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[Dragoon En Regalia]

That's Penne, just another goon who plays golf and, thus, has to dress like a country club member. Or something. He could be Lupin, if he kept switching himself with the real Penne or some stunt double, but anything can happen in the next half-hour with these shows!

One thing I've been mulling over: the ED's main connection back to the OP is that Fujiko is either naked or, at the most, somewhat half-naked throughout. I don't think the fact that she's mostly nude in the OP and ED combined hints at a potential rape-filled childhood, or child prostitution and its variants. It's just another way of saying, quite figuratively, that her mental state is in the buff, that she's quick to read and easily-exposed. That is, after all, what Lupin and Oscar have both done time and time again throughout the series, making the owl imagery more profound and fitting (if, somehow, it all relates back to Lupin).

—I don't think the average Lupin production has this much character development, or at least it's not presented this obscurely. This whole series, so far, has felt like a combination of Masaak Osumi-style direction and style, with themes and utter insanity derived from the manga. That sums up why this show is so polarizing within the fanbase, I think this is why the show's been chunking up so many different reasons to love it and/or hate it, considering that most Lupin fans didn't start with Masaaki Osumi, or with a truly-amoral character in the ranks (in this case: a polar Zenigata, who certainly wasn't half-assed in terms of execution (they could have given him some redeeming trait to make him look more sociable, actually, but that would be half-assed, seeing as this Zenigata is a full opposite to the typical Zenigata character)). Sayo Yamamoto and crew have really been treading a fine line all-throughout, and they deserve some credit for making everything work to a reasonable degree, for the most part.

The shadows were really well-used throughout this episode—less crude lines and more finely-marked shading, which I feel works best in conveying depth and the manga-page feel they've been trying to capture.

 

[Envelope]

Lupin the 3rd 3

I think I liked this episode more than the rest of you did, even though it wasn't as good as the first 2.

Goemon has quite the stoic character, but the little snippets of personality that peeked out were fun to see.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Cross-postin':

I really like the newest Lupin episode, especially now that I've watched the sub. Oscar's the super-Fujiko:

Spoiler

he found an incoming student who's new to the academy and happens to have nearly the exact same facial structure and body structure—took her clothes and general appearance, and shmoozes Fujiko into a hard place. And then he gets distracted when the rest of his elaborate plans fail, simply because he's fucking suck-up to KEIBU.

Doesn't get any better than that. I'm now very confident that he'll be written out of the show by the end, simply because, unlike Lupin and Fujiko, he's not got very good foresight, and his backup plans are currently non-existent. A very full-frontal kind of actor and detective. Oh well.

Still a very polarizing series. But that's how you get more viewers.

 

[Cwarrior]

Fujiko 2

Great episode better then the last one, I wasn't ready for that catchy soundtrack in later half, it had me nodding my head to it and rewatching it 3 times.

so much class

I like the ed track but the ed is ruined by naked young fujiko pics

Fujiwhore 3

this episode was ok but kinda meh thanks to plot feeling like one you already seen before(uninteresting) but not bad , I did like how the show avoids rectoning the first series.

Fujiwhore 4

zengata is an ass man

-I still don't know what oscar is , I went from seeing the character design thinking that was a woman but after ep 1 "huh oh anime that's a dude" to now "huh his wearing high heels? is he a tranny?"

The main issue with this show is someone thought it was a good idea to make show about the least interesting character in the Lupin world, the power seduction is all there is to fuijko, lucky the weekly guest stars make an appearance to make it interesting.

Fujiko ep5

While I didn't really like the action scenes since there were a bit too difficult to make out in the darkness, overall I quite liked this episode thanks to the whole peacock riddles, the last one with the red peacock was pretty good.

Whoever did episode 2 needs to work on more episodes.

 

[Dresden]

I think it's kinda ironic that the best koikelupan episodes so far have been ones without the kind of flamboyant animation we'd (or at least I did) expected when this production was just a rumor. Enjoyed six, a lot.

re: flashback (the show makes it pretty clear it's significant by making it as annoying and jarring as possible)

There's just a lot of overt sexual imagery in the dream, stuff like choking on rats*, the gagging, the comment about recording, the blood/tear/saliva, etc, not to mention the situation she was in at the time of her dream. Tied up, defeated, with Oscar on the cusp of debauching her. It does feel like molestation. Fujiko's sexuality is as much a prison as it is liberation, anyways. Or maybe I listened to Loveline too much at work when I was eighteen. (Dr. Drew: "Oh, you have a problem of some sort? Tell me, were you raped as a child?")

