lupin-kot

[lupin-kot]

Sorry everyone!

I’ve been sick this week but am feeling better. KOT will return soon!

[lupin-kot]

Is this a project that you're working on? It seems extremely interesting! Would love to know more!

Hi! This was a project I'm working on. What you're reading on here every day is basically a pitch I wrote and drew for to get an eight-issue comic book series made through official means. However, after talking to some people that worked with the Lupin brand, it became pretty clear that that wasn't going to happen. So now, because I can't finish and sell the comic but I also don't want to just throw away everything I made for the comic I wanted to post it on here for everyone to read!

[lupin-kot]

4th Heist - Kyoto

Maria learns about culture. Fujiko makes a discovery. Lupin looks into the mirror. 

[CW: Blood, Domestic Abuse, Police Violence]

We open on a very young Goemon Ishikawa XIII, watching a Kabuki play with his father. Goemon's father looks like an average, unsuspecting businessman. Combed hair, glasses, shirt and tie.

The play they're watching is Kinmon Gosan no Kiri, which is a telling of the legend of the historical Goemon Ishikawa. The current scene depicts Goemon on top of the Sanmon gate at Nanzen-ji, describing the beauty of the view surrounding him.

Young Goemon asks his father who this man is, and his father answers that's is an ancestor. When young Goemon asks if this man is his grandfather, his father laughs and says no, this person lived much, much farther back. He then checks his clock and tells his son that he needs to use the bathroom. Goemon's dad gets up and exits the row of seats, leaving his son behind.

We jump forward in time. The play has continued for quite a bit and the scene has grown dark and suspenseful. On stage, Goemon is now threatened by enemy general Mashiba Hisayoshi. Little Goemon XIII gets frightened, but his dad still isn't there. He gets up to go look for the bathroom.

He finds it. As he opens the door, he sees his dad- And in his hands the man he just killed. And he's not the only one. The bathroom is almost completely destroyed and six corpses are littered about. Goemon's father slashed the throat of the man he is currently choking out with a familiar sword, he turns around, just to meet his son's shocked gaze.

This is actually the first piece of art I made for this series!

Goemon wakes up, but immediately recoils in pain. Lupin, Jigen and Mariya look down to him. Jigen tells Goemon to lay down still since he still needs to recover from the wounds he sustained from the fight in Lockwood Tower. Muscles in his arms and his abdomen were completely pierced. Despite the warnings, he gets up and stumbles to the window to see a familiar landscape outside: Kyoto, his home.

Lupin, who is pretty clearly in a foul mood, explains that after they escaped via helicopter, Lupin flew them to a hospital and then posed as a doctor to have him transported back here. He also explains that his injuries are so serious that Goemon won't be able to train or fight for at least eight weeks, dead minimum. Actually, Goemon shouldn't even be able to stand right now. In an off-handed comment he says that now, Goemon isn't really pulling any weight for the team right now and that Jigen made Lupin bring him here. "A waste of time", he scoffs, "You guys are just lucky that the next item for the competition is going to be a piece of cake." Goemon asks what the next piece of the hunt is- and Lupin smiles: It's the silver Kiseru-pipe of the Goemon clan.

Goemon is shocked and says that this is absolutely off the table. Lupin disagrees, saying that if they don't take it, someone else will. And besides, to the shock of everyone, Lupin has already send a calling card. Goemon makes it very clear that he intents to protect this precious heirloom. In return, Lupin swears to steal it, right from under his nose. He tells the rest of the room to come with him. Mariya, still content on finding out more about her father's death, joins him. Jigen just down and says nothing, but he's not moving. Feeling betrayed, Lupin leaves him.

After a while of standing strong, Goemon falls back down. Jigen puts him back onto the bed, where Goemon asks about Alice. Jigen explained that Lupin got into communication with Zenigata who promised that because of a lack of evidence, Alice was discharged and that because he was called to Japan anyways, he would drop her off close by, adding that this was "only a set-up to trap and catch you guys, so don't get any wrong ideas!". Goemon is relieved.

We jump to Zenigata at the Organized Crime Department of the Criminal Affairs Bureau, Interpol's headquaters in Tokyo. His superior seems annoyed but explains that he is being put on the Lupin case again since the DNA database in Lockwood Tower was destroyed. Zenigata nods on autopilot. Ever since Mariya's betrayal, he's been feeling blue. The police chief finishes by saying that while Zenigata seems to have the smarts and knowledge to find Lupin, he is missing the strength to actually catch him. So, another office is being assigned to the case with him.

