What’s your opinion on Part V?

[dabadee]

I know this entry can either be described as the most loved or the most hated entry in the franchise but my personal opinion about this entry would be that I side with the fans who loved Part V for the same reasons. It was well-paced and having the storyline of these iterations of characters who thrived for nearly 50 years fit into the modern-day world. Having the whole ‘Lupin Game’ arc was so fun to watch; the whole conflict between Lupin, Albert, and the assassins was awesome; the Padar arc, which honestly should’ve at least had one more episode since it kind of resolved a little too quickly... but overall it’s still a great arc, and running it back with the one-offs paying tribute to the previous parts was fantastic to see as well. And that final arc? I loved how they showcased Goemon’s doubtful relationship with Lupin, causing him to nearly split his guts open; Jigen’s calling quits because he has a hard time trying to fit in in the modern-day world; Fujiko worried if Lupin could ever save her from the cage like he always does again; and Zenigata's pride in finally arresting Lupin but wanting more than just locking him behind bars. Then that moment where Jigen tells Lupin it’s about time to hang the hat and finally end his and the gang's story... the things Lupin said changed my life. And I don’t mean it in a cliché way; it did. (I was still a teenager back then, having a hard time in life, transitioning to an adult.) Lupin is pretty much not only talking to his partners but also to the fans, saying that he’s not even close to being ready to stop considering the situation he’s in. He says that as if he knows that it’s his TV show and knows that his fans are watching him. Lupin still wants to keep surprising us like he always does, and most importantly, he wants you to keep going just like him. Even if things are about to end and there’s nothing left for you to do, Just keep pushing forward and keep being yourself, like you’ve always been. Crossing in everything that’s happened in the franchise up until that point leaves another 50 years of Lupin III. Leaving this being my favourite entry in the franchise in my heart.

 

[Tsushi]

I am very mixed on it.

I think it has some amazing material in it, some really peak stuff. I do love Albert, he's a great foil character. And I liked a lot of the deeper emotions going on between the gang.

But I don't think they explored that as much as I wanted, other than for Goemon. Though I love that they did it with Goemon, I wish they'd delivered more obvious outward conflict like that to resolve the subtle implications of what was being implied for the rest of the cast.

I was really not a fan of Ami, I felt they fumbled badly on handling her in the writing. I also am not usually a fan of the "genius with very sparse experience and few emotional responses" type characters.

I think Lupin's arc is good, I like some of the dramatic moments a lot, and many of the funny ones too. But any of the Ami heavy scenes I'm a lot less invested. No shade to anyone who does like her, I just don't lol

Nevertheless I like how much detail and depth Part 5 had and it inspired my longest fic. I loved their little tributes, the stand alone episodes were so much fun! So I really feel like Part 5 has a lot of highs for me and a lot of lows. Definitely would rather have that than have it be boring and not inspire any thoughts or feelings in me

 

[VampireNaomi]

I have incredibly mixed feelings on it. There are elements in it that are some of the best Lupin content ever - I love the backgrounds, character designs, animation, Albert is my favourite character, Zenigata's Pride and the Desert Dust is one of the best episodes in the entire franchise, and I like Yata as a new semi-regular character.

I feel that while it brought up a lot of emotional issues for the main characters, most of them were only explored on a surface-level and the series wasn't brave enough to really dig into them. That's not really a problem for me, though, since it's what I expect from the franchise. I wish the one-off episodes had taken place in the same timeline as the main story, like in Part IV, because it would have added a little more depth to the world and side characters, but that's also not a deal-breaker since it gave the writers more freedom with the stories. Another thing that didn't really work for me was how the series was so heavy on references that it started feeling like a trivia game. I have nothing against old characters or locations returning, but I'd like to see something done with them, rather than quick five-second cameos. Give Rebecca her own focus episode, or don't bother. I'm neutral on Ami. Her character had potential for more, and the whole crushing on Lupin angle was screen time that could have been spent much better if she'd instead looked for a father or brother figure in him, leading to her becoming disillusioned with her bio father later on.

But my main problem with Part V is how Fujiko is largely absent from most of the episodes and when she does show up, I almost never enjoy how she's written. I love her, and I want to see her involved in the plots and doing things, but I feel that Part V sacrificed her character in order to focus on the mystery/drama of what happened between her and Lupin. I much prefer Fujiko as she was portrayed in Part VI where she got to go on adventures and felt like a regular, active cast member.

 

[Yawackhary]

I would say it's mixed. It's not the series that I enjoyed the most but did get some enjoyment. When I first watched Part 5, felt like the series was a bit "dry", that was down to the voice acting deliveries in the Italian dub despite the cast doing their best. This was during the time when there was no English dub of the series. Thought that the English dub would improve, it did a bit but not as expected. (This is no way to bash the voice actors at all because they all did a fine job, it was just a first impression of the series)

Character wise. Did feel that Lupin felt a bit invincible especially by the end (just the last episode, the others were more in line even if in the series flip flops between more early Part 1 and the more typical Lupin, again fine by me). Both Albert and Yata have been great additions to the series especially Albert with his motives, connection to Lupin and would have been good as a rival in its own right. As for Ami, it just didn't feel right. A teenage girl having a "dark and disturbing" background and wants to be with Lupin, not in the typical way of girl of the week either... Wasn't keen on her being the main focus (again) on the 3rd arc. It also in a low key way reminded me of another character called Ami who was also considered an asocial genius from another series. A case of anime being influenced by anime or manga and not just Episode 12 with the cosplayers.