Also, Oscar basically pours a libation on her. Lol. Fertile soil! An offering!

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

5 has had the best animation so far, and it's a really-good episode. Don't give me that shit about being unable to make things out in the dark—that's why you don't watch the low-light Funi sub first!

Fujiko is a character that's naturally going to lend herself to an interesting premise, more so than an interesting personality. That's the main weakness of her character and, as a result, the show in general. Everything has to add up eventually, or the whole focus will have been wasted. That this show is working at all, with wildly-inconsistent and variable directions taken for each episode, is rather odd. I guess, however, that Fujiko's going to develop into a different kind of heist bottom-feeder, starting out with little to no standards at all and ending up as a more experienced, clever kind of screw-up backstabber. The relationship between Lupin and Fujiko seems to be a big part of her development as well. Overall, though, Zenigata is just as pure and premise-based as Fujiko, and he's so far been the least interesting character in this series outside of the fact that his personality's done a complete 180 from the usual.

 

[Lafiel]

Episode 6 was really awesome, probably my favorite episode in the series - maybe it's cuz I'm a sucker for a nice atmosphere and lesbians, both of what this episode had in spades.

 

[Drkirby]

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3sdilxr081r73plvo1_500.gif[/IMG

[B]Lupin III: A woman named Fujiko Mine - Prison of Love.[/B]

I feel disappointed to mirror what I said last week, but again, I didn't enjoy this as much as everyone else has seemed too. The story was good and the animation was nice... but once again, this is not why I watch and love the Lupin franchise. I thoroughly enjoyed episodes one to three, but four to six have all left me with complaints / little niggles that just wont allow me to enjoy the episodes.

As for this episode, episode six, there was only one part of it I really enjoyed (and it only lasted for about twenty seconds.) [SPOILER]When Zenigata and Oscar are in the office together and Zenigata receives the Lupin calling card. Before he read the card he was happy to send Oscar out on the assignment, but after seeing it he got quite excited and wanted to go himself.[/SPOILER] This is how Zenigata should and always has acted. I really like that aspect of his character. He has to capture Lupin and he is the only one capable of doing it.

The [SPOILER]flashback sequence[/SPOILER] with Fujiko was unsettling and I just do not like Oscar's character. I can understand why he / she has so many fans and I don't mind that... he / she just isn't a character I can get along with and enjoy.

So yeah... another disappointing episode for me. I still think the major problem this series has is that it's about Fujiko and not a more likeable character. I can appreciate this "hard and dangerous" side of things, but there are other way to convey said message than this.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, this sums up my feelings of the episode really well. The only two scenes I liked where the one with Zenigata you brought up and [spoiler]the one where the girls bust out the machines guns on Lupin, even if it never was really explained well[/spoiler]

The side characters make no sense in this episode, and I also don't like Oscar.

This episode just had me saying "wat" over and over again.

 

[duckroll]

http://www.storyriders.net/news/7-1.php

Dai Sato is writing tonight's episode "Music and Revolution". I hope it's better than ep3. That was meh.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

It had the same problem that ep 4 had: inappropriate contexts and division of development. Goemon's first-ever introduction in a Lupin TV series—episode 5 of the Masaaki Osumi saga—did a great job of fitting to an appropriate context to develop Goemon and his early relationship with Lupin, which was in the midst of a plot

Spoiler

revolving around Goemon's master just happening to want both Goemon and Lupin dead, so that he may have no competition at such an old age.

The plot for this series' third episode takes place in an unfitting context to develop the air of tension and distrust that's naturally between Lupin and Goemon, or Goemon and Fujiko, for that matter. It just doesn't work as naturally as the previous example did (does), and the general pacing of the episode was lame too. Not to mention that not enough came out of the actual heist itself, and I was left wondering if Fujiko really came for the belt, the artefacts, or both or neither!

