YMMV / Lupin III: Part 5

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Enzo's sudden change of heart to love Ami. Did he feel PeopleLog made things so predictable to him about her that he just didn't see the point to raise her, so when she defied his expectations, he regained interest on her; or did he change his views when PeopleLog got taken down, which let him regain his repressed adoration for his daughter? Or was it a simple case of Defeat Means Friendship?
• Ass Pull: Enzo's sudden change of heart to love Ami can be considered nonsensical due to its abruptness and lack of justification.
• Broken Base: Lupin wearing a mask underneath his face in the Grand Finale triggered a wave of debate, with some saying it works with the series' theme of identity and secrecy, while others say it’s impossible that he’d keep it on his whole life, especially given that he’s a flamboyant figure who loves to reveal himself.
• Complete Monster:
  • "His Name is Albert" to "Thief and Thief": José is the cybernetic head of a group of mercenaries gunning for a black notebook containing dirt on France's higher-ups. José has Lupin's detective ally Camille Bardot murdered, then proceeds to near-fatally torture the minion who pulled off the hit for not scoring Lupin as well. José later betrays the person he was initially going to turn the black book over to so he can ally with Calvess, allowing terrorists to wreak havoc across France and kill dozens to cow the country into electing Calvess. José is also happy to have underperforming minions murdered, even in the midst of Lupin storming his own headquarters.
  • "The Bow, the Princess, and the Terrorist": The unnamed leader of the Whales of Liberation is a vicious terrorist who attacks a school purely to kill as many children as possible. After taking over the school with his forces, the leader captures the children of particularly powerful people, hoping to create a hostage video so that his captured men will be released; when Dolma refuses to play along, the leader prepares to execute her on the spot, having already previously shot her In the Back when capturing her. After Fujiko defeats him, she reveals that he had intended to blow up the school whether or not his men were released, uncaring of whether or not his forces survived as long as he got to kill as many people as possible.
• Heartwarming Moments: Lupin has a very soft spot for Ami and is protective over her. He's kind of her Parental Substitute.
• Like You Would Really Do It: The fourth episode plays Four Is Death so brilliantly, you'd think Lupin was truly dead if the series didn't have his name in it and it wasn't so early in the series. It happens again in episode 8 where Lupin gets mortally wounded by Albert.
• Magnificent Bastard:
  • Albert D'Andresy is Lupin's former partner, a chief director of French police, and Lupin's greatest rival. Beginning his machinations by tricking Lupin into giving him a Black Book of government secrets to aid his rise to power through France and outwitting Lupin in his attempt to retrieve the Black Book by predicting Lupin's every action, Albert is just as quick to ally with Lupin to successfully retrieve the Black Book from their new enemy Jose, using Lupin as bait and tricking Jose by mimicking the voice of one of their assassins. When Lupin eventually steals the Book from him, Albert simply laughs due to a genuine sense of respect for Lupin. Working his way up through the French government and gaining more power, Albert covertly allies with the Shake Hands corporation and its head Enzo Bron, who opposes Lupin. Decrying Shake Hands in public and secretly aiding Lupin's gang, Albert betrays Shake Hands and has them declared a terrorist organization as Lupin begins his assault on their headquarters, and kidnaps Shake Hands' chief consultant, declaring his intent to take over France, ultimately escaping and coming out completely triumphant.
  • "A 7.62mm Mirage": Mirage is an assassin hired to kill Lupin during a chess game, and the daughter of expert sniper and Jigen's old flame, the first Mirage. Non-fatally shooting two people with special bullets to lure Lupin to the chess game, Mirage engages Jigen in a Sniper Duel across a canyon. She opens with a dummy trap, which Jigen falls for, then uses a drone to track him and special ammunition to blow away his cover and draw him out. After a heated and even duel, Mirage corners Jigen and shoots a collapsing structure, bringing rubble down onto him and nearly killing him, before turning her attention to Lupin. After barely failing to slay Lupin, Mirage reveals that she had only chosen to take up her mother's rifle so as to pay for her mother's medical treatment, and is convinced to change her ways by Jigen, getting the chess game's million-euro reward and leaving to live a happy life with her mother. Once away from her, Jigen admits he convinced her to change because she would have surpassed her mother.
  • "Zenigata, Gentleman Thief: "Monety" is a master thief, acknowledged by Lupin himself as a Worthy Opponent, who is in reality Inspector Kōichi Zenigata. After being hit by a car, Zenigata is struck with amnesia and becomes a thief to uncover his own true identity. Flawlessly copying Lupin's tactics, Monety steals a number of precious items, outwitting both the police and Lupin's gang. Successfully disguising himself and stealing some jewels, Monety cleverly uses an alarm to delay Lupin and his gang. Later, Monety again beats Lupin and his gang to the punch by digging out a museum floor and stealing a statue before Lupin can and escaping. Sending a Calling Card and stealing the Eyes of the Romanovs, Monety relishes having finally beaten Lupin before regaining his memories. As Lupin drives away, knowing that the old Zenigata has returned, Lupin admits his rival made just as good a thief as himself.
• Nightmare Fuel: "Thief and Thief" has some seriously nasty deaths, the highlight being Goemon taking an assassin's fake fingernails and throwing them right into her eyes.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: Lupin III: The Italian Adventure was a great-looking series, but Part 5 takes it up to eleven — every episode is gorgeous, with extremely fluid animation and detailed character designs.
• Win Back the Crowd: Perhaps to counter the early homophobic jokes involving Lupin, Albert is introduced, who is shown to have a male partner, but is not balked at or treated with any less dignity by the other characters for it.

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