The One That Ties It All (?) Together
Oh gosh, watching the finale of the new Lupin series was one of the last things I did before I moved out of my rooms in Bergen and I've been busy so I've sort of had a week and a half to overthink it (and partially forgetting I was going to do another entry about it, oops) and wow my grammar is shot to hell right now.
But yes, the first Lupin TV series to run since the eighties has just finished and now I'm back to having watched every. single. bit of Lupin anime (apart from a recent OVA titled Lupin Family All-Stars, plus some silent sketches from the Mankatsu TV show), boo.
But yes, finale. And thoughts about the overall series. Mostly the latter.
Okay, so... This was supposed to be Fujiko's story. What did we learn about Fujiko?
A: That she's a thief and con-woman of her own volition. And she wasn't abused as a child.
So... Pretty much what we've assumed about her for some sixty years now? Pretty much things that have never ever been an issue before this new show started to lay down really disturbing hints about it? Don't get me wrong, I'm super relieved the child abuse stuff was a red herring - and I did punch the air when Fujiko finally made it clear that she'd been a thief even before the mind-fuck stuff started - but looking back at the story arc: Wow, that was it? "Hey guys we're finally going to put the focus on Fujiko: Look, here's a bunch of complete non sequiteur scenes, here's a bunch of pointless filler episodes - and here's the revelation: None of it had any real bearing on who Fujiko is or where she comes from!"
Do we know anything of substance about Fujiko's origins? No. Did Fujiko develop through the series? No, she just returned to some hinted-at status quo, with some added French-thief-madly-in-love-with-her.
But - look, I'm aware I'm way harder on this series than I've been on virtually all other parts of the Lupin franchise. See, it looked ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL -
Shadow puppet sequences fuck yeah.
- it sounded absolutely amazing, it pulled off some great ideas (look at how environment colour schemes differ from character to character: Jigen's world is all greys and shadows, Goemon's surroundings are faded but colourful, etc.), I'm dying to get my hands on a soundtrack, and there's every chance I'll lay down my money some day if it sees a North American release... As far as Lupin anime goes, it's pretty good!
But it had the promise of something so much better!
1) First series-long story arc: A complete flop - apart from the non-sequiteurs, only the first and final episodes had any real, solid connection.
2) Using a more long-lived supporting character: See, I thought Oscar's story was good. Satisfying. And then they suddenly reintroduced him in the final episode and NEVER LET US KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.
3) Looking at the "origins" of the characters: Not really all that satisfying - Jigen's worked, it told a story, Goemon's was there, we never spent enough time on Lupin's developing obsession with Fujiko (YES IT'S A PET PEEVE OF MINE), and Zenigata - what on earth was the point of giving him an entirely different personality (YES THIS ONE GOES BEYOND PET PEEVE)?!
But... yeah. Disappointing. Gorgeous. Not as alike to the original manga as they hinted at. A bit like Green vs. Red. I'll watch it. I'll rewind my favourite scenes. But I won't recommend it to newcomers.
I can take it as a spinoff - in fact it's the first Japanese release with the "Lupin" title in English (the full title is LUPIN the Third ～峰不二子という女～) as opposed to ルパン三世, so I think there might be something to the theory that "LUPIN the Third" might become a title used for spinoffs.
Random joy: AS IF IT ISN'T OBVIOUS.
The final reveal! Instead of being a retcon, it was a prequel! It took me a while to realize: IT ALL FITS TOGETHER WITH THE BEGINNING OF GREEN JACKET. Lupin hasn't yet met Goemon (because they first meet in Green Jacket); Jigen and Goemon met, but they were both trippin' balls so they won't recognize each other when they meet in Green Jacket; Goemon refers to Fujiko as his girlfriend, like he does in the first episode he appears in in Green Jacket -
...and Zenigata, ugh, is slightly more viscious in Green Jacket. So I can tell what they tried to do with him but WHOA OVERKILL.
BUT it was a super cute ending! (Even though it doesn't fit with Red Jacket where Jigen says the first job he did with Lupin was a bank).
NOW WHEN ARE SOMEBODY GOING TO RELEASE THE SOUNDTRACK?
