Thoughts on thieves

I made this tumblr profile to ramble about the Lupin III series and share screenshots, and I hope you are having a nice day!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

I’m suing the U.S. government for causing the climate change crisis, and I'm 22.

My name is Kelsey Juliana and I’m suing the United States government for causing and accelerating the climate change crisis. I’m 22 years old and I’ve been a climate activist for more than half of my life.

I know that young people like me, and others who have yet to be born, have a right to a safe climate system. The constitution guarantees all Americans the right to life, liberty, and property. But how is anyone supposed to live a life of freedom amid a climate crisis? My own government is violating my constitutional rights by its ongoing and deliberate actions that cause climate change and it’s not right.

I, along with 20 other young people from around the country, filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 2015, called Juliana v. United States.

We’re not asking for money. Instead, we’re asking the court to order the government to develop and implement a National Climate Recovery Plan based on the best available science.

This plan should end the reign of fossil fuels and quickly decarbonize our atmosphere so that we can stabilize our climate system before it’s too late.

The longer we go without climate recovery, the more we risk allowing our climate to spiral completely out of control.

And the climate is spiraling out of control, no matter how many politicians claim we’re experiencing normal fluctuations or, worse, a “hoax.” All of the expert witnesses in our lawsuit say that we are currently—already—in the “danger zone” and an “emergency situation” with only 1°C of planetary heating. Allowing the planet to heat up any more is not safe for our species, as well as so many others. And according to the Trump administration’s most recent environmental impact statement, the planet could heat as much as 7°F before the end of this century. We cannot allow this to happen because we simply will not survive.

We originally filed our lawsuit against the Obama administration. That administration tried to have the case dismissed, but the judge ruled in our favor and found that we should be allowed to go to trial.

In 2017, the Trump administration inherited the lawsuit and it has done everything in its power, employing every conceivable tactic, to deny my fellow plaintiffs and me our right to present our case in court. This administration is so fiercely attempting to silence our voices.

At this point, every level of the federal judiciary—the U.S. District Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court—has denied the Trump administration’s efforts to have the case thrown out. Yet it will not halt its efforts to avoid standard legal procedures and confront us, the nation’s youth, in court.

Our trial is officially scheduled to begin on October 29, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon.

What we’re asking for could change everything.

My fellow plaintiffs and I want you with us as we head into the courtroom to confront the United States government for knowingly violating our constitutional rights. Supporters will hold rallies in every state around the country, so if you can’t be with us in Eugene, find your local rally here.

Get regular updates by following @youthvgov on social media.

You can learn more about this case and get regular trial updates by tuning in to the No Ordinary Lawsuit podcast here.

Lastly, if you have the means, click here to make a donation to Our Children’s Trust, the nonprofit organization that supports our lawsuit and many others like it around the country.

https://boingboing.net/2018/10/23/our-childrens-trust.html

[bisquid]

@deadcatwithaflamethrower @thebibliosphere @glumshoe

[deadcatwithaflamethrower]

Boosting!

[nitrateglow]

Underrated character appreciation of the day: Lady Clarisse

Rescued Lupin III from dying when she was seven years old

Escaped from the evil Count Cagliostro’s henchmen on her own during a wedding dress fitting, hijacking a car and everything

Rescued Lupin III from being shot to death four times

Gentle and kind, but also cunning and brave

[labyrintharchitect]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Sometimes, fanfics get written. This is inspired by Lupin and Albert’s interactions in episode 10, and speculates on the very early stages of their partnership. Hope you have fun reading it! 

[labyrintharchitect]

Can a dragon hoard fly?

In the light of the various hyped up posts I have written concerning the latest chapter of Part 5, how did I find episode 16? Preeeeeeeetty bad. However, now that I have mulled it over for a few days, I feel like the disappointing pay-off was mostly due to an unusually limp storytelling and poorly handled subplots. Looking past all that, everything I found promising and intriguing about the story remains unchanged, and I am still excited to find out how it all pays off in the end. They will just need to really hit the ground running with that finale arc, and please PLEASE not lose all their steam before the end.

