Lupin III: Angel's Tactics (An Angel's Tactics – Fragments of a Dream Are the Scent of Murder) note is the seventeenth Lupin III Yearly Special. It was released on July 22, 2005 special, and was directed by Miya Shigeyuki, who would go on to direct Green vs. Red.
Lupin's new goal is the mysterious Original Metal, a seemingly alien artifact kept in Area 51 under strict guard. However there's another party who wants to obtain the orb: the terroristic organization known as the "Bloody Angels", composed only of women all of whom are skilled assassins. Soon Lupin and his friends are hunted by Zenigata and his new clumsy assistant Emily O'Brian and at the same time targeted by these deadly ladies aiming for the Original Metal, which has proven too hard to cut even for Goemons' Zantestuken. The major question is whether this is just a series of professional assassination attempts or if the Angels have an underlying agenda...or a personal grudge.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Fujiko near the end, while all the Bloody Angels counts as dark action girls.
- Actually a Doombot: The opening sequence has the heroes storming a castle only to be mercilessly killed one by one by the Bloody Angels' elites... only to be revealed as other Angels' mooks in disguise. Since it doesn't have much impact on the plot and Lupin's unfamiliar with the Angels, may also count as a
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment. - All There in the Manual: Subverted. About halfway through the movie, you can read some background information about the Bloody Angels' elite, The Lucky Clovers, on a computer screen.
- Almost Kiss: Lady Joe to Fujiko, to steal the Original Metal from her. Interrupted by Fujiko, pointing a gun at her and stating that she's "not that type of woman, boy."
- Amazon Brigade: The Bloody Angels, a terrorist organization composed of women with a grudge against America. Ironically, many of these women are American citizens themselves, including the Lucky Clovers.
- Area51: Where the supposedly alien Original Metal is kept. There are plenty of strange machines, creepy fetuses in jars and for some reasons frozen dinosaurs and mammoths. Lupin even steals a UFO to flee.
- Ax-Crazy: Linda is a tad too happy and prone to laughter as she tries to turn Jigen into a beehive. The same goes for Kaoru, who claims to be possessed by her sword, and Emily after revealing herself as the Big Bad.
- Bifauxnen: Lady Jo. Fujiko even calls her "boy".
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Emily O'Brian, very much so...
- Butch Lesbian: Subverted with Lady Joe. Despite dressing as a man and not wearing makeup, her bio states that she's actually a Depraved Bisexual who enjoys flirting with women.
- Clothing Damage: Fujiko's top is shredded and torn apart by Jo's attacks.
- Creepy Crossdresser: Technically speaking, Lady Joe is one, though during the climax she wears a very feminine attire complete with a skirt so large she can use it as a parachute.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Sophie in Lupin's.
- The Ditz: Emily O'Brian, Zenigata's new partner is very clusmy and shy and often makes silly actions. It is all an elaborate act.
- Enemy Mine: Near the end, Zenigata agrees to join forces with Lupin to escape from the Bloody Angels.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Lady Jo tries to seduce Fujiko, though it's unclear if she was just distracting her in order to steal the MacGuffin or she had a genuine interest in her.
- Evil Costume Switch: When Emily reveals her identity as the leader of the Bloody Angels she discards her glasses and change the top of her modest suit for a tiny bra and two belts, seemingly out of nowhere.
- Evil Counterpart: The Lucky Clovers, the elite of the Bloody Angels organization, basically consist of evil female versions of Lupin's gang. "Poison" Sophie is the trickster of the group and therefore serves as Lupin's counterpart. "Bomber" Linda and Kaoru "the Ripper" could be ax-crazy versions of Jigen and Goemon respectively. Lady Joe, like Fujiko, is a femme fatale but is much more ruthless. In a way, Emily O'Brian, the leader of the Bloody Angels, serves as Zenigata's counterpart. While Zenigata is honorable to a fault, Emily does not hesitate to use deception and betrayal when pursuing her goals.
- Evil Is Hammy: Dear god, Emily "The Spider" is an excellent female example.
- Evil Red Head: Emily again, who's prone to Slasher Smile and is very psychotic.
- Evil Weapon: Kaoru's demon sword, Benizakura (Crinsom Cherry) has a deep red aura and it hungers for blood, driving the wielder insane.
- Fanservice: Well, there are many, many ladies, often in skimpy clothes or titillating situations, as when Lady Jo tries to make out with Fujiko in her car.
- Freudian Excuse: Sophie's boyfriend was killed in a raid while on duty in the American army during a war and as such has a grudge against them. It's also mentioned that Lady Jo had some trouble for her sexuality from the American Right Wing.
- Greed: Emily's main motivation is to sell the Original Metal to other countries to make a ton of cash and offers Lupin half of the sum if he let her go.
- Groin Attack: Early in the special, when Lupin tries to bed Fujiko he ends up suffering this.
