Note that this series is a retelling, so the main cast acts differently than their previous incarnations. Any tropes that apply to the Lupin III cast in general belong on the main character page. Please remember that Character-specific tropes can often be spoilers, so keep that in mind while reading Character pages.
Main Cast
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Fujiko Mine
Miyuki Sawashiro (JP), Michelle Ruff (EN)
A master thief, Fujiko is quick-witted and ruthless. Her background is a mystery, and she steals for the pleasure of the act rather than the objects themselves.
- Animal Motifs: Butterflies and peacocks. Lupin compares her to one after failing to steal a peacock statue with her.
- Anti-Hero: Mostly Nominal Hero, and only because she is the primary Protagonist. Otherwise Fujiko fits her typical Anti-Villain status.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: With Zenigata in the first part of the finale in tow of finding Oscar and fighting her clones.
- Broken Bird: The series gradually reveals more and more of Fujiko's past, memories of mental and physical torture, and plays of sympathy for her current mental state. Until the end of the series, where The Reveal completely subverts this trope and others, Fujiko had these memories implanted inside her mind, but is able to block them out and mostly ignore their effects, as well as being a Dark Action Girl and Femme Fatale before the implantation, too. It's just how she rolls.
- Combat Stilettos: Fujiko wears high heels to make sure guys check out her legs. They're never taken off when she's doing the running around.
- Dark Action Girl: Fujiko has always been an independent Villain Protagonist, and despite this series being about her, it's still Lupin making friends. But "Love Wreathed In Stream" is significant for showing how independent she is. While trying to steal a human painting, she's ruthless enough to try killing Lupin, Jigen, and the painting, just to feel free from Almeida's influence.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Fujiko remembers being molested and experimented on as a little girl, but the trope is Subverted when it turns out those are Aisha's memories, not Fujiko's.
- Enemy Mine: With Inspector Zenigata in the first part of the finale with him after finding Oscar and fighting her clones.
- Even the Girls Want Her: As Cicciolina in ".357 Magnum" is helpful enough to point out.Cicciolina: What a beautiful body. Men would... No, even women would surely become enslaved by it.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- Even after The Reveal that the memories aren’t really hers, she is still disgusted by the Glaucus Indistries experiments.
- After hearing Minerva’s speech she has nothing but loathing for her Bystander Syndrome.
- Fake Memories: All of those memories of Fujiko's 'childhood' you saw all through the series? Fake in the sense that they aren't hers, but Aisha Kaiser's.
- Femme Fatale: Fujiko is on a scale not seen in any of her previous incarnations, save the original manga. It actually appears to be a Deconstruction of Femme Fatales; Fujiko went through nine hells since her implantation of Aisha's memories to become the weapons-grade Femme Fatale she is. Then it turns out that the false memories had nothing to do with it, and the trope is Reconstructed. Her fascination with Lupin is deconstructed as well - though he obviously admires her charms, he admires her professional use of those charms even more. This leads to the
author's interpretation of them "enjoy(ing) each other
" through their Friendly Rivalry.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Fujiko uses her body to get close to people, and lure them into her traps. The only one it doesn't work on is Lupin, in the first episode.
- Hot Teacher: In "Prison of Love", she enjoys being fawned over by the students.
- Madness Mantra: At the end of "Love Wreathed In Stream", Fujiko is having trouble dealing with what her past has done to her, becoming almost catatonic with fear and confusion.
- "What the hell?"
- Master of Disguise: Done subtly, since Fujiko isn't seen with the same hairstyle/colour/dress in any two episodes. Only rarely does she attempt to disguise herself as anyone else. Good enough to catch Lupin when he does, though.
- Mysterious Past: Lupin wasn’t able to find anybody with her name or description anywhere in the world. Even at the end of the series, we don’t learn anything.
- Omniglot: Travels the entire world, and is able to talk to anyone, but the recurring German is plot-relevant.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The calm and self-assured Fujiko becomes a reckless pursuer in "Love Wreathed In Storm" as she shows no qualms about murdering Lupin, Jigen, and the human painting that she is after. In fact, during the pursuit, she becomes so sloppy that she falls from a skylift that Lupin shoots, rammed off of the road and into a ditch during a car chase, and even drops her gun into the boiling hot spring when chasing Lupin and the painting. She even goes into a Heroic BSoD from the Bright Slap Lupin gives her at the end of episode!
