lupin iii part v ep 2 SPOILERS.....pt 1
I had Thoughts on ep 2 wowwee, enough of em to want to make a numbered list??
1. I wanna get this out of the way but I watched the bit about jigen and lupin being rumoured to be lovers with sick fascination, bc I knew they won’t actually make that serious canon but their approach has officially changed as of this episode..... it was almost like watching those western live action shows where the creators engage with fandom by baiting fans over ships, playfully referring to a popular ship and then going out of their way to tell fans NOPE HAHA..... like, lupin canon has had a slightly..... subtler approach before?
but then I was thinking abt how the main target demographic of lupin franchise seems to be 25+ cishet men..... like u know it is, u can tell.... it doesn’t even matter if monkey fucking punch wrote sth suggestive of jigen being gay all the way back in the manga, there’s sth really specifically risky abt having an icon of masculine manly ideals like jigen, be OFFICIALLY GAY.... it really is a big move and it would probably burn a few bridges bc it’s easy to talk a big game abt gay representation and ethics in media but the root of everything is homophobia irl and the way it influences market considerations, so a franchise like THIS would be v unlikely to break the mould on sth like this.
I feel like they could show LUPIN having a fling with a guy sometime in future and fewer ppl would bat an eyelid.... not just bc u could read lupin as deliciously fluid, queer, all kinds of things, but bc the background of lupin’s genuine interest in women is really solid and no one would be able to forget it. yeah i’m going out on a limb and saying lupin being officially canonically bi/pan would be less ‘troublesome’ for creative heads and execs behind this franchise, than jigen being officially canonically gay.
honestly WHAT do we have as unshakeable evidence...... jigen is a canon, self-admitted misogynist, WHICH IS A HOMOPHOBIC STEREOTYPE BTW but not many fans who love jigen/lupin seem to have a problem with that.... altho thankfully that aspect is receded a lil these days. jigen is shown as simultaneously irresistible to women and aloof and cynical arnd women, which.... could be plausibly spun in many ways..... there’s PLAYBOHZ and all of jigen’s colourful exes.... his love and loyalty for lupin could be read pretty straight bc of the whole.... history of male camaraderie in media lmao....men reserving their highest emotion and loyalty for men and mistrusting women is a thing and it’s not always a cover for closeted gay love.... let’s face it they’ve never committed, they’ve always left a little window for Doubt.... which means that anything and everything short of a canon declaration of his sexual orientation..... is exploitable to maintain status quo. cuz jigen is a fictional character but that's actually how homophobia works irl, ppl will jump on ANYTHING to disclaim someone’s sexuality's....
so I think this was jarring and weird and unnecessary..... but ultimately all jigen denied was that he’s currently in a relationship with lupin, he never actually said he’s not gay.... so there is that.... at least....
