Lupin the 3rd Part I

Adapting Monkey Punch's manga into animation was first suggested by animator Gisaburō Sugii to Yutaka Fujioka, the founder of Tokyo Movie Shinsha (then known as Tokyo Movie). Although Fujioka was interested in the idea, Tokyo Movie lacked the financial resources to produce such a project on its own. This led to the creation of a CinemaScope Pilot Film, which was intended to generate interest in the project and secure funding from potential producers. The Pilot Film, consisting of narrated introductions to the five lead characters of the manga, was scripted and animated by Sugii, Yasuo Otsuka, Tsutomu Shibayama and Osamu Kobayashi, with supervision by Masaaki Ōsumi and background art by Reiji Koyama.[1] The music soundtrack was composed by Norio Meida, while the narration dialogue was written by Jiro Saito and Toshiaki Imaizumi.[2] Yasuo Otsuka had left Toei Animation to join Tokyo Movie, as working on Lupin would allow him to use his knowledge and lifelong interest in guns and transport in his animation. The team studied Monkey Punch's style in detail, including the influence of American cartoonist Mort Drucker on the manga, and analysed the characters from all angles; they were initially assisted by Monkey Punch himself until he felt the project was too much for him.[3][4] Scripts and treatments were also written for a feature film adaptation, one of which depicted Lupin before the start of his thieving career as a hippie in Shinjuku, and explained how he came to be pursued by the police and other criminals.[1]

Although the animation quality of the Pilot Film was high for the time in which it was made, few financial backers were interested in the project due to its adult themes of violence and sexuality. After a year, the project was still unsold, and the Pilot Film was adapted for television. The animation of the TV version was mostly identical to the CinemaScope version, but featured a largely different voice cast - the only voices who were retained for both versions were those of Kiyoshi Kobayashi (as Jigen) and Eiko Masuyama (as Fujiko).[2] In 1971, Yomiuri Television agreed to produce a TV adaptation of the manga.[1] By this time, only Otsuka and Ōsumi were still at Tokyo Movie. Ōsumi was assigned as director, and Otsuka became the character designer; Kobayashi provided key animation on several episodes. The series was originally planned for 26 episodes, with synopsis created for each one.[1] Kiyoshi Kobayashi was retained as Jigen for the TV series (and continued to voice the role until 2021), while Gorō Naya and Chikao Ōtsuka, who voiced Goemon in the CinemaScope version of the Pilot Film and Zenigata in the TV version respectively, were assigned the opposite of each other's roles for the series. Yasuo Yamada and Yukiko Nikaido, neither of whom were involved in the Pilot Film, were cast as Lupin and Fujiko. Yamada, known for his dubbing of Clint Eastwood, continues to be widely acclaimed for his serious and humorous portrayals of Lupin, and became synonymous with the role even after his death in 1995. Masuyama played the one-time character of Catherine in an episode of the series, and eventually replaced Nikaido as Fujiko from the second series onward until her retirement in 2010.[1] Although not officially released until the Lupin III Secret Files (シークレットファイル, Rupan Sansei — Shīkuretto Fairu) collection in 1995,[5] animation from the TV version of the Pilot Film was recycled for several of the series' opening credits sequences, despite Lupin wearing a red jacket in these sequences (it was changed to green for the series at Otsuka's insistence).[1]

The series was broadcast on Yomiuri Television between October 24, 1971 and March 26, 1972.[6] Early ratings for the series were poor; after the broadcast of the second episode, Ōsumi was asked to make changes to the series in the hopes of broadening its appeal; after refusing to do so, he was fired from his directorial duties.[7] Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata had recently moved from Toei to Tokyo Movie in order to begin pre-production on an adaptation of Pippi Longstocking.[8] When that work was cancelled, they were chosen as replacements for Ōsumi by Otsuka, who had previously worked with them at Toei. Episodes produced following Ōsumi's departure either did not provide a directorial credit, or were credited to "A Production's Team of Directors" in place of Miyazaki and Takahata.[2] Due to the production schedule of the series, many episodes are a mix of influences between Ōsumi, Takahata and Miyazaki.[1] Episode 9 was the final episode that Ōsumi had full creative control of.[9] Unlike Ōsumi, Miyazaki and Takahata agreed to make several changes to the series, many of which were based on their own perspectives regarding the source material. They immediately set out to remove what they perceived as a sense of "apathy" from the series, which they felt was also evident in society. To achieve this, they gave the characters a more positive outlook: Lupin would become "happy-go-lucky" and "upbeat", Jigen would be "a friendly, cheery fellow", while Fujiko's "cheap eroticism" was removed and Goemon's anachronistic nature was used for occasional comic relief. These changes lead to a lack of unity in the visuals and a "duality".[10] The music for the series was composed by Takeo Yamashita, with many songs being performed by Charlie Kosei.[11]

Lupin the Third Part I is noted to be the first animated series created in Japan to target an adult audience with an emphasis on mature, complex characters and storylines. It also frequently placed an emphasis on realism, with attention to details of vehicles, weapons and consumer items (which were only approximated in the manga) being a cornerstone of Otsuka's animation style. Previously, all Japanese animated series were family-friendly.[7][10] The first episode of the series ("Is Lupin Burning...?!") is also noted for being the first animated work in the Lupin canon to execute what Reed Nelson describes as the "Lupin-Formula", a series of plot elements that would frequently be revisited through future instalments in the franchise. These elements include:[1]

• Lupin and/or his gang challenging or robbing a more sinister criminal/organization than themselves.
• Fujiko being captured by the villain(s) and subsequently being rescued by Lupin.
• Fujiko betraying Lupin to give herself an advantage in the caper.
• Zenigata attempting to capture Lupin (occasionally with success), only to have Lupin escape his grasp.