- Pet the Dog: In episode 3, Fujiko posed as a governess to a monarch's children in order to steal a priceless family heirloom. During her subterfuge, she bonds with Goemon on being alone in the world. After her heist, she still takes the time to tuck the kids in and confesses that she had enjoyed her time there (more to herself than the kids who were sleeping) before making her escape.
- Pragmatic Pansexuality: Fujiko has no problems being intimate with men if it furthers her own goals, and she's extended that to women as well. Notable, however, are the instances in which Fujiko doesn't hesitate in passionately kissing a student in episode 6 for no apparent gain, and in that same episode is willing to have sex with Isolde (though in this case she has a goal in mind). She also doesn't bat an eye at being a woman's sexual slave either, though that may have been a ploy.
- The Rival: To Lupin and Jigen, explicitly so with Lupin, because he believes that theft is more fun as a “competitive sport”. His interactions with her in this part are him trying to set her up as a worthy rival and egging her on whenever she looks like she's giving up.
- Sex Goddess: Zenigata is explicitly fond of her due to her skills in the bedroom. Once, when she slept with him she made his grunting screams are so loud she manages to trick Oscar into thinking she is torturing him.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: Whatever outfit gets the job done. Naked is just as good as a bikini or suit.
- Ship Tease: Fujiko teases Goemon with the idea of being his girlfriend. This is a Call-Forward to events of Lupin III: Part 1, where he introduces her to Lupin that way.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Develops this (from the teacher side) with Isolde in "Prison of Love" in order to steal something from her.
Aisha Kaiser (SPOILER WARNING!)
Aisha Kaiser (This is the character we see in Fujiko’s Flashbacks)
Sanae Kobayashi (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN)
Aisha is the daughter of two scientists who worked for Count Almeida. Picked out as his favourite experiment, she was not only the victim of physical torture and brainwashing, but also given Fake Memories of additional tortures, selected from the other experiments. Unable to accept Almeida’s death, she continued the memory and torture experiments, modifying the pattern to discover what she might’ve done if the experiments hadn’t left her a quadriplegic.
- Animal Motifs: Aisha shares peacocks and butterflies with Fujiko, featuring mostly butterflies in Fujiko's false flashbacks. Her high-backed chair at the dinner table, however, shows peacock feathers.
- Big Bad: Aisha has been controlling the events of Fujiko's life for the entire series. But she's been doing it on behalf of Count Almeida, making him the mastermind responsible for everything bad that's happened to the main characters. Since he's dead, he is no longer an actual person forcing Aisha to do anything. Aisha's lingering fear, however, makes him a Predecessor Villain to her, and inverting the trope in the process.
- The Chessmaster: Aisha replaces Count Almeida after his death, and chooses to continue his incomplete plans regarding his primary experiment (her). She uses her extensive Big Brother Is Watching sources to manipulate the people around Fujiko.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Aisha’s memories of torture and brainwashing are the fuel for her fear of Count Almeida. This fear drives her to control every aspect of Fujiko’s life, and manipulate the people around her.
- Fake Memories: Aisha has had memories of other girls implanted, had her real memories covered up, and had her memories implanted into other people.
- Grand Theft Me: Aisha pulls this trope on Fujiko, and many other girls who were in her experiment, via replacing their memories with hers. She continued Count Almeida's work in a vain attempt to get her "story" back by implanting her memories into young girls to see if she was able to live a different life, assuming the physical torture hadn't made her a quadriplegic.
- Machine Monotone Her voice is telepathically spoken in a vocoded manner, much like GLaDOS.
- Tragic Monster: What Almeida put her through left her unable to move or speak without aid of a computer, but after he died she kept up his work, not knowing how to do anything else.
- Walking Spoiler: It's very hard trying to talk about her until the two-part finale.
