Daisuke Jigen - Personality

Personality

In the original manga series, Jigen is not always on Lupin's side. He has been hired numerous times to assassinate Lupin, but since the series is episodic later chapters seemingly ignore this. However in the anime series, Jigen is extremely loyal to Lupin and almost always partners up with him for a given mission.

Jigen is noted for his quick temper; both enemy and friend have been victim to his need to repay violence for insult. Both Lupin and Goemon have been on the receiving end of his blows in response to frank or comical criticism.

Despite Jigen's gruff facade, he has an ironic sense of humor and genuinely enjoys participating in each caper with his partners. He is, by far, the more pragmatic of the group, with a cynical streak founded in failed romances (his luck with women runs from bad to worse, with love interests often betraying him or dying). He is always distrustful of Fujiko Mine and becomes irritated when Lupin goes along with one of her plans. Among Lupin's group, Jigen is the least apprehensive at taking human life. While he considers killing women and children taboo, he is willing to put down any man who offers a threat.

Where Lupin and Goemon Ishikawa XIII both have unique sartorial tastes, Jigen is pure basics. His typical wardrobe is a dark grey or black suit, light blue colored dress shirt, black tie and his ever-present dark grey or black broad-brimmed fedora; the hat ranks as his most prized possession outside of his weaponry. During the third anime series, Jigen's outfit is more light colored and his hatband has a herringbone design (similar to the original manga interpretation of the character); however the black look is most applied for OVA productions and TV specials. Jigen's thick hair is typically collar-length and unevenly cut. His chin curtain beard is about an inch long and also unruly.

Jigen is the "big brother" of the group, and often serves as the voice of reason to Lupin's impulsiveness, as he must because of his friendship with Lupin as well as out of sheer professionalism. However, he has long since resigned himself to having to go along with the craziest of schemes. Jigen, like the rest of the Lupin gang, is adept with disguises and can pilot virtually any motorized vehicle, including planes and tanks. He is also a tough hand-to-hand opponent, capable of knocking out an attacker with one blow.

The Tokyo Pop releases of the original Lupin manga note in their preface that Jigen's appearance and temperament are based on the actor James Coburn, especially Coburn's role in The Magnificent Seven.