Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. It’s time to continue our look at Lupin the Third Part V. A lot of people have wondered why Lupin isn’t popular like other animes out there. It’s a good question. I mean, the series has yearly specials/movies and is getting ready to air Part VI yet nobody really seems to be talking about it all that much. Personally, I think the reason why Lupin never reached high popularity in the west is due to not knowing the right time to introduce him. At the time when anime was starting to gain momentum over here kids were mostly into action and adventure animes like DBZ, Pokémon, and Yu Yu Hakusho. While the anime could have appeared on Adult Swim, with it’s dated animation and running alongside Cowboy Bebop and other action-packed animes and programs in the block chances are high it would have been left in the dust. Lupin had more of a slow built as opposed to other animes and the action at the time was more comedic. In the end, I guess producers in the west felt that Lupin’s story was just too slow and dated at the time for viewers and are now playing catch up as Lupin is starting to establish a fanbase here in the west. Alright, enough rambling, let’s get back to the anime.
Episodes 13-16
In episode 13 we get to see Ami again at school where even though she’s settled in, she’s having a hard time making friends because she’s a hacker (which should automatically make her the coolest girl in school in my opinion) and to these high-class girls that makes her scary (she’s a hacker not a killer). She does however make one friend named Dolma the princess of Padar who’s also considered a scary girl in school because she goes around shooting crows with arrows (again, automatically cool girl in my book). She’s also in possession of the Bloody Teardrop a rare necklace worth millions and Lupin as well as Fujiko have set their sights on stealing it. But his thieving will have to wait as the school gets attacked by the Whales of Liberation a terrorist group who takes everyone in the school their hostage, drags Ami to another room alone, and takes Dolma and a few other girls into the principal’s office for ransom. Ami tries to charm one of the terrorists with her sexy appeal (no offence Ami but you don’t have sexy appeal yet. You have cute appeal) but it doesn’t work and she winds up getting saved by Fujiko where they work out a deal to save Dolma and the rest of the school. Lupin and the others arrive where they realize the school is under the terrorists’ rule and begin to fight their way in. Back with Ami and Fujiko, Fujiko goes to save Dolma and the others half-naked to distract the terrorists and with the help of Ami manages to take them down. Lupin and the others save the students in the auditorium, but another teacher comes in named McGuire who’s really working for the CIA and captures Dolma begging her to come with him in order to save Padar (scene here: https://youtu.be/thU5hSuIRx4).
Things take an interesting turn in episode 14 as we find out that Padar is in the middle of a coup going on between the reformers and traditionalists. The reformers led by Dolma’s dad want to bring the country more up to date (you know, bring in technology and move away from traditions) but the traditionalists led by the high priest want to keep things the same and let the country be ruled by traditions with him as the leader. The CIA is behind this coup. On paper they’re staying in a neutral position but in truth they’re helping the traditionalists as it’ll be easier to control them. They kidnapped Dolma as a means to act as their political puppet which means they’re going to kill her father and rule the country through her (this is quite the plan). So the race is on to rescue Dolma and save the country from a civil war (no pressure) where Lupin and the others have arrived as have Fujiko and Ami who are teaming up (and I actually do like the character development going on between these two ladies. Fujiko is everything Ami dislikes but at the same time wishes she could be. A strong woman who can get by with just her looks alone but has the skills necessary to get out of any trouble that comes her way. Ami respects and admires Fujiko’s skills, but it’s her personality that Ami can’t stand). Lupin manages to get inside the temple of the traditionalists holding Dolma by dressing up as Zenigata while Fujiko and Ami get in as servants. Fujiko distracts the guards while Ami tries to reach Dolma’s room where she runs into McGuire who starts to choke her (bastard, put her down before I have Shizuku break your back. (Shizuku): I’ll beat the fuck out of you and put you in the camel clutch just for the fun of it). Lupin comes in to save Ami and ties up McGuire in steel wire when Dolma comes down and out of nowhere shoots Lupin with an arrow (Dolma. . .the fuck?)