The sudden drop in energy and the poorer composition were pretty baffling in episode 16: that show has been downright ridiculous at times, and certainly has had its share of problematic moments, but so far it had managed to stay vibrant and engaging, with amazingly choreographed action sequences, genuine-sounding character interactions, pretty good comedic timing overall, and a sense of purpose to the general story. I’m willing to look past so much dodgy shit if I can tell a story was made with ambition and love –and I respect what a vulnerable position that must be for the creative team, to get so invested in a series that has passed through so many hands over the decades. It has been energizing to watch this strange chimera of a story being built out of the mismatched pieces of the Lupin III mythos –like a monstrous machine created from the treasures and junk found in a dragon hoard; you expect it to fall apart any minute, but also can’t help but want to see it fly. Wherever this is going, I am grateful for the energy it has given me.

This episode… felt limp, mostly. The main cast and especially Fujiko were dropped so that the Padar civil war situation could take center stage, but with Dolma’s character development being so inconsistent, and Ugo’s downright incomprehensible, it was hard to engage with any of it. There was very little contrast –arc II had a good mix of funny and tense scenes, and a steady escalation of violence as though Albert and Lupin were peer pressuring each other into being their worst selves. Arc I had a nice use of light and darkness, solitude and public overexposure, which suited Lupin well and made for a neat introduction for new viewers. 

Here in arc III, I guess they wanted to go with this whole tradition/high tech dichotomy, but they failed to make that resonate with Lupin in any way, or with anyone in the main cast for that matter. The dichotomy wasn’t even handled all that well visually, a shame since until then, the seamless incorporation of actions and backgrounds had been a strong point of the show. For instance, the reveal that the High Priest is actually a tech guru could have been made very striking visually, with changes in lighting and texture and sense of space, to underline the hypocrisy of the character and make him all the more shifty and sinister. Instead, all we got was one admittedly cool eye-scanning statue, and a bunch of doors sliding open. Wheee.

The unengaging subplots only made more frustrating the apparent lack of progress in the overarching conflict between Lupin and Fujiko. I say apparent because we did get some extra info in there – it’s pretty clear by now that Lupin is the one who refuses to communicate and face the situation, and possibly the one at fault in their breakup. Add the hint that Lupin is doubting the solidity of his friendship with Goemon and Jigen – and it still seems like Lupin’s character flaws and contradictions (secrecy and mistrust as a flip-side to his showmanship and self-reliance) could be exploited as an important plot point in the finale arc. It also makes Fujiko appear mature and resolute by contrast, and I am pretty happy with her characterization in this arc.

Now, regarding Ami –that confession scene at the end would have been pretty awful had it been the final scene of the series, for how it pitches women against each other to win the affections of one morally ambiguous guy. The script for the dialogue was definitely poor. The one saving grace I found for it was how heartbreakingly out of his depth Lupin was looking during its delivery: the poor dumbass has been trying so hard to relate to Ami as a daughter figure, as a friend, as a potential work colleague, as a younger self. And yet, for all that he can change the course of a civil war in one afternoon, he has zero control over the emotional growth of this teenager he is feeling responsible for. His reluctance to provide any clear answer also contrasts with Ami’s straightforwardness and courage. I don’t think this is the end of Ami’s journey, or heaven forbid, an indication that she and Lupin might actually become a couple one day – it would be unfair to her character if it were. And Lupin still owes her an apology for his shit dad job, damn it! But for further development to occur, Ami needs to retain an important role in the finale arc.

I was hoping this chapter would let Ami see the limits of a man like Lupin, and make her realise some of the less than ideals influences he’s had on her. As with the conflicts between Lupin and Fujiko and then Lupin and Albert, the story instead shirked away from providing any real closure, and is now one big mess of loose threads. So: is that some crazy gambit from the creative team, where all those thematically-linked conflicts have been introduced then pushed almost to their breaking points, and are all going to crash down on Lupin in the finale arc? Or will the story lose itself once more in convoluted geopolitics and miserably run out of steam before the big pay-off? I really can’t tell at this stage XD

But to hell with my pride and the possibility that I’m placing way too much hope in a dumpsterfire of a show: I have booked my ticket for the hype train, and I am having fun, and I will stay and watch this series fly or burn!

[newtypezaku]

[quillheart-blog]

1) Her zipper must be magical 2) Someone decided that Lupin’s buff as hell, look at those abs and muscle contour shadows 3) No but really that arrow directly hit his kidney anime don’t lie like that 4) Seafoam is coming back as a trendy color it’s truly the end of times

[justplainsimon]

lupin has one kidney, and the animators are trying to make him hot

[labyrintharchitect]

That also explains why they removed all of his body hair: otherwise when Fujiko pushed Ami against his chest, she would have been lost in a forest so bad we would have had to send a rescue team. So let's be grateful.

