Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23 (Is there a place for Lupin III?) #lupin5

Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23
Lupin III Part 5 23
ルパン三世 PART5

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23Enzo gloats over Lupin’s capture. Ami attempts to reach out to her father, but he has no interest in her, despite starting Hito-log (PeopleLog) because of her kidnapping. Fujiko accepts Ling Bo’s offer to remain in Padar in order to give Lupin an incentive to steal her. After Lupin and Goemon are carted off, Ami again attempts to reach out to her father, but again is rebuffed. Lupin and Goemon are put into a customized cargo container on board a ship.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23Meanwhile, Jigen is on the run in his mascot outfit. The French police demand he reveal his face, which he refuses to do. Just when Jigen finds himself cornered, Albert rescues him. Elsewhere, the cargo container containing Lupin and Goemon is transferred to a truck. Multiple Armored Personnel Carriers and police vehicles escort the truck. The convoy makes it to the country, where Jigen has set up a roadblock using a yellow, Mercedes-Benz SSK.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23The ICPO chief is angry about this and fires at Jigen. This is all the excuse Jigen needs to go to war. He has an arsenal of weapons in the car, including an M32  Grenade Launcher. In the end, every helicopter, APC, and police car are destroyed. The only apparent survivors are Zenigata and Yata, whom are trapped in their car. Jigen frees Goemon and Lupin. He then suggests that maybe it is time to retire as times have changed. Lupin poetically rejects this.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23Lupin goes into hiding for a month, frustrating many of his former opponents. Ami and Fujiko talk about Lupin when Lupin makes a post on Hito-log. He begins posting secrets from various governments all over the world. Hito-log rates every one of his posts with an A letter score. Meanwhile, Lupin, Goemon, and Jigen are holed up in the dungeon of Cagliostro Castle. Jigen has a note from Rebecca, signalling that it is time for Lupin to go after Enzo.

Thoughts/Review:

Man, Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23 really poured on the tributes to the Lupin III franchise. At the same time, it managed to reflect on the state of anime today.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

The Plot Elements

Before I get into the more interesting elements of Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23, lets talk plot. I had questioned why Enzo didn’t know about Ami and the like. With this episode, we learn that Enzo really doesn’t care about Ami. It seems rather strange that he’d be so cold and distant. But then Enzo is warped.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

I had no problems with them using a modified cargo container to transport Lupin and Goemon to prison. It had power and A/C as well as a couple of cots. But Lupin had been seriously injured and bled out a lot. As such, where were the medical staff in the container? Furthermore, where were the police inside to make sure nothing happened during transport?

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

I liked how Fujiko made herself bait to entice Lupin to steal her after he escaped from captivity. One really got the feeling that Fujiko does love Lupin more than she’d ever actually admit.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

Finally, there’s Jigen’s slaughter of the cops. To be honest, I was a bit shocked by this. To my knowledge, Lupin and company have never slaughtered cops. Granted, they fired first, but still. ?

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

The Tribute Elements

Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23 continued the tributes to previous Lupin III titles. We’ve seen former villains show up. We’ve had Lupin or the like briefly mention adventures in earlier series. And we’ve seen clips from earlier series and movies. In that regard, Lupin the Third Part 5 has served a large dish of non-ecchi fanservice to longtime fans of the franchise. At the same time, I don’t believe they’ve alienated new viewers of the series.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

Still, Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23 had to take the cake on tributes by having Lupin and company actually return to Cagliostro Castle. KYAAAAAA!!!! ?

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

Until now, we’d had the one clip from Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro. There had been moments when things reminded me of Castle of Cagliostro, and we’d had the instrumental version of Honoo no Takaramono, the theme song of Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro in episode 17. Indeed, when Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23 played that theme music, I smiled, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect Lupin’s gang to go there.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

I wish we had gotten so see Clarisse, even in a non-speaking role. I like to think she knows they are in her dungeon.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

The Reflection Elements

For me, one of the most interesting elements in Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23 is the way the production team examines where Lupin III fits in the modern day anime landscape. This is reflected in Jigen’s remarks to Lupin that maybe it is time to retire. There’s irony there, considering that Jigen’s seiyuu, KOBAYASHI Kiyoshi, is not only 85 years old, but is the only original Lupin III seiyuu in the series.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

That aside, Jigen remarks on how times have changed for them with modern technology like Hito-log. The Lupin III franchise is an old one, and it certainly isn’t the kind of series modern anime fans flock to. In a sea of ecchi harem titles, many being of the “Isekai” variety, whereby our MC is taken to another world, where does Lupin III fit in?

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

Lupin’s response to Jigen’s remarks represents what TMS (and probably Monkey Punch as well) think. Lupin compares what they are going through to a TV show. Jigen’s responses represent what hardcore Lupin III fans fear — the franchise will one day be retired for good. By having Lupin state that until the day his story ends, he wants to keep being Lupin, TMS is basically saying that they will continue to produce Lupin III content. And I for one am VERY happy for this.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

OK, time to wrap up my review of Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23.

