Lupin the IIIrd: Zenigata and the Two Lupins

I watched this today to prepare for Lupin the 3rd Immortal Bloodline coming out in the US in a few days, and I have to say, of all the Koike Lupin OVAs, this one has to be the best one, by far. It makes a lot of sense though, considering its the final puzzle piece in the series before the big movie, so what's coming is starting to fall into place. However I think this one does it better than the last ova, Fujiko's Lie, which while it did start to attach stuff together into the plot, it was mostly the Lupin and Jigen Bplot that helped push that while Fujiko did her own thing, while the others on the side were doing the important stuff. Here though its given much more focus given through Zenigata's eyes as he slowly uncovers the pieces that Lupin has gathered over the past films. This entry feels the most distinct of the whole batch, while it does focus on a central antagonist the group must fight, considering Zenigata's focus allows this entry to be structured like a crime thriller movie, with the clmiax not revolving on whether the MC of that entry can beat the assassin antagonist of the film, but rather uncover the grander plot revolving around the secret Mamo island (its probably Mamo, idk if it actually is, he looks like Mamo) and Zenigata's worldview compared to Lupin. Its a much richer character focused story compared to action one of the previous ones, not to say those are bad, I love Jigen's Gravestone and Goemons Bloodspray a lot despite their simpler approach, but I think the way its handled I think it well done. All of these Koike Lupin projects have been good and my ranking is as follows before watching the new one 1. Zenigata and the Two Lupins 2. Jigen's Gravestone 3. Goemon's Bloodspray 4. Fujiko's Lie Can't wait for Immortal Bloodline!!! Such a long break in between Fujiko and Zenigata though, lol.

Lupin III: Zenigata and the Two Lupins is my first exposure to Takeshi Koike's take on the franchise, and if this is any indication of how the rest will go, then I am more than a bit intrigued. The tone is very serious in this iteration, with a focus on terrorism, political scheming, and how far a sense of justice can really take you, and while the big plot reveal does strain suspension of disbelief just a tad, it still strikes a resonant chord with the modern distrust towards any forms of extreme power and the cavalier attitude with which those in power treat theirsubjects. The fake Lupin proved to be incredibly captivating despite very little being revealed about him, and Zenigata’s struggle with understanding the indifference of those around him gives this story a strong heart as the plot pushes forward. It’s also a very graphic take on Lupin this time around, with far more gore and dismemberment than I was expecting, as well as a series of terrifyingly well-animated explosions, though it also has a tendency to dole out a bit too much plot armor when Lupin and Jigen are too close to any given detonation. Action aside, this one’s just really great to look at in general, sporting a richness to its color palette despite the bleakly depressing Totally Not Russian setting, though the CG crown shots did draw me out of the moment more than once. I’m still fairly new to Lupin as a franchise, with this being the fourth entry I’ve finished so far, but it’s the sheer variety and creativity that keep me coming back, and this new entry more than scratches that particular itch.

The movie starts off with Zenigata blocking an airport bomb explosion with his briefcase. And survives... Zenigata is the main character of the movie. But unfortunately its the super cereal Zenigata who i dont find really entertaining. Lupin and Jigen are there. They exist but they dont really get that much screen time. Also Fujiko is there. She is there to show her tits. Nothing else. And at the very end of the movie Gooey Man shows up. And delivers his one and only line in the movie. The villain is also not interesting. Its a Lupin doppelganger. I feel like the Lupin copycat plot has been done enough times.Its just not that interesting here. I dont really know what it adds to the plot. The movie title translates to "Zenigata and the Two Lupins". But the fact that there are two Lupin is so superfluous I dont even know why its there. It feels really generic and cliche. You even have a tough soviet female commander with a scar on her face. Thats how by the numbers this is. It would have been better if this was a story about a mysterious bomber that the main characters needed to uncover. But there isn't much of a mystery here. Everything is made pretty obvious from the start. This isn't necessarily a bad movie. I just dont know why it needed to exist.