Lupin the Third (1971)
From IMWDb
More actions
_poster.jpg)
Master thief Lupin III and his companions carry out robberies while evading 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 the animated watch is a fictional design that inspired later physical editions. (Zenith)
- Zenith Chronomaster
- The final episode's design: in episode 23 "The Great Gold Showdown!" (黄金の大勝負!) a wrist insert shows the same A384-derived case on a steel bracelet with a light "panda" dial, three dark registers, ZENITH at 12 and a date window at 4:30, the drawing Zenith's own history describes as the final episode's light dial and later recreated as its 2020 second edition. (Zenith) The 1016watch-style Jigen survey reproduces this frame and places it in the 1977 second series; the frame is the 1971 series' finale, so the survey's attribution is recorded here as corrected. (1016watch-style)
- Yema Meangraf Super
- In the first episode, Lupin disguises himself as an F1 driver and times his mid-race swap with Jigen on a Yema Meangraf Super, visible from around the 10:40 mark. Several Japanese watch-media analyses identify the same model, and Yema itself issued an official Lupin the Third commemorative run of the meangraph super in 2021 (R70, Y70, B70) explicitly reproducing the episode-1 watch, an official replica preserving the source design. (Impress Watch, webChronos, Begin)
- Seiko (unidentified model)
- In episode 6, "Rainy Afternoon Is Risky", Lupin wears a plain three-hand watch whose drawn dial text is legible as DIASHOCK 23 JEWELS, the shock-protection and jewel-count markings of a Seiko mechanical. The legible text secures the brand from the cel itself, but the simple dial supports no model or reference beyond that; a collector survey offers the modern Seiko Mechanical SARB003 only as the closest current equivalent. (1016watch-style)
_-_Zenith_Chronomaster_scene.jpg){kind=link}
_-_Zenith_Chronomaster_scene_02.jpg){kind=link}
_-_Yema_Meangraf_Super_scene.jpg){kind=link}
_-_Seiko_(unidentified_model)_scene.jpg){kind=link}
- 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
- Seiko Lupin the Third Official Watch
- Official product partnership, not an in-work appearance. Seiko and Imperial Enterprise released this 3,000-piece quartz chronograph through PREMICO on November 10, 2023 at ¥49,800 (¥54,780 tax-in), styled after Lupin's signature red jacket with a red-gradient dial ringed "LUPIN THE THIRD" in gold text, gold bullet-shaped hour markers, and three sub-dials styled as a searchlight chasing Lupin, bullet holes, and Lupin's own silhouette. Licensed merchandise, credited ©Monkey Punch/TMS-NTV, not worn on screen. (atpress; PREMICO)
Official partnership product · Not shown in the work