I feel like words really can’t do this show justice but I’m gonna still try my best to write this review and explain how fun this show is. I mean this show was already campy in Part 1 but they really amped the campiness up to 11 for Part 2. Like the people who made this knew exactly what kind of show they were making and it leads to some of the most hilariously insane plotlines that you’ll ever see Lupin and the gang be a part of.
This series overall is very episodic with each episode being a different story and almost all of them have no connective tissue between one another. Firstly, I have to emphasize that making each episode different from the next is a lot harder than you’d think. You have to get really creative and you don’t want episodes to feel similar to one another, even though this show does have a bad habit of sometimes doing that. Secondly, that’s kind of what I love about Lupin the Third, it’s a very easy series to get into and enjoy. You can start wherever you want, you don’t even have to watch every episode like I did. You could start at the last episode if you really wanted to. As a matter of fact, you don’t even have to watch any episode of this show, you could watch one of the movies and you won’t be lost at all, that’s how episodic this series is. Now this isn’t the case for series’ like Parts 4-6 and the Fujiko Mine spinoff but that’s kind of how this show mostly goes down.
Now that approach might not be for everyone. Some people have criticized this series for being very repetitive and barely doing anything new. And I kind of agree. I think by the 95th episode I was starting to feel pretty tired. I think after you’ve watched at least 20 episodes you’ve seen the entire show. There are a few episodes with two parts to them but for the most part it just kind of feels the same from beginning to end. I really think there should’ve been way less episodes. But weirdly enough, I really wish there were more Miyazaki-directed episodes. There’s only like two of them that I can think of, those being episode 145 and episode 155 and those episodes are easily without a doubt the best ones in the series. If you were to compare the Miyazaki-directed episodes to the normal episodes, it is like a day and night difference. I’m under the firm belief that Hayao Miyazaki and Lupin the Third really go together like peanut butter and jelly and I think Part 2 should’ve emphasized that way more. Yeah, Miyazaki was probably a pretty busy guy back in the day to make more episodes of this series but it still would’ve been cool to see, for me at least.
But on the other hand, I do think Lupin the Third is a very comforting anime to watch. I still think my favorite comfort anime overall is Kino’s Journey (2003), but this is very much a close second. It’s an anime where you don't have to pay that much attention to. Which is fine because when you do pay attention it's still fun and when you don't, you can just chill, relax, and enjoy yourself or whatever. I like to watch one of the movies or the episodes of the show in the background while I'm doing work or chores around the house.
I don’t need all art to challenge me. Some things I just wanna watch just to be entertained by and the Lupin the Third series overall is a perfect example of that. If I was to compare this series to food, I’d probably compare it to eating pepperoni pizza. You know exactly what you’re gonna get for the most part, but it still tastes good nonetheless. It also helps that I like all the 5 main characters and I could watch a whole show of them just hanging out and doing nothing important. They’re just so likable and have such distinct personalities from one another.
Lupin for example is probably one of my favorite anime characters ever. I’m dead serious. He’s basically anime James Bond and since I’ve been a big James Bond fan ever since I was a kid, it was like I was destined to love this character. Even though he’s not the most complex character ever, in fact he isn’t really much of a real character in this particular series, I think it works just fine here. In other series’ and some movies they do try to give him more dimensions and explain that he’s someone who embodies freedom and escapism, something that I’ll admit, I personally strive for a lot in life. Then there’s his partner Jigen who’s just kind of a badass whenever he shows up. He definitely feels like the straight man of the group and always has great banter with Lupin.
Goemon also joins up with them frequently and he’s a samurai who always speaks words of wisdom and cuts shit in one slice with his katana named Zantetsuken, which really should belong to me but whatever. He takes himself very seriously which gives him some good comedic moments. And Fujiko, uh, I actually don’t wanna talk about Fujiko. I get kind of distracted when I think about her. She just has some really enjoyable qualities if you know what I mean. I’m not being a simp, I’m just being very-observative. If you don’t like her, I recommend you watch her spinoff show which does make her more of a “real” character instead of just Catwoman without the costume.
And finally Zenigata, a police inspector who would probably give up sex in order to capture Lupin. He’s so obsessed with catching him that he gets so upset when he thinks Lupin dies, and basically shows that he secretly enjoys trying to catch Lupin. That’s basically his whole character in a nutshell. And this works mostly because Zenigata in this particular show is fucking hilarious. Maybe it’s just me but every scene he’s in makes me laugh. He could be doing something completely normal, and it would still be hilarious. It’s like his character is an alien pretending to be a human.
Another thing that helps make this series feel cozy for me is the music. It’s so fucking jazzy and vibey and I love it. The Lupin the Third theme is another iconic theme from a popular IP that I have stuck in my head and recognize whenever it starts playing. It’s very Cowboy Bebop-esque although it doesn’t explore more genres like that show does but the music is still great nonetheless, it’s easily one of my favorite aspects of this whole series.
I really can’t reiterate it enough. There are so many scenes that perfectly exemplify why I love this show and why I also think it’s kind of a huge joke. I could compile a bunch of random 5 second clips throughout the show, edit it into a 30 minute YouTube video and you would have instant comedy gold. Also the names of these episodes are just-amazing. Like “Gettin’ Jigen With It,” or “Zenigata Getcha Outta My Life.” Like, c’mon! Whoever named these episode titles is truly the Socrates of our time.
Now let me clarify things real quick because I feel like some readers might be a bit confused after reading this review. I want to emphasize that when I mention the campiness of this show it's not meant as a criticism at all. I’ve said multiple times in this review that I like how campy this show is. I genuinely believe that the campiness was deliberately incorporated by the creators. What I'm trying to convey is that the campiness is kind of a product of its time and this level of absurdity stands out by today's standards. But overall, I embrace the campiness as it makes the show 100% more enjoyable. Even at its worst, this show still remains fun to watch, like you can't help but have a good time watching them. While I still prefer more current Lupin the Third content I can still enjoy this older series for what it is.
Anyway this show is dumb as hell, I love it.
ORIGINALLY REVIEWED ON 02/17/2024