Okay, so it turns out Dolma has sided with the traditionalists in order to save her father from being murdered and to stop the country from going into a civil war. In return she becomes queen and the puppet of the priest. But Dolma won’t be their lapdog and has teamed up with McGuire to take back her country when the time is right. The guards come in to apprehend Lupin and Ami but they get saved by Fujiko using a smoke grenade and she also steals the Bloody Teardrop from Dolma (that’s some quick multitasking. Also, she just picks Lupin up like it was nothing. Didn’t know Fujiko was a gym rat). They make it back into the city where martial law is declared, and the king has gone missing. Fujiko and Ami hide in an abandoned building where Fujiko treats Lupin’s wound and even sleeps with him naked to keep him warm (for a woman who claims to hate him you sure do a lot for him). The next morning, they get surrounded by the army but manage to escape in the woods with Fujiko abandoning Ami and Lupin in order to lure the soldiers away from them (but to Ami, it comes across as Fujiko leaving them to die. Scene here: https://youtu.be/fs4T7iczlrM). The army corners Fujiko where she calls for parley but before negotiations can begin, the army is informed that the king has resurfaced and taken control of the TV station. The army begins to retreat and as they do Lupin appears still injured and running towards Fujiko (my God you are a masochist man) where she stops and asks him what she is to him. Before he can answer a blimp comes crashing down on them (this has been one hell of an episode).
In episode 16 we find out that Ami was able to hack into the blimp that was drone piloting. She crashed the blimp and this allowed Lupin and Fujiko to escape unharmed (and in the process ruined a moment of closure between them so, B-). Lupin disguises himself as a general and Ami as Dolma to make their way back into the city. The king’s army manages to get the internet back up and he’s able to speak to his people and tries to get everyone to stop fighting (stop pointing your guns toward each other and instead point them to the real enemies). The high priest realizing he’s about to be in deep shit decides to take Dolma and flee up north where they’ll hold the coronation there using a fake Bloody Teardrop and a Dolma stand-in meaning Dolma’s existence is no longer needed. Luckily, Lupin and Ami arrive along with Jigen and Goemon who take out the other priests and leave the high priest high and dry where he tries to get Lupin over to his side and talks about all of his misdeeds which are broadcasted to the country by Ami (you seriously need to recruit that girl Lupin. She would be a great asset on your thefts). With the high priest’s plans exposed (that bastard) and the country turned against him, all we need now is someone to pull a Lelouch in order to unite the country as one once again. Thankfully, McGuire steps up to be our Lelouch as he tries to kidnap Dolma only to get shot down and Dolma uses this to say that it was the western powers who tried to control their country and this fools everyone. With this the civil war is over and Dolma will become the proper queen of Padar (no strings attached). Ami also comes to the conclusion that she’s in love with Lupin (you and another woman apparently) but knows she’s not on his radar so she vows that once she becomes a better woman than Fujiko and a proper one at that she’ll await Lupin’s answer.
Episodes 17-20
We get another throwback episode (this time the green jacket, the closest jacket to the original manga. This was when Lupin was younger and instead of going for priceless artifacts he instead went for money and rare jewelry. This Lupin was also more gritty and darker than the other ones). In the episode, a countess offers Lupin a priceless ring he’s been trying to steal for some time but keeps failing, on the condition that he can find the person who murdered her husband. Three years ago, the countess’s husband a brilliant man who built the security systems industry in France was gunned down. The police investigated but the trail went cold and the case was dismissed. The countess spent those three years searching for her husband’s killer (everyone needs a hobby) where she’s lowered it down to three suspects, invited all three of them to her mansion and Lupin has to figure out which one is the killer (it’s like a game of Clue or murder mystery night). The suspects are Frederick Autorett a famous sommelier (a wine steward. Positives of this job, you get to drink all day. Negatives, bad hangovers in the mornings) who wanted to have the count’s ring as well. Allen Dubois the nephew of the count whose family business went under and the count refused to help them resulting in Allen’s dad committing suicide and the family falling apart. The final suspect is Pierre Schmidt, who ran a company that developed security systems tech but was bought out by the count and he was let go. When the countess goes to meet them all a power outage occurs, and the countess gets shot and dies. From there, Lupin and the maid Marie try to figure out who the killer is and out of respect for this episode I won’t spoil who the killer is but I will say it is a good twist on who it is and no it’s not who you think it is. Just know that Lupin figures out who the killer is and gets the ring but gives it back to the countess.
Episode 18 is another stand-alone episode and not really all that good. Lupin and the gang have a broken toilet, and it all has something to do with Fujiko who stuck something in there last night after Lupin invited her over while he was drunk. Throughout the whole episode Fujiko is keeping everyone out of the restroom to get what she stuck in the toilet which was a small gift. It was Fujiko’s birthday and Lupin forgot about it. Moving on.