Meloi Burua, a.k.a. Melon Cop, an officer that makes it clear that he is willing to do everything to close a case.

Zenigata is appaled by his new colleague's aloof behaviour, but has no chance to interject. Melon Cop seems pretty adamant about getting started on the Lupin case and asks the police chief to keep Alice Cartwright a bit longer. He's sure that he can make her talk. Zenigata interjects that she has not seen her father in about twenty years and so it would be unlikely that she knows much, but the police chief gets hushy and says that as long as he gets results, M.C. is allowed to to whatever he wants with the woman. The Americans wants Lupin, and they want him quickly.

Lupin meanwhile seeks to get one up on the competition. He calls Fujiko. She explains that he is reportedly going up against Toyotomi Hideyoshi XIII, a descendant of a Samurai and feudal lord unified Japan and then invaded Korea. Apparently, he believes himself to be the rightful heir of the Emperor of Japan and has an obsession with melting down his opponents weapons into his own. Fujiko makes Lupin an offer: If he wants to know more, he should meet her at a rooftop bar in downtown Kyoto where she will explain more. Lupin agrees and brings Mariya with him.

Goemon meanwhile makes his way to the Gorokizu residence, Goemon Ishikawa's civillian name, before ascending to legendhood. Here, Jigen and Goemon meet Goemon's Grandfather. Goemon confesses about losing Zantezuken, but Goemon XI wants to hear nothing about it. He berates Goemon XIII and tells him that he's nothing but a disappointment, just like his father. After failing his first assassination job, killing Lupin The Third, Goemon XIII was banned from ever entering his home again. Now, he's come to return to beg on his hands and knees to be re-trained to find his way again. Jigen can do nothing but watch as Goemon XI gets up and beats his grandson over the head with his walking stick. Goemon XIII now lies flat on the ground. His grandfather says that he will resume his training and leaves the room, but the only way to welcomed back is if he completes the task he originally failed: Killing Lupin The Third.

Goemon begins training intensively, with inspiration from his training montage in Goemon's bloodspray. Jigen stays by his side but is unsure whether to try and stop him, singe Goemon's wounds start reopening. Meanwhile, Goemon explains the disappointment that his Goemon Ishikawa XII, his father.

Like all heirs to the Goemon name, his father was trained by his father to be an assassin. Operating globally to whoever pays most, Goemon Ishikawa XII was brutal, precise and discrete. That all changed when he met his mother, a politician in Senegal. The two fell in love and had a mad affair, but when his father found out about the two, he left his son two choices: Leave the woman he loves and be expelled from the family or marry a Japanese woman and retain the family name.

That year, he married the love of his life and soon later, his son was born, the Goemon Ishikawa XIII we know today, even though that was not his birth name. Our Goemon explains that his father continued his dangerous line of work. Bitter, he says that his love made him careless and soft. Goemon Ishikawa XII was killed on a job when our Goemon was eight years old.

The custody now fell to his grandfather who made Goemon disavow his father and swear to never see his mother again in exchange for rejoining the Goemon clan and getting trained in the art of assassination, like his father, and his father before him. Our Goemon, filled with anger at his father for leaving him all alone, agreed. Thus begun his training to become the deadliest assassin his family had ever known. He finally fought his way to getting the name Goemon Ishikawa passed down to him. His birthright. Finally, for his first job, killing Lupin The Third, he was gifted a family heirloom and the sharpest sword on the planet- Zantezuken. Goemon is angry at himself for failing this first task and his naiveté of getting roped into Lupin's gang. Jigen disagrees.

"You've got to give one thing to him though. Without that scumbad, we would've never met. And let me get this straight: What you're putting yourself through is insane. Listen. I care about you, and Daisuke Jigen doesn't care about anybody."

The gunslinger digs a little deeper. Goemon seems to still hold onto his belief of his father as a weakling but reveals that boyhood was hard for him. Being stoic and focused on his training, it was impossible for him to find any friends.

An early concept. Since his childhood, he's been seen as nothing but a monster.