Given what we know of Lupin's metabolism, I wouldn't be surprised if his kidney regenerates in like two hours. You know. Around the arrow. Kind of like retroactive dodging.

[labyrintharchitect]

Alternate ending for Lupin III Part V episode 10. 

Mind you, I am glad this didn’t happen and that Lupin got to keep the car in episode 13. It even looks like the sort of car he likes, with its vintagey look. And it’s got bulletproof glass, it’s a surprisingly nice gift! 

But, Lupin... you really should have checked it for explosives before driving off. Stop trusting Albert so much you massive pushover.

[labyrintharchitect]

The archetypal and the exceptional woman

There have been a lot of essays on Ami and Fujiko going around, and I don’t think I can add to them in a meaningful way until we see what the next few episodes have in store for us. If nothing else, I’ve been promised plenty of grenades, and I’m on board with that.

Fujiko does tend to get stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of characterisation: being the only recurring female character in a large cast, she is tasked with being both “THE” archetypal woman (as if there even is such a thing), and with being as exceptional and chaotic as Lupin. See, there is never a doubt that Lupin is an exception among men, but the series throughout the decades has always been tempted to make sweeping statements on the female nature based on Fujiko.

So far, this instalment seems poised to do the same, unfortunately enough, but at least the teenage female characters may provide some kind of counter-balance. We’ll see about that.

I’m also placing my hope on how some of Lupin’s core beliefs and defining behaviours are starting to backfire on him. It could be a neat trick: rather than demonstrate the absurdity of making sweeping statements about women by showing a diverse cast of adult female characters (which would be great but would require a core cast of like 15 people), use your sliiiiiiiightly prejudiced protagonist to show that making those sweeping statements messes up kids, traps them in roles they find degrading, fosters misunderstandings, and just generally gets everybody in trouble.

[labyrintharchitect]

Folks. HIS SMILE IS WIDENING.

I am so hyped for this villain I can’t tell you. He has been steadily built up in the background, and by episode 14 he has completely invaded the scenery. And we haven’t even met him yet!

Better still, from episode to episode the threat he poses gets steadily greater, not because of anything he does per se, but because the story around him darkens. Just take the representation of blood and injuries: we went from bloodless carnage in Chapter 1 to gun wounds soaking clothes in Chapter 2, and now thick graphic puddles of the stuff falling onto the floor from messy arrow wounds. Whether things will get even worse when he finally enters the picture is anyone’s guess, but it’s a cool way to build tension.

Another indirect form of tension building is the multiplicity of angles he could attack Lupin from (which we know he will, as he has made it clear he is targeting him specifically; that’s another rare occurrence in the franchise: Lupin usually acts as savior and interloper in someone else’s story, not as a direct prey). Let’s recap his field of action shall we?

1) Lupin is now injured on his turf, so one approach would be to go straight for him while he’s down. 

2) He is more likely to first extend his influence in Padar by taking advantage of the attempted coup. That way he will end up with an entire population of civilian hostages, dependent on his technology, to use as a trump card when he eventually enters the game. 

3) Ami is with Lupin, and is understandably confused and shaken. We know her earring and potentially her hacking skills are related to ShakeHand somehow, so Enzo might well be able to spy on Lupin through her, or he may contact and attempt to manipulate her.

4) Fujiko is in the thick of the battle, and Albert is hovering on the edge. They both used to be intimately linked to Lupin but have estranged themselves from him since. In pursuit of more information on Lupin and his past, Enzo might well go after one of them.

5) I still want him to hack into Lupin’s eyepiece and almost blind him. Eye scream: another thing we’ve been warned is very much on the table this season.

Oh, and finally, while this guy looms larger and larger in the distance, so Lupin himself weakens body and spirit. By now he has been shot twice, his love life is in tatters, the legitimacy of his Lupin III title has been called into question by Albert’s appearance, and one of his key ideal -keeping civilians safe from his lifestyle and from nastier criminals- is falling apart before his eyes: by now all his attempts at helping Ami seem to plunge her further into that unhealthy mental space. 

All these chinks in his armor have been hinted at throughout the series, but quickly dropped, either for more pressing issues (Albert and Lupin abandoning their feud to recover the black notebook together), or because Lupin himself derailed a line of questioning (when Zenigata asked him about Fujiko). It felt a little frustrating at the time to see all those plot points momentarily abandoned. But. Now there’s a hell of a lot of ammo to attack him with.

