Honestly a shame that most Persona fans don't know that the whole modus operandi of the Phantom Thieves (specifically calling cards) has roots in a very specific Arsรจne Lupin story and not just like a general Arsรจne Lupin thing, specifically based on the story "Arsรจne Lupin in Prison" where Lupin sends a note to a baron that he was going to rob him all the while Lupin was in prison to send him into a paranoia, all the while his band of thieves infiltrate the castle and trick the baron into letting them through the front door through taking advantage of the baron's paranoia of the thieves. This is pretty close to the calling card mechanic in the games complete with the thieves basically stealing everything after waltzing into the front door after some prep work before. Some of the other usual Arsรจne Lupin staples that are found in the game that doesn't get talked about enough is the fact that most stories start of with the resolution/end point and for the most part, Arsรจne actually tells another character how things had gone down, so even the in media res set up that Persona 5 has where the entire plot is told entirely through flashbacks via Joker telling Sae everything before we reach the interrogation room is also very Arsรจne Lupin. The strange and elaborate plot like them pulling the switcheroo with Akechi to help Joker escape is also an Arsรจne Lupin staple with most of the plots resolving in such strange twists that it seems impossible to figure out what Arsรจne was planning until he actually reveals it.
A lot of Persona 5 Vanilla's main Palace plot is heavily based on how an Arsรจne Lupin story usually goes and honestly people should just read more Maurice LeBlanc's Arsรจne Lupin.
