In 1969, popular manga series, Lupin III, was adapted for film, via the animated short, Lupin the Third. This 12-minute film – directed by Masaaki Ōsumi – was conceived as a mini-movie that would hopefully pave the way for a much longer feature.
Sadly, that feature film didn’t quite happen, as the short movie went unsold. However, the short was then adapted for television, which kick-started a Lupin the Third anime TV series, which in turn produced a feature-length spin-off movie of its own.
Then, as the years rolled on, more Lupin the Third movies followed, both in animation and live-action, creating a huge Lupin the Third film franchise in the process. But how many Lupin the Third movies are there and what is the correct viewing order?
For all the details and more keep reading!
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The animated Lupin the Third movies in order
To date, and including the original 12-minute pilot short, there are twelve entries in the animated Lupin the Third movie series. The movies appear in the following order:
- Lupin the Third: Pilot Film (1969)
- The Mystery of Mamo (1978) (aka Lupin III)
- The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
- Legend of the Gold Babylon (1985)
- Farewell to Nostradamus (1995)
- Lupin III: Dead or Alive (1996)
- Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie (2013)
- Daisuke Jigen’s Gravestone (2014)
- Goemon Ishikawa’s Spray of Blood (2017)
- Fujiko Mine’s Lie (2019)
- Lupin III: The First (2019)
- Lupin the 3rd vs. Cat’s Eye (2023)
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The Lupin the Third OVAs in order
In addition to the above, Lupin the Third has also been featured in a collection of OVAs (original video animations). The Lupin the Third OVAs were released in the following order:
- The Fuma Conspiracy (1987)
- Return of Pycal (2002)
- Green vs. Red (2008)
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The live-action Lupin the Third movies in order
As well as the animated films and the OVAs, there are two live-action Lupin the Third movies as well. The live-action films were released in the following order:
- Lupin III: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy (1974)
- Lupin the 3rd (2014)
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The Lupin the Third television specials in order
And if all of the above wasn’t enough, the popular franchise has also produced a long-running series of feature-length television specials, which date back to the late ‘80s. Each Lupin the Third TV special runs around 90-minutes in length, with entries appearing in the following order:
- Bye-Bye, Lady Liberty (1989)
- The Mystery of the Hemingway Papers (1990)
- Steal Napoleon’s Dictionary! (1991)
- From Russia with Love / Bank of Liberty (1992) (aka From Siberia with Love)
- Orders to Assassinate Lupin / Voyage to Danger (1993)
- Burn, Zantetsuken! / Dragon of Doom (1994)
- The Pursuit of Harimao’s Treasure (1995)
- The Secret of Twilight Gemini (1996)
- Walther P-38 (In Memory of the Walther P38) / Island of Assassins (1997)
- Memories of the Flame: Tokyo Crisis (1998)
- Da Capo of Love: Fujiko’s Unlucky Days / The Columbus Files (1999)
- $1 Money Wars / Missed by a Dollar (2000)
- Alcatraz Connection (2001)
- Episode 0: First Contact (2002)
- Operation Return the Treasure (2003)
- Stolen Lupin: The Copy Cat is a Midsummer’s Butterfly (2004)
- An Angel’s Tactics – Fragments of a Dream Are the Scent of Murder (2005)
- Seven Days Rhapsody (2006)
- Elusiveness of the Fog (2007)
- Sweet Lost Night – Magic Lamp’s Nightmare Premonition (2008)
- Lupin III vs. Detective Conan (2009)
- The Last Job (2010)
- Blood Seal – Eternal Mermaid (2011)
- Record of Observations of the East – Another Page (2012)
- Princess of the Breeze – Hidden City in the Sky (2013)
- Italian Game (2016)
- Goodbye Partner (2019)
- Prison of the Past (2019)
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Wow! That’s a lot of Lupin the Third!
Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the Lupin the Third movie series. For more movie posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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