English Dub Review: Lupin the Third: Part V “The Lupin Game”

The Lupin Game transforms into The Most Dangerous Game

Overview (Spoilers Below)

We begin right where we left off with the Lupin Game in full swing (100,000,000 players and counting), and Zenigata plus a few dozen cops cornering Lupin and company at the airport. Despite escape seeming impossible, the four-person crew runs amuck—while wheeling Ami on a baggage cart—and somehow makes it to the parking garage without being apprehended.

There they steal an unflashy, un-Lupin-like electric car and lead the cops to a hangar that houses an electric airplane/helicopter hybrid. Coming as no surprise to anybody, except the bumbling police, Lupin uses the car battery to power the plane as Goemon goes into badass mode and slashes through the hangar’s roof with his mighty Zantetsuken sword.

While they evaded the police, the Lupin Game won’t allow the gang to feel safe anywhere… except on the tropical island of Bwanda, which lies outside of Interpol’s jurisdiction.  That’s exactly where Lupin brings everyone while documenting the entire trip online and enjoying the celebrity status that comes with it. Things couldn’t be better as the allure of the Lupin Game slowly dies down—until Ami leaves.

Apparently, living underground for five years didn’t prepare her for the outside; nobody ever told her the dangers of walking down seedy alleys alone, and she’s soon accosted by three men. Always the hero, Lupin swoops in, kicks some ass, and even makes one of the men suck on his gun. After assuring Ami he’s not after sex, he opens his heart and admits he wants to protect her from the Marco Polo black hatters who are certain to retaliate.

And retaliate they do, sending a who’s who of assassins, including: an old prospector, a surly sea captain, an Indy car guy, a blonde bombshell, and a mysterious little fellow known only as The Flea. In retaliation to Lupin ruining their game, the hackers upped the ante and created Happy Death Day, a game where all the players get to wager on the day and time of Lupin’s death.

 

Our Take

This was another strong episode in an already refreshing season of Lupin. The giant cat and mouse game was exciting to begin with and only increased in value as the stakes became deadly. The game’s little moments, like the pilots and flight attendants playing while on the job, and the fickle spectators who only love Lupin when they think he’s winning, really add to the open-world of this powerful setting. And what a welcome change after the limited, even claustrophobic, feel of last season’s Italian adventure.

Ami continues to be the most interesting character, even though her head is constantly hunched over so she can watch her tablet in lieu of the outside world. It’s clear that she wants to connect with Lupin, but doesn’t quite know how. When he saves her life and after his one-sided heart-to-heart it seemed like Ami wanted to speak her piece but lacked the words. She’s bound to open up eventually, but first, she might dive even deeper into her own psyche.

In this episode we also learned that she doesn’t eat regular food and instead prefers a nutrition-infused beverage in a bag called energie. This shows how truly isolated she is from any world that doesn’t exist on a screen and prefers a practical brain-tube over a more enjoyable, sociable, and delicious hot meal.

Things got a little awkward with the introduction of the less-popular phenomenon known as the Jigen Game. The viral creators were either making a joke or legitimately mistook Jigen for Lupin’s lover. The jokes Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon made came off as a bit homophobic and even justified the young people on the island accusing the gang of being old throwbacks who were massively out of touch.

Again, we only got a brief Fujicakes cameo. This time, she was at the opera and the old money she was shaking down asked her about her connection to Lupin. And while she claimed she wasn’t interested, her eyes told a completely different story.

The first two episodes were explosively fast-paced. One week hackers are trying to get him arrested, and the next they want him dead. First the cops are hot on his tail, and the next day they’re sipping lukewarm coffee and moping about the one that got away. And even our Lupin went from a man who only cared about his friends and the next big score, to a pseudo-guardian for a maladjusted young girl. Just when you think an old thief can’t surprise you anymore, that’s the very first thing he does.