English Dub Review: Lupin the Third: Part V “The Extravagance of Goemon Ishikawa XIII”

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Goemon has a problem. Well, not a problem per se, but he has agreed to help Lupin and that involves him being around a ton of people, which he abhors. A woman named Chloe Cazal was gifted an expensive gemmed necklace by a dead Belgian billionaire. They track her down to a little French hamlet that is in the midst of a town-wide anime convention. His job is to steal the necklace and get out. Classic samurai shenanigans.

Once there, most people want a picture of him in his “samurai costume.” The rest of the people want to rob Chloe’s bakery. Goemon, the big-hearted softy that he is, protects her shop while she sleeps. He stays at a B&B run by a friendly boy and his extremely greedy mother. The boy acts as a go-between between Goemon and Chloe and enlists him to help drum up business for the bakery. After a few successful days, the boy arranges a date for his new samurai buddy and the sweet young woman.

Working at a bakery for no money and exciting evening rendezvouses aside, Goemon has second thoughts about filching the necklace. Chloe appears to be a kind woman who just wants to live a nice quiet life. While he decides, he goes about town throwing Lupin’s money around like its meaningless paper. He keeps paying the outlandish sums the boy’s mother demands, and he pays a security guard more than 1,000 euro to watch over Chloe during the few waking hours that Goemon requires sleep.

Goemon’s expensive mini-break is ruined when Lupin gets impatient and steals the necklace himself after drugging Chloe and his samurai. Pissed over Lupin’s interference, Goemon is out for blood and has his security consultant fire a giant missile at Lupin’s new compact sports car. As the samurai rips the necklace from Lupin’s cold, injured hand, the master thief informs him that the necklace is a fake.

It turns out the woman at the bakery is actually named Inez Cazal and is the real Chloe’s daughter. She set up shop in the small town to act as bait. While a rogue’s gallery of thieves attempted the rip her off, her mother already sold the necklace for almost three million dollars. Now cut off from Lupin’s fat stacks, Goemon is forced to work at Inez’s bakery until he can pay off his exorbitant hotel bill.

 

Our Take

This was the third stand-alone Lupin story of the season. Lucky for us, this one was a whole lot better than “Lupin vs. The Smart Safe” and “Get Pablo’s Collection.” The story arc was full, meaningful, and not weighed down by excessive stupidity. Hell, even the little kid character wasn’t annoying.

The focus on Goemon was an outstanding ripple that allowed the audience to catch a glimpse into how he really feels about his employer. It turns out he loves Lupin, but he’s not in love with Lupin. The moment things went sour, Goemon didn’t hesitate in trying to kill Lupin. Samurai honor is a bitch.

Even though Inez tricked him, it’s clear that our bashful ronin still has a thing for the young lady. She’s his type down to the washed-out facial features and reserved demeanor. There’s a good chance that Goemon could really enjoy his time at the bakery so long as that kid isn’t hovering every ten damn minutes.

Okay, so let’s talk about that kid’s greedy-ass mom. Just because there is a convention going on, it doesn’t give you the right to overcharge for rent and other services. Her behavior is part of a plague that’s been going on for far too long. The event is valuable, not your crappy hotel. It’s not only decent to charge a fair price; it’s the moral thing to do. Hey, everybody! Let’s stand up against this kid’s disgusting mother and all the degenerates like her. Next time there’s a big anime convention, or similar gathering, we’re going to bring campers, and tents, and even make lean-tos in the middle of the streets if we must. Because we’re not going to put up with your bull-crap price inflation anymore!

If Goemon wasn’t so shy, and he didn’t have access to Lupin’s ridiculous wealth, he would express the exact same concerns. Even though he wasn’t having much fun at the anime convention in the first place, that was mostly due to so many detestable people harassing him. It had nothing to do with a general dislike of festivals themselves. And those people only behaved heinously because they also got fleeced by greedy people in the hospitality field.