Lupin the 3rd: Part II 01
Lupin III Part 2 01
ルパン三世 – 新シリーズ Ep. 01
Lupin Sansei Shin Series
Lupin III New Series

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

At different parts of the globe, Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko get invitations from Lupin for a five year reunion on board the brand new, luxury liner, Sirloin. On the appointed day, the three meet on the deck of the ship. Lupin parachutes in, and the four have a drink together. They thank Lupin for paying for the cruise, but Lupin denies it. Further, he has an invitation from Fujiko.

Zenigata shows up to arrest Lupin. However, Lupin points out his warrant is a fake. As such, Zenigata reluctantly agrees to help Lupin uncover the identity of the person who actually sent the invitations. The group escape several traps that kill other passengers. In an attempt to save Fujiko from sharks in a pool, Lupin gets bitten. While Fujiko treats his wound, the four get an invitation to dinner.

As Zenigata observes from the security office, Lupin guesses they are up against Mr. X. As a reward, the floor Lupin’s table and chairs are on descend to a giant room. There, Mr. X reveals himself to have a metal body. He wants them dead and gives them a wide rage of “toys” to accomplish the task. Neither Goemon nor Jigen are able to scratch him when they attack.

Lupin takes a jeep and Fujiko takes a sports car. They both purposefully crash their cars and cause explosions. This causes the fire suppression system to activate. The four get out of the water while Lupin causes a live piece of electronics to electrocute Mr. X. As they escape, Mr. X scuttles the ship, leaving the four adrift on a raft. However, they aren’t alone long as Zenigata comes up on a turtle to pursue them.

Thoughts/Review

And so I jump back a series with Lupin the 3rd: Part II 01. I gotta say, it sure was nice having the OP theme for the franchise we’ve all come to know and love. But how was the first episode? To be honest, it wasn’t much. While I love the idea of the return of Mr. X from the first episode of Part 1, it should have been better.

If this were done today, I’d have a several episode buildup to the reveal of Mr. X. As it was, get some laughably bad (but deadly) traps. After part of the ceiling collapses and kills folks, one would think the passengers might be uneasy. When another passenger gets killed by a venomous snake, well, that too is just treated as a “oh well” moment.

What’s worse is how poorly Lupin’s crew dealt with the situation. Once they knew someone was out to kill them, they should have been more cautious. Instead, they eat a luxury meal as if they didn’t have a care in the world. I would wonder if it were poisoned. After all, what’s poisoning food compared to putting sharks in a pool?

Then there’s the confrontation with Mr. X. This too is hilariously bad. The writers attempt to give weight to the fight by making Jigen and Goemon easily defeated. However, Lupin and Fujiko’s “crash the cars” plan was just based on luck. Likewise, their escape from the ship was also luck.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Lupin the 3rd: Part II 01 gets the gang back together. And it brings back Mr. X from the first series, complete with clips from that episode. However, there’s no real weight to the story, partially due to poor writing. Oh well. Onto the next episode!