Lupin the Third (1971)

The long-running gentleman-thief anime. The adventures of the master thief Lupin III and his cohorts as they dive into various escapades, all the while in pursuit by the tenacious Inspector Zenigata. (IMDb) Adapted from Monkey Punch's manga by Tokyo Movie with animation by A Production, the first series ran 23 episodes on Yomiuri TV and Nippon Television between 24 October 1971 and 26 March 1972, and is regarded as the first Japanese animated series aimed at an adult audience. Masaaki Ōsumi began as director before Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata took over and lightened the tone; Yasuo Yamada voiced Lupin, with Kiyoshi Kobayashi as the gunman Daisuke Jigen, Chikao Ōtsuka as swordsman Goemon Ishikawa XIII and Gorō Naya as Inspector Zenigata. (Wikipedia)

Watches

Zenith Chronomaster: Zenith's own history identifies Daisuke Jigen's watch as an animator-created, A384-derived chronograph shown in the first and final episodes of the original series. The first-episode design has a black, grey and gilt dial; the final episode changes to a light “panda” dial. Neither design existed as a production Zenith watch in 1971, so this row preserves the fictional on-screen source design rather than any later physical edition. (Zenith)
© TMS Entertainment

Zenith El Primero A384 Revival Lupin The Third Edition 03.L384.400/27.C815: Official product partnership — not an in-work appearance. Zenith released the Japan-exclusive, 50-piece reference 03.L384.400/27.C815 in 2019, recreating the black, grey and gilt A384-derived dial drawn in the anime's first episode; the physical edition was made decades later and is not the animated watch. (Zenith)

Official partnership product · Not shown in the work

Zenith Chronomaster Revival Lupin the Third Unique Piece: Official product partnership — not an in-work appearance. Zenith's one-off 2020 physical watch follows the first episode's black-and-gilt dial more faithfully, with smaller printed markers and altered “Z” and “H” lettering; Phillips auctioned it on November 8, 2020 for CHF 189,000. Zenith did not publish a reference number. (Zenith; Phillips)

Official partnership product · Not shown in the work

Zenith Chronomaster Revival Lupin The Third 2nd Edition 03.L384-2.400/07.M384: Official product partnership — not an in-work appearance. Zenith released the 200-piece reference 03.L384-2.400/07.M384 in 2020, using the light dial and black “panda” counters drawn on Jigen's A384-derived chronograph in the original series' final episode; the later production watch did not appear in that episode. (Zenith)

Official partnership product · Not shown in the work

Zenith Chronomaster Revival Lupin The Third Final Edition 95.L384.400/50.M384: Official product partnership — not an in-work appearance. The 250-piece titanium reference 95.L384.400/50.M384 combines the first episode's black-and-gilt dial with the final episode's light “panda” dial in one split design. Zenith's 2025 retrospective dates its unveiling to 2021; Zenith's global launch release is dated January 11, 2022, when it announced worldwide availability, so its catalog release year is 2022. (Zenith 2022; Zenith 2025)

Official partnership product · Not shown in the work

Zenith Chronomaster Revival Daisuke Jigen Edition 97.L384.400/04.M384: Official product partnership — not an in-work appearance. Released in November 2025 as a 200-piece edition, reference 97.L384.400/04.M384 uses a matte black microblasted-titanium case and a beige “panda” dial that revisits the light/silver second animated dial; it is a later tribute, not a watch retroactively present in the 1971 series. (Zenith)

Official partnership product · Not shown in the work