Glaucus Pharmaceuticals
Count Luis Yu Almeida
Kanji Kodate (JP), Bill Jenkins (EN)
Count Almeida is an Owl-obsessed Mad Scientist who owns the Fiction 500 pharmaceutical organization, Glaucus Pharmaceuticals.
- Abusive Parents: He was apparently a Parental Substitute to Aisha while she was experimented on. He also burned her skin whenever she was disobedient, even when she simply had a toy from her real parents.
- Animal Motifs: Owls are Count Almeida's preferred animals, to the point where the drug Fraulein Eule will make people think they see people with Owl heads, and not notice anything out of the ordinary. He also decorates his castle with many owls, including a statue to the Roman goddess Minerva (who was represented by owls).
- Big Bad: As of "Dying Day", Count Luis Yu Almeida is the mastermind behind nearly the entire story, despite the fact that he's long dead, and it's actually Aisha that's now running the show.
- The Chessmaster: Count Luis Yu Almeida, whose plans included manipulation of his own scientists and possession of their children. Until The Reveal of him being Dead All Along, he audience thought he was behind the various plots which included Fujiko, Lupin, and Oscar. And yet His experiments continue as if he is still alive to oversee them.
- Dead All Along: His experiments continue as if he is still alive to oversee them.
- Dead Guy on Display: He has been dead for years at least, but his body remains unburied and preserved so that Aisha can fool outsiders that he's still alive and as a psychological weapon against Fujiko.
- Diabolical Mastermind: Probably takes the cake in the Lupin franchise. He actually died before the series started. Aisha, his "daughter", is unable to cope with the idea the experiments would end, and followed in her "Papa"'s footsteps, growing it.
- The Faceless: For almost all of his appearances, including flashbacks, he is either wearing an owl mask or has his face obscured offscreen. The only time we get a good look at his face is in the finale when the shrivelled face of his long dead corpse is revealed.
- Fake Memories: Count Almeida used false memory as part of his experimentation process. This includes implanted memories as well as the hallucinatory Fräulein Eule.
- Foreshadowing: In "Ghost Town", when Zenigata and Oscar pay him a visit, he meets them while in a bed, only to turn out to be a machine wearing an owl mask. This hints that Almeida is already dead.
- Hate Sink: Count Almeida is the owner of Glaucus Pharmaceuticals, who kidnaps end experiments on countless young girls in order to create a perfect slave. When one of his researchers offers his daughter Aisha as one of subjects, Almeida takes her as his personal slave, regularly burning her skin for the smallest infraction and eventually killing her father. By the time of his death, Aisha is to psysically and mentally broken to do anything but continue has experiments.
- Karma Houdini: After all his cruelty, he dies of natural causes years before anybody learns of his crimes.
- Predecessor Villain: The count is dead by the time the series starts but it was his torture and brainwashing over the Big Bad that caused her to bend to his will and manipulate Fujiko Mine during the events of the series proper.
Dr. Fritz Kaiser
Binbin Takaoka (JP), Jerry Russell (EN)
Dr. Kaiser is an illusion from the Fräulein Eule, who is searching for his "tochter"note . Lupin figures out that the doctor is talking about Aisha.
- Dead All Along: The doctor acts as Mr. Exposition while Lupin investigates Fujiko's past.
- Disappeared Dad: This trope is zigzagged, as Dr. Fritz Kaiser is the father of Aisha, who disappeared years ago. Not just from her past, but even her memories, due to Count Almeida's influence. Then, Lupin encounters Dr. Kaiser as an illusion conjured by the Fräulein Eule while also affecting the physical world.
- Mr. Exposition: He only appears in one episode, but he reveals a lot of key information that Lupin was trying to find out about Aisha. Every scene he's in adds more and more to the mystery.
The "Owl of Minerva", a.k.a Dr. Minerva Kaiser
Katsumi Chou (JP, voice changer), Ichiko Hashimoto (JP), Kent Williams (EN, voice changer), Juli Erickson (EN)
A recurring Owl-headed mook who meets with different members of the main cast in order to carry out Glaucus Pharmaceuticals's mysterious agenda. In actuality she's Minerva Kaiser, Aisha's mother. She was so ashamed that she couldn't resist Count Almeida that she erased herself from Aisha's memories, and serves as her second-in-command as Aisha takes over Almeida's experiments.
