Episode 05, "A Crook's Resolve"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Lupin is dead! Or is he? The proprietors of the dark web's Marco Polo service believe themselves victorious, while Inspector Zenigata is reassigned to narcotics and shelters Ami at his apartment. Lupin's gang seems to be moving towards some goal, though, and surprisingly, Ami interviews for a new, dangerous job. What happened to Lupin and will our teenaged techie talent take a deadly dive? It's the conclusion of a five-part story as we see who really won the Lupin Game!

Episode 04, "The Unbeatable Magician"

*****SPOILERS*****

Ugh, it took me forever to make this video. For one, I had a cold, a bad back, and then I had to have my gallbladder removed, I shit you not. During and after that litany of health crises, plus recovery, plus my usual procrastination, I finally finished this beast of a video that really wore me out, because DAMN is this OVA just painful, emotionally and apparently physically. So I will probably never, ever watch this ever again after all this, and I say, good riddance. Maybe I'll finally get over my anger and just move on.

But, as you know, I'm not really a "moving on" sort. The third Tenchi Muyo! OVA is my "Slowly I Turned" moment. I guess sort of like that third Rebuild of Evangelion movie. This is an anime that is, quite literally, bad for my health.

Episode 04, "Zenigata's Pride and the Desert Dust"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Fujiko Mine joins the Lupin Game, but before she can shoot our monkey-like marauder, Inspector Zenigata arrives to save him and Ami. Although he provides a friendly ride to Lupin, he does plan to drive him somewhere he can legally arrest him, but Lupin takes it in stride. The three are forced to trek through a desert on foot, evading a warlord's forces, before reaching the border. But can they make it across before their luck runs out and the Lupin Game is won? It's a race to the edge with a shocking ending!

Episode 03, "An Indomitable Prodigy"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Reinhard von Lohengramm returns to the planet Odin, the Imperial Capital, victorious from the battle in the Astarte Starzone. There, he receives a promotion to Fleet Admiral from Kaiser Friedrich IV, but he knows no admiration for the ruler. Many years ago, Reinhard's sister was taken to be the Kaiser's concubine, and he and his friend Siegfried Kircheis joined the military in order to one day return her home. In the present, the two officers visit Reinhard's sister, Annerose, for pleasant conversation in the shadow of the last battle that overlaps with the next.

Episode 03, "The Killers Gather in the Wasteland"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Lupin III is the crosshairs of a calvacade of calamitous contract clipmen! The dark web masterminds send a parade of asassassins to rid themselves of Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon after being humiliated. After Ami is injured in the crossfire, Lupin concocts a plan to pit them against each other to take them all out at once. However, wave after wave of these horrors-for-hire keep appearing. Is their no end to them? Or is this the end for Lupin? It's another exciting mess for Lupin to get unstuck from, if he can!

After the somewhat disappointing rote nature of the penultimate episode, the final one puts us right at the centre of the Leyline with all the surviving players. So I guess this is where the series puts us through the ringer of some revelations and an epic final battle that really gets the blood pumping, right?

In three one syllable words: Yes. Yes. Yes.

Episode 02, "The Battle of Astarte"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  The battle in the Astarte Starzone, between the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, continues. After the loss of the 4th and 6th Alliance Fleets, and the injury of his superior officer, Yang Wen-li takes control of the 2nd Fleet. He forces a battle of attrition, allowing his forces time to pull away from the battlefield as the enemy does.

Comments:

Seriously, 800 fucking dollars!

Episode 02, "The Lupin Game"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Millions of people are after Lupin III, and he's about to oblige them, big time! After narrowly escaping police custody, our favorite band of thieves travels to a country the ICPO can't follow and makes a public name for themselves on social media, hoping to oversaturate their presence until public interest in 'Lupin Game' wanes. While it does work for a while, their pursuers from the dark web decide it's a great way to target them with an all-star lineup of assassins! Can Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, and their new friend Ami evade the murderous monsters... and stay relevant? Let's hope at least one of the two!

Like the “prep work” episode, this episode seems all too familiar with an end goal rescue. Everybody of importance rushes toward the end, with every surviving enemy getting in the way. Supporting cast tell main guy to go ahead while they stay behind to distract them. Repeat until the protagonist is the only one left and then go ahead to finale.

…Then cut off at the end to save for the final episode.