VaVampireNaomi
November 3, 2018
Mixed Feelings
The other reviews for Lupin III Part 5 are overwhelmingly positive, so I decided to offer a different opinion that explains why I found the series pretty disappointing. I've seen quite a lot of Lupin over the years, so I've learned to identify which elements of the characters and their adventures I enjoy the most. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about Part 5 is that all through its run, it looked like it was aiming for the exact flavour that I love, but something was always missing. In Part 5, Lupin and his gang are having adventures in France, the home country of Lupin's famous grandfather.Technology and especially social media play a big part this time. While Lupin has always adapted to the technology available, this is the first time that it's getting such a focus. I wasn't sure how to feel about this at first since I like Lupin because of the sleek, classic feel of the franchise, but the social media aspect was actually used in a clever way that felt natural. The Lupin Game that was introduced in the first story arc was especially fun.
I'll start by listing everything that I think the series did well. From a technical standpoint, the series is amazing. The backgrounds bring the locations to life, especially all the little back alleys in French towns and quiet countryside with its fields and villages. I don't think the world of Lupin's adventures has ever looked this good, even in movies. The animation and character designs are also impressive and retain a high quality all through the series. While certain scenes or episodes are better animated than others, there weren't any moments where I noticed a clear drop in quality. Combine the visuals with a great soundtrack by Yuji Ohno and the Lupin experience is nearly perfect.
Another thing that I think made Part 5 stand out positively is the group of new side characters. Ami is the young hacker girl with a tragic past who becomes involved in Lupin's adventures and brings some fresh perspective to the group. Out of the new characters, she plays the most important part in the overall plot, and it's lovely to see her grow and find herself as the series progresses. There are some details in her story that some viewers might find tiresome and trite, but the series never takes this far enough to make it truly tasteless. Another new character is Albert d'Andrésy, a mysterious man who knows Lupin's past. I can't really say much more without spoiling the story arc in which he plays a major part, but he was entertaining, particularly well voiced, and brought some interesting elements to the franchise since we very rarely get any backstory for Lupin. The third new character, Zenigata's new partner Yata, is a welcome addition and fun to watch because of his reactions to everything, but I wish he'd gotten to play a bigger part.
Finally, I think Part 5 had a lot of cool, fresh ideas that it brought to the table. Part 4 already changed the formula somewhat by introducing an on-going plot rather than featuring just self-contained episodes. Part 5 takes it further with tightly plotted story arcs that slowly push the main story onwards. The stakes are higher than in any other Lupin TV series and watching Part 5 is an exciting experience that makes you feel absolutely anything could happen to the characters.
Unfortunately, I don't think the series ever really fulfilled that promise. After a while it became clear to me that even though the series liked to introduce new ideas and tease the possibility that it'd reveal something revolutionary about the characters and push them beyond the usual limits, it never had the guts to deliver. The series raises interesting questions but never answers them, instead burying them as soon as the story arc is over. For example, the second story arc hints at things in Lupin's past and the Lupin bloodline that could shake the foundation of the franchise, but the series never touches on these ideas again after casually dropping them in dialogue.
One of the central themes is Lupin's relationship with the rest of his gang, particularly Fujiko, and this is where the biggest disappointment for me lies. Those expecting Fujiko to be part of the gang's adventures and play a big role in the series, lower your expectations right now. She's absent for most of the series, and there are frequent hints that something happened between her and Lupin that drove them apart. You don't get the answer to this question until the very end, and I didn't find it satisfying, especially when keeping in mind that the price to pay was not seeing Fujiko in action except for a couple of episodes around the middle of the series. Lupin and Fujiko spend most of their scenes together exchanging wistful dialogue that is clearly meant to be deep but just comes across as too try-hard.
I think the story arcs drop in quality one after another. The first one is easily the best because it delivers a coherent story and ends at a point that feels natural and deserved for all the characters. It's the only one that gets five episodes rather than four, and that gives it more time to develop its story and characters. I enjoyed the second one a great deal when I first watched it, but the series never returned to the elements and potential it introduced there, making the second arc feel like it doesn't belong among the others. I didn't enjoy the third one much because I feel it was the spot where the series should have resolved its Lupin and Fujiko plotline, but instead it prolonged it by pushing her aside for no good reason just to keep the questions unanswered until the end. I know others loved the action, political themes and Ami's character growth, though, so there might still be something in the third arc for you. The only arc I'd describe as a total failure is the last one because there is simply way too much material to be covered in just four episodes. The arc rushes through a lot of elements that I think needed more time to be effective and instead chooses to focus on random cameos by old characters, badass action scenes, and meta about who Lupin is, and eventually reaches an ending that I feel is a lazy cop-out in every way. It's similar to the ending of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine in the way that it gets you invested in the questions it raises about the characters and then tells you that actually, none of this matters enough to be resolved because we're all just in for a fun ride, right? So whether you like the ending of Part 5 will probably depend on whether you liked the ending of the Fujiko series.
One element that I didn't enjoy at all (but which a lot of other fans loved) was the number of random cameos by old characters and the clear attempt to build continuity between Part 5 and all other entries in the franchise. Personally, I have always chosen to see most Lupin titles as their own thing with no connection to the others. The way Part 5 tries to tell me that its Lupin is the same one from The Castle of Cagliostro, all the other TV series and a few random TV specials breaks the world in my eyes because Lupin comes in many different flavours and they aren't all consistent with each other. At the same time, the series never goes full meta like Green vs. Red, so I'm not sure what the creative team was trying to do here.
The story arcs are separated by one-off episodes that play homage to earlier versions of Lupin. Some of these episodes are great, some not. Personally, I would have rather seen these episodes spent on deepening the plot and characters of the main story, but I can't deny that there were some gems among them. In particular, I liked the silly Pink Jacket episode and the sniper battle episode with Jigen.
So, all in all, I don't think Part 5 is without merit and it's certainly a complete pleasure to look at and listen to. The plot and character themes were interesting in theory, but the way they were handled left me completely disappointed. I really miss the fun adventure feel that a lot of earlier entries in the franchise offer. I'm not opposed to taking a bleaker look at the gang's dynamics, but Part 5 spends too much time telling you that it's exploring those themes without actually doing it. I think the movie The Secret of Mamo is a much better example of how to shake the core dynamics of the group.
Despite all this, I hope we will return to this continuity and characters in the future. I think there's still lots of potential to be explored and the series made me care about its new characters. But knowing how the franchise operates, it could very well be that we never hear from them again, at least outside cameos.
