Lupin III: Angel Tactics
Rupan Sansei: Tenshi no Sakuryaku (Takutikusu) ～ Yume no Kakera wa Koroshi no Kaori～
ルパン三世 – 天使の策略（タクティクス）～夢のカケラは殺しの香り～

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko assault a castle while Lupin attempts to sneak in. Four women, aka: Bloody Angels, quickly dispatch the foursome where it is revealed that these are not the real Lupin and company, but other girls in the organization that are assisting the four main Bloody Angels to train. Apparently, they want Lupin and his gang dead for some reason.

Elsewhere in the world, Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon have a date at Area 51. Wearing disguises as dopey scientists, they are able to get through the military check point and onto the base. Inside, Inspector Zenigata has his men ready, though the young female scientist Emily Obili doesn’t feel they are ready enough. Apparently, Lupin’s target is to be a red, glass-like sphere which contains is some sort of metal known as “Original Metal. ”

Lupin and the others arrive still in disguise and Zenigata lets them through. When Lupin reminds Zenigata about Lupin’s ability for disguises, Zenigata assures him all is well. Lupin plans to steal the ball from under Zenigata’s nose and has his fake one ready, which he shows Zenigata. This is supposed to be the item that Lupin really steals. After Lupin makes the switch, Zenigata is ready to make the arrest.

Lupin has his escape ready and the three of them take off with Zenigata in pursuit. Goemon removes any obstacles in the way, but cutting through one wall proves a mistake as they run into troops. The trio split up with some “rocket troops” unable to shoot Lupin at near point-blank range. The trio meet up again and find themselves in a large room with a UFO. As Fujiko waits and watches in the distance, Lupin steals the UFO and though Zenigata makes a valiant effort, Lupin escapes by flying the thing out of there.

After crashing the UFO, they are picked up by Fujiko and taken to the home they are staying at on a cliff top. Lupin explains about the Roswell incident and decides that the glass sphere needs opening. So, he teases Goemon and provokes him into using Zantetsuken on the ball. However, while Zantetsuken has almost always cut anything (as witnessed in their escape), it not only fails to cut the glass, but is damaged in the process.

With that, Goemon departs. Jigen also departs leaving Lupin alone with Fujiko. He decides they haven’t had any QT in a long time and so its time to rectify that. Fujiko ends up knocking Lupin out and takes the sphere for herself.

Fujiko goes to make a deal with the purple-haired woman (dressed as a man). Despite the bundle of cash, Fujiko is suspicious and rightly so. The purple-haired woman turns tables on Fujiko and takes the sphere. Fujiko manages to get off a shot which shatters the sphere, something that supposedly is indestructible. A fight between the two ensues with Fujiko apparently as surprised as her opponent about the fake sphere. Fujiko barely manages to escape in a car and her attacker, “Lady Joe,” reports in about her failure.

At the casino in Las Vegas, Lupin has lost his last money gambling and tries to get a room unsuccessfully. After being tossed out, he’s met by the blonde Bloody Angel who offers assistance and gives him a card, stating her name is Sophie, an Insurance Inspector. He’s more than happy to go off with a pretty blonde, especially one offering him food. In his car, she inquires about the sphere and Lupin, who seems to have a large bag of money now, decides he’ll educate her on the Roswell Incident someplace nice.

In New Orleans, Jigen is walking the streets and comes across a green-haired woman being accosted by thugs in an ally. She, of course, is another Bloody Angel. Jigen quickly rids her of the trouble and after she excitedly embraces him in thanks, he realizes she’s stolen his gun. She gives it back with a bullet and somehow convinces Jigen to go with her. The three thugs reappear in the ally and want to be paid for their part in this scam, but the group of women also in the ally simply kill them.

In Alaska (?), Goemon comes to a mountain where an old man is fishing and requests he fix Zantetsuken. The old man agrees and Goemon heads to a local Japanese establishment for some sake. The okami (hostess) there seems to be Goemon’s type, but guess what? She too is a Bloody Angel.

Back in Vegas, Sophie is going to poison Lupin and learn where the Original Metal is. He gives up Jigen upon drinking his beverage , which Sophie reports believing Lupin will die. Still in New Orleans, Jigen is in a jazz night club where “Bomber Linda” is singing and she attacks Jigen. But of course, he didn’t have it and survived the attack. She reports her failure and when Sophie learns of it in a taxi, she is ticked. Opening her purse, she finds a “gift” from Lupin stating he still has the original.

Kaorou the Ripper shows her true colors to Goemon and with her enchanged sword Benizakura, she and Goemon prepare to battle. Meanwhile Lupin visits a scientist about the Original Metal as Goemon and Kaorou battle. Benizakura overpowers Zantetsuken, forcing Goemon to have to escape.

Zenigata visits the Pentagon where he’s given some information on the Original Metal. He contemplates this over a large hotdog at a diner where he’s joined by Emily. Elsewhere Goemon and Jigen meet up with Lupin where they learn about the Bloody Angels, who are an anti-American group of female assassins. As they discuss this, Zenigata finds them at their hideout and sends is forces in to smoke them out. Three troops come out to report to Zenigata and upon leaving, Emily realizes they are Lupin and company.