Episode 19 is a Jigen episode. It starts with Lupin at a café trying to seduce a waitress who gets shot and rushed to the hospital (well this went from 0 to 100 quickly). Her injuries are minor and we find out the person responsible for the shooting is a man named Zylberstein (must be German) a psychotic rich man who has a history with Lupin and invites him to play chess against him in a canyon where if Lupin wins he’ll get 1 million euros (which is a lot in American currency) but during their match, a sniper will be trying to kill Lupin and it’s up to Jigen to keep him safe. The sniper is a woman named Mirage who used to fight beside Jigen (and surprisingly nothing bad happened to her as a result of it. People who are usually involved in Jigen’s past wind up dead) until she got pregnant and retired from the frontlines to raise her unborn daughter. Throughout the episode as Lupin and Zylberstein play against each other we get treated to a very well-done and awesome sniper fight between Jigen and Mirage. Both gunners outsmart each other each step throughout the episode until finally Mirage tries to take a shot at Lupin believing she’s taken down Jigen by shooting some rubble on him only to let her guard down and have the trigger of her gun get shot off by Jigen making it useless. Her shot did go off, however, she misses Lupin and the bullet ricochets off a rock and hits Zylberstein in the leg (*chuckles* that’s an interesting series of events). Despite getting shot and the board falling over as a result, Zylberstein continues to play against Lupin where they do mental chess and Lupin resigns from the match giving Zylberstein the win. Zylberstein soon passes out and Mirage charges at Lupin trying to kill him but failing (didn’t think to bring a handgun?). It gets revealed that Mirage isn’t Mirage but instead her daughter who took this job and others in order to earn money to save the real Mirage who is sick and needs a doctor. Lupin agrees to pay for her mother’s hospital bill and Jigen takes her gun telling her to quit this business by saying she’ll never be as good as her mother (maybe. But with the right mentor she could very well be the best).
In episode 20 we get a Zenigata episode (I was wondering where he’s been all this time). In the episode, Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon are in some Russian town to steal money and priceless items from the Russian mafia but for every heist they pull off some other thief is there to beat them using Lupin’s methods and everything (if anything, I daresay they’re better). It gets revealed that the thief is in fact Zenigata (if you can’t beat them, join them), and at first you think he’s just doing this as some sort of mind game on Lupin but no, it’s the exact opposite. In truth Zenigata has lost his memory and has been committing heists as this is the only way he’s come close to remembering who he is. Lupin and Zenigata have one final match where they both steal two rare jewels at the same time where even Lupin starts to think that Zenigata is better off this way (he does seem happier and livelier). But as they run in the snow Zenigata slowly starts to remember who he is and Lupin senses it. Lupin manages to steal the other jewel from Zenigata and makes his escape just as Zenigata finally remembers who he is.
Episodes 21-24
We start the last arc for the season in episode 21. An IT company called Shake Hanz is working on an app called PeopleLog an app that will tell you everything you need to know about a person down to their likes, dislikes, hobbies, work ethic, and even when they post something on social media (not to sound like a conspiracy nut but Google did it). The app can even look up your criminal record and tell if you’re lying online or not. The app goes viral and just like with everything on the internet, it gets out of control. People use it to invade the privacy of others and even begins taking power away from the government. The app even starts to mess with Lupin which is what Shake Hanz wanted to happen all along, their CEO Enzo wants to beat Lupin proving that his app is the best and that Lupin is nothing more than a relic of the past (you’re the Tron guy of this generation Lupin). It doesn’t take long before all of Lupin’s past deeds surface online and all of France goes after him which forces him to run. He eventually runs into Zenigata who informs him that Fujiko has been captured by Shake Hanz (yes, apparently an IT company is so powerful they have their own police force).
