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Chapter 18-"Remember to Forget"







Characters-Lupin, Jigen, various assassins, a crime boss, Dr. Ochanomizu, another doctor,

Synopsis- A crime boss and a female doctor with amnesia, mysterious assassins, trying to find the connection, this is a day Lupin and Jigen won't forget.

Firsts-First time that Jigen's really annoyed with Lupin's weakness for women.

Links to animated Lupin- This and the next chapter became the first TV series episode "Dangers of a Rainy Afternoon"

Review-And thus Volume 3 begins. This story is great in the anime, but it's better here. Jigen and Lupin's facial expressions, along with their comments to each other, make them seem more like partners and friends rather than just a boss and employee. Also, the story itself is great, too. It feels more like something that would actually happen in real life. 10/10

Notes-None

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Chapter 19-"No Mercy"

Characters-Lupin, Jigen, a priest, Fujiko, Hammer Gantetsu, Sandayu the Wind, Zenigata, various cops

Synopsis- After finding out about a diamond last chapter, Lupin assembles a crack team to recover it out of a dead man's body.

Firsts- First appearance of Zenigata in Volume 3

Links to animated Lupin- see last chapter.

Review- The story continues. This time, they try to recover the diamond. Some disguises, action, the heist itself, and a bit of comedy, especially on the last page, make this a great story. 9/10

Notes-In volume 3, starting with this chapter, Zenigata is mistakenly referred to as "Detective" rather than "Inspector". Also, the Japanese title for this story is "Mercy is not Necessary". This is a rare occasion in which the translators keep the Japanese title almost intact.

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Chapter 20-"School for Spies"

Characters-Lupin, Jigen, Bank employees, Lupin's students (including Fujiko), Zenigata, various cops

Synopsis-Lupin goes from Master thief to Maestro thief, teaching crime to a group of students. The final exam is the biggest bank in Asia. Meanwhile, Jigen has been caught by Zenigata and is being interrogated by him.

Firsts-First time Arséne Lupin appears (as a bust outside the school.) First time Jigen and Zenigata-keibu are seen without Lupin.

Links to animated Lupin- none

Review- Prof. Arséne Lupin the Third? The main story here is Lupin teaching crime to a class of students, but the best part is Zenigata's interrogation of Jigen. Overall, the story's worth reading, because the heist is great and so is the escape. 8.6/10

Notes-

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Chapter 21- "Portrait of a Kidnapper"

Characters-Lupin, an artist, Fujiko, Guren, a thug, bar extras

Synopsis- A former childnapper turned hitman, Guren is after Lupin III. However, a young artist who was a victim of Guren is going around Tokyo sketching people, looking for someone...

Firsts- First time since Chapter One that Lupin played only a small part in the story

Links to animated Lupin- none

Review- An interesting chapter. Not much comedy here. But it's nice to see a change in mood every now and then. I'm not going to say much about this one, except that you may be surprised. 8/10

Notes-

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Chapter 22- "Reversal of Fortune"

Characters-Lupin, Zenigata, government agents, cops, Jigen

Synopsis-1, 967 members of Lupin's gang has been captured. There's only two left: Lupin and Jigen. So, Zenigata has hired government agents to capture them.

Firsts- First time Zenigata is seen with facial hair (besides sideburns).

Links to animated Lupin- None

Review-1, 967 men?! Wow, Lupin wasn't kidding when he said that he has thousands of operatives working for him. This one's pretty good, has some good comedic moments like when one of Lupin's traps are activated, for example. Also some good surprises and disguises here, along with a twist ending. 8.8/10

Notes-Zenigata seems to be growing a beard of sorts in this one...

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Chapter 23- "The Tip of the Iceberg"

Characters-Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, members of an organization

Synopsis-Lupin receives a letter containing a map. So, he and Jigen head to the South Pole, to discover that an organization is trying to find a spy trying to smuggle out microfilm, and Lupin and Jigen are the prime suspects.

Firsts- First time Jigen leaves Japan.

Links to animated Lupin- none

Review- My, what an interesting chapter we have here. Another twist ending, but I won't spoil it for you. However, another running joke arrives for this chapter, questioning how much Lupin and Jigen like each other. 9/10

Notes-

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Chapter 24- "Flowers for Fujiko"

Characters- Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, Guy who Lupin's working for, partners of Fujiko's brother

Synopsis- Lupin and Jigen are shooting down planes trying to smuggle out the Cobra Poppy, which has great destructive powers. However, one of the planes that was shot down contained Fujiko and her brother, who was killed in the explosion. And now, Fujiko is mad...

