English Dub Review: Lupin the Third: Part V “Get Pablo’s Collection”

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

On New Year’s Day, Lupin and the boys reminisce about the time they robbed the great drug dealer known as Pablo. Years before, the trio noticed something strange in the South American jungle. Some of the foliage had been removed, leaving the vacant earth to spell out PABLO. Guided by a compulsive urge to investigate, Jigen and Goemon aren’t very happy when Lupin decides to ruin their usual dynamic by inviting Fujiko on the adventure.

Once they’re in the thick of it, Fujicakes uses her endless supply of cleavage to get directions but draws the unwanted attention of Pablo’s crew. While those famous bandits had allegedly disbanded, they have no problem teaming up to interrupt Fujiko’s jungle shower. The thugs attack the gang with a barrage of bullets, but Goemon saves the day by slicing and dicing their weapons into tiny pieces. However, he foolishly allows them to getaway.

Using the intel Fuji collected, the gang comes across a cave that holds Pablo’s large and impressive collection of classic cars. While our thieving quartet discusses how to airlift the many vehicles out of the jungle, Pablo appears behind the wheel of an old Rolls Royce and attempts to mow them down. Lupin jumps into a nearby sports car and challenges the aging drug dealer to a race. He soon discovers the PABLO on the jungle floor is actually a race track which Lupin utilizes to just barely win the race.

After the victory, a never-explained “spell” is broken and the cars devolve into rusted hunks of metal and Pablo turns into a pile of bones. They’d been in the jungle for a long time, unclaimed, and nearly forgotten. That would’ve ended the adventure if a corrupt navy hired by the Pablo gang hadn’t arrived on the scene to take out Lupin’s gang with their massive supply of weapons.

While Lupin and company have access to Pablo’s escape submarine—still in mint condition—that tiny tube could only fit three of them. Instead of drawings lots or playing roshambo, Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon all return to the jungle to fight the impossible fight. Fujiko, feeling abandoned, bogarts the submarine and leaves the boys to their vices.

A week later, they meet at the rendezvous point. The boys brag about their outstanding victory where Goemon sliced an entire tank in half. Fujiko, upset that Lupin once again chose the boys over her, is angry—so damn angry.

 

Our Take

This was another one of those one-off transition episodes. We’re talking nonsense material to fill out the season between major arcs. And while this one wasn’t as horrendous as “Lupin vs. The Smart Safe,” it wasn’t very good either.

Once again, Fujiko was thrown into the action without a compelling purpose and was only there to be a sexy sidekick. That being said, we haven’t seen the complex “real” Fuji since this season’s first arc where she only appeared in a few episodes. It almost feels like the writers just don’t give a damn about Fujiko anymore and have forgotten her overall role in the series. I hope this is corrected later in the season. We’re only at the halfway point which leaves a lot of room for improvement.

Not explaining the Pablo “curse” was the height of laziness. Lupin the Third doesn’t often delve into the supernatural, but when it does, it at least attempts to explain away the phenomenon with a smattering of slick pseudo-science. Last season, they had Leonardo Di Vinci invading people’s dreams before coming back from the dead, but at least there were men running around in lab coats to justify such silliness. In this episode, we had an alive Pablo, and then we had a dead Pablo. And the only explanation we got was that Lupin won a race. You’re not doing too much to wow me as of late, Lupin.

Speaking of which, I’m tired of all these gun battles where our heroes are practically invincible. These moments take away any stakes the episode may have created and are overall kind of silly. How many times must I watch the gang dance to avoid getting shot in the legs or stand straight up while bullets whiz by their heads? And I’m not just talking about these banal side stories, many of the worst gun battles take place in the midst of otherwise interesting arcs. There has to be a better way, and I hope Lupin the Third finds it during the second half of this season.