I shouldn’t be surprised, but episode 5 was the conclusion of the Marco Polo/Ami storyline of Lupin the Third Part 5.

Ami has experienced a lot of changes since she first met Lupin and the gang in episode one. She started off with a cold personality and she viewed the outside world as not important. Now Ami has gained some more social graces and has come to appreciate the adventure and excitement of the outside world. Ami was a great vehicle for giving modern technology a place in the Lupin franchise, showing that computers, in capable hands, can take out henchmen just like any gun or sword. I will certainly miss Ami and I hope she appears at least one more time before this season reaches its conclusion.

“That’s all fine and dandy but how did Marco Polo meet its end?“, says the impatient reader.

Ami decides to face one of the Marco Polo founder’s directly, stating that she would like to “help” make the Marco Polo website more mainstream. The Marco Polo founder agrees to meet with her, knowing that it was just a trap for Ami to steal back the Marco Polo funds. The trap itself is very James Bond-esque as Ami is locked in a chair with the room being slowly flooded. Though weirdly, Ami is not phased at all. From the founder’s perspective, it seems like she is still able to talk just fine while fully submerged underwater.

The Marco Polo founder can’t believe this! He runs down, opening the door to reveal Lupin is ALIVE. Through a flashback we see that Fujiko was controlling the drone showing Lupin being killed. Jigen was the one who made the sniper shot, just barely grazing Lupin’s head, and using AR technology to make it look like Ami was completely underwater. The founder was fooled over and over again! The direction in this sequence was very clever to only show the founder’s perspective, thus sending the audience for a loop as well. The founder is then given a choice; fight Lupin in a shoot-out or choose to be arrested by Zenigata.

To no one’s surprise, he breaks down and chooses jail. The other Marco Polo founders get captured by Jigen and Goemon. Thanks in part to Lupin and company, Zenigata is given his old job back! Fujiko and Lupin also worked out an exchange where she gets to pocket the Marco Polo money for her help. Their exchange has a bittersweet quality to it, hinting that their romantic relationship has long since ended. But in typical Lupin fashion, this is certainly not the end of Lupin and Fujiko’s relationship, though the preview for the next episode undercuts their exchange. I image now that Ami’s storyline is over, Fujiko will have a bigger role to play. I was happy with the end of Ami’s arc and the Marco Polo plots. I’ll excited to see what the Lupin gang gets up to in Spain!

Bill’s Random Thoughts:

• No LVP: Shockingly, everyone in the Lupin gang contributes in this episode! Yay!
• Is it me or did the trap room Ami was stuck in look very similar to the lockdown room in Get Out?

  

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• Goemon’s deus-ex-machina moment: None 😦

Lupin The Third Part 5 is simulcast on Crunchyroll on Tuesdays.