- Heroic BSoD: Goemon, when his sword is damaged after trying to slash the Original Metal. Zenigata after discovering that the clusmy sweet girl under his tutelage who was like a daughter to him was actually the boss of the Bloody Angels.
- Hidden Buxom: Lady Jo, despite the man's clothing hides quite an ample bosom under there. Emily's also revealed to be quite well endowed after showing her true colors.
- Hoist by His Own Petard:
- In their first meeting, Linda pickpockets Jigen's Magnum and a single bullet which she gives him back. During their final showdown, Jigen uses that very same bullet to shoot her arm, lampshading the irony.
- Kaoru duels Goemon and after her sword is snapped in half the other half falls on her, impaling her in the chest.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: When it seems that Sophie's about to join Lupin and leave the Angels, Emily shoots her.
- I Know Kung Fu: Lady Jo is a skilled martial artist and can use a nunchaku.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The first encounter between Lady Jo and Fujiko has the former punching the latter in the stomach after she repeals her advances. In the climax a captive Fujiko pays her back by elbowing her in the stomach and taking her gun.
- MacGuffin: The Original Metal, a seemingly alien shiny orb which is impossible to cut. It's actually a special alloy made by the U.S.A. Gov. in order to create deadly Plasma Weapons to boost their arsenal. As such, many countries are willing to pay for it and the only thing which can cut the Metal, a fluid Emily carries around disguised as a flask of perfume.
- Master Poisoner: "Poison" Sophie's specialty, when she's not using a crossbow.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Emily O'Brian.
- Pimped-Out Dress/Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: For the climax Lady Jo decides to discard her manly clothes to don a gorgeous blue dress complete with opera gloves and Parasol of Prettiness, as well as pulling out a massive anti-tank rifle.
- Preserve Your Gays: The "Bloody Angels" are a women's supremacy organization competing against Lupin and his gang. Out of the named characters in the organization, Bisexual Bifauxnen Lady Joe is the only one who survives.
- Psycho for Hire: The Bloody Angels, especially Kaoru, whose killer istincts are driven by her sword Benizakura.
- Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Bloody Angel's Lucky Clovers, consist in a crossbow-wielding blonde who uses poisons, a psychotic japanese beauty with a cursed sword, an equally psychotic magician gunwoman with a penchant for throwing grenades and a crossdressing martial artist.
- Red Baron: We have "Poison" Sophie, "Bomber" Linda and Kaoru "The Ripper/Tsujigiri", as well as the leader, "Spider" Emily.
- The Reveal: The Original Metal is used to make Plasma Weapons and Emily O'Brian is actually the leader of the Bloody Angels and has the formula required to cut the Original Metal.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The motivation for many of the Bloody Angels, including Sophie. This does not include the Bloody Angels' leader Emily O'Brian, whose main motivation was greed.
- Soft Glass: Subverted, when Jo misses Fujiko with her nunchaku she smash the car's window and the splinters cut her cheeck. She then absent-mindedly uses the blood as lipstick.
- Sole Survivor: By the time the Bloody Angels are disbanded, Lady Joe is the only survivor of the Lucky Clovers.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Linda's specialty. In the final moments of her last battle against Jigen, her gunshots ignite the flour in the granary she was fighting in and cause a massive explosion that destroys the granary, including herself.
- The Mole: Zenigata's junior partner in this movie, Emily O'Brian, is secretly "The Spider", the leader of the Bloody Angels.
- Trans Equals Gay: According to her computer bio, Lady Jo is "not really gay but bisexual and she sees herself as a female", despite the fact that she's almost always dressed up as a man and likes to flirt with ladies.
- Unflinching Walk: After Jigen's explosive encounter with Linda in the granary not only does he walk away from the explosion unflinchingly, a bit of falling debris lights his cigarette. Badass.
- Villains Want Mercy: Once cornered by Lupin with no chance of escape or compromise, Emily begs and cries for mercy with all her might. After Lupin decides to spare her life, tells her to get lost and turns away, she immediately attempts to shoot him in the back. She fails and dies when Lupin shoots her in the head.
- Worf Had the Flu: Goemon is forced to run away from Kaoru during their first clash because his Zantetsuken is blunt after trying to cut the Original Metal.
- Would Hit a Girl: Zigzagged: while the climax involves the heroes fighting an army of women they almost always use non-lethal force, shoot them in the arms and avoid hitting vital spots. When Lupin has Emily at gunpoint, begging for her life he tells her to leave.... but as soon as she tries to backstab him, he shoots her dead.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Linda's trap to meet Jigen involves her pretending to be assaulted by three thugs.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Kaoru "the Ripper" when she isn't fighting and using her cursed weapon, according to her bio.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The three thugs who were pretending to attack Linda are gunned down the instant they ask for their payment.
