English Dub Series Review: Lupin the Third: Part 5

As a direct continuation of Lupin the Third: Part IV: The Italian Adventure, they really doubled down on the technology this time around. Sure, last season a CIA man had advanced sonar technology in his ear and some dream world tech. somehow brought Leonardo Di Vinci back from the dead, but none of that technology belonged to the gang.

In this series, however, Lupin and company all traipsed into the modern realm, even Goemon. The master thief’s space-aged monocle was the premiere piece in their arsenal because it could do everything. It was basically a scanner that can pull up any governmental file, while having the ability to temporarily change the identities of people in the area, and it could crack even the most cryptic of locks.

I’m forced to wonder if this magic monocle was the secret gift Fujiko left for Lupin in the aptly named episode, “Fujiko’s Gift.” Probably not, I bet she gave him socks. She looks like a woman who would give socks as a gift. Because, you know, helpless men always forget to buy socks even when the old ones are as holy as Notre-Dame Cathedral. Plus, he inadvertently threw that present away. So even if it had been the monocle, it likely came into Lupin’s possession after Jigen found it and re-gifted it as his own. This is why you’re a terrible person, Jigen! Well that, and because of all those police officers, you murdered.

By far the best piece of tech introduced this season was Underground; a.k.a Ami Enan; a.k.a. the greatest Lupin III character of all time; a.k.a. Emmy. This young kidnapping victim quickly stole all of our hearts. That’s right, as a thief there’s more to boost than just money and jewels. Lupin recognized Ami’s worth right out of the gate. Her value was so apparent that he dropped all plans of exploiting her before the season’s first commercial break. On the contrary, it’s unclear when Ami first fell ass over teacup for Lupin because she’s not an obvious buffoon like our hero.

More on Ami later, if time permits, but now we must talk about the love of Lupin’s life. Fujiko’s story was a ridiculously slow burn. In other series or movies, she’s often right in your face, but this time she played the scorned lover, still sore over his betrayal with Rebecca Rossellini. Even though that wasn’t a legit betrayal, it still cut the woman deep. And so, she spent most of the season following Lupin’s antics from afar, waiting for the most strategic and poignant times to strike. That plan lasted until the finale where she got all dolled up in a wedding gown. She went from extensively passive to Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction stalker-mode in under twenty-four hours. You weird, Fujicakes.

Zenigata also had a slightly different flight path than is typical of his character. With stronger regulations imposed by Interpol, he found himself with far less freedom to pursue his rival around the world. For once, his bumbling actions had consequences. Plus, his new partner—Yadda or Yada or Yatta or Jyada—took him to task on several occasions. He wasn’t as impressed with Zenigata’s improvisational jazz method of hunting Lupin and viewed his many failures as shameful. As much as he respected his senior officer, he recognized the master thief as a millstone that was single-handedly eviscerating Zenigata’s reputation. Imagine if Wile E. Coyote suddenly got a partner who advised him not to hunt the Roadrunner. Yep, it was that annoying.

Jigen and Goemon didn’t change by leaps and bounds, but they certainly grew and developed over the many episodes. We got a look into Jigen’s past where he had relations with a sniper who eventually birthed a younger, even better sniper—and that’s canon. And we got to see a softer side of Goemon where he met and became quite fond of a young woman—and a dopey child. This attraction almost led to our favorite Ronin murdering Lupin ten episodes too early. Save something for the final arc, you guys. While these two maniacs were often left on the shelf, they emerged whenever needed which led to some very impressive floor shows.

Sometimes I fear other viewers don’t love Ami as much as me. But then I read reviews and check Reddit boards and feel justified once again. There have always been women in Lupin’s life—a rogue’s gallery, in fact. But with the exception of Fujiko, none have challenged him to the extent Ami has. For somebody who was locked up for the majority of her life, she’s one hell of a judge of character, and she’s just as good a thief as any of the guys.

There’s no telling if we’ll ever see Ami in another iteration of Lupin III, but for fans like me, take some solace and inspiration from this quote from the wise Mr. Wing:

“You are not ready… But perhaps one day you will be… Until then, Mogwai will be waiting.”