Meanwhile, Lupin and Mariya meet Fujiko. Lupin is stressed and wants to get down to business, but Fuijko insists of taking it easy first. They get drinks and sit down. After a while of flirting (which makes Mariya a bit uncomfortable), Lupin leaves to take a whizz.

Fujiko now sprints into action, telling Mariya to get up and follow her. When Mariya asks if Fujiko is abandoning Lupin here, she says yes. Fujiko explains that the person they both are looking for, Lockwood's second in command, Suzuki, is in a secret underground club in this very building. Since Suzuki had already seen Lupin he needs to stay out of this. In exchange for taking Mariya to see Suzuki, she wants some of the info extracted from the Lockwood HQ computer terminals. Mariya is shocked how Fujiko knows about her looking for Suzuki, but Fujiko explains that Lupin told her.

She explains: "I know what you want, and about your gift. I may not have future vision, but I know that you'll come along. You saw that Suzuki would be here. That's why you begged Jigen to bring Goemon to Kyoto. That's why you tagged along with Lupin. We want the same thing, right? So why not work together."

Mariya reluctantly agrees. Fujiko is happy and notes that Mariya seems like a young woman that reminds her of herself: willing to do whatever it takes.

In the elevator, Fujiko makes a deduction based on the data from the tower. Since the DNA stoles from thieves around the world was taken during deals with the people from the King of Thieves competition, there must be a link between it and Lockwood. While she notes that Lockwood could have simply bought the data from whoever runs the competition, she is sure that Mariya and her are about to meet the person that runs the competition.

Fujiko notes that whether or not she realizes or wants it, Mariya's power is an incredible tool for thieves.

The elevator ride is longer than expected. Fujiko asks Mariya what she wants to do with Suzuki wants she finds him. Mariya is frozen. She hadn't even thought that far. Fujiko winks at her and reassures that to just follow her example. Suzuki will be wrapped around their fingers in no time. Mariya notes that from what little time she had spend with Lupin, the two of them seem pretty similar. Fujiko laughs but then gets strangely serious and promises that that's not the case at all.

They arrive at the secret club. The atmosphere in here is thick. The air smells like smoke and perfume. Mariya and Fujiko take masks at the entrance and join the people.

Evening turns to night. Goemon, his grandfather and Jigen have turned in for the night. Then, the assault starts. The family residence is surrounded by men with guns. Goons, as it seems, of Toyotomi Hideyoshi XIII. They set fire to a part of the ancient building to distract the inhabitants and get access to the kiseru-pipe. The house's inhabitants wake up and Goemon's grandfather orders him to take care of the criminals and defend the heirloom. Without his sword and still badly wounded, Gomeon fights his way, fists versus guns, through the burning halls of the Goemon residence.

Jigen, thinking practically, wants to extinguish the fire first- but no modern extinguishers in sight. When he asks Goemon XI why there's no fire extinguishers in the house, "it's not the olden times anymore where you need a chain of buckets from the village well", the old man responds that the house doesn't need one because no-one would dare set fire to the residence of Goemon Ishikawa.

Meanwhile, Melon Cop has ordered the arrest of Alice Cartwright again, to "interrogate" her. So, she has been send to Kyoto prison. Melon Cop wants to be close to the residence of Lupin's frequent collaborator, Goemon Ishikawa XIII, just in case, despite Zenigata saying that Goemon has not been observed entering his home for years. Alice is obviously scared about being in prison in a foreign country, and Zenigata, who insisted on coming too, does his best to comfort her. He explains that his is all a misunderstanding, and that everything will be alright. Just then, one of Melon Cop's informants comes through, bringing the news that Lupin has been spotted in a club in downtown Kyoto. He tells Zenigata to come along and grabs his signature weapon- a baseball bat. Alice makes Zenigata promise to not hurt her dad. She's not seen him in years and despite him being a stubborn dirtbag, she's not ready to lose him again.

Back in the underground club, Fujiko has managed to loosen up Suzuki. By acting like a pretty thief out of her depth, Suzuki has spilled the beans on being the mastermind of the King of Thieves competition. He says that while Lockwood's business is war, the "true goals of the boss are way beyond that". Fuijko begins to ask more about the boss, but Suzuki doesn't break just yet. All he says is that thanks to the boss, he is as flawless as he is now. Without the boss, a woman like Fujiko wouldn't have even looked at him. They kiss.