- Bystander Syndrome: She did nothing while her husband offered their daughter as a test subject for Glaucus’ experiments and stayed on the sidelines until Almeida died. Fujiko rightfully calls her out for this.
- Missing Mom: Dr. Minerva Kaiser is Aisha's mom. Everyone assumed that she died early on in Aisha's life but in actuality, she was one of the scientists that took part of making Aisha the way she is. She became so overwrought with guilt that she had erased herself out of Aisha's memories, which we saw through Fujiko and became the 'Owl of Minerva' to serve as a Hypercompetent Sidekick to Aisha as a way to absolve her failure to protect her child.
- Mook Lieutenant: The "head" Owl Man, and the one giving orders to the others. This owl's suit is usually a more distinctive green than the others.
- Mr. Exposition: Picks up this role from Dr. Kaiser her husband and resolves some of the mysteries he brought up.
- Never Mess with Granny: Minerva Kaiser's an older woman by the time we meet her, but the Owl of Minerva's a fairly agile foe, fighting both Lupin and Jigen on a high-speed roller-coaster, and then taking a dive into a lake to escape.
- Samus Is a Girl: Lupin's surprised he couldn't figure it out until the last episode.
- Walking Spoiler: Just who's under the mask, and the revelations that they bring are key reveals in the final episode.
Lupin III
Kanichi Kurita (JP), Sonny Strait (EN)
The eponymous Lupin is currently playing second banana to Fujiko (although he is still The Heavy character in terms of plot). Wearing the Green Jacket for most of the episodes, Lupin is mostly unchanged from his earlier characterizations.
- Challenge Seeker: By his own admission. He warns the police about his activities in advance because stealing without facing a prepared defense is too easy. Similarly, he pursues Fujiko because unlike other women he can't get her into his bed at will and she keeps surprising him.
- Decoy Protagonist: Lupin isn't the main character. He does, however, headline a number of episodes, notably the last four.
- The Rival: Primarily to Fujiko, but also to Jigen for most of the series, beginning in 'Blood-Soaked Triangle'.
Daisuke Jigen
Kiyoshi Kobayashi (JP), Christopher Sabat (EN)
Starting out as the mark for Fujiko, Jigen leaves The Mafia after seeing one too many deaths, and guesses he might become a thief like her.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: He becomes inflicted with the Dizzy Powder and proceeds to chase Lupin while gunning him down in the second part of the finale. He spends the remaining time fighting Goemon in a hallucination.
- Ignore the Fanservice: Unlike Lupin, Goemon, and even Zenigata who all find themselves drawn to Fujiko's allure, Jigen just doesn't like her. Her attempts to seduce him are met with either apathy or discomfort on his part, and when she finally does manage to kiss him, it's because he's lost in thought. Even at the end of his debut episode when the two meet one final time, their parting is friendly, rather than hinting at future romantic pursuits.
- Last-Name Basis: In this version, the Japanese put his name as "Jigen Daisuke", which makes Jigen his family name (Western order is Daisuke Jigen), and he is addressed as "Jigen" by the other characters.
- Morphic Resonance: When Goemon hallucinates him as having an owl head he keeps his curled beard.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Jigen pulls jobs for money, he isn't passionate about stealing or in it for the thrills like Fujiko and Lupin.
- The Rival: Fought against Fujiko several times, while his rivalry with Lupin develops into a shaky friendship.
- Teeny Weenie: Fujiko makes fun of his "mini-magnum," though it's done to annoy him and make Lupin jealous, as Jigen had never slept with her before.
- William Telling: To prove his skill to an employer, the man has Jigen shoot a cherry from in between his wife's lips. Jigen lampshades it, complaining that the stunt is overdone.
Goemon Ishikawa
Daisuke Namikawa (JP), Mike McFarland (EN)
Goemon is an assassin who meets Fujiko while both are "in disguise". As he tries to uncover the mystery that is Fujiko Mine, he also tries to find his place in the world.
- Badass in Distress: He's kidnapped by the Owl men in "The Feast of Fools", but breaks out by himself.
