Lupin III (Goemon Ishikawa & Zantetsuken)

Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Kato)'s manga "Lupin III," serialized from 1967 in "Weekly Manga Action," is a long-running franchise depicting gentleman thief Lupin III and his companions. One of its principal characters, Ishikawa Goemon XIII (CV: Shuo Otsuka → Masao Inoue → Daisuke Namikawa), is characterized as a descendant of the legendary bandit Ishikawa Goemon and a samurai living in the modern era. Goemon's cherished sword, the Zantetsuken (true name: Ryusei), is depicted as an ultra-hard blade such that "there is nothing that cannot be cut," with scenes of it cleanly severing steel beams, helicopters, and even bullets in a single flash serving as one of the work's defining moments. The catchphrase Goemon utters after a strike—"Again, I have cut away something worthless"—has become established as one of Japanese pop culture's most renowned signature lines. The Zantetsuken is mounted in a simple white sheath (with no ornamental guard), which harmonizes beautifully with Goemon's character as a samurai embodying the Zen state of "nothingness." In the 2025 anime sword ranking survey, the Zantetsuken achieved third place (Nichirin Sword from Demon Slayer first, Sakabato from Rurouni Kenshin second), demonstrating that after more than half a century it remains a living iconic symbol.