Ducktales Sneaks in Lupin the Third Cameo in Latest Episode

One of the major reasons the Ducktales rebooted animated series has been such a hit with both old and new fans is all of the attention to detail the team behind the 2017 debuted series put into each episode. While this already included incredible shout outs to the rest of the classic Disney Afternoon shows with the first few episodes of the currently running third season, the latest release of the series has branched out in the world of anime with a fun Astro Boy inspired episode, “Astro B.O.Y.D.” But this episode also had the opportunity to bring in other major anime classics.

As spotted by @chillibog on Twitter, the latest episode of Ducktales gets a little sneaky with a background cameo from Arsene Lupin III, the gentlemanly thief protagonist of Lupin the Third. The series has made a background cameo before with a sneaky Easter Egg in the series’ pilot episode, but this was undoubtedly the most direct reference yet by bringing that classic anime into the Ducktales universe.

Not only did Lupin make an appearance in the episode, there was a fair bit of involvement from an Inspector Tezuka. Not only was this new character named after Osamu Tezuka, the original series creator behind Astro Boy (the namesake of the episode), but had a design and dynamic similar to Lupin the Third‘s Inspector Zenigata. From these two cameos below, it’s clear that the team behind the series has done their animation homework across multiple mediums.

With Lupin officially in the Ducktales universe now, it opens up a whole new universe in which anime favorites could easily become a part of it as long as they have an adorable animal makeover. So now it begs the question of what this version of Lupin was sneaking around the Ducktales universe for? What was this Lupin trying to steal while all of the havoc in the episode was going on?

Did you catch the Arsene Lupin III cameo in Ducktales? Did you catch many of the other anime references from the “Astro B.O.Y.D.” episode? What are your thoughts on the new Ducktales now that it’s going on its third season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!