Halfway through an inconsistent series, and the most any of us can hope for is that it gets really good, because it can never be exceptional at this point. Then again, I seem to favor the whole series more than the majority of Anime-GAF does anyway, so either my standards are low or I value different flaws over others.

All I know is: Chinatown was the best movie I ever just watched before going to bed. And maybe that's why I'm feeling shifty. Best of luck to Dai Sato.

 

[Drkirby]

http://www.storyriders.net/news/7-1.php

Dai Sato is writing tonight's episode "Music and Revolution". I hope it's better than ep3. That was meh.

I still don't see the dislike for Episode 3, I found it to be pretty good.

 

[duckroll]

Episode 7

I really enjoyed this episode. The show is definitely becoming more creative and "free" in terms of how they handle the stories, and I'm very glad for that. I found the scenario outstanding this week. Very smart story direction, and a great homage to films of this sort. I'll rather not say what it is so others can enjoy it for themselves, but Dai Sato did a great job this week. The music this week was also really good. The production values were pretty low, but the art wasn't bad. Large parts of the episode had no animation at all though, but that didn't bother me that much, since at least it wasn't boring.

 

[Tizoc]

Watched the first 4 episodes and the fanservice is delicious~
Dunno how I feel about the plots of the episodes so far though.
I'm not too familiar with Lupin but a few questions-
1- I take it's common for Lupin to utilize random stuff that he pulls out of nowhere to assist him in his heists right?
2- Was Zenigata this compitent in past Lupin manga and animated series?

 

[checkeredknight]

Episode 7

I really enjoyed this episode. The show is definitely becoming more creative and "free" in terms of how they handle the stories, and I'm very glad for that. I found the scenario outstanding this week. Very smart story direction, and a great homage to films of this sort. I'll rather not say what it is so others can enjoy it for themselves, but Dai Sato did a great job this week. The music this week was also really good. The production values were pretty low, but the art wasn't bad. Large parts of the episode had no animation at all though, but that didn't bother me that much, since at least it wasn't boring.

Hmm. I'm hoping I enjoy this as much as you did. I think I might cry if I get yet another episode like the past three.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

How good are your translation skills, DR? Subs don't come out that quick.

 

[checkeredknight]

I'm not too familiar with Lupin but a few questions-
1- I take it's common for Lupin to utilize random stuff that he pulls out of nowhere to assist him in his heists right?
2- Was Zenigata this compitent in past Lupin manga and animated series?

1- Yes. His gadgets are most often toys, as well. The yo-yo he uses to grapple onto a chandelier and escape from the police always sticks in my mind (which was in one of the specials / movies, possibly Dead or Alive...)

2- Zenigata would go to the ends of the earth to capture Lupin. There's nothing more he wants from life. He gets so caught up in this constant chase, he often neglects family and his own health. He would however, never kill Lupin and wants him taken in alive. He has a strong sense of duty like that, he is a police officer after all. If he finds anyone trying to kill Lupin, he'll often yell at them telling them to stop. He's the best cop on the force, but Lupin is the most slippery thief in the world.

In the early manga, he's much different. Much more in tune to what you're seeing in this spin-off. He can be stone faced, calm and will kill if necessary to capture Lupin.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

The super-sharp razor nail Lupin uses in episode 4 of the first series has always been a favorite of mine. Way difficult to get that in undetected, but Lupin found a way. And he apparently keeps one on him at all times? Who knows!

 

[duckroll]

2 days is not very long to wait.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Just wondering! Because you're very quick to get the full package or, at least, give that impression when you post a summary on GAF.

I've got more than enough to worry about these days. Lupin just happens to come into my mind when necessary.

 

[duckroll]

Just wondering! Because you're very quick to get the full package or, at least, give that impression when you post a summary on GAF.

I've got more than enough to worry about these days. Lupin just happens to come into my mind when necessary.

Yeah I understand the show fine. I just don't see the point of translating it when FUNimation is already doing it for free in the same week it airs. Waste of time and effort, since they probably do a better job anyway.

 

[checkeredknight]

Lupin III: A woman named Fujiko Mine - Music and Revolution.

What am I watching? This isn't Lupin the Third. The story was okay and it was better than last week's tripe. Still, this isn't Lupin. I might actually skip watching the rest of the series...

