So I sort of gave up on doing specifically Christmas-themed videos, because I couldn't really find much more Christmas-related anime to review. And it was getting old, anyway. So here's the new tradition: anime lists! This time around, it'll be on my favorite anime directors. There's no particular order or hierarchy here, just seven directors I especially appreciate.

Merry Christmas!

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Episode 09, "The Jet-Black Diamond"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:

Comments: Lupin and Fujiko are both competing to get the valuable Jet-Black Diamond. The clues to its location are hidden in kokeshi dolls, one hidden in a cavern, another in the possession of an elderly woman whose granddaughter keeps her company. The action takes to Brazil, where Fujiko hones in on the treasure, but it seems like there's more (and less) to it than she thought. What is the secret of the Jet-Black Diamond? It's a hunt peppered with mystery!

Episode 08, "Last Bullet"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Three years ago, Lupin and Jigen got mixed up in a mess involving Lily Watson and an assassin. With Sherlock Holmes temporarily infirm, Jigen is tasked to escort Lily Watson safely from her school to London. But a former rival, Brad Roark, interrupts, planning on taking Lily out for witnessing something she shouldn't have. It's a ride to remember as Jigen has to outrace and outgun his pursuers with a gun that's about to give out.

Episode 07, "An Untold Tale"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Lupin and Jigen are back in London, looking to piece together the mystery of the Raven group. But while spying on Sherlock Holmes, Lupin encounters Inspector Zenigata. The man from the ICPO wants to know what happened to Holmes' partner, Watson, and what Lily witnessed. But suddenly the two are on the run from an assassin, ducking for cover in a cemetary. How can the duo take down this threat? It looks like Lupin and Pops are in grave danger!

_{Our "heroes".}

As we come close to the end of the year, I want to touch upon the Lupin III franchise again, this time covering something actually good. The theatrical anime, Dead or Alive, is hardly the greatest Lupin adventure, but it's certainly one of the better ones, especially compared to the last one I reviewed, Farewell to Nostradamus. Monkey Punch himself directed this one! Well, kind of. He mostly just worked on the opening sequence and probably consulted through the rest of it, leaving the bulk of the work to the Chief Director, Hiroyujki Yano, and the rest. But it certainly has that somewhat darker, sharper Monkey Punch Lupin touch to it.

Episode 06, "The Imperial City Dreams of Thieves (Part 6)"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Lupin is still pursuing the mystery of the Mongolian clock as several parties converge to decipher its secrets and try to control its power. Ruriko and Sarantuya are kidnapped by the nefarious Daidoji and Goemon looks to get them back, but will Lupin get to them first and solve the riddle of the clock? And what is the nature of the Showa Era Japan that Lupin finds himself in? It's a race against the clock as Lupin reveals not everything is as it seems!

Ah, Samurai Champloo, Shinchiro Watanabe's OTHER mash up of a genre (this time, samurai period piece) and a music type (hiphop). It lives in the shadow of Cowboy Bebop, but what doesn't? It's still a pretty solid show with colorful characters and great action. It doesn't need to surpass Bebop to be good.

Episode 05, "The Imperial City Dreams of Thieves (Part 1)"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Lupin suddenly finds himself in early Showa Era Japan, where he is identified as the thief Golden Mask, and pursued by Inspector Namikoshi and famous detective Kogoro Akechi. He keeps spotting familiar faces, but they're all different people in this time period. He is convinced that taking possession of an enormous clock from Chinas Yuan Dynasty, found by a woman named Ruriko, will assist him in finding answers to his situation. But he has to contend with rivals in stealing in addition to law enforcement. Can Lupin pull off the historical heist? Trouble strikes like clockwork in this mysterious adventure in the past!