- Born in the Wrong Century: Almost all of his scenes emphasize how out of touch he is with the modern world in both ethics and attire; every time he's in a public space, people stare at him in disbelief, and he clashes with other criminals because they don't follow the same honor code he does.
- Implausible Fencing Powers: As usual. In Episode 7, he cuts two missiles cleanly in half mid-air, thus preventing World War III from breaking out and resetting the metaphorical doomsday clock.
- Ship Tease: Fujiko teases Goemon with the idea of being her girlfriend, and he refers to her as such in the finale. This is a Call-Forward to events of Lupin III: Part 1, where he introduces her to Lupin that way.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: After his kidnapping by the Owlmen in "The Feast of Fools and escaping being turned into a Fujiko clone, he has no choice but to dress as the woman in the same exact wardrobe she wore in the end of "Master Thief and Lady Looter".
Inspector Zenigata
Kōichi Yamadera (JP), Richard Epcar (EN)
Gruff and square-jawed, this version of Pops is much closer to his depiction in the manga chapters; a serious cop who is intelligent and respected, working to catch Lupin and uphold the ideals of The Law.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: A rare personality example. Zenigata is much more charming, roguish, and competent this time around. He's also far less buffoonish. As such, when he flirts with Fujiko, there's actual chemistry.
- Adaptational Badass: Taken much more seriously in this, and isn't as prone to the humorous fits of rage or humiliation that he is in the manga or other anime.
- Adaptational Jerkass: His unethical sleeping with Fujiko while she's in his custody, sexist remarks, and even trying to put out his cigarette on her cleavage make him a less moral character than his previous interpretations. He also lacks the friendly rivalry/relationship with Lupin, viewing him as a worthless thief that nobody else can catch.
- Antihero: Zenigata doesn't mind breaking the law, sleeping consensually with prisoners, or shooting to kill even at Lupin. Also qualifies as Good Is Not Nice.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: With Fujiko in the first part of the finale while searching for Oscar and fighting the Fujiko clones.
- Character Check: Zenigata is much less of a buffoon in this incarnation. Sure, he's still always one step behind Lupin, and Lupin still mocks him, but the emphasis is that he's only one step behind Lupin, and if Lupin ever made a single mistake, he'd be done for. He's not afraid to actually open fire on Lupin and even hits him once; however, Lupin was armed with a bulletproof vest and a squib vest underneath, too, to make it look worse than it really was.
- Dirty Cop: In his backstory, he is fully on the path to become one because he's chasing promotions instead of justice. Watching Oscar, as a child, being beaten up and jumping off a bridge in order to protect a single franc, makes him re-evaluate his life, pull a Heel–Face Turn, and work honestly as an Inspector.
- Enemy Mine: With Fujiko in the first part of the finale while searching for Oscar and fighting the Fujiko clones.
- Hyper-Awareness: Figures out quickly that the crimes attributed to Fujiko are not actually being committed by her due to the actions being very out of character for her, which is the reason he doesn't pursue them despite his chase of Lupin being contingent on them. Likewise, he quickly realizes the real culprit is Oscar, after seeing the tattoo Oscar has on his chest in one of the photographs.
Lt. Oscar
Yuki Kaji (JP), Josh Grelle (EN)
Zenigata’s right hand in working to catch Lupin and Fujiko. His professionalism becomes more and more compromised by his personal feelings for Zenigata as the series continues, especially where Fujiko is concerned.
- Canon Foreigner: Strange example, as The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is a prequel, but Oscar is still an original creation.
- Combat Stilettos: Oscar, true to his Creepy Crossdressing tenancies, is often wearing high heels, even while in his police uniform.
- Creepy Crossdresser: This trope doesn’t come into play until Oscar’s dream sequence. Until this point, he has only worn women’s clothing in order to disguise himself. A malicious and nasty guy, but once he is shown wearing the dress and lying to Inspector Zenigata it goes past the point of practicality.