In episode 22 Lupin and the gang along with Ami invade Shake Hanz corporate office where they plan to steal back Fujiko and take down PeopleLog. Ami launches a DDOS attack on their network but has no luck in taking them down. Even with the aid of other hackers their network won’t go down (man, companies wish they had this level of resources like Shake Hanz). Lupin and Ami go to get Fujiko while Jigen goes to secure them a route and Goemon stays behind to guard their route where he gets approached by Enzo who makes him question his relationship with Lupin (they’re not friends, enemies, rivals, partners, or even lovers. I really don’t know how to describe their relationship). Seeking an answer for himself, Goemon goes to face Lupin where they fight in a duel and Goemon wins but in the process fatally hurts Lupin. As Lupin bleeds out and Goemon tries to save him, Ami cries out for Enzo’s help revealing herself to be Enzo’s long-lost daughter. Yep, Ami is Enzo’s daughter. He and his wife got divorced, she got custody, died, and Ami got sold off until she was rescued by Lupin (that girl has led one adventurous life).
In episode 23, Enzo’s men come in to capture Lupin and once Enzo sees his daughter Ami, his reaction is like that of a man getting scolded for leaving the toilet seat up (he hears you but he honestly doesn’t care). As Lupin gets placed in the hands of ICPO and is being driven away to prison with Goemon, Jigen saves them by gunning down every officer in the convoy all by himself and these trained policemen can’t hit him (Stormtroopers: Man, and I thought we sucked at our job). Once the coast is clear Jigen and Lupin have a heart to heart where he tells Lupin it’s time to retire. The times are changing, and they can’t keep up with this high-paced world (you talking about your current situation or the series in general? No seriously, while the animes have gotten praised, a lot of people don’t watch the anime as they prefer the high-paced anime more. The Lupin series is kind of like Cowboy Bebop, it’s a slow-paced show that brings you into the atmosphere of the anime. As a result, you find yourself getting more invested into the characters’ problems, their world, their story and the characters in general. While I have nothing against the more fast-paced anime of today’s world, I still like these slow-paced animes and think they’re worth checking out). Lupin just chuckles and says that he wants to continue to be Lupin III until the very end. Whether the ending will lead to his victory or defeat, he wants to continue the story and see the outcome. Jigen and Goemon join Lupin and go into hiding for about a month with no one (not even PeopleLog) knowing where they are. Lupin re-emerges on the internet with him using PeopleLog to air out the dirty laundry of the world’s governments (oh shit this won’t end well. . .for anyone). As you imagine the world governments are pissed about this and now want to try and regulate PeopleLog or ban it from their country. Enzo refuses to give in to the demands of the world governments and instead focuses on what Lupin’s next move will be. As for where Lupin is hiding, he’s in the ruins of Cagliostro (you think I would get tired of all the callbacks to this place but no, it reminds me of where I started with Lupin, why I like him so much, and how far he’s come).
In the final episode we start off with representatives of the world talking to Enzo who refuses to delete Lupin’s posts (yeah, if you’re gonna let Trump write whatever he wants online than anything Lupin says should be alright). We go to Lupin next on a ship where we get a nice cameo appearance by Rebecca (hey~, long time no see? Just one of many cameos in this episode). We then cut to Ami talking to a caged Fujiko where she asks the question that’s been on everyone’s mind, what happened between her and Lupin? The answer, nothing. Yeah, no joke, nothing happened between them. The two actually did get together and actually started to live with each other and everything (I daresay they had a normal life). But that whole lifestyle just didn’t suit the two at all and they realized it (they’re thieves, it’s in their blood to steal. They were never meant for the quiet and peaceful life. They live for the thrills, challenges and adventures). Their girl talk gets interrupted by Enzo who’s in a state of shock as PeopleLog can’t find Lupin which means there’s not enough data on him which means PeopleLog is flawed (and Lupin wins). The corporation then gets attacked by the US Navy who have now classified Shaking Hanz as a terrorist group (hmm~ going to war over a post online. Knowing our previous president, he would do this in a heartbeat). Lupin finally makes his grand entrance in the golden sub from the Treasure of Harimo and we get our third cameo appearance from Diane (woah, the callbacks are great this episode). Lupin heads into Shake Hanz while Jigen and Goemon take on the US military by themselves and hold their own (way to make them overpowered). Lupin arrives at the top floor where Enzo, Ami, and Fujiko are waiting for him and Enzo wants to know how he did it, how did Lupin outsmart PeopleLog. The answer is when he goes to talk to Fujiko about their relationship and what she means to him. His answer, he’s not sure himself, all he knows is that Lupin III is Lupin III (and that’s really all you need to know). Lupin than reveals that the face we’ve been seeing all these years is just a mask and reveals his real face to Fujiko, Enzo, and Ami (we being the audience don’t get to see it and I’m okay with that). Fujiko than picks the lock and kisses Lupin (glad you two worked out whatever issues were bothering you). As the building begins to collapse, they make their escape by sledding and running down the building (where Enzo actually starts to care for Ami. Fuck you man). Once they make it to the ground safely Lupin and the gang make a run for it and Ami bids them farewell, for now. She loves Lupin but if she’s too close to him she’ll become restless because Lupin will stop being the person she loves (and then we’ll get the same situation as Fujiko was in). The season wraps up with Lupin and the gang running away from Zenigata all while saying how they never change and that’s okay with them (and it’s okay with me too).
