I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season and best wishes in the New Year, the year of the Mouse. If you are a fan of Manga/Anime then there is a great classic that you should know about: Lupin the Third.

As a Manga this series first came out in 1967 and it was released in Anime form in 1971. Created by Kazuhiko Kato (a.k.a. Monkey Punch) this series has been enormously popular over the years in Japan with video games, musicals, toys, pachinko machines, TV series' and movie spin offs. There was even a hip hop version by Seamo that got regular radio air-play last year. (You can listen to it on YouTube, search for "Seamo - Lupin the Fire") I don't remember seeing the TV show when I was a kid, how about you, have you heard of Lupin III where you are?

Lupin III is describe as a sort of "national star" in Japan. The general story theme revolves around this master thief and his band of associates getting into some trouble and trying to escape the authorities. He is assisted by Daisuke Jigen the sharpshooter, Goemon Ishikawa XIII the swordsman and the beautiful Fujiko Mine.

I have seen cosplay of Lupin III in Japan but not abroad. How about you? A notable Lupin III cosplay is the Nakamura family who were Central Japan representatives in WCS 2005 and won the Brother Prize for their full family performance. Their youngest son is dressed as Lupin III and their performance was a lot of fun. Here is a picture of them: