Lupin the Third: Part 5

Episode 5

I wasn't sure what to expect heading into this episode. I knew Lupin wasn't really dead, but I was nervous about how the show would handle this twist. Would they reveal the truth right out of the gate? Would they draw it out for several more episodes? Thankfully, Part 5 did neither of those things, instead settling for the happiest possible medium. What we get is an incredibly well-constructed 22 minutes of anime.

Episode 5 begins by dwelling on how the team would cope with Lupin's death. As expected, Zenigata is at a loss, but he follows suit with his promise from last week to basically adopt Ami. She lives in his house, where she spends a lot of time planning something on the internet. Fujiko seems unconcerned, Goemon is just kinda there, and Jigen is nowhere to be found. Even if it doesn't fully commit to the concept—for reasons that should be obvious—I liked that the show took time to explore what Lupin III's world might be like without its title character. I appreciated that we were given room to process that possibility before learning the truth. There's a strong temptation to show your cards too early when you know your audience is waiting for it, rather than take time to marinate in the potential of such a shocking twist. I liked that Lupin III Part 5 gave that dark misdirection its due.

In Lupin's absence, Ami emerges as the new hero of the story, determined to take down Marco Polo. First, she reveals the full names of its creators as part of the "reward" for them supposedly killing Lupin. This puts them in hot water, since lots of people have scores to settle with these three. Mostly, this shines a spotlight on the head honcho Chuck Glay, username Peekaboo—the guy we've seen menacingly laughing in the background of every episode. He proves pretty easy to track down, which is when Ami reveals her trump card: Lupin is still alive.

Of course Lupin staged his own death, but I like how this episode explains Fujiko's behavior as well. It's not like Fujiko has never played the villain before, but she's seemed unusually cold toward her former paramour in this series so far. It turns out that this was part of the plan; the drone was theirs from the beginning, with Fujiko, Goemon, and Jigen dressed up as the snipers. Originally Fujiko was supposed to score the hit herself, but when Zenigata got involved, they had to change their plans. Even without being involved, Zenigata claims that he figured it out on his own. (That doesn't quite explain his moping earlier in the episode, but whatever you say, Pops.)

I feel like I understand this version of Fujiko better now, especially if she has been involved in the Lupin gang's plan from the beginning. The way she was treating Lupin like nothing more than a long-discarded ex felt suspicious to me. Fujiko often likes to go off and do her own thing, but she doesn't need to obfuscate their relationship to do that. As part of a scheme to get the other Lupin Game players off her scent, this makes a lot more sense. It makes me curious what her role is going to be going forward—the conversation she has with Lupin on the phone still implies some deeper emotional separation, but the next episode preview seems to suggest she'll be more openly working with the team.

So let's talk about the unusual format of the show going forward. It was eerie to me how much episode 5 felt like a series finale in many ways. The main conflict is seemingly resolved, everyone is back to their old status quo, and Ami gets an emotional send-off to boarding school. Of course, it's not the end of this show—we have almost 20 episodes to go!—but it is the end of this arc or "episode 1," as the show calls it. We're seemingly moving to a whole new arc with a whole new art style, if the preview is to be believed. Lupin's in his pink jacket now, with the character designs resembling the older 1970s Lupin specials, albeit with modern production values.

On the one hand, this could be really interesting. The Marco Polo plotline didn't have enough to steam to last two full cours of episodes, so in retrospect I'm glad that it resolved quickly, rather than being protracted with increasingly contrived scenarios. The idea of Lupin III Part 5 riffing on the franchise's past through throwback art could be a lot of fun—as long as it adds something new to the formula and doesn't just retread or reference. On the other hand, I was really getting to like Ami as a character, and I'd hate for this to be the last we see of her. Right after her best outing yet, where we really see what she could add to Lupin's gang, she leaves us? I think Lupin could really use a Radical Edward or a Q to add to his posse, especially in the high-tech world of 21st-century crime. I hope that Ami's departure doesn't mean discarding the focus on modern technology, because that would be disappointing. That is a premise that the series easily could have milked for 24 episodes, like a comedic version of Black Mirror. There's a lot more to the Internet than dark-web drug cartels and social media for a master thief to exploit.

Regardless, I'm still incredibly curious to see how Lupin III takes on its new formula, which seems to be a weird middle-ground between the episodic adventures of early series and the serialized nature of post-Koike revivals. Part 5 seems to be perfectly engineered to bring newbies into the franchise, so let's hope it turns out to be the best of both worlds.

Rating: A+

Lupin the Third: Part 5 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rose is a Ph.D. student in musicology, who recently released a book about the music of Cowboy Bebop. You can also follow her on Twitter.