The most famous thief on Japanese TV is probably Lupine III that for generations has entertained and entertained the world together with its long-time companions Jigen, Goemon and Fujiko. Inspector Zenigata has never managed to capture him permanently since Monkey Lupine III’s first adventures as a manga came to life in Monkey Punch’s mind.
As we told in the Monkey Punch news, Kazuhiko Kato has actually used several pseudonyms in his career. However, only the last one remained stuck against him for life. And the story obviously intertwines with Lupine III.
In the early days of his mangaka career, the then young Monkey Punch chose to use Kazuhiko Kato as pseudonyms, written with different kanji but with the same reading of his original name, and then as Eiji Gamuta. When he got ready to work on Lupine III, however, the editor proposed Monkey Punch as a pseudonym. Kato didn’t like it much but at the time, as it was a suggestion from his editor, he decided to keep it. After all, Lupine III was a project that was to last only a few months and after a year he could have already eliminated it. Except that the gentleman thief became more famous than expected and therefore Monkey Punch was forced to bring this name to life.
Don’t miss the Lupine III marathon on Sky starting from May 29th.