 

[duckroll]

Yeah, it's not Lupin. It's Fujiko. Says so right there in the title!

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Is the original manga Lupin, then? Or does it have to be what Miyazaki & Takahata did with the character relationships to be Lupin? Couldn't there be room for both?

 

[checkeredknight]

Yeah, it's not Lupin. It's Fujiko. Says so right there in the title!

But it's not as good. The setting may have been cool in this one, but... it's not fun. It's not exciting. There are no hilarious and ingenious heists. It is for the most part, boring. Confusing. Fujiko isn't a very appealing character, Goemon was the only redeeming thing about this episode for me. I started off liking the first three episodes so much... what went wrong?

Each to their own. I'm not saying people who like it are wrong. It's good it's getting the franchise some attention and new viewers. I realise the problem now though. I enjoy watching Lupin, not Fujiko. It's a shame, since I've wanted a new TV series for years now. I could re-watch Green, Red and Pink jacket countless times. This... I can't imagine ever going back to this.

Is the original manga Lupin, then? Or does it have to be what Miyazaki & Takahata did with the character relationships to be Lupin? Couldn't there be room for both?

You have a point and I agree with you. I think I and many other fans prefer the Miyazaki & Takahata Lupin, though. After thirty years without a new series, I would be lying to say I'm not disappointed when they went with the manga style Lupin to the degree that they have.

 

[duckroll]

I found ep3-4 really boring, but it has definitely been getting more interesting since then. Fujiko is still a terrible character, but the scenarios they're building around her are more interesting of late. What they've ultimately decided to do with the series is to not limit it to a just caper show, but rather use the character of Fujiko and her myriad disguises to explore different types of genres and parody them in a retro style. It has worked pretty well in the last two weeks imo, and I've been having a good time.

 

[checkeredknight]

I found ep3-4 really boring, but it has definitely been getting more interesting since then. Fujiko is still a terrible character, but the scenarios they're building around her are more interesting of late. What they've ultimately decided to do with the series is to not limit it to a just caper show, but rather use the character of Fujiko and her myriad disguises to explore different types of genres and parody them in a retro style. It has worked pretty well in the last two weeks imo, and I've been having a good time.

True. I'm not mad at them trying new things and taking the series in different directions... it just doesn't appeal to me as much.

I re-watched the 2011 Pachinko machine animation, a video that got me real hyped for this series. It shows the sort of thing I was expecting... which I guess explains why I have ultimately ended up quite disappointed.

 

[wonzo]

KoikeLupin 7

no wonder Fiadel Kestro's such a hit with the ladies. dat swag

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

There's a difference between well-produced and well-targeted. It may not be the usual kind of Lupin we're used to (Sayo's combined the Osumi episodes with some more Monkey Punch-like elements in this series), but it is, for the most part, a pretty-good show so far. 3 and 4 are the only mediocre episodes IMO, and the last two eps have been really-good.

 

[/XX/]

I re-watched the 2011 Pachinko machine animation, a video that got me real hyped for this series. It shows the sort of thing I was expecting... which I guess explains why I have ultimately ended up quite disappointed.

I think there is a big difference between both things. That kind of products (like 'pachinko' machines) based on properties are made for people to associate them in the most obvious and nostalgic way with the image this users have of the franchise. Those are made to satisfy what anyone can expect of Lupin the Third in a simple, flashy and attractive manner.

A new series appeases the creative minds of a staff behind this project, so you can see more freedom and the necessity to make things different, something they can call their own. This is specially evident if the 40th anniversary of the first animated outings starring these characters creates a paved road the producers can take advantage of to be more rupturist and fresh in a new show.

 

[Ultimadrago]

Lupin III: A Woman named Fujiko Mine 7

We start off with some good ol' BDSM. Something for everyone, etc,etc

I heard y'all like planes.

Goemon, why you doing this to me homeboy?

Nah, it's not his fault (

Spoiler

How could it be when he was there for all of 3 seconds?

). However, I wasn't feeling this episode at all. Besides chucking at some "Fatlantic Ocean" here and some

Spoiler

"Kestro"

there.

This episode was largely boring.