- Dirty Cop: Becomes so fixated on destroying Fujiko and throwing her in jail that he commits several robberies to frame her, kills a fellow police officer, collaborates with Almeida’s Owlmen, and almost blows up a populated bridge. Just before the explosion, Inspector Zenigata tells Oscar about the day he stopped being a Dirty Cop himself, which triggers Oscar into realizing just how far he's fallen and pulling a Redemption Equals Death.
- Disguised in Drag: Oscar disguises himself as a woman several times over the course of the series. Each time he’s impersonating someone specifically. The first time is in "Prison of Love", as Isolde Brach. Then he’s disguised as Fujiko in "The Feast of Fools", to frame her for several thefts and a murder, and "The Woman Called Fujiko Mine", where he’s been brainwashed.
- Doomed by Canon: Oscar was introduced as the partner of the franchise's Hero Antagonist Koichi Zenigata. We therefore know Oscar is eliminated in some fashion, before the start of the conventional series. He ends the series alive, despite appearing to die before the finale, but appears too defeated to cover up the numerous crimes he committed or keep trying to pursue Zenigata.
- Driven by Envy: As the Owlmen point out, he hates Fujiko so much because she got what he wants from Zenigata.
- Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: Oscar is very pretty and wears heels; he is also heinously cruel to Fujiko and uses sexist language freely.
- Emasculated Cuckold: A rare gay example. The fact Fujiko sleeps with Zenigata pisses him off to no end, even if he's in denial about why this enrages him for some of the Part. Fujiko is also very aware of it, and even taunts him once by sending him a sound tape with Zenigata and her having sex.
- Expy: Of Oscar François de Jarjayes from The Rose of Versailles, a character in a militant position of authority and struggling with gender issues. Ironically, Lupin had starred in an episode based on the legendary shojo manga.
- French Jerk: A flashback shows him as a young street urchin in what's obviously Paris, and he's certainly a jerk.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Though he was already walking a thin line, the point where Oscar not only dresses up as Fujiko and commits crimes in her name but also murders a cop to get Zenigata to take it more seriously is the official point he goes off the rails.
- Knight Templar: Subverted. He breaks the law repeatedly trying to catch Fujiko, but it’s not out of good intentions – it’s out of jealousy.
- Nightmare Fetishist: When Oscar finds Zenigata unconscious and covered in stage blood, he remarks how beautiful he looks before mentally giving himself a shake and wailing.
- Number Two: He's Zenigate's right-hand man.
- Only One Name: He's only know as Oscar. Even the credits don't give him a last name.
- Parental Substitute: Zenigata found him when he was a child, brushed him off, and made him a police officer. Oscar really wants to repay him for that.
- Redemption Equals Death: Subverted. While he has a Heel Realization and throws himself into a river holding a bomb, the police never found the body, which triggers Inspector Zenigata actually tracking down Fujiko and demanding some answers from her. The two of them go looking for the Owls. They find Oscar in a room full of Fujiko clones.
- Slut-Shaming: Constantly does this to Fujiko, calling her a pig and "spittoon" for sleeping with Zenigata, but it's pretty clear this is out of jealousy rather than genuine prudishness.
- Sour Prudes: Calls Fujiko a pig and a spittoon for men to use basically entirely because he isn’t the one Zenigata used as a "spittoon".
- Subordinate Excuse: As mentioned, Oscar works as Zenigata’s assistant and is very very in love with him.
- Trans Equals Gay: Oscar wearing dresses comes up a lot. Posing as a schoolgirl could be excused (he's undercover and can pass as a schoolgirl, fine), dressing as Fujiko while framing her is excessive (isn’t the point of being a master thief not being seen in the first place?), but wearing a wedding dress in his (not) Dying Dream where he flies into Zenigata’s arms just goes too far, overlapping with Creepy Crossdresser.
- Walking Spoiler: Not to the extent of Aisha, but after a certain point in the series, there's only so much that can be discussed about him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After he's discovered to have survived in the finale, we're given no idea where he goes from there. It's possible Oscar is jailed for the crimes he committed and tried to frame Fujiko for—either because Zenigata uncovered them or Oscar simply gave up and confessed.
- Yandere: Goes to truly terrifying extremes for his love of Zenigata, including becoming a thief himself and committing murder of another police officer.