*gleefully rubs hands together*

[shin-red-dear-deactivated201812]

Tonight’s episode of Lupin III part V is where everything is coming together and it culminates into a shock ending that completely caught me offguard.

It is a good time to be a Lupin III fan. Why? Because we got not only quality but intensity! And that is rare nowadays.

[labyrintharchitect]

Agreed! Also, and perhaps more importantly: Lupin III can hip hop you to death.

[labyrintharchitect]

Lupin’s charisma as a double-edged sword

Trying to sort my thoughts on Lupin III part V episode 13 over there. The near-rape scene with Ami made me want to crawl out of my own skin, but for now, I want to defend it: depending on how they tie it in to Ami’s overall character development and the very problematic influence Lupin is having on her, this could be an extremely bold and relevant choice from the creative team. Please bear with me a moment while I justify this.

The first saving grace of this scene is that it is not sexy, and that it is shown squarely from Ami’s perspective. We get some strong sound effects and close-up of her eyes to highlight her growing panic. There are no leering shots from the guy’s perspective, and the one moment where she bares her leg is stilted and awkward (contrast with the over the top pan shot featuring a scantily clad Fujiko later on, where she is in full control of the situation and wipes the floor with them like a badass). We are clearly guided into A) cringing at the horrible decision Ami is making, and B) sympathizing with the consequences of that mistake anyway.

The second saving grace is that, folks, she is emulating Lupin there, not Fujiko. Blame him, not her. Nevermind that Lupin previously disguised himself as Fujiko to seduce a guy in preparation for a heist, meaning that Lupin has accumulated more hussy points than Fujiko by now. Ami has no reason to know about that. Nevertheless, her monologue “Lupin, I am alive, and this is exciting” links her catastrophic choice to the inspirational influence Lupin has been having on her, meaning that influence can have negative side-effects. I’ll get back to that point later, because I think it ties in to what I suspect (hope) is the driving theme of this series: Lupin’s charisma as a double-edged sword, both inspirational and destructive.

Third, that scene makes the very brave decision of owning up to Ami’s traumatic past rather than using it once for shock value then sweeping it under the carpet for the rest of the season. Ami is a complex mix of mistrust and faith in her own invulnerability: she has suffered terrible sexual abuse, but has also been able to avoid the worst of it thanks to her computing skills. It makes sense for her to have a very troubled relationship with her own sexuality, to be tempted to weaponize it, to misjudge her own limits, and to struggle with internalized misogyny. All of that stuff is horrendously complex and uncomfortable, and maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to assume a series that is literally book-ended by Fujiko’s boobs will be able to handle the subject sensibly. Nevertheless, I salute the attempt.

Part V started pretty poorly with Ami, so I can’t blame anyone for refusing to give the series a second chance. Still, this season has this thing where it makes seemingly terrible decisions, and then spins a great story out of them. A good example is the gay representation in chapter 1, with its repeated awkward gay jokes, and in chapter 2, where Albert is introduced as an openly homosexual antihero with a stable relationship, a successful political career, complex motives, amazing skills and style, and one of the few people capable of truly outsmarting Lupin.

One thing I want to reiterate: Lupin has been an abysmal father figure to Ami, and this will need to be addressed if we want her character arc to go anywhere. Sure, he has given her praises, encouragements and trust, and it makes sense Ami would be fascinated by him as a result. He has also been sending her some awfully mixed messages (my dude, my dude, STOP talking about how you’d totally like to bed a woman and then acting surprised when she assumes you’re propositioning her. And for the love of fucks, don’t go telling a sexual abuse survivor that women are the natural enemy of men, what’s wrong with you). Oh, and she also got shot in the shoulder, nearly killed by a chopper and passed out from dehydration and exposure thanks to him. He also gave her a taste for such healthy thrills as nearly drowning, and attempting to seduce terrorists. *slow cap*

Lupin in this instalment is more suave and compelling than the goofier version of season IV. He is also unpredictable, self-admittedly selfish, and tyrannically fearless. Following him comes at a price, and the only ones who can really stick to his side are reformed war weapons who couldn’t function on their own in the normal world anyway (I’m suspecting episode 12 serves to illustrate that point: Goemon is infuriated by Lupin’s antics and unwelcome “help”, but can’t get by in modern France without getting repeatedly swindled). Fujiko and him are estranged, for reasons yet unexplained. Albert has also deserted him, but decades down the line he still has night terrors of Lupin goading him into carrying out a heist in the middle of a war zone. Are you afraid of tanks? What are you, a coward? Albert has the maturity to distance himself from Lupin’s extreme thrill-seeking, but to Ami, he is an unquestioned role model.