Mariya breaks the kiss up by asking about the kind of soliders Lockwood Industries create. When asked how she knows all of this by a suddenly suspicious Suzuki, Fujiko interjects and explains that her friend is a scientist that is interested in working for Lockwood Industries. Suzuki laughs menacingly and explains that he hates leeches. He says that the last scientists that worked on Project Exodus did such solid work that they didn't even bother leaving them alive since they left such extensive notes on how the project worked.

Suzuki explains: "You only get deticated people like that once in a lifetime. These sick bastards were willing to experiment on their own children. Could you imagine? Yuck. Children, I mean. Not the experiments."

They laugh.

Just then, Lupin sneaks up behind them, in mask as well. He tells Mariya and Fujiko to leave since police are getting ready to raid the building. Before any of them can respond, the elevator arrives on their floor. Ding! The doors open and deafening gunfire starts.

We go back to the Goemon residence. A person stands hidden outside of the building. The man hiding out here checks his watch. What is taking them so long?

Out of nowhere, a shadow jumps out and slams the person to the ground. Goemon Ishikawa XIII, bloody, beaten and bruised, kneels over Toyotomi Hideyoshi XIII and begins choking him to death. Out of breath, Jigen arrives and begs Goemon to show mercy.

"Goemon, please! He's just a snot-nosed little shit. He's not worth it."

Goemon finally snaps out of his rage and looks at his opponent. Jigen is right. The person below him, dressed in a fine black suit and with a tacky pair of gold-rimmed glasses is a teenager, maybe nineteen years old at the maximum. The boy seems about ready to pee his pants and is squealing and begging for mercy. He just wanted to be emperor, king again, as is his right. He's screaming for his bodyguards and his daddy. Goemon let's go for a moment. Jigen breathes a sigh of relief, but then Goemon violently grabs the boy again and tells him that if the two of them ever meet again there will be no mercy. The boy agrees vehemently and runs off into the night.

Jigen and Goemon look back at the burning house. Jigen begins to speak.

"Shame about that house. Might've made for a nice vacationing spot."

Goemon responds. "If this was really meant to be, let it burn. Down to the soil."

Back in the underground club, a whole shootout between the cops and the murky customers has begun. Lupin sneaks ahead, Fujiko and Mariya behind him. He knocks one officer out and the group are now standing in front of the elevator. They get in and Lupin presses the UP-button, but Fujiko holds the door open. As Lupin asks what in the world Fujiko is doing, Suzuki calmly steps in. He thanks Fujiko for her services and says that he wasn't sure about the whole charade but that she has fulfilled her part of the deal- bringing him Lupin the Third. Both Mariya and Lupin are shocked at Fujiko's betrayal, but Suzuki uses the moment to punch Lupin in the face and drag him out of the elevator. As the doors close on a frozen-in-place Mariya, Fujiko tells her not to view her too harshly. They're both just woman doing what they have to, after all. Mariya stays in the elevator alone and in silence as it begins to move upwards.

After what feels like forever, the doors open back up. Out on the roof, talking to civilians, is Inspector Zenigata. He sees a the elevator open, and pulls his gun out- but as soon as he sees Mariya, tears in her eyes, he lets the gun fall and runs to her. They hug and Mariya says she's sorry for what she's done.

Under the dark night sky, Jigen and Goemon are watching the stars. Goemon is exhausted and rests his head on Jigen's shoulder. Their hands touch. Just then, Goemon's grandfather appears on the scene. He has rescued to pipe and says that Goemon still has to stop Lupin from getting it- and then kill him. Goemon, with help from Jigen, gets up. He says that yes, he will protect the heirloom. Yes, he will honor his forefathers. But no, he will not kill Lupin anymore. Or anyone, for that matter. He tells his grandfather straight into his face that he is sick of being used as a weapon. His grandfather gets furious. He berates him for having forgotten the true meaning of the outlaw Goemon Ishikawa, whose very name struck fear into the hearts of his enemies. Goemon responds that he finds it funny- the scene he remembers most from the legend of Goemon Ishikawa is when he sacrifices himself to save his son from getting boiled alive. He takes the pipe and leaves.

Suzuki and Fujiko use the chaos of the club raid to bring Lupin to a second service elevator. Lupin has his mouth taped over and can only stare angrily at Fujiko, who doesn't avert her gaze but tells Suzuki that she'll get herself a drink and will join her "boys" later. Suzuki is fascinated by Fujiko's carelessness.

