Rupan Sansei: Tenshi no Sakuryaku (Takutikusu) ~ Yume no Kakera wa Koroshi no Kaori~

I can't say I hated Angel Tactics since I was mildly entertained. However, this special revealed the problem with the Lupin franchise -- its getting very, very old. I noticed that the seiyuu, while trying to disguise it, are sounding old. I've been noticing it for a while, but it seemed more noticeable to me for some reason this time. The story felt old to me, and jumbled at times like someone with memory problems. Characters "magically" appear all over the U.S. and beyond in the blink of an eye with no explanation.

Regarding the villains of the series, the Bloody Angels are set up to be some top-notch, female-only assassin group who take their jobs very seriously and trained hard to remove Lupin and company. When the time came to do it, the four main Angels not only failed to seduce their assigned targets, but could never kill them no matter what. Then when they bring in their entire army of female assassins into the mix, all they are good for is firing machine guns non-stop but couldn't even come close to even scratching Lupin and company. As such, I could never take the villains seriously.

The Bloody Angel's objective in stealing the Original Metal was never clear to me. Sophie's hatred of America because of her soldier boyfriend's death felt real, only because sometimes people who lose loved ones in military conflict experience grief and rage and some do hate their country because of it (needing someone or something to blame). That's understandable. Her personal reasons for wanting to steal the metal were understandable, but the group's were not. After all, if the group was truly anti-American, they'd do all kinds of things to harm the U.S., not just steal some metal.

There really was no Lupin comedy in this title. There were attempts at comedy, such as early on when Lupin is left alone with Fujiko and attempts to have sex with her. However, it wasn't funny, nor were the other weak attempts at humor. It is a shame really. Sometimes, Lupin can be very funny.

Goemon and Jigen get better use in this special. Since there is no male villain, the bisexual Lady Joe is pitted against Fujiko. Skill-wise, Fujiko was outmatched IMO since one of Fujiko's great skills is seduction. This wasn't going to happen here. However, that did allow Fujiko to come off as a bit more intelligent, even if she mainly felt like window dressing.

Bottom line: the franchise feels old and tired and this 2005 special shows it. However, die-hard fans of Lupin will want to check it out at least.

Last updated Wednesday, July 25 2007. Created Wednesday, July 25 2007.