| Koichi Zenigata | |
|---|---|
| Lupin the 3rd character | |
Koichi Zenigata, as seen in Lupin the 3rd: First Contact |
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| Created by | Monkey Punch |
| Voiced by | Norio Otsuka (1969) Gorō Naya (1971-1985; 1989-2010) Seizō Katō (1987) Koichi Yamadera (2011-) English Dub Jack Grimes (Toho) David Povall (Streamline) Marc Matney (AnimEigo) Sean Barret (Manga UK) Dougary Grant (Manga) Phillip Willburn (FUNimation) Jake Martin (Geneon) |
| Profile | |
| Nicknames | Old Man, Pops, Brother |
Koichi Zenigata (銭形 幸一 Zenigata Kōichi), usually called Inspector Zenigata (銭形警部 Zenigata-keibu), is a fictional character in Monkey Punch's anime and manga series Lupin III.
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Inspector Zenigata hails from Japan, city of origin unknown. According to Lupin III: Episode Zero - First Contact, his original title was Tokyo Police Inspector whose original interest was the capture of Fujiko Mine and her then partner. His pursuit took him to New York where he met Arsene Lupin III for the first time. The master thief's cocky attitude and talents left the inspector infuriated to the point where he left the Japanese Police Force in favor of enlisting in ICPO/Interpol for the sake of specifically bringing Lupin to justice.
Zenigata has made it his mission in life to arrest Lupin. The other members of Lupin's gang are targeted for apprehension as well, but Zenigata is really after the mastermind himself. Lupin and Zenigata appear to be the worst of enemies, but they are, in a manner of speaking, friends; something Lupin shows openly (often by greeting Zenigata with mock affection), but it is an idea Zenigata is extremely reluctant to entertain. Similarly, he is often awed by Lupin's genius, but refuses to show it. Also, when he believes Lupin to be dead, he will drop to his knees crying at the fact he couldn't arrest him before his death, and often go into isolation until someone reveals that Lupin is still very much alive.
In the movie Mystery of Mamo, it is mentioned that Zenigata has a daughter named Toshiko, but this isn't developed any further. He's unable to settle down because of his eternal pursuit, and although he sometimes longs for female company he has no luck with women - in no small part due to his inability to commit himself to anything but chasing Lupin. The Manga series reveals that he has a grandson, a student at Todai University, who fiercely opposes Lupin's attendance, though by the end of the arc, he has largely given up on having Lupin expelled outright.
The anime Zenigata is a quite sensitive person and often cries in emotional situations, particularly when he thinks Lupin has done something out of consideration for him, or when finding out Lupin is OK after worrying about him. On occasions when Lupin appears to be dead, he mourns him more expressively than anyone else; partly from genuine grief, partly because he no longer has a goal in life. In The Plot of the Fuma Clan Zenigata actually retires from police work when he believes Lupin has died and becomes a monk, believing that if he prays enough Lupin will be a law-abiding man in his next life. Because of this singular ambition, he is never particularly displeased when Lupin manages to escape his custody, since that means the hunt will go on. In one instance in the manga, Zenigata even goes so far as to cryogenically freeze himself so that he can continue to chase Lupin in the future, though both his and Lupin's cryopods malfunction and they are stuck in the present.
The unadmitted friendship has been proven in deed as well as word by Lupin and his gang. Many times Zenigata would have died had the group not intervened on his behalf; when a woman the Inspector loved was killed by a criminal gang, Lupin and company aided in avenging her demise. On another occasion when an old enemy of Lupin shot Zenigata point blank, Lupin began a wild motorcycle chase to apprehend the killer, partly to conclude affairs with an adversary, and partly to avenge the (supposed) death of the Inspector.
His quirks include holding with both arms over his head the handcuffs he intends to put on the criminal he is running after, and his arched-back tip-toeing that he usually does out of excitement when setting a trap that is sure to catch Lupin.
While sometimes portrayed as a bumbler, Zenigata is a very clever and crafty adversary to Lupin. For instance in The Castle of Cagliostro, Zenigata is apparently the only official to realize the heavily guarded castle has an access by way of an ignored aqueduct; converging on the area, the inspector was a moment's away from capture of Lupin before being called away at the worst possible time.
There are occasions Zenigata can see through Lupin's disguises. Zenigata himself can actually pull a trick on Lupin, incarcerating the criminal at last. In most cases, Lupin regroups and escapes, often turning the detective's own trick against him. While he has rarely been successful in capturing Lupin, this is more because of Lupin's resourcefulness than Zenigata's incompetence. It also must be noted that Zenigata is usually alone, while Lupin has a group of competent partners.
The inspector's excellent detective work always manages to lead him to Lupin's current location, anywhere in the world it may be. While his presence and intervention sometimes foils Lupin's thievery, he still comes up short on capture of his nemesis.
Still, Zenigata has a remarkable success rate in other police endeavors; he's brought numerous dangerous criminals to justice, particularly after Lupin has defeated them. This degree of success that enables him to still lead the investigation towards Lupin's capture even after so many failed attempts. A highly decorated and respected professional, Lupin is the only stain on his otherwise perfect record. By the time of the Goodbye Liberty Crisis he has apparently 'Tried and failed to arrest Lupin 738 times'.
His greatest weakness is his single-mindedness; he is so intent upon catching Lupin, that he usually ignores (or fails to discover) any obstacles - even insurmountable ones - inevitably resulting in Lupin getting away. He is, however, extremely skilled - few people stand a chance when Zenigata goes after them (including the rest of Lupin's gang, but they are usually ignored if Lupin is present), so his obsession with Lupin may stem from the fact that he's the only one who presents a challenge for Zenigata's talents.