"What a woman. You're a lucky guy, Lupin The Third. Well, were".

Just as Suzuki gets ready to leave, Melon Cop enters the frame. He says that he's been looking for Lupin and that he's under arrest. Suzuki pulls his gun and asks who the FUCK this guy is. Melon Cop responds.

"Hey now, I don't want you." And promptly shoots Suzuki straight in the head. He then grabs his bat and lightly pokes Lupin on the forehead. Lupin still has tape over his mouth but has managed to free his hands from the rope binding them. "Now- as for you..."

Melon Cop reels back- and swings at Lupin's head. He takes a step back- into the service elevator. Melon Cop follows, presses the UP-button, and the door close behind them.

We then see Suzuki's lifeless body laying on the ground. A pair of familiar high-heels step next to them. Fujiko leans down and grabs Suzuki's phone. There's a call incoming. The caller is someone called MAMO. She answers.

"Mr. Suzuki? No, I fear he's currently not available. That being said, I do think that I might still be able to help..."

Seemingly unbothered by the chaos and gunfire around her, she disappears into the smoke.

The two of them begin to fight in the elevator. Well, technically Lupin is just trying to survive until the elevator arrives at the ground floor. Melon Cop relentlessly attacks with his bat while Lupin evades. The small elevator room makes it more difficult for M.C. to get good swings in with his bat. Ding! The door opens. Lupin stops another swing with his hands, rips the bat out of Melon Cop's hands and beats him once right in the back of his knee- M.C. kneels down and yells out in pain. Lupin uses the moment to escape into the cool nights. He manages to steal a police car, but not before Melon Cop manages to shoot him into the leg. Lupin drives off.

Having bandaged his leg, Lupin, delirious from the blood loss, exits his stolen car and limps to the entrance of his hotel. Safety is within reach. Just then, a shadow reveals itself from under a tree, stepping into the moonlight. Goemon Ishikawa XIII. The two thieves stand opposite of each other in the middle of the parking lot. They both look like shit.

Lupin asks if Goemon still plans on stopping him, adding "I could still kick your ass, any day, even like this." Goemon declined the invitation to violence, adding that he just wants to talk.

The two of them sit down and leans against the street lamp and reminisce about the first time they met.

Goemon's first assignment as after finishing his grandfather's assassin training was to kill Lupin the Third.

While Goemon was showboating his new weapon, the Zantetsuken, Lupin swapped it out for a fake. Goemon had to swear his life to Lupin to get his sword back- after helping him in a heist, of course. And even though Lupin kept his promise and returned the sword, Goemon stayed with him- and Daisuke Jigen- for many adventures afterwards.

Goemon says that it's strange how much his family still clings to this historical figure that neither of them have met or even know someone that met them. As heir to the Lupin name, Arséne Lupin the Third understands this very well. What's even funnier to Goemon according to his family history, Goemon the first and his son were killed, leaving his daughter to carry on the family name and tradition. This isn't something his grandfather told him about. Lupin reveals that he is actually really the third male heir of the original Arséne Lupin, who lived in France during the Victorian Era. So, his family is actually a long line of female thieves, with only one other male heir, Lupin the Second, his grandfather. After bonding for a while over shared family pressure and trauma, Goemon goes back to business.

He reveals to Lupin that he has brought the family pipe with him, but that he's not planning to give it away. Despite everything that happened, he still wants to honor his ancestor- but in his way, as a thief that does good. Lupin says that it's fine, he can keep it. Goemon asks if that is really alright since that would mean Lupin not advancing to the next round of the King of Thieves tournament. Lupin says that he doesn't even care about that stupid competition anymore and that a true gentleman doesn't care about what other people think about his standing. And besides, he can always just steal the crown from whoever wins.

Goemon now gets serious. He reiterates that he is sick of being used as a tool and weapon- that goes for his family, but for Lupin as well. He says that the team dynamic needs to change. Lupin is silent and nods, saying that he needs some time to think. Goemon leaves for the hotel room.

Meanwhile, inside, we see Jigen. He's waiting for a call from Zenigata. Finally, he picks up the phone and calls him. Zenigata answers, currently in a taxi with Mariya who is napping. Jigen asks about Alice, where she is and when he can see her. Zenigata seems confused and says that Jigen went to pick her up already.

