Most Iconic Anime Thieves

Summary

• Thieves in anime come in various forms, from kid adventurers to adult professionals, offering captivating tales.
• Iconic anime thieves like Jing, Dororo, and Yoko Kurama showcase unique skills, daring heists, and dramatic storylines.
• Characters like Nami, Tuxedo Mask, and Team Rocket add charm and variety to the world of anime thieves.

People don’t like having things stolen from them and rarely prefer to steal from others if they don’t have to. But there’s something about thieves in media that captures people’s attention. Whether they’re heroes or villains, commoners getting ahead or wealthy adventurers, professionals doing jobs for clients or members of a cabal, thieves can offer interesting tales to tell.

People can find movies, TV shows, plays, and more about thieves in nearly every part of the world, and anime is no exception. In fact, some of the most iconic characters in the medium have been thieves of varying kinds. From cat burglars to gentleman thieves, protagonists to antagonists, these are the most iconic thieves in anime.

10

Jing

Ruler Of Robbery, Tsar Of Thieves

The title character of Jing: King of Bandits ranks low as his series didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Yet it felt wrong to leave out the main man in a series all about thieving. Jing is a cheery kid who, with his albatross buddy Kir, travels the world in search of adventure and treasure. Despite his short stature and happy demeanor, he’s the best thief in the world. Most of his foes underestimate him since they can’t believe the notorious “King of Bandits” could be a kid.

But by using his smarts, careful planning, and a little luck, he proves them wrong through some daring act or another. Like the time he let himself get arrested on purpose so he could steal something from a maximum-security prison and caused a prison riot in the process. That’s one of the gentler outcomes of his heists too, as his schemes have often led to nations overthrowing their rulers, or whole religions being proven as frauds. At this rate, it would be easier to just give him some treasure and let him move on.

9

Dororo

A Sidekick In Her Own Series

Despite being the title character of Dororo, the titular orphan thief doesn’t get the lion’s share of the plot. It largely follows Hyakkimaru, the disabled samurai who must kill 48 demons to reclaim the body parts his father signed away in a pact to retain power over the land. Dororo just joins him for the ride. But she’s no bystander, as she likes to get involved in the action too.

Born a girl, but raised as a boy, Dororo grew up among bandits, and learned to steal and take care of herself, often helping Hyakkimaru in battle. Her biggest arc saw her try to track down her late father’s hidden cache of treasure via a map hidden in a secret tattoo her mother placed on her back. It was meant to be handed back to the common people, until a samurai called Itachi turned on her father and killed him. Now she and Hyakkimaru have to find it before Itachi can claim it for himself.

8

Yoko Kurama

Thieving Fox With A Heart Of Gold

Not to be confused with the other fox spirit from Naruto, Yu Yu Hakusho’s Yoko Kurama took a different path to the famous orange-clad ninja. They were a fox demon who, left near death in the spirit world, escaped to the human world, where they were reborn in the form of a boy called Shuichi Minamino. All he had to do was hang on for a decade, and he’d regain his powers, letting him head back to the spirit world. But during that time, he came to love his human mother like a son, and when she fell terminally ill, he couldn’t bear leaving her behind.

So, he tried using his past knowledge as a thief to steal the Mirror of Darkness. Then he’d use it to save his mom’s life by sacrificing his own. In the end, Yusuke was able to offer him another way, where the two were able to save her without needing a sacrifice. From then on, he became one of Yusuke’s most popular frenemies, fighting alongside him when he wasn’t fighting him, while trying to find a balance between his new human feelings as Shuichi, and his old ways as Kurama.

7

Nami

The Straw Hats’ Expert In Navigation, Cartography, And Burglary

Pirates steal and plunder, though they’re not quite the same thing as a thief, as One Piece‘s Nami might be quick to point out. For years, she was kept under the thumb of the fish-man pirate Arlong, forced to draw maps and steal treasure for him to pay off the 1 million beli price tag he put on her home village’s freedom. The only thing that kept her going was the advice from her late guardian, Bell-mere, who told her good things would happen if she stayed alive.

She initially used the Straw Hats for her goals, and reluctantly turned on them. But after Arlong betrayed her and gave up her hidden stash of cash to the Marines, she was left at her lowest. After learning the truth, the Straw Hats helped beat Arlong’s forces and saved her village. As a result, Nami found the one pirate she could trust in Luffy, and became a permanent member of the crew. She’s still not so keen on other pirates, and is greedy to a fault, but that’s balanced out by her compassion and bravery, making her one of the show’s most popular characters.

