Welcome to our episode review of Lupin III: Part 6!

Our review is from the perspective of a “hardcore” Lupin III fan, who has seen every episode, film, and special the series has had to offer since its animated inception in 1969. The author's perspective on modern anime however, is lacking. When it comes to anime, we exclusively watch Lupin III, so cannot compare it to other shows on the market. Instead, we can only compare it with Lupin media of the past.

Be aware that there are SPOILERS ahead.

Please only read on if you either have seen the episode already, or do not mind learning about important character interactions and pivotal plot points in advance.

“Episode 5 and Episode 6 ~ The Imperial City Dreams of Thieves” is the first two-parter of Lupin III: Part 6, and is written by celebrated novelist and part of the new traditionalist movement in Japanese mystery writing, Taku Ashibe.

Both episodes, as with all guest written episodes of Part 6 thus far, are loosely based on famous crime fiction — specifically, the works Edogawa Ranpo, and his character, Detective Kogoro Akechi.

Thankfully, unlike Mamoru Oshii’s preceding episode, knowledge of the source material is not required to enjoy Taku Ashibe’s two part storyline. Well-known fictional characters such as Kogoro Akechi, the Black Lizard and the Golden Mask do make an appearance of sorts — however, all are introduced in a way that makes sense to those unfamiliar with them.

That is to say; Lupin himself is equally unfamiliar, and is filled with questions regarding his situation.

The hero of this story is our modern-day thief, who has been, seemingly on accident, transported back in time to 1930s Japan. This isekai style narrative template, while popular across anime as a whole, is new to the Lupin III franchise. It was only recently introduced as part of an ongoing manga, in Neighbour World Princess.

Thankfully, the concept works fine in animated form, and makes for a “just okay” one-shot storyline that reminds me of the sort of experimentation seen across various Lupin III television specials seen throughout the years.

The first episode of this two parter wastes no time, and (quite literally) drops Lupin right into 1930s Japan.

After a brief moment of fluster, our hero begins to quickly accept the situation he has been placed within.

Donning the same outfit as the gentleman thief from the Edogawa Ranpo’s stories, the Golden Mask, Lupin escapes the clutches of “Inspector Zenigata” (appearing as Inspector Namikoshi) and the law, and is lifted out of the situation by air. The copter is piloted by none other than the Black Lizard, a classic femme fatale with, in this tale, looks similar to that of Fujiko Mine.

As modern-day Lupin begins interacting with the characters of the past, the clever writing of Taku Ashibe is made apparent.

In the original stories, the Golden Mask is a disguise of the original Arsène Lupin. Certain characters in Ashibe’s tale are already aware of this fact, and therefore naturally refer to the thief as “Lupin” — which, while confusing for our thief initially, becomes explained thanks to the Black Lizard.

The famous fictional detective Kogoro Akechi quickly makes an appearance, and bests the Japanese Imperial Army at “protecting” a stolen Chinese treasure — a clock created under the order of Toghon Temür, the last Khagan of the Yuan Dynasty.

A plucky young archaeologist named Ms. Ruriko, and her Mongolian “partner”, who helped maintain and unearth the treasure, are transporting it to “safety” back in Japan. This is a rather usual and naïve spin on the pilfering committed by the Imperial Japanese of the time, which, in reality, was quite the opposite of “protection” (phew, we’re nearly all out of air quotes)! Naturally, Lupin gains an interest in said treasure, with the hope it has answers as to how he ended up back in the 1930s.

The first part reaches its climatic end as an aggressive Ishikawa Goemon makes the most dramatic appearance he possibly can, shouting about his arrival and slashing at Lupin in an attempt to protect the young archaeologist. Viewers are left speculating if this Goemon is one of modern day, or of the past — but either way, he looks identical unlike other familiar faces. There was a solid joke set up here — one about Goemon’s character never changing over the years, but ultimately it isn’t followed through.

A decent portion from the episode five feels like set up for episode six, however it still successfully balances narrative exposition with some fun action and character focussed scenes, exploring the rather unique setting.

I particularly enjoyed the scene where the young archaeologist, Ms. Ruriko, attempts to remove Inspector Namikoshi’s face on the train, thinking it’s the Golden Mask in disguise. This, plus the telegram switcheroo from Kogoro Akechi, felt like classic Lupin III capers to me.

The cliffhanger at the end is good, and the story keeps a nice pace throughout, using its runtime wisely. It left a good impression, and I was excited to watch the second part.

Episode six picks right up where episode five left off, but quickly stumbles around and turns into a bit of a mess.