That is why I have great hopes for the current chapter, which provides Ami with two new (and female! Look who finally passed the Bechdel test!) role models who might help her see the limits of a man like Lupin. Fujiko’s insight could prove especially useful in that regard. I am excited to see her perspective on things.

Also, the fluorescence scene was so, so freaking cool and well choreographed. And the visuals for Padar in the next episode look stunning. So there is that to look forward to.

[labyrintharchitect]

Based on current evidence and supported by my unparalleled image manipulation skills, please find an approximation of Enzo Bron’s master plan.

[mooralltach]

After reading @labyrintharchitect​‘s post on the odd ShakeHands dude, this one here:

I decided to rewatch/revisit a few of the older episodes, since my interest was piqued and I wanted to see if I could find any more hints about him. 

I’ve had the vague idea we’ve seen that ShakeHands logo before… And, as it turns out, we did. Maybe this one is obvious and everyone figured it out already, but I thought I could point it out since I’ve seen no one comment on it yet.  For example, starting with Ami’s ‘earrings’:

At first I thought I was reaching when I thought they were shaped vaguely like the handshake logo. But in episode 5, when she opens her system at Zenigata’s place:

So… what’s up with that? What link does ShakeHand-man share with Ami? Does that have anything to do with when she says ‘invisible chains’ are keeping her in that cloud data center?

Maybe I missed some hints or background info too, feel free to add more or speculate on it. I don’t know if I’m on to something here, but I am damn curious about it.

[labyrintharchitect]

Wow, that’s a great find! And it appears again on her system in episode 13, so you are definitely on to something here. This has some...unfortunate implications though. As far as we know, Ami worked for two different groups: Marco Pollo and the child trafficking ring. The ShakeHand guy (Enzo Bron, according to some Facebook page I found) is doing very well for himself after Marco Pollo has been dismantled, so, we must assume he is linked to the child trafficking ring somehow. Yikes.

But that raises another question: had he been one of Ami’s oppressors, then she wouldn’t want constant reminders of his influence about her. It shouldn’t be hard for a hacker of her caliber to change the background of her system, at the very least. Plus, aside from that one vague line you quote (and let’s be fair, the first episode was full of teaser-style one-liners and questionable choices XD), she doesn’t really act like she feels monitored by an ominous presence.

I would therefore suggest that this Enzo probably had a positive influence in her life. If he was, say, forced to work as an IT guy for that child trafficking ring but disapproved (or claimed to disapprove) of their activities, he could have been a mentor/protector figure for Ami and helped her hone her skills. That would explain why she seems content to have a piece of his tech drilled into her ear. With both Zenigata and Lupin being Ami’s current mentor figures (and now Fujiko too, yay!), this could lead to some cool dynamics in the last chapter.  

Speaking of drilling stuff into ears: is that what he plans to do as his “bringing the world together” plan? To implant his tech into other people and turn the world into a collective consciousness of cyborgs?

Last thing: I want him to hack into Lupin’s tech-monocle. Please make it happen.

[ghibli-collector]

Hayao Miyazaki’s Lupin III Castle of Cagliostro (1979) & Spirited away (2001)

[labyrintharchitect]

Aaaah this is lovely =) The mountainous background with a fairytale castle also looks like the castle of Cagliostro itself.

That sort of stuff makes me weirdly happy. I’ve read that Miyazaki had mixed feelings about working with the Lupin III franchise, especially after Part I, because the original series was too violent, too exploitative, too consumeristic, and altogether too lengthy and formulaic for his tastes and ambitions as an anime author. 

But at the same time, his interviews about Lupin have a sort of fondness and even possessiveness about them, like he was seeing some of his own contradictions (a pacifist fascinated with war weapons, a feminist who left all the house and family work to his wife, at the cost of her career) reflected in the moral failings of this character. 

Either way. Miyazaki gave a lot to the Lupin III franchise, so I like to think he gained a lot from it too, frustrating an exercise as it must have been to reconcile his and Monkey Punch’s vision of the character. I love seeing these small tributes to the start of his career in his most iconic films. 