6

The Kisugi Sisters

Cult Classic Cat Burglars

Nami is one of the most popular characters in the biggest anime series around today, but that doesn’t necessarily make her the most famous anime thief overall. She’s got to share the shōnen spotlight with a whole crew of kooky pirates with different angles and professions. Old school anime fans have a whole series dedicated to thievery in the cult classic Cat’s Eye. Created by Tsukasa Hojo, it saw the Kisugi sisters – Hitomi, Rui, and Ai – running a café by day, and stealing back their late father’s paintings by night.

Through their combined athleticism, computer knowledge, and strategic planning, they can wrap the cops around their fingers before pulling off their heists. It also helps that Hitomi’s fiancé, Toshio, is a cop. He’s determined to capture the group, not knowing he’s been with their leader all this time, and has been unknowingly giving away the police’s plans. But the trio will eventually have to come clean with him, or he’ll find out from his investigations instead.

5

Cobra

Robbing Pirates And Stealing Hearts

Space Adventure Cobra is the precursor to a lot of character archetypes. Devil May Cry’s Dante, Cowboy Bebop’s Spike Spiegel and City Hunter’s Ryo Saeba were all inspired by the series’ lead Cobra. In that, he’s also a cocky, laid-back space cowboy who foils the plans of many a space pirate for the sake of adventure. He has an eye for the ladies too, though the only one that sticks around is his robot partner, Lady Armaroid.

He doesn’t seem like a typical thief, as he feels more like a mix of James Bond and The Man with No Name, with a touch of Yojimbo and even Disney films, according to his creator, Buichi Terasawa. But he made his name stealing from the Pirate Guild, often planning elaborate, non-lethal heists. Though if push comes to shove, he’ll take off his prosthetic arm to reveal his Psychogun and blast his way out.

4

Tuxedo Mask

Swooping Into Action

Sailor Moon’s Tuxedo Mask is a lot of things. He’s the alter-ego of Mamoru Chiba (or Darien Shields if one prefers), the love interest to Usagi (Serena) herself, and the reincarnation of Prince Endymion, whose love for Princess Serenity led to his death at the hands of Queen Beryl. But he’s more known for his mysterious pep talks and rose handling than his thieving.

That’s because it was downplayed in the anime compared to the manga, where he was more an anti-hero seeking the Silver Crystal for his own means. But in both sources, he soon proved his worth as an ally to the Sailor Guardians. Albeit more in his advice, like his tips on how Sailor Moon and co. can use the Silver Crystal against their foes than through his strength.

3

Team Rocket

Bringing Trouble, Often Doubled

While the likes of Nami, Kurama, and Cobra tend to be great at what they do, anime thieves don’t have to be competent to be iconic. Team Rocket was already famous as the evil organization in the Pokemon games, but they arguably wouldn’t have caught on as classic characters if the anime didn’t include the hapless trio of Jesse, James, and Meowth.

Instead of stealing items or valuables, their goal was to take Ash’s Pikachu and use its strength to aid their cause. They used all sorts of schemes to try and kidnap (Mon-nap?) the electro-mouse, all of which ultimately failed in the long run. So, they were more of an annoyance to Ash and his friends than a menace, but their bungling brought a lot of charm to the show, be it from their grand entrances or their skyward departures (“Team Rocket’s blasting off agaaaaaaiiinnn….”).

2

Kaito Kuroba

The Original Phantom Thief

Kaito “Kaito Kid” Kuroba is better known as the fairweather friend to Case Closed’s Detective Conan, where the sleuth-turned-kid often foils Kaito’s plans, but can never pin him down long enough for the law to arrest him. Then, if the circumstances call for it, the two will work together to solve bigger plots and murders. However, he actually preceded the child detective by seven years, debuting in his own manga Magic Kaito in 1987.

It revealed his backstory as a high schooler and amateur magician who took up thieving to find his father’s killer. Alongside Tuxedo Mask, he’s become the quintessential version of a phantom thief, where they use magic tricks (be it real or sleight of hand) to bamboozle the law while lifting valuables. In Kaito Kid’s case, he often steals items back from villains to hand them back to their original owners.

1

Lupin The 3rd

The Most Influential Anime Thief

As influential as Kaito Kid is, he didn’t invent the gentleman thief archetype. Both he and Tuxedo Mask got their dress sense from Arsène Lupin, the original gentleman thief who inspired a swathe of short stories in the early 20th century. His fame had ebbed by the 1960s, until the mangaka Monkey Punch decided to give him a grandson in Lupin the 3rd.

Behind his happy-go-lucky attitude, roving eye, and bright suits is a thieving genius who’s always managed to stay ahead of the law, and a step behind his lover/rival thief Fujiko Mine. His adventures inspired a wide range of media, from One Piece, Cobra and Cowboy Bebop to Final Fantasy 9, Sly Cooper and Persona 5. Without his pulpy stories, the landscape of anime and gaming might be very different today.