Koichi Zenigata (Japanese: 銭形 幸一, Hepburn: Zenigata Kōichi), usually called Inspector Zenigata (銭形警部, Zenigata-keibu) and formerly Heiji Zenigata VII, is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his manga series Lupin III, which debuted in Weekly Manga Action on August 10, 1967. He is named after the famous fictional Japanese detective Zenigata Heiji, of whom he is a descendant.
Throughout the series, Zenigata acts as a foil to Lupin III who constantly tries to capture him at all costs, only for the latter to escape in the end. Despite holding a grudge against him, he is forced to side with him on some occasions whenever there’s a greater threat.
He is the star of the live action Inspector Zenigata TV series and portrayed by Ryohei Suzuki, making it the second Lupin III-based property not to star Lupin as the protagonist.
Contents
Creation
Inspector Zenigata was conceived as Lupin's arch rival to create a "human Tom and Jerry".
Monkey Punch said that he believed the Lupin III story could never end but that if he had to, both Zenigata and Lupin would have to end as equals. They would either both fail, both win or both get very old.
Personality
Inspector Zenigata hails from Japan, city of origin unknown. According to Episode 0: The 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 first met Arsène Lupin III. He left the Japanese Police Force in favor of enlisting in Interpol (ICPO) for the sake of specifically bringing Lupin to justice. For a brief period between the first and second TV series, Zenigata was demoted to a beat cop in an unknown location of Japan.
Zenigata has made it his life's mission to arrest Lupin. The other members of Lupin's gang are targeted for apprehension as well, but Zenigata usually ignores them when Lupin himself is present. Lupin and Zenigata appear to be the worst of enemies, but in the anime 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. For example, in Part II, Episode 30, Zenigata initially refused to work with Lupin to escape despite both of them being held prisoner.
Similarly, he is often awed by Lupin's genius. Zenigata has an attachment to Lupin with the belief that no one should kill him or worse, capture him, besides Zenigata himself. Lupin's opinion of Zenigata is a little less caring, but still filled with respect. He often seems amazed that Zenigata can keep up with him. At times he's overwhelmed by how much thought Zenigata has put into his traps for Lupin. In instances where Zenigata has been injured in the field or believed dead, Lupin avenges the Inspector by hunting down his attacker.
While he has some interest in capturing Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko, he is really after only Lupin, and as such shows little interest in them when Lupin himself is involved. During the course of his hunt for Lupin, Zenigata has revealed and arrested a large number of criminals from all walks of life, sometimes unintentionally and with help from Lupin. This is a major reason why ICPO tolerates his repeated failures to capture Lupin: the "collateral damage" from his lifelong quest has made him a highly rewarded and respected officer of the law.
At the beginning of Part I, he was far from a nice person. He was corrupt, opportunistic, self-serving, dangerous, obsessive and violent, and was only redeemed by his grudging respect for Lupin, who he still didn't hesitate to shoot at whenever the thief pulled off a heist. By Part I, Episode 14, he mellows out a great deal, and becomes more lovable, endearingly awkward and upbeat.
Physical skills
Zenigata appears to be in good physical shape for his age; his proficiency in Judo and Karate have been revealed many times, with him able to dispatch multiple attackers with minimal effort. He's also capable with a jitte, the traditional Japanese police weapon designed to counter sword attacks. Other skills include his marksmanship with his weapon of choice, a Colt .45 automatic pistol, and an almost inhuman skill with throwing handcuffs, tossing them in a bola-like manner at his prey.
Zenigata's subconscious appears to be somewhat in control of his body. During chases he can perform outlandish physical feats such as jumping over huge obstacles and beating down a dozen attackers without thinking, simply because of his preoccupation with Lupin. For example, in 1997's In Memory of the Walther P-38, the mere mention of Lupin's name is enough to wake him from a 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 in 2009's Lupin the 3rd vs Detective Conan, he was only out for a few seconds when according to Conan, it would render an elephant unconscious for 30 minutes. Zenigata's obsession when he gets upset or close to Lupin seems to give him abilities beyond the normal. Many are the heavy locked doors he manages to crash through when fury overtakes him.
The Inspector's appearance has stayed consistent through both the manga and anime series; around 6 feet, Pops has a long face ending in a bulky chin. Much like Lupin, he has extended sideburns that reach to the lower part of his cheeks. Dressed modestly in a brown business suit with white shirt and brown trench coat, he as well wears a standard flat-brim fedora. He occasionally smokes and drinks. His preferred cigarette is the Japanese made Shinsei, and enjoys hard liquor of various designs, usually bourbon or sake.
