Arsène Lupin III (Lupin the III)

Lupin III also known as Lupin the III or Arsène Lupin III is the main titular protagonist of Lupin III. Acknowledged across the globe as the world's number one thief, Lupin is a master of disguise and deduction, marksman, and inventor of numerous handy gadgets. One thing worth noting that he is the grandson of Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin.

Why He Rocks

 * 1) His anime counterpart is better known. Keep in mind that Monkey Punch's manga is different from his anime counterpart. Anyways, Lupin in later versions is more honorable and compassionate compared to his original manga counterpart
 * 2) Even though Lupin does steal, there are some times when he would steal some objects that he would use to give it to someone else either because it rightfully belonged to them or they needed more than Lupin.
 * 3) Despite how he does have a criminal nature in his activities, Lupin has a strict code that he would rather follow in order not to taint his reputation.
 * 4) He refuses to kill and is willing to take care of his non-lethal means in order to achieve his goals. However, Lupin will be able to play the reverse card by having a will to fire upon an enemy who threatens his friends or allies.
 * 5) Lupin is a formidable escape artist, capable of cracking any safe or escaping from shackles in moments. He can even use his restraints to entrap his would-be captor before making his departure. Also, didn't we forget to mention that Lupin has always been able to escape from jail (typically when his nemesis Zenigata is involved).
 * 6) He is shown to be crazy-prepared, he would pull out a third or even a fourth backup plain if his plans A-C failed.
 * 7) He is determined to get what he's after no matter the challenges he has to overcome. Eventually, he would be seen walking away with the treasure due to his bravery.
 * 8) In the manga, Lupin is shown to be protective of children. In the anime, however, he does get annoyed yet starts to grow attached.
 * 9) If Lupin does admit that he's making up his plans while executing them. It turns out to be hilarious.
 * 10) He can easily befuddle his opponents with various gimmicks such as a cigarette that explodes into confetti or a gun that features a spring-loaded boxing glove. Basically, think of something like what you would expect in Looney Tunes.
 * 11) He is really good at being in disguise. He can even fool close friends and family members of the impersonated party and can easily annoy Koichi Zenigata (because Lupin's favorite disguise is his Koichi disguise).
 * 12) He's pretty intelligent as you can tell. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of various topics like history and different sciences.
 * 13) His child-like antics (like taunting his enemies) are rather silly which makes him one of a kind.
 * 14) His relationship with Fujiko is rather relatable since he's infatuated with her and will do anything for Fujiko. Keep in mind that Monkey Punch said that Lupin and Fujiko "enjoy each other" and are content with their bizarre yet amicable relationship
 * 15) While this may be true that Jigen and Lupin are not as strong as you think, Lupin is still able to accept Jigen's help.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) In the manga and earlier episodes of Lupin the III Part 1, Lupin is shown to be remorseless and psychotic with a twisted sense of humor. Though as mentioned before, he does let his personality get a drastic change.
 * 2) He can sometimes be a hypocrite. In Red Jacket, Lupin says he's not a murderer, but he had killed a large number of people not in self-defense like when he tossed an explosive voice-activated pill down Capone's throat, killing everyone in the building.
 * 3) His infatuation with women is his biggest weakness which would often land him in undesirable situations. Especially when Fujiko is involved.

Trivia

 * He was never named "Arsène" in Japanese media with only one partial exception. The Girl in the Twin Towers from Lupin the Third Part V where the name appears as a profile in the episode, however, said profile was also written in English.
 * Before the Arsène Lupin copyright expired, most English dubs renamed him "Wolf" or "Rupan" with the exception of the Frontier dub of The Mystery of Mamo who kept Lupin but renamed everyone else. If Lupin III was ever used, it had to be referenced as an alias on the packaging. In Germany, he was renamed to Hardyman. This did not affect Spain or Italy who kept his original name.
 * In France, he's called Edgar de la Cambriole (Literally “Edgar of Burglary”) as Arsène was still under copyright in France due to the longer copyright law. For the same reasons as above, he was also known as Vidocq, "Wolf", "Lupan" or "Rupan". The Woman Called Fujiko Mine was the first series in France to use the Lupin III name as the copyright lapsed in 2012. While the Lupin III name is used in France, the Edgar de la Cambriole name is also used for re-releases of older series or as an alias.
 * According to The Castle of Cagliostro Dictionary Book, Lupin's birthday is on February 10. This is the only time when a date for his birthday was given. Japanese fans however celebrate Lupin day on March 3 despite no significant reason outside of being 3/3.
 * The creative team of the video game Persona 5 were to originally ask themselves how a characters like Lupin III might win appeal in modern society.
 * Lupin has also been seen in television advertising for motorcycles, gasoline, razors, fast food companies, and some others.
 * Monkey Punch combined elements of Arsène Lupin with James Bond to develop the character of Lupin III and made him a "carefree fellow".
 * Monkey Punch said the appeal of drawing Lupin comes from the character being able to go anywhere without obstacles and being able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
 * Monkey Punch believed that Lupin and Fujiko are similar to the characters of D'Artagnan and Milady de Winter, and described them as "Not necessarily lovers, not necessarily husband and wife, but more just having fun as man and woman with each other".