Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. It’s time to keep the yearly tradition alive and take a look at Lupin 3rd and today we’re looking at Angel Tactics. Serving as the 17th special in the Lupin series and directed by Shigeyuki Miya, Angel Tactics is one of the hardest specials to find in the Lupin series. It came out in 2005 and even though anime sites have specials that date all the way back to the 80s, this special is one of the few that nobody can find. Lucky for me somebody uploaded the movie on Youtube a while back and I was able to watch it. Let’s take a look at this rare gem of a special and see how it stacks up to the others. This is Lupin 3rd: Angel Tactics.
So the movie begins with Lupin and the gang trying to rob this castle but getting killed by a group of all-female assassins known as the Bloody Angels (well this was a short special, https://youtu.be/7tClSJgMDF8). Actually, we find out this Lupin and the others are fakes. Instead, we see that these four are stand-ins and this whole stunt was actually a stimulation setup by the assassins to test their skills. We then cut to Lupin, Jigen, and Goamon dressed up as scientists (I would laugh at this but in all seriousness they’re smart enough to be ones) and sneaking into Area 51 (which is apparently out in the open for everyone to see. Hey why hide it, we all know it exists?) to steal this rare metal known as the “original metal” a piece of metal that came off a UFO that crash landed on Earth in 1947. We see that Zenigata is there along with his new assistant Emily (you know given Zenigata’s history with assistants it’s amazing anyone signs up for this job. Even more amazing that Zenigata accepts them) guarding the metal but Lupin and the others come in, steal the metal, and escape the base (using the physics of Sonic the Hedgehog) riding a fake UFO (Mr. Jigen. . .power. . .to. . .all. . .thrusters). They get picked up by Fujiko and go to their hideout where Lupin plans to turn the metal into a ring for Fujiko (please, not even the biggest diamond in the world would please that temptress). He gets Goemon to slice it but not even his sword is strong enough to slice it and he leaves going on a quest to get stronger. The next morning Fujiko leaves with the metal and goes off to sell it to one of the Bloody Angels named Lady Jo (a crossdresser apparently. Somebody’s going through an identity crisis) but it turns out to be a fake and Fujiko barely escapes with her life (you think she would learn to stop trying to cross Lupin).
The assassins now believe Lupin, Jigen, or Goemon has the metal and the remaining three go after them. The first assassin Sophie slips Lupin a poisonous truth serum where he confesses Jigen has the metal and she takes her leave where we see Lupin survived the poison by swallowing a sponge earlier (so does he do this on a regular bases or is this just plot convenience?). The second assassin Linda befriends Jigen and takes him to a jazz bar where she tries to kill him only to fail as the band still plays despite all the shooting and damage to the bar (you’ve got to admire their dedication). The assassins than believe Goemon has it so they send Kaoru after him and because his sword is dull from the metal he has no choice but to retreat from the battle (you got lucky lady). After some investigation Lupin finds out the metal isn’t from space. It’s instead a new kind of alloy developed by Uncle Sam’s department of defense and they want it back before it falls into Bloody Angel’s hands. They put Zenigata in charge of a special ops team and once they find Lupin’s hideout they raid the place only to see Lupin and the others escape easily. Once they escape Goemon goes to get his sword fixed while Lupin and Jigen decide to go after Bloody Angel believing that they have a device that requires the use of the “Original metal” and steal it for themselves (wow Lupin, I didn’t know you engaged in acts of terrorism?).
They hop on a plane going to Fujiko’s hideout hidden on a deserted island where Sophie is the pilot and tries to get the metal from them again only to get outsmarted by Lupin and Jigen and bail out for safety (they make that girl look like a fool every time). Lupin and Jigen then get shot down by Zenigata in a fighter jet (do a barrel roll) and swim to Fujiko’s island (beware of sirens). Once they arrive Bloody Angel arrives as well with an army determined to get the metal and kill Lupin and the others. A fight erupts on the island where Jigen takes on Linda again getting the best of her in a gun fight and watching her die in a flour warehouse where she created a thermobaric explosion caused by the sparks of her gunfire which saturated the air and caused an explosion killing her (ain’t science great?). In another part of the world Goemon takes on Kaoru where he destroys her sword and she kills herself accepting her defeat (such a shame. They would have had cute children). Lupin takes on Sophie where he outsmarts her again and she surrenders. She opens up about her past such as how her boyfriend was a soldier who was killed by friendly fire and how she wanted revenge for what happened to him (and how has that been working out for you?). She then tells Lupin that the only way to forge the metal in the shape you want it you have to use this special liquid that their leader has. Sophie than gets shot by Emily and dies where Zenigata comes in and arrests him only to have Lady Jo come in and attack them. It gets revealed that all of Zenigata’s soldiers are members of Bloody Angels (who seem to like dressing as dominatrixes. I’m sorry I can’t take these guys seriously) and they begin destroying the island looking for Lupin, Zenigata, and Emily who Lupin reveals is the leader of Bloody Angels (yeah kind of obvious. If she’s with Zenigata chances are she’s either gonna die or betray the group. It never fails). So we have a pretty climatic battle as we start with a gunfight between Bloody Angels and Lupin and Zenigata where apparently the Bloody Angels are suffering from Stormtrooper syndrome as they can’t hit shit (it’s really embarrassing). Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko join the fight where they continue to push Bloody Angels back and once Zenigata’s backup arrives they surrender. Emily tries to escape but Lupin and the others cut off her escape and when Lupin decides to let her go she tries to kill him but gets killed by him instead (you had a chance kid, but you failed). In the end Lupin and the others escape and as for the Original metal Lupin still has it but he keeps it a secret from Fujiko.
Final Thoughts
So that was Angel Tactics and overall it’s okay. Don’t get me wrong there are some funny moments, good action sequences, solid animation for the time, catchy jazz music that sets the mood, and a compelling story with a little bit of drama added into the mix but that’s to be expected in a Lupin special. When compared to the other specials this one feels like it’s repeating the ideas of the past specials and doesn’t try to add in anything new or interesting. The other specials and movies left more of an impact on me than this special did and it’s a little disappointing especially with how strong the movie started. Probably the biggest letdown is the Bloody Angels. These are probably the weakest opponents I’ve seen Lupin go up against. Their introduction was good, they had us believing that they were these skilled assassins who could take down anyone and give Lupin and the others a run for their money. But when they face off against Lupin and the others they’re constantly being outsmarted and outmatched by them at every turn and as the special goes on their threat level continues to fall. Now that I think about it we never hear a reason why the Bloody Angels targeted Lupin and the others in the beginning. Usually anybody going up against Lupin has a reason. Here, there’s no reason until later on when Lupin has the metal. Another down is the third act. While there’s a good amount of action it was difficult to take the enemy seriously with their outfits and the fact that the threat level of the angels was almost zero at this point.
Final Score
The final score for Angel Tactics is a 5.5/10. This was a very hard special to score. It’s not terrible, like I said it has some good aspects in it but there in lays the problem. The special only does the minimum work for a Lupin special and doesn’t try to do anything more to stand out from other specials. This is the first Lupin special I’ve been down the middle about and so far the weakest special I’ve reviewed so far. Is it worth checking out? I guess, it’s not gonna hurt you to check it out. If you can find it that is. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
*All videos, clips, and music are not owned by me and belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved*
Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment in the comment section or send your comments, feedback, or request to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com