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Ever wondered why of all anime series Lupin III became one of the most famous faces from Japan animation in Italy?
On top of being just a fun series overall, this might have to do with the character reminding the general Italian audience of more familiar faces at the time.
On top of being just a fun series overall, this might have to do with the character reminding the general Italian audience of more familiar faces at the time.
To understand it better, we have to talk about a subgenre of comics that got incredibly popular in the country between the 60s and the 70s, the so-called "fumetto nero italiano" and its many many many characters
This genre, that wikipedia tells me is called "Fumetti neri" in English, was characterized by ruthless, almost villainous (and in some cases just plain bad guys) protagonists, who live in their own dark world, with lots of violence and very suggestive themes
It didn't take too long for complaints from authorities to happen, and in the latter part of the 60s, early 70s, we began to see a peculiar split.
Some softened their protagonists, turning them into anti-villains at best
and other just turned into pornography
(NO PICTURE HERE)
Some softened their protagonists, turning them into anti-villains at best
and other just turned into pornography
(NO PICTURE HERE)
Lupin began stealing Italian hearts when he first arrived in 1979, swaggering about in his green jacket; he wasn't a hero, but a thief, and great one at that. To the general public, he was a foreign version of "heroes" fondly remembered at the time. But who were they?
I can't list them all, but let me talk at least about 3 of them. The most famous, that is.
One that doesn't need introductions is Diabolik, the "King of Terror", the thief of many faces, chased by Inspector Ginko and love of Eva Kant, created by Angela & Luciana Giussani
One that doesn't need introductions is Diabolik, the "King of Terror", the thief of many faces, chased by Inspector Ginko and love of Eva Kant, created by Angela & Luciana Giussani
One of my personal favourites is the thief with the skull mask, Kriminal, created by Max Bunker & Magnus. Initially a very sadistic killer fighting for revenge against those that did him wrong, his stories were some of the first to implement a continuity in Italian comics
and finally, from Max Bunker & Magnus once more, we have Satanik, who could charm her enemies with her sex appeal and ingenuity. Her stories would also feature supernatural elements, and she shared her fictional universe with Kriminal, in one of our first cases of crossovers.
You might have noticed I referred to the last two characters using the past tense. That's because, long-runners as they were (419 and 231 issues respectively), by 1979 their series had already ended. But they still receive reprints from time to time, their memory is still fresh
So yeah, in short, Lupin appeared at just the right time, when old fans hungered for more thief stories with a touch of sexiness and new fans were stunned by this French-Japanese criminal and his cast of characters. Lupin III always wins, after all.