Firsts-

Links to animated Lupin- None

Review-This story had a great premise and was carried out well, but the only problem I had with this one were the unresolved ideas. Lupin and Jigen are working under someone, and their boss is only there, it seems, to inform the readers about the Poppy. And we never find out what [spoiler ]Fujiko' brother wanted to do with the Poppy,
[spoiler over] although it is implied. Of course, in the art department, Monkey Punch delivers great illustrations as usual, especially the opening shots of Lupin shooting down a plane. I hand out a hearty 8/10 for this one.

Notes- So far, it's been revealed that Fujiko's father (Chapter 11) and brother were killed by Lupin.

*A brother of Fujiko's was also mentioned in Chapter 7. It's probably a different brother (or a different Fujiko), because the brother in that story was said to have been killed by Pycal.

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Chapter 25- "Castle in the Mountains"

Characters- Lupin, Jigen, Shinnobusuke Yukimitsuno ("Sammy"), the animals of the forest

Synopsis- After a long trek thru the woods, Lupin has finally found the secret castle he was looking for...and then falls into a hole. A deep hole. Meanwhile, Jigen has been captured by the one-eyed Shinnobusuke Yukimitsuno (could Monkey Punch have made the name any longer?), who thinks that he's Lupin.

Firsts- First Chapter without any female characters at all. First Jigen story.

Links to animated Lupin- none

Review- A Jigen story? Yup. And a funny one, at that. Lupin is reluctantly underground for most of the story, leaving Jigen to deal with Yukimitsuno by himself. Most of the comedy here lies in Yukimitsuno's belief that Jigen is Lupin in disguise. A great read with an ending that closes the story perfectly. 9/10

Notes-Jigen calls Shinnobusuke Yukimitsuno by the nickname of "Sammy". Which is interesting because there are no "M's" in his name.

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Chapter 26- "One Thousand Victims"

Characters- Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, her victims, assorted cops, Zenigata, Officer Ban

Synopsis- 999 men have been killed since Fujiko arrived in Japan, all after sexual intercourse. By who? Fujiko Mine. So, who's gonna be number 1,000? Arséne Lupin III. Why? He thinks that she's worth the risk.

Firsts-

Links to animated Lupin-

Review- Part one of 2. The plot is simple, with the ending having Lupin half a second from death. Jigen is starting to show his anime counterpart's annoyance at Lupin's lust for Fujiko a bit more in this one, and he and Zenigata add some amusing moments in the story. My only problem with this one is the number of victims: 1000!? Don't you think that men would be careful when they got into bed after hearing about when the murders occurred and how many there were? 50 or 100 sounds more reasonable. Anyways, if you can overlook this, it's still an enjoyable story. Part 1: 9/10

Notes- Zenigata's facial hair from chapter 22 has been shaven off.


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Chapter 27- "Playmates"

Characters- Lupin, Fujiko, an old man, Zenigata, a cop

Synopsis- Conclusion to Chapter 26, "One Thousand victims".

Firsts-

Links to animated Lupin-

Review- Last chapter ended with Lupin being thrown into a wall o' spikes. This one begins with Fujiko shooting at Lupin and Zenigata investigating the crime scene. This one explains what happened last time, and why Fujiko is doing what she is. Jigen is missing in this part, which may have been a good thing, as he isn't really necessary in this story 9/10

Notes-

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Chapter 28- "Master Goemon "

Characters-Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a Hakuun Clan Hitman

Synopsis- Lupin and Jigen have been visiting a samurai named Goemon daily, hoping to steal his master's alchemy formula. Goemon is oblivious to Lupin's intentions, but that may change when Lupin is introduced to Goemon's girlfriend, Fujiko Mine...

Firsts- Debut of Goemon

Links to animated Lupin- Became episode 5 of the green jacket series, "The Coming of Goemon XIII!"

Review- Descandant of real-life historicial figure and fan-favorite, Goemon appears here for the first time, and he's introduced with some great humor involving Jigen, an awesome action sequence with Lupin and some interesting secrets being kept from him. As always, the art is delivered with great attention to detail, such as Goemon's demonstration at the beginning, the flame effects at the end, as well as the charred bodies have their scorched clothes hanging off of them with smoke rising from them. 10/10

Notes- Goemon doesn't join Lupin's team until Volume 5.

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Lupin III (c) 1967 by Monkey Punch
English Version (c) 2002 by TOKYOPOP
Used without permission for non-profit purposes