@Green_vs_Red:
Wonder what it was cause honestly while I get the idea that part II was what got the formula right, II was tonally all over the place to point it bordered on a gag series…..
Well yeah. The manga is a gag series too to some degree, inspired by Mad Magazine. Just a dark and violent one. It being gag heavy is part of the DNA.
They were experimenting and finding a balance and working it out week to week. Even nowadays with the movies they don't have it 100%, some are TOO silly and its dumb, and some are too dark, and that's okay for a bit, ut the sweet spot is in the middle.
and part III decided to basically be more of the same but with an art style to match. Plus both of them had lot of episodes they really didn't need which may explain why Part IV and V were both 24 episodes.
That's just part of being a long runner and budget. "Episodes you don't need" when talking about a comedy show with no continuity misses the point. Its about the romp and the adventure.
4 and 5 had limited episodes because they didn't want to commit to a long runner and its easier to finance and advertise a single season. Not because they had amazing plots. IN fact, the "plot" was by far the worst part of season 4.)
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
@Bugs:
If I recall correctly, the green jacket series went through some staff changes partway through. The original director was fired sometime in the first half because he refused to agree to change the series to counter the show’s low ratings. Then Miyazaki and Takahata were brought on to the series, and made the series less dark and apathetic and more family friendly. The result is that the show goes through tonal whiplash.
Ultimately, the series didn’t pull in enough viewers, so they cancelled it and then later rebooted five years into the Lupin we love, based more on Miyazaki’s take than Monkey Punch’s.
Yup, that's pretty much it.
And even though Castle of Cagliostro is my all time favorite movie (not just animated, movie in general) Miyazaki's Lupin just… isn't quite right. He's too upstanding, too gentlemanly. And that sort of works if we assume that particular caper is from really late in their careers rather than their prime... but overall it really is the mix of the two that makes the best package.
Monkey Punch did say Zenigata was created to give the manga a “human Tom and Jerry” element, which I see. Lupin and Zenigata fo have this often enemies that have some degree of respect for each other but do work on occasion to take on a bigger foe that you do see in Tom and Jerry, but not in Bugs Bunny or the Roadrunner & Coyote shorts.
Okay yeah. Now that you say Tom and Jerry, that's absolutely the better fit. i was trying to parse it into the looney tunes, but that's spot on. I guess the creator would know his influence.