CHARACTERS: Fujiko has never been one of my favorite characters. I think Jigen and I share the same opinion of her. But her meeting with the main characters (in this series at least) is great. First there was the Lupin episode (what happens at the end of that one, the start of their relationship was pretty neat), then the Jigen episode, then the adorable Goemon episode, and then OMG WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH ZENIGATA! STOP IT!
Ok, I am a big Zenigata fan and I wade into each series or special wondering if this will be a "Zenigata the Fool" special or "Zenigata the Badass Detective" special. This one is happily the latter. His appearance is upped, which is neat considering the others seemed exaggerated in the opposite direction. At one point Jigen's beard is so distorted that it's almost touching the brim of his hat. On the other hand, Zenigata looks almost...bishie. I don't think his assistant was the only one to swoon over him thanks to that. And his character development was so different than a lot of the series. He never loses his cool, and seems to be really on his game.
The characters here are changed a bit from the anime norm. But that's a good thing. Sit down and try to binge watch ALL the Lupin series, then the specials and movies, and now the new stuff. The early stuff was a bit heavier, including some of the specials. This show, however, opens up new meeting possibilities and changes not the characters, but the way the world sees them and the way they see themselves. Fujiko, for instance, couldn't care less about who sees her nude. She's overly secure in who she is. Then there's Zenigata, the older but still very attractive inspector. This seems a deviation from the normal bumbling officer fare from most other Lupin. We even get a new cop, Oscar, who is similar to Melon Cop in the manga, but definitely not the same character. This series, of all the Lupin series, is the closest to the manga. Depending on what you like about the franchise, this may or may not be a good thing.
SOUND: Great voice actors. We've got the English dub's usual Lupin voice (the one used for all the specials, NOT the awesome Red Jacket version), a decent Goemon, a great Fujiko, and...the Red Jacket version's Jigen as Zenigata. That was a weird change. 100 episodes and they just randomly switch voice actors?
Another thing that bugged me was that Lupin dubs can't seem to decide on which pronunciations they want for the names. Lu-pin (like a needle) or Lu-pin (like the French way). Same goes for Fujiko's last name: Mine. Is it Mi-ne (with the Japanese pronunciation) or Mine (like "Youre mine)? This becomes an issue when Fujiko flat out tells Goemon her name isn't Maria, it's Fujiko Mi-ne (Japanese pronunciation) and he responds by making it clear he's interested in her. He says: "Mine...Fujiko." (Mine as the "You're mine") That scene was ruined by the dual pronunciation.
Another highlight AND lowpoint of this show was the music. It tried WAY too hard to be artsy. I was downright disgusted with the opening. But the rest of the music was fantastic, Goemon's theme in particular, that flutey sound that has become as iconic for me as the main Lupin theme.
ANIMATION: My original reaction was that the animation was BAD! AWFUL! But they put so much attention into that strange animation method. Besides that, there are some slick movements, and attention to detail that you just don't see in "prettier" shows. As for the art style (I've gotta say something about it), it took me a lot of getting used to. It's extremely reminiscent of the original TV series and pays some serious homage to the manga. Which, if you go into it open minded, is a good thing. It doesn't try to be a new thing the way Green vs. Red did (and failed at). It screams, "I am old school and proud of it!" and then throws some boobs in your face.