Zenigata is usually presented in the anime as clumsy and drawing hasty conclusions, but equally he is depicted with extremely efficient detective skills.
As a first class manhunter, Lupin's upcoming capers are usually predicted by Zenigata based on his prey's behavior, habits, and information about Lupin's research.
Nicknames
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" being used most frequently in the English dub. Other translations have the used the terms "daddy", "daddy-o", and "papa". 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; Koichi once himself displayed this ability when he cut a rope with gold coins in a Part 2 episode. In Japanese, the title of inspector is keibu (警部), although the Streamline dub Castle of Cagliostro erroneously stated Keibu as Zenigata's first name, as did his passport in the Part III episode Steal the Pyramid of Insurance Money. In the Filipino dub of the series, Lupin refers to Zenigata as "depektib", a play on the words "detective" and "defective". In "Lupin III: Burning Memory - Tokyo Crisis", the landlady nicknames him "Kou-chan" when he comes home to find his apartment burned down. He has been nicknamed "Zeni" by various characters, including Fujiko, Jasmin and even at times Lupin himself.
Actors
Animation
Inspector Zenigata was first voiced by Shinsuke Chikaishi in the CinemaScope version of the 1969 pilot film for the first anime, while Chikao Ōtsuka voiced him in the pilot's TV version. However, Gorō Naya was given the role when the first anime was actually produced (1971–72) and he continued to voice the character until 2010. The only exception to Naya's run as the character was for the 1987 original video animation The Fuma Conspiracy; due to budget concerns, TMS decided not to employ the regular voice cast. Zenigata was voiced by Seizō Katō.
The 2011 TV special Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid marked the first appearance of Kōichi Yamadera as the character, and he continues to voice Inspector Zenigata to this day. Naya did return to the role once more for the 2012 Lupin Family Lineup short original video animation, which was the final performance of the surviving original Lupin III voice cast.
Greg Starr voiced Inspector Zenigata (renamed "Detective Ed Scott") in the 1979 Frontier English dub of The Mystery of Mamo. David Povall voiced Zenigata in multiple Streamline dubs from 1991 to 1995, including Mamo and The Castle of Cagliostro, where he was named Keibu Zenigata due to a translation error. Marc Matney provided Zenigata's voice in the 1995 Coastal Carolina Sound Studios dub of The Fuma Conspiracy. Manga UK dubs featured Seán Barrett in Mamo and Bye Bye, Lady Liberty (1996). Kevin Seymour voiced Zenigata in the Animaze dub of Cagliostro (2000). Phillip Wilburn voiced the character for Funimation's dubs of several TV specials and theatrical films between 2002 and 2006.
Dan Lorge voiced Zenigata in the phuuz dub for Pioneer/Geneon's release of the second anime between 2003 and 2006, additionally voicing the character in the 2004 dub of The Mystery of Mamo and Treasure of the Sorcerer King. Richard Epcar was given the role for Funimation's 2013 dub of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, and reprises the role in the Bang Zoom! Entertainment/Discotek Media releases of the spinoff Lupin the IIIrd films. In 2017, Doug Erholtz took over the role for Discotek's dub of Part IV. This dub largely reunited the Phuuz cast from Part II; Erholtz replaced Lorge, who had retired. Erholtz has continued to voice the character in subsequent productions.
Live-Action
Shirō Itō portrayed the Inspector in Lupin III: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy (1974). Tadanobu Asano starred as Zenigata in the 2014 film Lupin the 3rd.
Japan's NTV broadcast network featured a live action Inspector Zenigata TV special and subsequent series with Ryohei Suzuki, (Hentai Karmen, Gatchaman both 2013) starring as the Inspector. The show follows the character as a brilliant, doggedly capable ICPO officer successfully chasing down an assortment of criminals. Joining Suzuki are Atsuko Maeda and Takahiro Miura as the Inspector's neophyte detective aides. The series and special's first poster visual was revealed on January 16, 2017, and both were presented on Hulu Japan in February 2017.
Reception
Zenigata was voted the eighth best supporting character in anime by Mania.com. Mania.com also put Zenigata as the 9th greatest anime detective.
Mike Crandoll of Anime News Network compared Zenigata's pursuit of Lupin to Wile E. Coyote.