[labyrintharchitect]

I found a thing! The journal Albert was reading in episode 8 already had some foreshadowing with the rise of the far right in the presidential elections on the front page, but then I saw a familiar jacket on the back page. Now that’s sneaky, writers :D

The title of the article featuring our assumed villain (I believe his name has been confirmed to be Enzo Bron or something?) is barely legible, but it starts with “Le travail”. Through deciphering and guess-work, the best sentence I could make out was “Le travail humain disparaîtrera-t-il avec l’automatisation?” or in English “Will human labour disappear due to automation?”

So, once we are done with our Padar adventures this chapter, we’ve got more topical societal issues coming our way. Let’s see what they make of it XD. Seriously though, I am so impressed by the amount of small hints scattered through the series, and in multiple languages to boot!

[labyrintharchitect]

I have questions about this dude: he shows up in the opening sequence of the Lupin III part 5 series, and once again on Fujiko’s tablet at the beginning of episode 5. He seems to be built up to be our main antagonist. He’s got this quite flamboyant and aggressive design, and looks a bit like a performing mesmerizer.

We don’t know his name yet, but he owns what I assume is a start-up, called ShakeHand, which he boasts will bring the world together (if previous installments are any indication, that probably means mass hypnosis). He seems to think he can make use of Lupin somehow, and is particularly interested in him as a living myth, a man without a past. Whatever his plans for Lupin are, it’s probably not just celebrity sponsorship.

I can sort of see how that plot thread could bring together episode 1 with its focus on social media and technology, and episode 2 which raised more questions than it answered about Lupin’s origins.

Also, I see this choice of villain, and his motivation especially, as a potential hint that Lupin is not actually related to Albert and the Arsène Lupin bloodline, and instead entered the legacy through sheer serendipity and nerve. Otherwise, if Lupin has a traceable family tree, the whole “man without roots” angle they seem to be going for kind of falls apart.

Then again this show has been incredibly hard to predict for me so far, so who can tell? Maybe Lupin will eat this scam artist for breakfast halfway through episode 12, and the antagonist for the last arc will be Fujiko!

[shin-red-dear-deactivated201812]

I am glad someone else is actually aknowledging this bearded man in a red jacket. I did not think about the hypnotist angle before, as I thought he would be more like a Steve Jobs-like antagonist. But since this series is firmly embedded in real world issues and trends, a mesmerizer is an interesting theory, as hypnotism shows are very popular in France these days. The mention of a start-up is also pertinent in that regard.

As for the nature of the “Lupin” title, it is true that if the whole franchise is taken into account, the name is more of a brand, a legacy, rather than a family name, in a very Green vs Red fashion.

But we will see. I am certain red bearded man will be our main antagonist because he is the first character we see in the series and Albert seems to be built up more as an anti-hero.

Anyway, great post, chum! :D

[labyrintharchitect]

Heeeey thanks :D You’ve hit the nail on the head with France and hypnotism: I didn’t realise it at first but my mind probably went to mesmeriser because of this poster in the Paris underground. I had no idea it was such a prominent thing, though!

[labyrintharchitect]

I have questions about this dude: he shows up in the opening sequence of the Lupin III part 5 series, and once again on Fujiko’s tablet at the beginning of episode 5. He seems to be built up to be our main antagonist. He’s got this quite flamboyant and aggressive design, and looks a bit like a performing mesmerizer.

We don’t know his name yet, but he owns what I assume is a start-up, called ShakeHand, which he boasts will bring the world together (if previous installments are any indication, that probably means mass hypnosis). He seems to think he can make use of Lupin somehow, and is particularly interested in him as a living myth, a man without a past. Whatever his plans for Lupin are, it’s probably not just celebrity sponsorship.

I can sort of see how that plot thread could bring together episode 1 with its focus on social media and technology, and episode 2 which raised more questions than it answered about Lupin’s origins.

Also, I see this choice of villain, and his motivation especially, as a potential hint that Lupin is not actually related to Albert and the Arsène Lupin bloodline, and instead entered the legacy through sheer serendipity and nerve. Otherwise, if Lupin has a traceable family tree, the whole “man without roots” angle they seem to be going for kind of falls apart.

Then again this show has been incredibly hard to predict for me so far, so who can tell? Maybe Lupin will eat this scam artist for breakfast halfway through episode 12, and the antagonist for the last arc will be Fujiko!

[labyrintharchitect]

My level of fluency with Tumblr accounts: wet Goemon

But I’m grateful to the Lupin III franchise for carrying me through my PhD alive and sane, and I have THEORIES about this new series, bless my tiny heart. So: many thanks to the community that is keeping this fandom alive, sorry for all my lurking, and please bear with me while I get the hang of this XD.