English Dub Review: Lupin the Third: Part V: OVA “Is Lupin Still Burning?”

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Invited to a deadly Grand Prix-style race by Mr. X—an arch-enemy who was supposedly killed multiple-times, many years ago—Lupin finds himself on a mission to steal a golden statue. Little does he know, it’s all a ploy set up by X and a villain named Kuysake Mamo. The gruesome duo contacts Zenigata to distract Lupin while they capture Fujiko and zap the master thief with Mamo’s trippy time machine ray.

Lupin—and Zenigata—go back in time to the early days, back when he used to wear a red jacket. While never leaving his Fiat, he squares off with Pigal, an old enemy who died many years before. Lupin tries to shake off the pesky—possibly supernatural—foe and winds up throwing him in front of Zenigata’s car. Koichi is beside himself until Lupin explains how that bloke died years ago, and that they were merely being tested.

The villains’ true plan is to isolate him from his allies by screwing with the timeline. Next, they send him to the even earlier green jacket era where Lupin interferes with Jigen many months before they met. Because of this blip, Jigen is shot in the right arm by the infamous Stoneman and is permanently paralyzed. In another jump, Lupin reunites Goemon with his old sensei, giving that old man the opportunity to apologize to the Samurai for his betrayal. And in the final jump, Lupin kills a man named Poon who Fujiko was surprisingly in love with.

Nursing a headache, Lupin returns to the present—where everything has changed. Jigen is a half-paralyzed beggar. Goemon is a deadly assassin, and Fujiko is his special lady. Zenigata’s main foil is Goemon, and the ace inspector doesn’t even know who Lupin is.

Luckily, Lupin understands the “constant theory” of multiverse time travel. And so, he sets up scenarios where his former allies can get a taste of what it was like to be in the master thief’s orbit. He even steals Zenigata’s car to show the sleuth of how irritated he used to get in a former life. Sadly, his efforts aren’t enough when he gets captured by Mamo and taken to Mr. X to be executed. At least that’s what the baddies think.

In reality, Lupin enlightened his companions just enough to capture the time-traveling wizard. In a classic unmasking reveal, Lupin strands the two villains in prehistoric times while he and the boys escape with the time machine. Goemon and Jigen don’t remember Lupin yet, but suddenly, they have all the time in the world to set things right.

 

Our Take

This quirky special was an OVA, or Original Video Animation, that isn’t meant to be an official part of Lupin the Third: Part 5 or any other part of the Lupin canon. It was created specifically for the 50^th Anniversary celebration and was more of a retrospective than a full-fledged episode.

Okay, I apologized for it enough. Unless you’re a super-fan who has been watching the series since the 1960s—or if you’re a compulsive collector—many of the subtle nods won’t land. Most of the references harkened back to the early days of the program when Lupin wore either his green or red jacket. And while those days have grown to be iconic in Lupin-lore—especially since so many stand-alone movies have been released over the past decade—people tend to gloss over how dated the old style looks.

I will admit that this intentionally weird special did an acceptable job of bringing the many eras together in one thirty-minute block. We got to see a more serious, open-hearted Lupin dealing with some of his most cartoonish enemies. But once the silly time travel shenanigans began, some of the enemies got more serious while the plots became completely out of control. Who’d ever imagine a Samurai Sensei getting tricked by a 1970s computer? And while the Fujiko flashback seemed like a serious, noir-esque caper, the main bad guy’s named was Poon. What kind of name is Poon?

At many points during the episode, I was forced to grin and bear it for the greater good. The main theme about how Lupin needs his friends was a strong thesis, and particularly appropriate for a 50-year retrospective. There was a certain sweetness in discovering how the gang needed each other, and if they hadn’t gotten together when they did, each of them would be living an unrecognizable life. You could even say: “There is honor among thieves.” But you shouldn’t, because then you’d be a clichéd asshole.

Interesting note: In the original 1971 episode, “Is Lupin Burning?” Mr. X also captured Fujiko and had her ferociously tickled by robotic hands. This redux allowed the animators to put the heroine in an even more revealing costume. So yeah, even Lupin isn’t above basic fan service. Oh well, as a consolation, at least Ami wasn’t around to be degraded in such a way.