Cold War fiction stuff, mostly focused on the ideals of

Spoiler

Kestro

and those "barely" playing off of Fujiko and Goemon getting that "friend zone

Spoiler

(Yeah, she calls him "Mr.Boyfriend playfully, but he didn't even get to rub her back with lotion!" Hmm, well there was an edit after his facial expression to the idea and he had a bottle in his hands in the following scene...yet even if he did she still left him to fiddle with Kestro! "Friend Zone" material to me!

" status.

It would seem I spoke too soon about this series' "getting better again" after the last episode.

Cheap shot, easy way out (that is not even definitive in quality assurance) request: Bring back Lupin and/or Jigen, etc, etc.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Cheap shot, easy way out (that is not even definitive in quality assurance) request: Bring back Lupin and/or Jigen, etc, etc.

The simplest solutions for the most complex problems.

What they need to do now is develop Fujiko's fucking background. Seriously: we've had enough of the crazy flashbacks, let's start making connections and getting into series-end stride. Interweave that with more development and degradation for Oscar and Zenigata, not forgetting Lupin and company, and this can all work out in the end.

 

[IC_Champion]

That was a "unique" episode.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

i like it

 

[Dresden]

Episode seven was pretty good. Not a lot of animation but the art was pretty nice (and the shading was actually used pretty well most of the time this episode). Liked the mock-serious political scenario and Fidel Kaestro's* swag was enough to elicit a reaction for Fujiko, in what was one of her more honest moments, or so I assumed. A good bit of absurd humor built up then let loose with two slashes of Goemon's sword.

*(more Che than Castro)

This was a fucking eyesore though:

 

[duckroll]

YES!! I'm not the only one who liked Ep7. I don't feel crazy anymore!

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Ben at Anipages liked it mainly because of the script, actually. But this episode, once again, is quite divisive, and I still think it's mediocre—maybe.

 

[The Boat]

I liked ep 7, but I would still like some more Lupin craziness.

 

[Jex]

Thanks. Interestingly enough, those scenes seem to also be the most "distant" scenes of the owl, and presented in a way where it's very specifically "always watching" the scene. The Jigen one is interesting, because the owl is actually winking? Lol.

In the Pyramid the owl appears in a scene with just Jigen, but then the very next sequence Lupin appears. So it seems pretty clear that Lupin is tied to the owl. Of course, if it's appearing for other characters it's more difficult to argue that it's simply Fujiko who see's Lupin as an owl.

 

[Kazzy]

The main issue with this show is someone thought it was a good idea to make show about the least interesting character in the Lupin world, the power seduction is all there is to fuijko, lucky the weekly guest stars make an appearance to make it interesting.

So, that's a problem with the character in general? I ask because I'm new to the Lupin world, weirdly this is the point where I have decided to jump on.

I think the premise is fine, as Fukijo seems to be the most versatile character, at least in the sense she can be adapted to the multitude of scenarios on show easily. Although I will agree on the fact that she compliments the supporting cast, in the sense that they are the more interesting characters overall, her role being the catalyst more than anything.

Maybe this is just me, but I get the impression that Fukijo is a horrible criminal, nearly everything she does relies on happenstance, and even then she rarely has anything to show from it! Again, this might be something to do with the adaptation itself, I'm not entirely sure.

Those are not really complaints though, I'm having a lot of fun watching the show, which maybe speaks to me being a newcomer. I seem to share the general opinion, episode 6 was the strongest, probably alongside 2 as my favorite. I hope the show will now start to develop a more consistent formula though, at least one that draws in the entire cast.

 

[Lupin the Third]

You have a point and I agree with you. I think I and many other fans prefer the Miyazaki & Takahata Lupin, though. After thirty years without a new series, I would be lying to say I'm not disappointed when they went with the manga style Lupin to the degree that they have.

If you actually go back and READ the manga, though, there's a lot of silly moments in most stories. From what I am seeing and hearing about these more recent episodes, they are lacking in that duality that Monkey Punch's Lupin stories had and went straight for the dry, serious version with very little comedy to mix it up. Seems like the show is lacking a balance.