Lupin is genuinely impressed with Zenigata's doggedness and skills, and has implied that he thinks it a shame he has to be a cop - under different circumstances they might have been great partners. Partly out of respect, partly out of the excitement each brings to the other, the Inspector and Lupin share an unwritten rule...neither will deliberately attempt to kill the other in their cat-and-mouse chase. Further if the Inspector is in need of help that only Lupin and gang can provide, the bunch leaps to his help without hesitation. When they share a common goal, they all work extremely well together.
Zenigata is also aware that while Lupin may be a scoundrel, there are worse evils in the world, and he's willing to team up with Lupin's gang to bring down a more dangerous threat. However, this is always with the mutual understanding that he intends to arrest Lupin upon neutralization of the common foe with his distinctive cry of "LUPIN!! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!!" He says it so often that when he arrested another person he yelled that, only for Lupin to be offended that Zenigata mistook him for someone else.
Zenigata is in phenomenal physical shape for a man his age (estimated to be the mid 40s), and has shown proficiency in Judo and Karate, able to dispatch multiple attackers with minimal effort. He's also capable with a jitte, the traditional Japanese police weapon designed to counter attacks with a sword. He is also quite the accurate shot with his gun, a Colt .45 pistol (although nowhere near Jigen's skill level), and an almost inhuman skill with handcuffs, which he likes to throw in a bola-like manner at his prey. However, his diet leaves a lot to be desired, consisting mostly of water-boiled ramen noodles and black coffee; in moments where he has time to spare, he's seen eating gigantic amounts of food, i.e., 20 hamburgers at one setting, usually in anticipation of or to make up for moments of doing without.
Zenigata's subconscious, however, appears to be in full control of his body. During chases he can perform superhuman physical feats without thinking, simply because of his preoccupation with Lupin. For example, in "Island of Assassins", the mere mention of Lupin's name is enough to wake him from a critical coma, even as he is about to succumb to a near-fatal bullet wound.
When accidentally knocked out by the stun-gun wristwatch used by Conan Edogawa, he was only out for a few seconds when according to Conan, it would render an elephant unconscious for 30 minutes.[1]
Zenigata has a squad of policemen under his command (no matter where he is, since he is from INTERPOL), and they respect and admire him greatly, almost to the point of fanaticism. They are willing to place themselves in considerable harm's way to help him, and they are even willing to disobey orders from higher ups to support his hunches. However, Zenigata is frequently confronting Lupin alone, simply because he has outrun his backup or is the only one able to catch up with the thief. Zenigata and his backup tend to be humiliated as a group (e.g. all of them being washed away in a wine cellar) and then eluded. They alternate between full Military Police outfits, and normal police attire for the respective nation that Lupin is located in. Despite this, the higher ups usually see him as merely a nuisance, where they often try to give the Lupin case to someone else, only for said person to be defeated horribly.
It appears Zenigata also has many connections to various police forces around the world. In the Lupin the 3rd/Detective Conan crossover special, he was said to be an associate of Inspector Meguire. During the time of the special, Richard Moore was temporary made Zenigata's assistant because Richard required his help to get into a country Rachel had been forcibly taken to.
In the second Manga series, World's Most Wanted, Zenigata has a deadly assistant (named Mellon Kiichi in the American version) whom he usually refers to as "Melon Cop". While generally inferior in experience and ability to Zenigata himself, Melon Cop has certain key differences and talents. These include better aim, the unheard of ability to defeat Zenigata in handcuff-tossing, and a better grip of technology than Zenigata. Also, unlike Zenigata, Melon seems to prefer using assassination methods to stop Lupin and his gang. However, by the end of the second series, he had largely been reduced to secondary character status. From then on, he appears only rarely, and simply to help Zenigata fight Lupin. Melon also seems to be capable of facing Lupin without Zenigata's help, fully defeating him on several occasions, only to have Lupin escape with the help of Jigen or Fujiko. On one notable occasion, Fujiko was captured by Melon with the help of a civilian inventor, and only Lupin and Fujiko working together were able to stop Melon.
Lupin seems to have met Melon before he met Zenigata. This is evidenced by Zenigata having no memory of at least one incident involving the two; Melon shot a boy Lupin had been teaching at the time. Zenigata should remember this if it occurred any time after 1967 (the year Zenigata was assigned to apprehend the thief).
Lupin often refers to Zenigata as tottsan (とっつぁん), a form of address that is usually translated as "Old Man" or "Pops" (with "Pops" used most frequently in the English dub). He is named after a famous fictional Japanese detective, Zenigata Heiji. Zenigata's ability to handcuff criminals at a distance also comes from Zenigata Heiji, who threw coins with great force and accuracy and used them as weapons to disable criminals. In Japanese, the title of inspector is keibu (警部), although an early dub of Castle of Cagliostro erroneously stated Keibu as Zenigata's first name. In the Italian version he's often nicknamed Zazà or Papà Zenigata (Daddy Zenigata) by Lupin. The German version often calls him Zazza. The French version calls him Inspecteur Lacogne. In the Philippine dub, he is often called "Defective" Zenigata (mostly as a taunt because of his constant inability to capture Lupin). In the new Spanish dub, Lupin often calls him "Papaíto" ("daddy").
Zenigata was voted the eighth best supporting character in anime by Mania.com.[2] Mania.com also put Zenigata as the 9th greatest anime detective.[3]
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