Final Thoughts
So that was Part V of Lupin the Third, how does it compare to Part IV? Well Part V does some things better than IV and some things worse. For starters, the mini arcs were actually a good idea. Rather than have one big overarching story like Part IV, they instead do mini arcs featuring Lupin and the others which are good and a lot of fun to watch. The downside with these arcs however is that it doesn’t allow a lot of room for stand-alone episodes which I missed. While we got some stand-alone episodes in Part V which were good, I personally liked the stand-alone episodes in Part IV better. The ones in Part IV had an excellent balance of comedy, action, and intrigue that made each one feel special and memorable. The episodes managed to tell their own story while still shining the spotlight on Lupin and the others, exploring the new characters, and contributing a little to the overarching story.
The new characters of Ami and Albert are good. I did find myself liking Ami a lot more than Rebecca as she really earned her place on the team as opposed to Rebecca who kind of felt like she was being forced into the story at times. Ami was reclusive, smart, and logical. She’s not a thief or a thrill seeker. She’s a normal girl trying to figure out what she wants to do in life. Her relationship with Fujiko and Lupin were some of my favorite moments in the season. While Ami doesn’t like Fujiko’s personality, she respects her skills and abilities. Fujiko has everything Ami lacks and wants to have. Ami’s relationship with Lupin is like that of a big brother and little sister. Lupin cares about her but doesn’t have romantic feelings for her while Ami does like Lupin and wants to stay by his side as not just his lover but someone who can keep up with him. Albert was an interesting character and probably the only character I can think of who actually outsmarted Lupin so easily, but they drop the ball with him. He only sticks around for one arc and then disappears. I wanted him to appear more to challenge Lupin all throughout the series. Lupin challenging someone who knows all his tricks would have been fun and interesting. Kind of like a master thief vs a genius detective. Also, Yata is a wasted character as well. The anime made it seem like he was going to be a big deal, but just like Albert he barely makes appearances and gets forgotten. Speaking of characters, I did like how the season focused more on Lupin and Fujiko’s relationship with one another. It’s vague and we don’t get a lot of answers and that perfectly describes their relationship. It’s a relationship that only the two of them know and can figure out. As much as we would like to know what their relationship is it’s none of our business until they feel comfortable bringing us into it. Until then, all we can do is speculate and watch.
Another complaint I have with this season is that they don’t take full advantage of their setting. They do a good job with the Lupin vs technology storylines and how Lupin has to adapt to this technological age, but they could have done so much more with the France setting. The original Lupin operated out of France, so I was surprised they never touched base on that. They could have had Lupin hit up the places that his grandfather did to test his skills all while Zenigata and Albert try to stop him or used this opportunity to explore his family heritage. While I enjoyed the story we got I was hoping to see stuff like that explored in this season and think it would have made the season better.
The animation still looks good here. It’s similar to the animation from Part IV so not much has changed and the music is still great to listen to. The action this time around does seem to lean more towards the green jacket era as there are a few brutal looking scenes throughout the anime. So with everything I said, is Part V better than Part IV? In my opinion, no. While I enjoyed Part V I feel that Part IV was more engaging, told the better stories, while not having the better new characters they were used slightly better, and took advantage of its setting more.
Final Score The final score for Part V is a 7.5/10. While I think Part IV is better, I still had a blast watching Part V and enjoyed it for what it was and the changes it added to the series. If you do decide to watch Part V I recommend watching Part IV first as there are a few callbacks to Part IV that’ll lose you if you don’t watch Part IV first. I’m really excited to see what they do with Part VI when it comes out down the line. It’s great to see that even after all these years Lupin can still deliver. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.