Ms. Ruriko and her partner get kidnapped by the Imperial Japanese Army, and both Lupin and Detective Kogoro Akechi dash to their rescue. Ms. Ruriko has some nice screen time while captured, remaining strong and optimistic. She manages to shine here, but only for a brief moment.

Lupin and Kogoro Akechi show up to assist their escape, and the bunch return to the location in which the treasure is being kept, only to be met with several giant glass walls descending upon them. Reality begins to break, and it is made clear that there is more than meets the eye to this historic Japanese setting.

Character identities are revealed thick and fast, with Ishikawa Goemon being that of the modern day (which involves a neat bit of detective work from Lupin in regard to his beloved Zantetsuken sword). “Jigen” is Yoshiaki Hongo, a military detective working as a Major in the Japanese Imperial Army in an attempt to arrest more evil members of the Japanese Imperial Army. This was a twist I feel did not excuse his depiction throughout the episodes. Ms. Ruriko’s partner is in fact royalty, a male and directly related to Genghis Khan.

Then suddenly, the big reveal — Lupin speaks to the sky and acknowledges “those out there”. This is to say, he and Goemon Ishikawa XIII are trapped inside a virtual reality simulation, and escape by setting the machine to self-destruct.

It is certainly the weaker of the two episodes, riddled with story reveal after story reveal, only to be met with a rather unexpected and unsatisfying ending. Troubled writing from the mystery writer.

Overall, then, episodes five and six have a unique and interesting set up, but don’t quite stick the landing.

Taku Ashibe made good use of the time in the first episode to establish characters and story, but the second episode made me feel like the tale could have warranted a third episode. Both the second and third acts feel as if they are packed into the second episode, and it comes off as rushed as a result of this.

The virtual reality twist feels rather Monkey Punch-ian on paper, however, we learn very little about the world outside the simulation and the characters that are inflicting this upon our thieves. A brief explanation is given — the two become trapped when scoping out a new treasure, only to be captured by those also looking to obtain it, but it didn’t feel sufficient or intriguing enough to me.

The focus was, then, solely on the characters within the virtual world, who are also revealed to have links to reality. Unfortunately, it is unlikely we will ever see them again, and going by the source material, I feel Lupin’s interactions with the likes of the Black Lizard and Kogoro Akechi were a rather missed opportunity.

One note of concern regarding both episodes involves “Jigen” (Yoshiaki Hongo)’s position in the story.

Our favourite gunslinger can be seen dressed as an acting member of the Imperial Japanese Army, the ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan active from 1868 to 1945.

While a notable force of 1930s Japan, the involvement of a beloved character in this role has, understandably, caused quite a stir. This is especially the case for those living in countries that have been so harshly affected by this movement.

High-ranking officers from the Imperial Japanese Army were no strangers to committing heinous war crimes, for their disregard and mistreatment of women, plus much more. Their atrocious actions have been confirmed to have caused millions of needless deaths.

Having “Jigen” in this role, despite his armies villainous portrayal and later “army detective” reveal, is insensitive to fans living abroad. Although a regrettable fact of Japanese history, it is something we could have done without.

I sympathize with those upset by this inclusion, and feel that it is important that their rightful concerns are both heard and understood.

Another rather confusing characterization regards the relationship between Ms. Ruriko and her “partner”, Miss. Sarantuya.

The pair are implied lovers during episode five, which just happens to be a fact and is not made into a song and dance. This is something I appreciated, and thought the production team handled well.

However, a surprise in episode six unveils that Miss. Sarantuya is a Mr. Sarantuya. I felt this was a disappointing step backwards, as it took away a rare no-nonsense same-sex relationship and turned it into something we have seen done in Lupin III (and many other pieces of media) before. The team had the chance to create something normal and beautiful, but completely blew it on a rather unsatisfying twist instead.

In addition, Ms. Ruriko is from Japan, and technically with the Imperial soldiers (despite voicing her distaste for them and their ways).

The relationship between the two seems fantasy, and not true to life. I personally can suspend disbelief for the sake of the episodes, however, others cannot. Similarly to that of “Jigen’s” character, those from countries affected by the invasions of Imperial Japan are unhappy with the depiction of the relationship between the Mongols and the Japanese.

It is hard to look past this, and again, exposes what a romanticized representation of such a bloody, grim time period these episodes portray.

Despite problematic historial themes and a messy second episode, The Imperial City Dreams of Thieves is still a fun watch.

