Lupin III

Seeing a strong continuity between episodes is still not something I'm used to in a Lupin show (though Blue Jacket and The Woman Called Fujiko Mine had some overarching characters and elements), but I'm digging it so far.

It's also surprisingly heavy on the Mythology Gag, but still avoids Continuity Lockout. Probably wouldn't recommend for anyone to watch this first unless their favourite film was Rat Race.

Loving the way they use Inspector Zenigata's assistant as The Watson to show him being smart about chasing Lupin.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

On episode 4: It was good and simple the way hacker girl's character development began to be shown. Finally she showed some proper emotions.

They also struck a nice balance between serious Zenigata and Comically Serious Zenigata. And now, that the Death Game part is over with that fake-death-a-roo, can't wait for the big plot to develop further.

Too little Fujiko on this episode, tho (unless she was the one using the drone and Jigen was the sniper 'attacking' Lupin).

edited 1st May '18 10:21:43 AM by Quag15

YEP! His death was faked via AR. The drone belonged to Fujiko. However, they are still separated. Oh, the arc ended? OK...

Next Week: PINK JACKET TRIBUTE! No, I'm serious.

edited 1st May '18 2:36:04 PM by DS9guy

thsi 5-episode arc felt a lot like one of the TV Special movies (1988-2013) just broken up into TV show sized bites.

Yeah!

And a Mamo reference, I think. Remember the brainwave test? "He's either a genius or an idiot!" — That might be making a comeback to break through the lock.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Just as I was getting to appreciate hacker girl, her plot is over now (but, then again, she might return in future episodes). It was a decent conclusion. Also, I like how the writers keep teasing the Lupin x Fujiko dynamic, through all their mutual denials.

Now that they're gonna pick the Pink Jacket, I wonder if it'll be just for the next episode, or if there's gonna be a plot for 4/5 episodes with it (and then, two other plots would ensue with the iconic jackets to be used).

Three of the episodes from Part IV had been stitched together with some extra footage to give a different plot to the Italian Game special, so it's now easy to see that they wanted to do the reverse approach for this series.

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EDIT: From what I've read elsewhere, there's a buffer/standalone episode between each arc (the upcoming one being one of them, apparently). Maybe those stand alone episodes will use the other jackets...

edited 4th May '18 5:31:09 PM by Quag15

About episode 6: A funny, incredibly silly Breather Episode done right. Between the references to Cagliostro and the Pink Jacket series (right down to the artstyle and the extreme stretching of the suspension of disbelief in certain bits), this was quite the entertaining episode. It was also nice to show the comedic side of Fujiko, as well as the quality banter coming from Jigen (not to mention Goemon's relative cluelessness that ultimately leads Lupin to accept the brainpower challenge).

The change in art style was interesting, too. Lupin, Jigen, and Pops used the same design from Pink Jacket era, but Fujiko's design is solidly still the same basic choice made for Blue Jacket (with a few changes in proportions that help it fit congruently to the episode) and Goemon looks like they started with Green Jacket (but made him more bishie).

I got to watch it with a few friends and figured out his objective when he showed the fish. I had enough time to explain the overstack error before the show could, although I had assumed it was 1000 rather than 301.

Comedy-wise, I think my favourite part was the classic 10t Hammerspace gag.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Episode 8 spoilers:

Whoa...Albert is not fucking around. I mean, he Out-Gambitted Lupin himself, the gentleman thief! I never expected that one day in which Lupin could find someone who could potentially best him in his tricks. Better wait how the episodes show more of him and his weaknesses or else he'll get Evolt's level of magnificent villain sue

The only good fanboy, is a redeemed fanboy.

I presume they kept the basic Fujiko visual from Blue Jacket because her Pink Jacket visual was not really remarkable, all things considered (and was also kind of a victim of the artstyle of those days).

:Besided him being Lupin's kryptonite, so to speak, Albert has Magnificent Bastard written all over him, indeed. Things are gonna get heated in the next episodes, that's for sure. Though I think he outgambitted Lupin because he probably has a past with Lupin and knows most of his tricks and moves.

This episode was also interesting in regards to how Lupin lost composure due to the death of that retired investigator. No wonder Jigen got pissed.

Finally, Goemon really is a walking anachronism, isn't he?

edited 23rd May '18 5:07:31 PM by Quag15

I'm behind on my episodes, but I bring Lupin III news!

Discotek dubs again!

