Lupin III: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure (special)

When Lupin and Jigen are driving the truck in chase of the third statue, Jigen asks Lupin what he reads. Lupin answers "Monkey Punch". Monkey Punch is the pen name of Kazuhiko Katō, creator of the Lupin manga series. 

Obon's first role in a Lupin III related anime in 10 years.

Mayumi Tanaka's first role in a Lupin III anime in 6 years.

The first Lupin III TV special to feature Kanichi Kurita as the voice of Lupin III.

The first Lupin III TV special to not feature Yasuo Yamada as the voice of Lupin.

The name Hermann von Diett (Herr Mafroditte in the English dub) is an attempted pun on the word “hermaphrodite” a medical term for someone with both male and female private parts. The original script of the TV special listed Herumafodito as his name, which translates to Herr Mafroditte which was used for the English dub. Sometime during the production of the TV special, the name became Hermann von Diett. While the original Japanese end credits did not list Hermann von Diett's name, instead he was listed as Neo Nazi Leader. When in reality the original Japanese version of the TV special never once used the word Nazi. Upon the Discotek home video release, the subtitles list the character's name being "Hermann von Diett" as upon request from the original producers of the TV special.

Sir Archer owns an Aston Martin DB5 and a Walther PPK, both famously used in the James Bond series.

Harimao was based on the real life Yutuka Tani a Japanese born Malaysian national who gained his reputation in the years prior to World War II. Tani was active during the Manchurian Incident of 1931, when the Japanese Imperial Army used a minor bombing of a railway lines as pretext for an invasion into the Chinese territory. It was likely because of this resentment that Tani's sisters were murdered by Chinese gangs, which drove him to become a bandit attacking and looting not just the gangs but also British colonial officials. He gained the name of Harimau(which is Malay for Tiger) by giving these riches to the poor of his nation. Later Tani became a secret agent for the Imperial Japanese Army, where he is reported to have died during a mission during World War II.

The organization that Hermann von Diett leads is called the Neo Himmel(some online sources refer to it as Neo Himmler). Which is based on the name of Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (Protection Squadron; SS) and a leading member of the Third Reich.

The Monkey Punch manga Lupin was reading when he and Jigen are driving the truck in pursuit of the third statue, is Transparent Gentleman (Tomei Shinshi) from 1977. The manga was published a decade after Lupin’s debut, while the title character named Kaiji (who is on the front cover of the manga Lupin’s reading) would eventually make his anime debut in episode 2 of the Monkey Punch anthology anime “Mankatsu”.

In the English dub, the Innkeeper addresses Zenigata with the following names: Columbo, Dick Tracy, Mattlock, & Sherlock. Zenigata did team up Sherlock Holmes III in episode 15 of Lupin III Part 2 titled “The Great Detectives Take to the Sky” a.k.a. “The Case of the Risible Dirigible” for the English dub. While he has also teamed up with Columbo’s son in episode 72 titled "The Skateboard Murder Mystery" a.k.a. "You're Sapphired!" for the English dub of the same series.