Release orderRecommended
0 / 14 watchedRelease order across the main TV continuity, the standalone films and the separate IIIrd continuity.
- 1 Lupin III Part I 23 episodes. The 1971 original is rougher and closer to Monkey Punch's manga than what followed.
- 2 Lupin III Part II 155 episodes, 1977 to 1980. The long-running classic that defined Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, Fujiko and Zenigata. Episodes are standalone, so sampling is fine.
- 3 Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo First theatrical film (1978). Fully standalone and much stranger than the TV series.
- 4 Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro Hayao Miyazaki's 1979 feature and his directorial debut. Standalone, and the most famous Lupin film.
- 5 Lupin III Part III 50 episodes, 1984 to 1985. Lighter in tone, with the pink-jacket look.
- 6 Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine 13 episodes. A darker, adult retelling of the gang's origins directed by Sayo Yamamoto. It plays like a prequel but lands better after the classics.
- 7 Lupin the IIIrd: Jigen's Gravestone / Goemon's Blood Spray / Fujiko Mine's Lie Three mid-length films by Takeshi Koike: Jigen's Gravestone (2014), Goemon's Blood Spray (2017) and Fujiko Mine's Lie (2019). A separate, harder-edged continuity from the TV series.
- 8 Lupin III Part IV: The Italian Adventure 26 episodes, 2015 to 2016. Set in Italy, with a serialized arc beneath the capers.
- 9 Lupin III Part 5 24 episodes. Modern tech-heist flavor, set largely in France.
- 10 Lupin III: The First CG feature film (2019). Standalone adventure, safe to watch any time.
- 11 Lupin III Part 6 24 episodes plus Episode 0, 2021 to 2022. The 50th anniversary series: a Sherlock Holmes arc first, then Lupin's search for Tomoe.
- 12 Lupin Zero 6-episode streaming prequel (2022 to 2023) about Lupin as a teenage thief in the 1960s.
- 13 Lupin the IIIrd: Zenigata and the Two Lupins Streaming prequel to the 2025 film, released June 20, 2025. A Zenigata-centered story about two Lupins.
- 14 Lupin the IIIrd the Movie: The Immortal Bloodline Released June 27, 2025. Koike's feature-length finale to the IIIrd continuity and the first traditional 2D Lupin feature in nearly 30 years.
About Lupin III
Lupin III began as Monkey Punch's manga in 1967 and reached TV in 1971. Since then the gentleman thief has starred in seven TV series, a stack of theatrical films and dozens of specials, almost all of them episodic. That makes viewing simple: release order works, and most entries stand alone.
Start with Parts 1 and 2 for the classic dynamic, take in the landmark films, then move through Part III, Fujiko Mine and the modern Parts 4 through 6. The Lupin the IIIrd films by Takeshi Koike form their own harder-edged continuity, so they sit together as one block. The latest entry is the 2025 film Immortal Bloodline with its streaming prequel.
Good to know
The 26 annual TV specials (1989 to 2019, from Bye Bye Lady Liberty to Prison of the Past) are almost entirely standalone and can be watched any time after Part II; Episode 0: First Contact (2002) works as an early-years prequel. The 1980s and 1990s films Legend of the Gold of Babylon (1985), Farewell to Nostradamus (1995) and Dead or Alive (1996) are also standalone. Crossovers with Detective Conan (2009 TV special, 2013 film) and Cat's Eye (2023) sit outside both canons. No new Lupin TV series had been announced as of September 2026.
