Lupin the Third Part 5 – 07
Lupin III Part 5 07
ルパン三世 PART5

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Lupin visits his old copyist friend Gaston at a local bar/pub. Gaston wants to hire Lupin to steal an item from Mr. B. As advanced payment, Gaston gives Lupin the copy of Napoleon’s Bible that Gaston made. Gaston requests that when he dies, Lupin read a prayer from it for him. Sometime later, Lupin disguises himself as Fujiko in order to seduce Mr. B with the purpose of getting the man’s retinal scans and fingerprints. Lupin and Jigen then raid Mr. B’s home to steal the item from Mr. B’s “black hole” room packed with treasures.

Lupin finds the unknown Picasso work, which was actually created by Gaston’s grandkid, though the signature was forged by Gaston. The painting is believed by the world to be genuine. Lupin leaves his calling card and the local police investigate. The DGSE (Directorate-General for External Security) attach themselves to the investigation, which is reported to a man named Albert. Meanwhile, Lupin marvels at this fake Picasso being so much like a real one that he decides to do some investigating.

Lupin and Jigen pay a visit to a local antique dealer who will buy items that shouldn’t be for sale. The older man takes them to his underground art collection. He was the one who sold the fake Picasso to Mr. B at Gaston’s request. Since everything Mr. B buys never sees the light of day again, Gaston was apparently hiding the work there until he needed it retrieved by Lupin. Jigen and Lupin leave the establishment, only to be chased by DGSE agents.

After dealing with the agents, Lupin calls their boss, using one of the agent’s phones. He proposes a trade and the man accepts. Lupin comes to the restaurant, but it is a trap, filled with DGSE agents. He escapes out a window, but when the chief comes to his car and cuts the painting out of the frame, there’s a hidden book inside. Lupin is in the backseat and puts a gun to the chief’s head. Lupin gets the book and causes the chief to faint after firing a blank. Jigen and Lupin examine the book, which is filled with all kinds of information regarding French police corruption.

Lupin decides to pay a visit to Gaston to see what his friend is involved with. Elsewhere, Albert gets a report of Lupin’s movements. Meanwhile, Lupin and Jigen are on a train, where Lupin is reading the Bible Gaston gave him, looking for clues. They arrive at a rundown town and visit the pub to get a taxi, only to find there are none. When Gaston’s name is brought up, they learns he apparently died a month ago. The pair visit Gaston’s grave and Lupin remembers Gaston’s request to say a prayer. Lupin finds the name “Albert” on the edge of the book.

Thoughts/Review:

Lupin the Third Part 5 – 07 starts a new story arc. Though mysterious enough to get my attention, it isn’t something that just made me eagerly want to watch the next episode.

That “Lovejoy” Vibe

I’m a huge fan of the late-80s, early 90s British show called Lovejoy. For those who don’t know, it stars Ian McShane (who may be best known in America as Al Swearengen from Deadwood), who is a charming, rogue, antique dealer named Lovejoy. Lovejoy had a skill for spying fake antiques, but on several occasions, he was either involved in cooking up a fake (painting or the like), or was attempting to uncover someone passing off fakes as genuine pieces.

The fact that Gaston is a copyist and a forger made me think back to Lovejoy’s adventures. Here, Lupin takes on the role of Lovejoy, only with superior thieving skills. Lupin was able to tell that Gaston’s copy of Napoleon’s Bible was not authentic, yet knew it was a good copy. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this “Lovejoy” side of Lupin in this arc.

The only laughable element is that the painting was allegedly done by Gaston’s grandchild. As I learned from watching Lovejoy, faking a signature on a painting isn’t going to be enough to pass a fake as a genuine. One has to use the right kind of canvas, paints, and then a method for artificially aging the painting has to be done. But, I understand the anime writers don’t want to get lost in the weeds of how to properly forge a painting and make experts believe it is a Picasso.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Since Lupin the Third Part 5 – 07 is mostly a table setting episode, I’ll wrap this up so I can try to catch up on the series.

• No mention of Ami. Bummer. I really hope she’s not gone for good.
• This Albert guy just makes me roll my eyes.
• I guess Mr. B is supposed to be like “Mr. Big.”
• If Gaston has been “dead” for a month, who was it that met with Lupin?
• It is long established that Lupin can disguise himself quite easily, but him disguising himself as Fujiko is a bridge too far for me.
• Speaking of Fujiko, she wasn’t in the episode, nor were Goemon or Zenigata.

In the end, Lupin the Third Part 5 – 07 sets the table for a new story arc. While mysterious, and giving a Lovejoy vibe at times, I can’t say I’m grabbed by what I saw here. Nevertheless, I shall watch more.