in the Lupin franchise we could have Lupin VIII solve a crime commited by Lupin III including going back in time and going toe to toe against his ancestor. I think that would make for a great special. Zenigata is at his best, when he is able to keep up with Lupin as a serious rival. Now with Lupin guing up against his ancestor/decendant we could have a rivalry that surpasses even that. two opposing forces being the best at what they represent. Both cunning and mischievous. Say, wasn't there a Lupin IV special once? I think there was something with Lupins and Fujikos son.

[@matt0044]

I think Night Hood was a good interpretation of Arsenal Lupin where he targets capital-C capitalists with underhanded tactics. I think it’s something Lupin VII could’ve done where he’s a thief who’s pitted against the rich.

[@Gackt4awesome]

sounds like you don't like Part 6 of Lupin. Was it too far and how they should have stuck with what Part 4 and 5's writing style?

[@CloudConnection]

Part 6 has been very inconsistent in terms of quality and tone, and the structure has been pretty awful. The Holmes storyline was completely botched by spacing out relevant plot episodes too far with too many guest-written episodes in between, and by just not building up the mystery too much. Plus, for a show that promised a darker, more sinister Lupin in the trailers, it hasn't lived up to that premise at all. It's gotten better in its second half and there are some standout moments, but overall I'd definitely call it the weakest of the Lupin TV series.

[@Gackt4awesome]

@@CloudConnection I find Lupin Part 3 to be the weakest so far. The issue is how the show not only doesn't live up to Part 2's quality but also the animation gets way to cartoonish to a point where the show cuts corners. The original part 3 Opening and original beginning episodes promise to get better, but by halfway it's gotten too silly and then 70% of the way through the anime, the opening changes and it looks actively worse. Why even make this change if the last 15 episodes are the anime's new opening? It would make sense if it was just left alone.

[@jc_ride]

The vast majority of Lupin fans, myself included, found Part 6 to be really underwhelming. Bot bad but just preety dissapointing. It's definitely my least favorite Lupin series.

[@jacobsoto7228]

@@jc_ride Agreed so far only a few moments did it for me. I did like Jigen's last voice actor's retirement episode. I also thought the last episode had potential but needed more character development and back story. I think pt. 2 had it all. And a few of the movies.

[@jerm70]

Part 6 is so rushed that they retroactively made a plot connection with episodes out of thin air. They should of stuck with a dark plot where Lupin is the villian that broke his gentleman ethics in order to retrieve the "Raven's Treasure" that could destroy British Society. Perhaps as a plot twist. An audio recording of the Queen ordering a hit on Princess Diana. The ultimate weapon to destroy British society. "A few words worth more than anything in this world."

[@RayManiac90]

To be honest I'm glad that Lupin VIII never came to be, sure the animations look cool and all but I don't see the point of it, it's pratically the same characters with similar personalities but in the future, I don't know if the original Lupin III fans would have loved something like this. And the fact they turned Lupin way too kid friendly is also a negative note to me.

[@Jothomas214]

This one would have looked more clean if it existed.

[@conradojavier7547]

DIC would have been better off as a Collaborator to TMS, than Bastardizing Sailor Moon, & Saint Seiya.

[@yoavjacoby8246]

To be frank, I don't think the show being cancelled is that much of a loss. All of the changes you've described are for the worse, other than the series being sci fi.

[@StudioLNL]

_LUIGI I'M HOME_

[@DrScottnik]

hehe "willy"

[@CloudConnection]

Scott please

[@Hateyouatiiii99]

Hehehe

[@KhayJayArt]

Behave yourself, doctor.

[@itzorin600]

Funny fact after the cancellation of this and TMS and dic I like crap we put a lot of money into this so after the cancellation of lupin 8 dic came up with inspector gadget in Tms helped did the first season of inspector gadget so either way the cancellation of this show brought us the best inspector in media

[@elaizawgp]

They all look like redesigned..

[@MIGUELDELLVALLE06-jv1sw]

Fujiko in this show look like Barbie for some kind of reason.

[@Taneuma_563]

My guess is because Barbie is well known overseas, they wanted to make a Fujiko type character that resembles her.