Lupin the Third: Part 5

Episode 19

When I saw the preview for this last week, I thought it would be the beginning of a new plot arc for Lupin the Third: Part 5. Instead, it's another one-off that digs into the backstory of one of our central characters. If the show wants to stay in this groove for a while, that's fine; it's doing a pretty stellar job of deepening our understanding of the Lupin team. This week, we get a look into the past of the gruffest team member: Daisuke Jigen. (Well, I guess Goemon could take that honor too, but Jigen seems to complain more often.) But he shows a surprisingly soft side this week when we see his old life as a mercenary.

I like how this episode pulls a bait-and-switch with its plot. At the beginning, you think there's some larger terrorist organization after Lupin, drawing us into a whole new convoluted mystery. Instead, it turns out that the old man we saw in the beginning just likes messing with Lupin. I don't think Zylberstein is ever really given a motive for this attack apart from being "a psychotic rich guy", as Jigen puts it. I'm not sure why in particular he'd want to strike at Lupin while he's just chilling in a café, since Zylberstein seems to relish his high-stakes chess games with him. There's little logic to his "psychotic" actions, so we just have to roll with it. That's a little disappointing for a show that's great at assembling complicated motives behind every caper, but I guess you can't expect that every week.

It doesn't ultimately matter, since the point is less the setup and more the execution. Watching Mirage (Jr.) and Jigen's high-stakes chess game of their own is enough to justify the silly premise. It's dynamic to watch their two schemes slowly come together and then evolve across the course of the fight, as they keep escaping increasingly death-defying odds, and it becomes more meaningful when we see Jigen and Mirage together in their previous life. Frankly, it's just surprising to see Jigen so close to another person, particularly a woman, given his constant complaining about all the ladies in Lupin's life.

This makes the reveal all the more meaningful, that this Mirage isn't the original one, but her daughter. Mirage actually left the sniper life, and her daughter took it back up only to get money for her mother's medical needs. Lucky for her, our heroes just lucked into a huge pot of money. (Technically Jigen won the shooting contest and Lupin lost the chess game, so he reasons that the money should rightfully go to Mirage.) Jigen manages to talk her out of the sniper life, even if that means lying to her about her prowess. At the same time, it's a little condescending for him to lie about her abilities and deliver such a blow to her confidence just to keep her (an adult woman) safe. It's understandable, since he likely feels protective of her as the child of an old friend. Besides, he's right that there are better and healthier ways she could be using her cunning and skill.

There's a lot around the edges of this episode that's just weird if you start to think about it too hard. The show seems to hint at lots of little symbols that never quite go anywhere, like the weather vane that shows up after every tense Jigen-Mirage standoff. You start to wonder if there's any symbolism to Zylberstein and Lupin playing chess or who has which color. (Lupin has black and Zylberstein has white, which could be seen as unusual.) It's like the show is daring you to read too much into everything. At the same time, episode 19 works better if you shut off your brain and just enjoy the fun action scenes. It's a distillation of all that's fun and quirky about Lupin III, swinging between really smart and really goofy from scene to scene. Lupin III constantly keeps us on our toes, but it looks like more silly turns next week—featuring Zenigata! I can't wait.

Rating: B+

Lupin the Third: Part 5 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rose is a Ph.D. student in musicology, who recently released a book about the music of Cowboy Bebop. You can also follow her on Twitter.