They make their escape and in some American city, they are on a city bus going to the local small airport. Lupin and Jigen board a small single-engine Cessna while Goemon has disappeared. Oh wait, he went back to Alaska to get Zantetsuken repaired a 2nd time. So Lupin and Goemon discuss how they need to get to this island where a treasure is being held when they get drowsy. Turns out their pilot is Sophie but Lupin and Jigen have the drop on her. A fight ensues where Sophie makes an escape. Zenigata and Emily are in an F-15 (or something) and shoot down the Cessna on the island.

Lupin and Jigen meet up with Fujiko, who has a large amount of cash from her encounter with Lady Joe. Both Jigen and Lupin have some fun at Fujiko’s expense when Sophie, Lina, and Lady Joe arrive with their forces by boat. Lupin and Jigen discuss given the Bloody Angels Fujiko, which of course is rejected resulting in a battle. Bomber Linda goes after Jigen and uses a magic cloak to constantly disappear and apparently can teleport as well. Lady Joe battles Fujiko and Fujiko ends up losing all her money.

Jigen is on the run and down to one bullet when Bomber Linda arrives in the building he’s hiding in, filled with massive stacks of bags. He thinks he has the drop on her, but her magic protected her. However, Jigen knows that magic fails, and finds he still has one bullet left, the one Linda had given him in New Orleans. He shoots Linda, who goes insane and starts shooting up the place. The bags were gunpowder and the building soon explodes, but not until Jigen gets to minimum safe distance.

Sophie is hunting Lupin only to discover he has the drop on her in some ruins of a city. Lupin shoots at her, but it isn’t a bullet, only a party favor. He is kind to Sophie despite all she’s done to him. She explains her hatred of America came from her boyfriend having joined the military and having been killed. So she joined Bloody Angels to get her revenge and for her, stealing the Original Metal, a prize of America’s, would gain her some revenge.

Back in Alaska, Karou and Jigen again fight, only Zantetsuken has been repaired and he quickly dispatches her.

Zenigata arrives with his masked troops again, which is observed by Jigen. Emily is with him and they are on the move to get to Lupin. Lupin is still taking with Sophie and she realizes he’s in danger. She saves him, raising her crossbow, only to be shot by Emily. Zenigata arrives to find the shaken Emily and places Lupin under arrest. However, Lady Joe arrives and all of Zenigata’s troops turn on him. Turns out his troops are all from Bloody Angels and of course are all women.

Lupin, Zenigata, and Emily escape, though Lupin and Zenigata are cuffed together. Lupin discovers the truth about Emily and it is revealed that Emily is in fact the boss of Bloody Angels. Lupin and Zenigata escape the reinforcements that arrive and Zenigata decides to work with Lupin. The two are now on top of a Mayan pyramid and the Bloody Angel troops fire their machine guns non-stop, but never hit a target. They get out of one situation, only to find that Lady Joe has Fujiko. Jigen and Goemon come to the rescue and free Fujiko. Another battle ensues with the Bloody Angles unable to do anything. Lady Joe is arrested as are the few surviving assassin troops.

Emily thinks she’s made an escape, only to find her destroyer ship sliced in half. She’s confronted with Lupin’s gang and Lupin is still angry about what happened with Sophie. Emily attempts to bargain for her freedom with the Original Metal but Lupin isn’t having none of that. However, Lupin won’t kill her in cold blood. We learn that Goemon was given the original metal on the bus so that he could repair Zantetsuken. So Emily tries to use money to bribe Lupin, but then pulls a piece and Lupin then kills her, the red sphere with the copy Original Metal falls into the sea.

As Lupin and gang relax on a sail boat, Zenigata is trying to retrieve the Original Metal from the sea. They finally do so, only to discover it is a fake. Naturally, that send Zenigata Lupin’s way. Lupin is teasing Fujiko about the Original Metal (she doesn’t know the truth of what happened to it), but finds that Zenigata managed to swim to their boat. The arrival of Zenigata with the truth foils Lupin’s plans for Fujiko.

Thoughts/Review:

I will always have an affection for Lupin III because of my introduction to the franchise via the most excellent Castle of Cagliostro. Of course, Lupin III: Angel Tactics doesn’t make the ballpark that Cagliostro resides in, but it is mildly entertaining, if predictable.

The only thing I really didn’t like was the “moment” between Zenigata and Lupin. Zenigata states that he’s only now realizing that Lupin isn’t evil. Sadly, that flies in the face of previous Lupin titles where the two have teamed up. Heck, even in Cagliostro, Zenigata allows Lupin to have a head-start as thanks for his assistance, and his remarks to Clarissa let us know that while he’ll never stop chasing Lupin, Lupin isn’t bad.

There are a lot of other dopey things about the special, such as assassins who fire almost non-stop, but can’t seem to hit the intended target. The four main Bloody Angels who trained so hard to kill Lupin and company are so inept when it came to the real thing. And the story is just weak.

But as I said, I was mildly entertained.