Disclaimer: I haven't actually watched anything past Ep. 2, so this is definitely a filtered opinion. Please let me know how wrong I am.

e: Kazuma: Fujiko is just an extremely selfish character. She will go through great lengths to steal something or double-cross Lupin out of it just so she can rub it on herself in the bathtub. Her selfishness is pretty much all she is, outside of her on-and-off "love" for Lupin.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

There's only been one episode so far that balances serious drama with gags, and that was ep 5, the Shin Itagaki episode. It's definitely an extreme series thus far, without any of the balance that Masaaki Osumi brought to the opening GJ episodes. And Fujiko, try as Sayo and the writers might, just isn't as interesting as Lupin or Jigen on principle. I actually think that she's more interesting than Zenigata, that said, but Monkey Punch's always put more effort into developing and detailing his male characters than his women, who are usually objectified albeit self-aware of their image. Fujiko, really, is just a generic MP woman, though she acts as the singular manifestation of common traits that define Kazuhito Kato's women characters throughout his bibliography.

 

[Lupin the Third]

There's only been one episode so far that balances serious drama with gags, and that was ep 5, the Shin Itagaki episode. It's definitely an extreme series thus far, without any of the balance that Masaaki Osumi brought to the opening GJ episodes. And Fujiko, try as Sayo and the writers might, just isn't as interesting as Lupin or Jigen on principle. I actually think that she's more interesting than Zenigata, that said, but Monkey Punch's always put more effort into developing and detailing his male characters than his women, who are usually objectified albeit self-aware of their image. Fujiko, really, is just a generic MP woman, though she acts as the singular manifestation of common traits that define Kazuhito Kato's women characters throughout his bibliography.

I think the problem the new series is running into is that it's feigning a sense of depth. Ohsumi and later the Miya/Taka team at A Pro never claimed such a thing: the show was admittedly shallow. Guns, women, stealing and a good, fun ride with reasonably good pacing. And of course, at the end of each Monkey Punch story (and most TV episodes) there's some trick or twist ending. That's about it.

The series couldn't hurt from having a little meat added to the cast, but "Fujiko" has only alluded to backstory for...well, Fujiko. And even that so far hasn't been so enlightening. The rest of the cast remain relatively undeveloped but it feels like they spout personal philosophies to each other more often than normal people would, like they're trying to show "see, these characters are deep, too!" But we don't really SEE it or FEEL it. It's all flash and smoke and mirrors. They want people to feel like there's story and character depth when there isn't any...the pretentious-feeling OP seems to say as much.

Again, haven't seen past Episode 2, so I may be totally off the mark with all of this theorizing. Again, correct me as needed.

BTW, who's still in the "Oscar's really a woman" pool? I'm halfway between "man" and "woman" at this point, from everything I've seen and heard. I did a little write-up on the ties between Lupin and the Rose of Versailles' Oscar.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

I think the problem the new series is running into is that it's feigning a sense of depth. Ohsumi and later the Miya/Taka team at A Pro never claimed such a thing: the show was admittedly shallow. Guns, women, stealing and a good, fun ride with reasonably good pacing. And of course, at the end of each Monkey Punch story (and most TV episodes) there's some trick or twist ending. That's about it.

Pretty much. This series is doing a great job of varying up the episode staff and scenarios, but it's still Monkey Punch to an MP, and that's never going to change. What does stick out is that it's definitely got a style of its own, and certain episodes have worked to accentuate and develop this Sayo Yamamoto style further. This latest episode, I think, just plain hurts the series progression, but that's implying there's much progression to begin with, considering how different each episode is.

The series couldn't hurt from having a little meat added to the cast, but "Fujiko" has only alluded to backstory for...well, Fujiko. And even that so far hasn't been so enlightening. The rest of the cast remain relatively undeveloped but it feels like they spout personal philosophies to each other more often than normal people would, like they're trying to show "see, these characters are deep, too!" But we don't really SEE it or FEEL it. It's all flash and smoke and mirrors. They want people to feel like there's story and character depth when there isn't any...the pretentious-feeling OP seems to say as much.