We see a flashback as Zenigata describes to Jigen what happened when Mariya and him returned to the Kyoto police department.

Zenigata had entered the holding cell tract only to find Alice gone. The local officer (which Zenigata doesn't know and therefor doesn't further describe but the one that we know as Mr. Flinch) tells him that the woman's father came to pick her up. He shows Zenigata a still from the security tape on a computer that stands on the desk in front if him. Indeed, we can see Jigen- even though he is dressed differently from the one we know- leave the room with Alice. Zenigata nods and exits.

As he leaves, we can see the security video play in full. "Jigen" enters the prison block, shoots two of the security guards and grabs Alice, who he doesn't seem to recognize. With no regard for her disability, he pulls her out of her cell and exits. As we pan downwards- below the desk- we notice two bodies stuffed underneath. The officer (Mr. Flinch) presses a button on the keyboard- and the security tape is deleted.

We fade out over Jigen on the phone panicking as Zenigata's taxi drives into the sunset.

This episode's licensed credits ending theme™

Next time, we go to Paris!

[lupin-kot]

3rd Heist - New York

Zenigata reminisces. Maria opens up. Jigen spends some quality time. 

Because the DNA Database is still in everyone's hands, leaving the country via plane is out of the question. So, the gang travels to NYC via Fiat. 

Meanwhile, Alice reveals the bits of info she got from cracking the Laptop stolen from Chicago before Mr. Flich took it. It contains sensitive information about U.S. politicians making secret deals with Lockwood Enterprises, spending large sums of the defense budget for something called "Project Exodus". As Alice explains, Lockwood Enterprises develop science and AI technology for the betterment of humanity, or so they say. It seems that despite their charitable exterior, Lockwood is developing military technology technology using their advancements in biology and IT.

She also explains that there were some files pertaining to something called "Project Genesis", but she wasn't able to decrypt the files in time.

The gang recognizes that getting hold of this data will put a target on their backs. Lupin explains his encounter with Fujiko and that she's probably busy blackmailing the politicians with their secret deals.

Mariya and Zenigata are on their way back to Japan as Mariya gets another psychic vision and explains that Lupin and his gang are on their way to New York. Zenigata expains that there's nothing he can do, since he was taken off the Lupin case.

Mariya uses the info she saw in the vision to contact Alice using Zenigata's name. Alice, surprised by the mysterious messenger, asks if Lupin feels comfortable sharing this Information with an "Inspector Zenigata". Of course he does.

With newfound info, Mariya asks Zenigata to go to NYC still to bust Lockwood's secret warmongering. Zenigata responds that he still can't legally do something but that he has an old contact at the NYPD that might be able to help.

After a long drive, Lupin and Co. arrive in New York City to scout out the location of the database- unsurprisingly, it's in Lockwood Tower. Because of Lockwood's status as a tech innovator, the tower boasts all kinds of high-tech gadgets, innovations- and security measures. (This is a reference to Farewell to Nostradamus except that we're not going to the Amazon Rainforest for 45 minutes for some reason).

Lupin, Goemon and Jigen want to access the tower through the sewers and ride a service elevator up to find out from there where the server room is located beyond the visitor center. Even though Goemon and Jigen protest, Lupin insists on sending a calling card- He's coming to take his identity back.

On their way to meet up with Zenigata's contact, he retells his first encounter with Lupin.

After graduating in Japan, a younger Zenigata was sent to work in the field in America, ending up in the NYPD for a short time. There, young thief Lupin the Third and his Partner Daisuke Jigen promise to steal a priceless Gem apparently hidden in the flame of the Statue of Liberty's flame. Being the only one to believe the threat, Zenigata and his old Partner Willow Angel are the only ones to try and stop the gangsters.

Left: Originally, I wanted Zenigata's flashback to be a full-on eighties movie parody. However, that didn't really end up working timeline wise as it would've made everyone in the story seem much older than I would like.

Right: Willow's present day design. I was looking at a lot of Zenigata's past partners but couldn't find anyone that really fit this role both character- and design-wise. So, I guess this could be considered the series first completely original character, although she only has a minor role as to not go against the spirit of the pitch.

