Lupin III

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Lupin III Part I Episode 01 Review

Episode 01, "Is Lupin Burning…?!"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Lupin III participates in a suspicious Formula One-style race. The race is a trap from the Scorpion crime syndicate to destroy Lupin and dominate crime in Japan. Lupin’s operative, Fujiko Mine, is captured, and he has to switch places in the race with his ally Jigen so he can rescue her and confront the organization’s boss. All the while, Lupin is pursued by Inspector Zenigata, dogged chaser of Lupin. Lupin manages to destroy the Scorpion group’s headquarters and race track, but Fujiko betrays him to the law. Lupin manages to slip away, and shows Fujiko that there’s no hard feelings. read more

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Penguin Truth Recommends – Lupin III

My Lupin III Recommendations:

– Lupin III (TV) (the "Green Jacket series") (available from Discotek)
– Lupin III (Part II) (TV) (the "Red Jacket series") (formerly available by Pioneer)
– Secret (Mystery) of Mamo (Theatrical Movie) (available from Discotek)
– Castle of Cagliostro (Theatrical Movie) (available from Discotek)
– Fuma Conspiracy/Plot of the Fuma Clan (OVA) (available from Discotek)
– Hemingway Papers (TV Special) (available from Discotek)
– Memory of the Walther P-38/"Island of Assassins" (TV Special) (formerly available from Funimation)
– Dead or Alive (Theatrical Movie) (formerly available from Funimation)
– $1 Money Wars/"Missed By A Dollar" (TV Special) (formerly available from Funimation)
– Alcatraz Connection (TV Special)
– Episode 0: First Contact (TV Special) (available from Discotek)
– Operation: Return the Treasure (TV Special)
– Stolen Lupin (TV Special)
– The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (TV) (available from Funimation)
– Daisuke Jigen’s Gravestone (available SOON from Discotek) read more

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Lupin III: Daisuke Jigen’s Gravestone

Lupin III: Daisuke Jigen’s Gravestone

*****SPOILER-FREE SYNOPSIS*****

Synopsis: While stealing a valuable gem from the nation of East Doroa, which has been in conflict with its neighbor West Doroa, Lupin and Jigen are shot at by a skilled assassin. They discover that the the sniper and polymath Jael Okuzaki, who creates graves for his victims before the fact, has targeted Jigen. And this assassin has never once failed to take out his target. Can Lupin and Jigen figure out why Jigen’s been targeted and remove him from the cross hairs? And why is Fujiko Mine mixed up in this? This adventure will see Lupin and Jigen test the limits of their partnership as they run, shoot, and maneuver for their lives. read more

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Lupin III: A Woman Named Fujiko Mine Episode 11 Review

Episode 11, "The Feast of Fools"

*****SPOILERS*****   Synopsis:  Oscar remembers when he was young and Zenigata saved him from drowning. In the present, Zenigata discusses with Oscar a rash of new thefts pulled off by Fujiko, and says he won’t be allowed to pursue Lupin until he arrests her. Fujiko, meanwhile, is in the care of Goemon. When Goemon hears about the thefts from the radio, he decides to investigate. Zenigata sets up a trap at the Musee de Marsene to get Fujiko, but a valuable tiara is stolen, regardless. Both Zenigata and Lupin come to the conclusion that Fujiko isn’t the one stealing the artifacts, that it’s the work of a dirty cop. Zenigata leaves catching Fujiko to Oscar, who it turns out has been framing Fujiko. Exasperated that the inspector refuses to show interest in Fujiko’s crimes, Oscar decides to frame her for an officer’s murder. The owl group approach him and tell him he has their support. Oscar sends another fake warning from Fujiko, saying that she will steal the jeweled wedding dress of the "bride of the year" at the Fete Nationale. Meanwhile, Count Almeida continues observation of Fujiko. A bomb threat is called into the police. Zenigata appears and tells Oscar he doubts Fujiko is behind it. Oscar is angered by this and is then approached again by the owl group. They plan a bomb explosion as a distraction so that Oscar can take the dress. At the parade, Oscar waits for the plan to go into action. Goemon blocks the path of the parade with his sword. Lupin finds the bomb under the bridge and decides to disable it. The owl men surround Goemon. After hearing from Zenigata about protecting one’s pride, Oscar runs off. Under the bridge, Lupin tries to disconnect the bomb, but Oscar interrupts and grabs it, jumping into the water below. The bomb explodes underwater.    Comments:   Now, I have to admit, I haven’t commented on the character of Oscar all that much (save for a bit in the last review), because I’m not that interested in him. I can understand where they were trying to go with this character, showing how obsessing over somebody could twist you and make you act irrational. But he seemed kind of annoying most of the time and I wondered where they were going with him, if anywhere.    Until now, Oscar has been an unstable, but fairly innocent, if not overzealous. But in this episode, he’s gone as far as murder and theft to satisfy his desire to see Fujiko brought to justice and therefore Inspector Zenigata pleased. He has gone completely overboard and has even conspired with the Glaucus owl people. It may even have been that the owls weren’t planning on blowing up the bridge until there were people on it (a possibility I can’t ignore given the nature of Almeida). I mean, framing Fujiko for thefts is one thing, stupid, but not nearly as bad as killing a fellow police officer to frame Fujiko. Clearly his hatred for Fujiko and desire for Zenigata pushed him over the edge.    It was interesting then to see where they actually went with this, and I think it paid off, when Zenigata gives a speech about how saving Oscar when he was young taught him to always protect the "one thing", your personal pride. We not only get to see some of Zenigata’s ideals, closely guarded in this show where he seems dogged, but distant, but Oscar realizes the horror of what he’d been doing, and makes the decision to stop the scheme with the owl men his way. He realizes that even if he’s too corrupt, he has to protect Zenigata’s honor.    Another noteworthy aspect of the episode is Goemon’s treatment of Fujiko. Goemon knows that Fujiko is not the innocent soul he thought she was when he first met her. She has a difficult personality, and is not as pure as he would like her to be. However, we see him taking care of her in her time of need, when she is at her lowest. We always knew Goemon was a noble, but I really admire him for helping her. And hey, Goemon almost met Lupin in this episode! Pity they missed each other, since they were both working towards the same goal.    Lupin himself seemed pretty dedicated in trying to clear Fujiko’s name, too, but it was more like a hobby to him than anything else.    Anyway, a good episode. Not great, but good. I found myself feeling sorry for a character I didn’t care that much for previously, so that says something about it.    Overall Score:

4 out of 5

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Lupin III: A Woman Named Fujiko Mine Episode 10 Review

 Episode 10, "Ghost Town"

  *****SPOILERS*****   Synopsis: Lupin awakes from a dream only to see an owl-headed man in his room, telling him to "steal" Fujiko Mine. Zenigata and Oscar arrive by plane to meet with Count Almeida of Glaucus Pharmaceuticals. Months earlier, the owl headed men hired Lupin to go to where the Frauline Eule cult is and "steal" Fujiko. In the present, Lupin sneaks around Almeida’s house as Zenigata and Oscar arrive, demanding to see Almeida about Lupin. Zenigata reveals that he knows that the drug cult was a cover for Almeida’s drug company, which was performing human experimentation. Lupin later confronts Almeida, but is knocked out with a drug.  When he awakens, he finds himself in the old Glaucus Pharmaceuticals facility the company of Dr. Fritz Kaiser, who explains that Frauline Eule drug has euphoria as it’s short-term effect, but longtime use produces bodies that look like owls. Thirteen years earlier, Dr. Kaiser was working at the lab when there was a chemical spill. In present day, he shows a picture of his daughter to Lupin. The girl in the picture is a young Fujiko. When Lupin looks up, Kaiser has disappeared. Lupin encounters Zenigata, who thinks Lupin wants Fujiko as evidence of the company’s wrongdoing. The two are ambushed by gun-wielding lab technicians and split up. Lupin encounters several bizarre visions, revealing that Fujiko was part of the company’s experiments. At the end, Lupin isn’t sure whether he experienced what he experienced, or it was a dream.      Comments:   Wow. This was one bizarre episode. Sort of straddling the line between "artsy representations" and "weirdness for weirdness sake". But while it wasn’t one of the best episodes of the show, it was pretty enlightening.    The pieces are finally beginning to fit together here. The first meeting between Lupin and Fujiko was actually arranged by Count Luis Yu Almeida, making the revelation of the fake prophet from episode 8 not a surprise at all to Lupin, who already knew. The whole first episode of the show, then, was Lupin scoping out Fujiko more than attempting to steal the drug statue (though he probably intended to do that as well). He already knew who Fujiko was and expected her to show up to steal it, too. It may even be that Fujiko showed up in that case because she knew of the connection between the drug cult and Glaucus Pharmaceuticals, who had experimented on her.    It appears now that Fujiko is the daughter of Dr. Fritz Kaiser, though whether it’s biological or he was simply put in charge of her by Glaucus, is still up in the air. Apparently he was working with the Frauline Eule drug, which causes euphoria, but can also cause aggression and body changes that make people look like owls. How, exactly, does that work? I guess it’s just a funny coincidence that the company links itself with the Owl of Minerva (Glaucus), the goddess of medicine. Or perhaps we’re not meant to take the owl transformations as literal events but figurative ones. It’s hard to when the guy says outright that the drug causes people to start looking like owls. Nobody seems to treat the owl-men that work for LYA as being something that abnormal. Perhaps, though, people just assume those are costumes.    Zenigata actually gets off his ass and does something in this episode, though to what degree is questionable if you take it that Lupin dreamed all of this, or at least some of it. Zenigata made the connection between the drug cult, Glaucus, and Almeida, which even surprises Oscar, who gets shamed by him later on when he’s told to keep quiet. I said it’s about time that Zenigata take some action. I think it’s even possible he had his eye out for this well before he teamed up with Fujiko in episode 4. I hope we get to see him in action some more before the show ends.    I want to point out that the town Glaucus’ old laboratory was in was called "Eulenspiegel". A trickster figure called "Till Eluenspigel" comes from German folklore. In English he’s come to be known as "Owlglass". In the tales told of him he plays practical jokes that expose the vices of his contemperories, such as greed and hypocrisy. Now who, in this story, sounds a bit like that, huh?    A pretty clever show.      Overall Score:

4 out of 5

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