Saying the show is pretentious, though, is where I draw the line. The OP might be rather elaborate, but it's not pretentious—it says exactly what it needs to say, gets Fujiko's internal monologue out of the way, and provides a stark opening contrast to everything else from the same season. There is depth here, though it's definitely centered around the growing relationships between Fujiko and others. This latest episode didn't do as much as the last two did to develop characters like Lupin, Jigen, or even Goemon to an extent. But it's when people start using the word "pretentious" that their arguments begin to hold pretension in themselves. There is development, shaky as it is, and most of the characterization so far is fascinating enough to hold sway.

Again, haven't seen past Episode 2, so I may be totally off the mark with all of this theorizing. Again, correct me as needed.

BTW, who's still in the "Oscar's really a woman" pool? I'm halfway between "man" and "woman" at this point, from everything I've seen and heard. I did a little write-up on the ties between Lupin and the Rose of Versailles' Oscar.

We don't know what he is, except that he's infatuated with strict authoritarian rule/bondage and, by proxy, Zenigata. He's also so elaborate and heavy, both in execution and simply when soliloquizing, that he falls over every time his complex plans fail to deliver results. Something that Fujiko and Lupin both know how to avoid with their impressive adaptability and caprice.

 

[checkeredknight]

If you actually go back and READ the manga, though, there's a lot of silly moments in most stories. From what I am seeing and hearing about these more recent episodes, they are lacking in that duality that Monkey Punch's Lupin stories had and went straight for the dry, serious version with very little comedy to mix it up. Seems like the show is lacking a balance.

I have read about five volumes of the original manga, a few of Lupin Jr. and two of Worlds Most Wanted. This was the point I was trying to get across, I guess I just didn't word it very well. I enjoy the manga's much more than I have these recent few episodes of Fujiko, mainly because they do lack the little silly jokes like the manga's had (as you stated.) They've just been a little boring, or have had character niggles that have stopped me enjoying things. Still, I much preferred the later Green Jacket / Red Jacket material to the manga's.

 

[Kazzy]

I have read about five volumes of the original manga, a few of Lupin Jr. and two of Worlds Most Wanted. This was the point I was trying to get across, I guess I just didn't word it very well. I enjoy the manga's much more than I have these recent few episodes of Fujiko, mainly because they do lack the little silly jokes like the manga's had (as you stated.) They've just been a little boring, or have had character niggles that have stopped me enjoying things. Still, I much preferred the later Green Jacket / Red Jacket material to the manga's.

It's probably fair to say that Lupin himself is the only character that alleviates that problem.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Episode 5 had a lot of humor in it, and it had plenty of Lupin/Jigen scenes too. In fact: episode 5 was the most Osumi-esque episode yet, mainly because of the way it was balanced between humor, spelunking, and interesting plot stuff. Not to forget the characterization, too!

Shin Itagaki needs to do another episode, methinks.

 

[LordCanti]

Just watched Episode 7 (D3 got in the way). What...the bloody hell..was that? The directing was choppy (do we really need to cut to random dates multiple times? Who could keep track?), the animation was often terrible, etc. I guess the callbacks to earlier Lupin shows were nice (Goemon on a biplane, a world leader with a slightly different name) but where is the humor? The fun? The only enjoyment I got out of the entire episode was Goemon's dopey face any time she called him "Boyfriendo-san".

I'm a sad panda right now. This is not what I wanted.

 

[duckroll]

http://mantan-web.jp/2012/05/23/20120522dog00m200062000c.html

Some relevant news for fans of the series:

- The series will be released on DVD and blu-ray on Sept 19 2012 in a box set.

- The DVD set will cost 15,540yen, while the BD set will be 19,740yen. Substantially cheaper than normal anime releases in Japan.

- The final two episodes (12-13) will be a two-part finale. They're going to try to prevent spoilers for the climax by withholding episode synopsis from this point onwards.


Edit: I forgot to mention, there are a bunch of screens in that link, which I think are from tonight's episode.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

I wonder just how much of the budget they've been conserving for these last episodes, just in the off-chance that there's an alternate explanation for the shifty quality of the animation and production quality throughout the series. Probably not that much would be conserved, though—best to sell myself short here.

 

[dimb]

Edit: I forgot to mention, there are a bunch of screens in that link, which I think are from tonight's episode.

Huh, that one guy with the funny head was from episode two. Wonder if there will be much continuity.