Unlike Masaki Tsuji with episode three, Taku Ashibe makes clever use of the source material he has drawn inspiration from, and integrates it into Lupin III in a relatively interesting way, despite the underwhelming ending.

This at times felt like classic Lupin, while also offering something new — a unique setting and perspective on beloved characters (for better and for worse). Classic Edogawa Ranpo characters, despite their relationships with Lupin feeling a little underdeveloped, felt at home in the series, and the isekai premise benefitted the unusual story decision to include these crime literature based episodes.

Regardless of their problems, both episodes gave me the most enjoyment I have had out of all the guest-written storylines featuring in Part 6 so far.

I would certainly not object to future involvement from Taku Ashibe within the series, and would love to see him tackle the slightly roomier television special format.

A huge thank you to Jinjini, who helped fact-check the information included in this review and offered valuable insight regarding the Japanese Imperial Army.

Included below are a few comments given from members of the Korean Lupin III fan base, with their thoughts on the “history” represented throughout episode five (as episode six had not aired at the time of contact / writing).

I hope you can enjoy the episode in your own way, but I encourage you to have a read of the following text with the aim to gain a better understanding of viewpoints from countries affected by this time period.

“To Korean audiences, also including other Asian countries, who have gone through the history of the Japanese imperialism's invasion… the following two key points from Lupin III: Part 6 (episode 5)'s story can be considered as an advocacy and a naïve, nostalgic modern-day approach toward the imperialism era.

Firstly, about Jigen's military uniform outfit.

Although episode 5's story did not fully explain why “Jigen” is wearing the uniform, there were some people disappointed. “Jigen” wearing the outfit can be interpreted as he is a representative member of Japanese imperialism. To Asian people who live in the country where once Japan had invaded, we all know that how the military force of that era's Japan were brutal and horrible toward colonial people. This is especially in regard to Comfort Women, the Nanking Massacre, etc.

Even after the 1950s and until nowadays, the Japanese government has not apologized about the things that they did to other countries. Yet still, in lots of Japanese media, people are glorifying this military force without facing these facts and making an apology. Had Japan made an apology and offered proper compensation toward past colonial countries, fans would likely not get so offended after seeing this kind of depiction of Jigen.

Secondly, we also want to talk about the vertical relationship between a Japanese archaeologist character and Mongolian maid.

In the show, Sarantuya is a girl from Mongolia who protects her family's treasure, until she met Ruriko the Japanese archaeologist.

Ruriko suggests that she is to bring the valuable automation clock to Japan, to protect the treasure from the unrest of Asia. Ridiculously, this unrest had been initiated by Imperial Japan itself. Ruriko seems like a character who doesn't want to be part of the imperialism rule, and just wants to remain an ordinary archaeologist.

But paradoxically, her behaviour reminds us of the real life western perpetrators who exhibited treasures from colonized countries without exact dealings or permissions.

In that era, Imperial Japan robbed many national treasures throughout the whole of Asia, and the existence of the character named Ruriko is hypocritical to us. In episode 5, she did not give a logical explanation or convince us about the plan, and Sarantuya just accepted her suggestions without any consideration or doubt. This is even though she's a person from Imperial Japan, which invaded so many Asian countries. We think there should be more explanation as to why Sarantuya gave her ancestor's treasure to Ruriko and let her exhibit it in Japan so easily — although this may come in episode 6.

With this background in mind, Sarantuya calls Ruriko as “Ma'am (Ojyosama, aka. My Lady)” and this can also be considered offensive. This appellation makes their relationship vertical. It shows the “superior” from the Imperial country “owns” the maid from the other country, which can be viewed negatively.

We understand Ruriko is not made as a character for bad intentions. We get that she actually doesn't like the Japanese imperial army, but the way she is depicted is naïve.”

“작중 치환된 인물들은 대부분 소설 속 등장인물이기 때문에, 실존인물인 미시마 유키오라 생각하긴 어려울 것 같습니다.

(게다가 극우사상에 극단적인 자살까지했기 때문에이다..) 확실히 지겐과 똑같이 생긴 캐릭터가 일본군 군복을 입고 나온 점에 대해서는 실망하거나 놀란 분이 분명히 계시지만, 작중에서 육군을 "야만스럽다."라고 묘사하는 등, 확실히 악역으로 묘사했던 점도 있기때문에 나쁘게 보는 것 같지 않습니다.

다만 작중에서 군의 위치와는 별개로, 그로 인해 일본 팬덤에선 일본군의 군복을 쿨한 포지션으로 그리는 팬아트들이 많이 업로드 되는 것들은 조금 우려가 됩니다.”