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Given Lupin’s relationship with the only other person who can reliably humiliate and outflank him, I’m thinking that it isn’t just Albert who Has a Type. Seriously, these past couple of episodes have had ‘world’s worst breakup’ written all over them.

What's precedent ever done for us?

Man, Episode 9 was good, albeit if a bit unsubtle in the themes when it comes to the presidential election. And given the result, it may be a Foregone Conclusion of some sorts.

The only good fanboy, is a redeemed fanboy.

These past two episodes were really great. Between the backstory, and the sheer amount of violence/gore (damn, Goemon, way to kill someone, even if she was a complete psycho bloodsucker assasssin!), and the brief Enemy Mine agreement between Lupin and Albert. The political intrigue already feels a bit dated, but that's a minor criticism. Episode II was better than Episode I.

So, the next episode is gonna be filled with Red Jacket shout-outs, huh? Also, finally we'll have some serious angles on Fujiko ( nudge nudge).

edited 9th Jun '18 5:46:50 PM by Quag15

Thoughts on episode 13 (and start of the third chapter, apparently): Nice to see both the return of Ami and the introduction of the Indian archer girl. The Padar princess plot will certainly be interesting, on account of the different groups involved.

That being said, this is all about Fujiko's seduction skills. And oh boy, was that peak fanservice.

Edited by Quag15 on Jul 4th 2018 at 1:05:20 PM

Did she, uh, got naked this time? Just askin.[waii]

The only good fanboy, is a redeemed fanboy.

A point for you.

Now, granted, it's not the kind of peak fanservice that, say, A Woman Called Fujiko Mine or the old yearly special Secret of Twilight Gemini had, but they certainly got a good mileage (or should I say cleavage?) out of her open shirt + underwear combo.

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That being said, and a bit more seriously now, this was also a good display of Fujiko's badass skills and ingenious plan. Nothing like a good fluorescent paint trick in the dark.

Edited by Quag15 on Jul 4th 2018 at 1:32:36 PM

Thoughts on episode 14:

Lupin delivering a a speech to a CIA agent (plus disarming him only using wires and a breakdancer style move) and the American government in general was a bit unexpected. In fact, this episode had lots of political stuff going on (the coup d'état by the traditionalists against the techno-progressives within the country of Padar being central to the plot of this and the upcoming episode).

Too bad that the archer girl has that acute disorder that makes her trigger-happy on stressful occasions, so now Lupin is hurt once more. Looking forward to the next episode, since it'll probably explore (judging by the preview) Lupin and Fujiko's relationship.

Edited by Quag15 on Jul 11th 2018 at 1:26:11 PM

The princess looked kind of glassy-eyed. I wonder if the CIA or the traditionalists had put some failsafes into play.

What's precedent ever done for us?

On episode 15: And now we come to one of the centerpieces of this current series: Fujiko and Lupin's feelings for one another after the break-up. The fact that she was willing to get naked in order to warm up a recovering Lupin in front of a half-asleep Amy (her POV was blurry of course, in order to not show clear nudity) was quite heartwarming. Also, that flashback was nice, but a bit odd (why the pirate outfits?)

Also, uh, Amy kills 4 guards with a grenade, so there's that.

On another note, I'm not entirely sold yet on on the shadowy Enzo guy. Maybe the next episode will show something more detailed about that guy's plans to use the king as a puppet.

Edited by Quag15 on Jul 19th 2018 at 1:23:49 PM

Episode: Quite a nice show of Ami's technology and the hypocrisy of the High Priest being exposed and Dolma being eventually saved...though still, poor Udo. Also, that Enzo guy and the former king will be likely part of something that will be vital in the final "Episode" of Part V.

Also, Next episode will be a Part I inspired one.

Edited by Luigisan98 on Jul 24th 2018 at 11:31:55 PM

The only good fanboy, is a redeemed fanboy.

On episode 17:

Ah, the Jim Barnett reference (for those who may not know, one of Lupin's grandfather's aliases was Jim Barnett; originally Leblanc wanted to created different characters to escape from Lupin's success, with detective Jim Barnett being an attempt; said attempt failed, and Jim Barnett ultimately got merged with Arsène Lupin).

As for the episode itself, it was a nice 'whodunnit' story. The maid is a cute one, and one that (needless to say) liked Lupin almost from the start.

The next episode is gonna be about... toilet situations? Huh. At least it will be a good opportunity to see the gang and Zenigata interacting, without third parties involved.

Edited by Quag15 on Aug 1st 2018 at 2:17:58 PM

Neat. Didn't expect them to look so good in 3D.