Woo, finished! You survived! Here's your "I lived through Tilly's volatile reactions to the new Lupin TV series" medal!
But yes, the first Lupin TV series to run since the eighties has just finished and now I'm back to having watched every. single. bit of Lupin anime (apart from a recent OVA titled Lupin Family All-Stars, plus some silent sketches from the Mankatsu TV show), boo.
But yes, finale. And thoughts about the overall series. Mostly the latter.
Okay, so... This was supposed to be Fujiko's story. What did we learn about Fujiko?
A: That she's a thief and con-woman of her own volition. And she wasn't abused as a child.
So... Pretty much what we've assumed about her for some sixty years now? Pretty much things that have never ever been an issue before this new show started to lay down really disturbing hints about it? Don't get me wrong, I'm super relieved the child abuse stuff was a red herring - and I did punch the air when Fujiko finally made it clear that she'd been a thief even before the mind-fuck stuff started - but looking back at the story arc: Wow, that was it? "Hey guys we're finally going to put the focus on Fujiko: Look, here's a bunch of complete non sequiteur scenes, here's a bunch of pointless filler episodes - and here's the revelation: None of it had any real bearing on who Fujiko is or where she comes from!"
Do we know anything of substance about Fujiko's origins? No. Did Fujiko develop through the series? No, she just returned to some hinted-at status quo, with some added French-thief-madly-in-love-with-her.
But - look, I'm aware I'm way harder on this series than I've been on virtually all other parts of the Lupin franchise. See, it looked ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL -
Shadow puppet sequences fuck yeah.
- it sounded absolutely amazing, it pulled off some great ideas (look at how environment colour schemes differ from character to character: Jigen's world is all greys and shadows, Goemon's surroundings are faded but colourful, etc.), I'm dying to get my hands on a soundtrack, and there's every chance I'll lay down my money some day if it sees a North American release... As far as Lupin anime goes, it's pretty good!
But it had the promise of something so much better!
1) First series-long story arc: A complete flop - apart from the non-sequiteurs, only the first and final episodes had any real, solid connection.
2) Using a more long-lived supporting character: See, I thought Oscar's story was good. Satisfying. And then they suddenly reintroduced him in the final episode and NEVER LET US KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.
3) Looking at the "origins" of the characters: Not really all that satisfying - Jigen's worked, it told a story, Goemon's was there, we never spent enough time on Lupin's developing obsession with Fujiko (YES IT'S A PET PEEVE OF MINE), and Zenigata - what on earth was the point of giving him an entirely different personality (YES THIS ONE GOES BEYOND PET PEEVE)?!
But... yeah. Disappointing. Gorgeous. Not as alike to the original manga as they hinted at. A bit like Green vs. Red. I'll watch it. I'll rewind my favourite scenes. But I won't recommend it to newcomers.
I can take it as a spinoff - in fact it's the first Japanese release with the "Lupin" title in English (the full title is LUPIN the Third ～峰不二子という女～) as opposed to ルパン三世, so I think there might be something to the theory that "LUPIN the Third" might become a title used for spinoffs.
Random joy: AS IF IT ISN'T OBVIOUS.
The final reveal! Instead of being a retcon, it was a prequel! It took me a while to realize: IT ALL FITS TOGETHER WITH THE BEGINNING OF GREEN JACKET. Lupin hasn't yet met Goemon (because they first meet in Green Jacket); Jigen and Goemon met, but they were both trippin' balls so they won't recognize each other when they meet in Green Jacket; Goemon refers to Fujiko as his girlfriend, like he does in the first episode he appears in in Green Jacket -
...and Zenigata, ugh, is slightly more viscious in Green Jacket. So I can tell what they tried to do with him but WHOA OVERKILL.
BUT it was a super cute ending! (Even though it doesn't fit with Red Jacket where Jigen says the first job he did with Lupin was a bank).
NOW WHEN ARE SOMEBODY GOING TO RELEASE THE SOUNDTRACK?
Woo, finished! You survived! Here's your "I lived through Tilly's volatile reactions to the new Lupin TV series" medal!