Lupin III is a franchise myself, among many others, hold very near and dear to our hearts. It is a story filled with excitement, laughter, and just enough seriousness to feel important and impactful. From classics like the Fuma Conspiracy to modern adaptations like Part 4, Lupin is the eastern counterpart to a series like Scooby-Doo. It's known to most everyone in some capacity, and has been airing in some form or another for the last 50 years. Lupin the 3rd: Part 5 exemplifies that, and makes a number of classic homages to it's past.
Lupin is, at it's core, a character story. The main five, Goemon, Jigen, Zenigata, Fujiko, and of course, Lupin, are the heart of the story. Their antics are the basis of nearly every action which takes place in the universe. The focus typically has been less on the story across episodes or seasons, and far more on how the characters will react to a given situation. Part 5, on the contrary, doesn't play too much into this in the first few episodes. Opening with an underwater raid on the "twin-towers" they meet Ami, who, as many are quick to predict, would become this seasons "Bond Girl" character. Along with meeting our partner of the season, Part 5 jumps right into a story about drug trafficking and the dark web. It follows a consistent and relatively linear story for a few straight episodes, before finally stating that "Episode 1" has ended near the end of the fourth actual episode.
This is where I was the most uncomfortable with Part 5. Instead of the typical character comedy/action/drama Lupin fans are used to, especially fans more acquainted with modern Lupin, a la Part 4 or the CGI Movie (Which is really good by the way!), we are kicked off with an actual expansive story. It is by no means bad, but it definitely betrays expectations of the series, while setting up new ones for the greatness that is about to ensue.
As the series progresses, we are met with a number of random filler-esque episodes (that are actually just plain-old Lupin episodes), and a number of "lost-episodes". These are episodes featuring previous styles of Lupin, such as his more gritty Green Jacket or Pink Jacket selves, with the side characters adapting to their previous incarnations as well. They all felt really fun, and are great homages to the number of different interpretations of Lupin. One of my favorite examples was Episode 17 (Introducing Detective Jim Barnett III), which is a classic murder-mystery style episode, and features the theme music from Castle of Cagliostro, as a nice homage.
Surrounding these "Lost Episodes" are the actual plot of the story. A thrilling modern adventure, as a massive tech company attempts to take over the world. While I would hate to spoil the plot too much, the final two episodes feature a number of cameos from previous Lupin characters, and even the original Yellow Mercedes that Jigen rides up in to face off against Interpol on the road. This brings us to the main point of this review.
Lupin III: Part 5 is a wonderful and fun story full of tons of classic Lupin both literally and figuratively. It is filled to the brim with references to classic Lupin, from the Princess of Cagliostro herself, our modern Bond Girl from Part 4 Rebecca. It is a wonderful take on the Lupin franchise that manages to keep a large and relatevly complex overarching plot in place while still feeling like good 'ol Lupin III.
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