  • I didn’t mention it before, but I liked seeing how the Grand Duchy of Cagliostro has become a tourist attraction, thanks to the Roman ruins Lupin uncovered in the movie.
  • Rebecca got a name drop at the end of the episode. I’ve been longing for her to return to the franchise, so I REALLY hope she does return.
  • I had to smile at Zenigata’s wish to have a drink with Lupin, after Lupin serves his time in prison.

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

In the end, Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23 ended up being an incredible episode for this longtime fan of the franchise. Not only do the writers begin to wind down the story to its conclusion, they also provide plenty of non-ecchi fanservice as well. And to top it all off, the production team sent us a message. Long live Lupin III!

Lupin the Third Part 5 - 23

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12 Responses to “Lupin the Third Part 5 – 23 (Is there a place for Lupin III?) #lupin5”

  1. Ricardo Cantoral says:

    I rolled my eyes when I saw that castle. Throughout their adventures, Lupin and the gang have discovered numerous esoteric locations that wouldn’t attract attention. Why would they hide in a place as conspicuous as an enormous castle which is, apparently, located a short distance from a popular tourist destination ? The answer is obvious. The writers once again shoehorned yet another needless call back to the Castle of Cagliostro. Look, I understand that Miyazaki cut his teeth at Telecom so I would expect some callbacks to his debut film in this series but they have become annoying at this point.

    Okay, rant over. Regarding the rest of this episode, I was throughly satisfied though I was also shocked by Jigen’s mass slaughter of those cops. I guess the lack of nicotine sent him over the edge ! I also enjoyed hearing Jigen’s concern about the future of the series. That isn’t altogether surprising. Given what is being sold to Western audiences and what is popular in Japan, Lupin seems out of step with the times. Everything is teenagers with super powers these days.

    • AstroNerdBoy says:

      Why would they hide in a place as conspicuous as an enormous castle which is, apparently, located a short distance from a popular tourist destination ?

      They were hiding in the dungeon, which the public doesn’t know about. It is possible that Clarisse doesn’t even know about that, though I like to think she not only knew about it, she holed them up there. Once there, they were out of sight, out of mind. Personally, I thought it was a brilliant hiding place, all things considered.

      As to the continuous callbacks to Castle of Cagliostro, it is the best of the Lupin III anime titles. I think most fans enter Lupin III via that movie (or they used to in the past).

      Everything is teenagers with super powers these days.

      I was thinking everything was either some kind of harem, preferably on some other world and preferably ecchi. ? But then I’m rather limited in knowledge of modern stuff.

      • Ricardo Cantoral says:

        They were hiding in the dungeon, which the public doesn’t know about. It is possible that Clarisse doesn’t even know about that, though I like to think she not only knew about it, she holed them up there. Once there, they were out of sight, out of mind. Personally, I thought it was a brilliant hiding place, all things considered.

        Your mention of Clarisse segues into another issue I have, undermining the end of the Castle of Cagliostro. When Lupin leaves at the end movie, when he makes the decision that he doesn’t want to settle down, Cagliostro is established as a place that Lupin could not possible return to. He abandoned any chance of a normal life when he left Clarisse and that micro nation. Returning to the Castle undoes that drama and such a pointless call back is far more disrespectful than it is complementary.

        As to the continuous callbacks to Castle of Cagliostro, it is the best of the Lupin III anime titles. I think most fans enter Lupin III via that movie (or they used to in the past)

        I think The Mystery of Mamo deserves the title of the best entry of the series but I admit that Cagliostro is definitely one of the better Lupin adventures.

        I was thinking everything was either some kind of harem, preferably on some other world and preferably ecchi. ? But then I’m rather limited in knowledge of modern stuff.

        I don’t know much about comtemporary anime, or anime in general, but I noticed the most popular stuff is green haired teens in Highschool.

        • AstroNerdBoy says:

          I think The Mystery of Mamo deserves the title of the best entry of the series

          Wasn’t there a rumor at one point in time about them bringing Mamo back? I’d love to see a potential Part 6 series do a sequel to Mamo’s story or bring back his character.

          • Ricardo Cantoral says:

            Mamo’s appearance at the end of Jigen’s Gravestone sparked rumors of the character’s return. I honestly don’t want to see him return because he is firmly rooted in the cold war. In 2019, it just doesn’t seem right to bring him in a contemporary Lupin adventure.

          • AstroNerdBoy says:

            Oh yeah, that’s where I saw it. Folks thought that the next TV series would have Mamo in it.

  2. lupinthethirdlover1 says:

    In the pictures of Lupin and Goemon, I noticed the samurai was right at the thief’s side the whole time they both were at captivity. I Like to think that Goemon was making sure Lupin rests from his wounds. What do you think?

    • AstroNerdBoy says:

      Well, Goemon was certainly there out of concern for Lupin. After all, he felt guilty for having been baited into injuring Lupin.

      There should have been medical staff in there to make sure Lupin was treated properly.

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