The big issue personally was that Zenigata was rather underused, even in the Part 2 inspired episode him not being there didn't feel right. Episode 4 was basically the highlight for him in the series as well as the last bit in Episode 5 and Zenigata, Gentleman Thief. Only thing that I can think of was that Koichi Yamadera was too busy with other stuff, rather like why Goro Naya didn't get much in the later 2000s TV Specials due to his health.

Outside of a few moments, wasn't keen on Fujiko in this series. Also why would Fujiko spend a couple of episodes in a cage and don't seem too bothered about it?

Animation wise it's good for a modern anime. I did feel that it got rushed towards the end with either episode 22 or 23 being the worst in the series with some off modelling and more static shots of the characters. That was pretty jarring.

The idea of arcs were at least implemented better (just by comparison) than Parts 4 and 6, they felt like they could be mini TV Specials with a bit of work. Just on the grounds that the storyline episodes were put together as a block and not spread out. Had the second arc been a TV Special or an OVA, it would have got a decent ranking. As for the standalone episodes, in many cases enjoyed them more than the main series itself. Episodes 6, 11 had character interaction with the main cast that most of the story episodes didn't have (sometimes you get Lupin and Jigen or Lupin, Jigen and Goemon with an iffy issue but nothing like Part 2 or some of Part 1 even), it had a level of experimentation. Haven't seen Fujiko's Gift since the original Italian airing so have to re-watch that one since I didn't really enjoy it the first time around...

Outside of the standalones though, it's the case of re-watching an episode or even parts of an episode out of enjoyment but there are some episodes that probably wouldn't watch again (3rd arc). Meaning that as a story based series in most cases won't watch the entire arc due to not enjoying episodes.

There were some writing issues (the mentioned iffy issue, the rushed ending with Ami and Enzo, a bit animesque in places) but did also have some well written episodes with some great lines, jokes and expected tone (either light hearted or serious, even both). Pacing felt good especially for an modern anime where it is expected to have static scenes due to budget, timing and animation concerns (outside of either 22 or 23 where it WAS more in line) yet Part 5 felt brisk.

Speaking of which... Another issue that I felt (and similar one to Part 6 and Goodbye Partner with its misleading advertising), Part 5 was advertised to be set in France. Unlike Part 4 where it took advantage of the Italian setting, the France setting was barely there. It could have been really any similar country, even fictional like some of Part 5 itself. It also meant a bunch of missing opportunities in this series (especially with Arsène Lupin). It says something when a few Part 2 episodes and even a Part 3 episode felt a bit more into the setting than most of Part 5.

Then there are the "picky little details" that aren't a big issue but annoy a little. While I did really like Episode 6, it felt like a Part 2 episode (one that had the Yuzo Aoki and Yoshio Urasawa duo) rather than a Part 3 one where the irony that the next episode felt a bit more in line especially with betrayals. As mentioned in the deliveries, the Part 2 and 3 inspired episodes didn't get that expected hit in both the Italian and English dubs. The fan service (as in the multiple references, not as in Fujiko type of fan service) got a bit much in places. Not enough to go ugh... though.

 

[lastflunky]

I'm pretty mixed and it's my least favourite of the TV shows. I understand why people love it as it has some nice high points but for me there's a few things I did not like. It feels like they wanted the character conflict of Mamo and the adventure and Clarisse-type girl of Cagliostro with a bit of 90s TV movies like Harimao's treasure thrown in. But those are three different flavours that don't mix well for me.

Albert and Yata are great but sadly Ami is handled poorly. I think it's safe to say that everyone hates Enzo. I feel like we get too much focus on Lupin while everyone else is sidelined. Like the idea of Jigen feeling out of place and considering retirement isn't properly explored until Part 6: episode 0. As mentioned before there should have been a little bit more of Goemon's storyline and Fujiko just disappears for a while. I feel some of the referces are a bit suface level. Personally I think some of the manga cameos derserve their own episode rather than be one-note assassins. Though I find it incredably funny that Rebecca, the Italain character just shows up for a second, holding a pizza.

The opening and credit's are amazing, I love how the credit's hint at Lupin and Fujiko's failed marriage. I enjoyed every one-off with the exception of episode 11. That episode did Fujiko dirty and that might have been the point? It's the only one that's framed by the lads looking back on an old caper. It could be unreaiable narrators overexacterated view on someone they are annoyed with at the time. I liked how the green jacket episode introduces an older version of facial recognition software before the last arc. Even highlighting a flaw that the newer version those not have. The Zenigata episode having his memory coming back being tied to the snow melting. Ending with a shot the sametype of flower that was seen in Part 1 episode 1 was *chefs kiss.*

As for the story arcs:

1. Modern Lupin shares a lot of tropes with other modern crime shows and this one felt similar to Criminal Minds season 11 to me. Don't like the Ami stuff or the shipping jokes. Zenigata are good and the Lupin/Fujiko phonecall was great.
2. Excellent intro for Albert. It has the tropes of crime shows that I enjoy. It's the best one.
3. I found the commentary on the CIA and how tech companies taking advantage and gentrifying countries rather toothless.
4. Has some very strong moments like Lupin's meta speech and the one episode characters cheering Lupin on his livestream. Lupin getting injuried (even though I laughed on my first viewimg as that was the forth time they did a Lupin injury moment). Felt rushed as they try to tie up all the plot threads. This is why Lupin taking his face off didn't really work for me.

A lot of it really boils down to me being a bit picky. I think every long running series has it's marmite show. Fans are either going to love it of hate it.