The bonkers plan of the gang is to blow off Lady Liberty's hand and attach floats to it- floating down Hudson River to buy them time to remove the gem. 

Zenigata explains that Interpol noticed him because he was crazy enough to jump after the falling hand to chase the thieves. In the end, he couldn't capture Lupin- but Lupin also didn't get Lady Liberty's Gem. (More Bye Bye Lady Liberty influences here) After the fact, it was debated amongst the American public for a long time about what should replace the missing hand. Other ideas being an exact copy of the old torch, an American flag, a gun- but ultimately the design they decided on was a hand making a piece-sign.

One line that Zenigata particularly remembers is the advice the Officer Angel gave him after a particularly nasty beratement by the police chief. When Zenigata explains while she still fulfills her job as a cop despite the chief's discrimination, she explains that the only way to bring about positive change is to work inside of regulations and official channels since otherwise the public might mistrust you, even if it takes longer. At least, that was her opinion.

To his shock, Willow Angel isn't working for the police anymore. She tells Zenigata that a few months after he left, she realized that she couldn't support what she was doing especially considering rise of the "Broken Windows" policies enacted in the early 90s. Now, she works with Food Not Bombs.

Shaken in his trust in the police as a force of good, Zenigata tells Mariya that without the force behind them, approaching Lockwood Tower is impossible.

Meanwhile, the infiltration of Lockwood Tower by Lupin is also going terrible. The elevator exit for the server structure is protected via retina scan. So, the gang decides to exit the elevator and climb up the elevator shaft, where they get ambushed by a load of drones. Barely making it out alive, they reach Lockwood Tower's secret research levels. Tower security begins moving in, but Jigen manages to snag an experimental EMP rifle that he can use to shut down the drones, robots- and the servers. The only issue: There's just one charge.

Alice, hearing her father and his pals get cornered asks "Zenigata" (Mariya) what to do. She suggests calling the police posing as a Lockwood Employee warning of the intruders, giving the police a reason to raid the tower, taking power away from the internal security system, using the officers as involuntary diversions, so to say. Sure, they would have to deal with the police, but they've done that a million times. Alice relays the info to Jigen and calls the police. This gives Zenigata and Mariya an excuse to also ascend the tower.

After passing the tech development facilities, Lupin and gang are surprised to see that the upper most level of the skyscraper to be a beautiful garden. Here, they meet the man that the readers recognize as the person that Mariya saw when she snuck off in the TV tower- Lockwood's second in command, a man named Suzuki. With him is an impossibly large man, his bodyguard. Lupin instructs Goemon to hold off the bodyguard that introduces himself as Hammer while Jigen and him force Suzuki to open the way to the Server room.

Goemon and Hammer begin to fight. Hammer fights using two axes (inspired by the villain in Goemon's Bloodspray) and explains his motivations: He wants to destroy civilization and fell all the rotten people to turn them into soil for his new world. Goemon wonders how he can possibly alight with the mission of Lockwood Enterprises, an international conglomerate. However, Goemon's opponent seems to possess seemingly inhuman strength and agility. Goemon struggles to hold his own.

Meanwhile, Jigen, Lupin and Suzuki reach the server room. As Lupin is about to tell Jigen to use the EMP, Mariya bursts in. In the elevator ride upstairs, Maria revealed her true intentions. Her father was killed while working for Lockwood, and she teams up with Lupin to dig deeper as Zenigata fails to convince her to work by protocol. She uses what Zenigata taugh her against him, cuffing him to a railing inside the elevator and begs Lupin to let her search through Suzuki's database before destroying it. Suzuki uses this diversion to lock himself into a safe room. With tech support from Alice, she discovers three things:

Lupin's DNA was taken when he gave the moon stone to Mr. Flinch. This means the the King of Thieves Competition must also be set up by Lockwood.

The "Project Exodus" consists of genetically edited super soldiers. Hammer is one of them.

There is mention of another secret project, called the "Project Genesis", but despite finding out the names of the people associated with it, she can't figure out what exactly it is.

The name "Lockwood" is an alias for the company's actual head, but any information regarding their true nature has been completely wiped from the computer's memory.

Jigen tells Mariya that the time is up, he wants to destroy the servers and go help Goemon who is currently fighting a literal human killing machine. Lupin disagrees, saying that Goemon is basically the same thing. Enraged, Jigen fires the gun and hurries back to the garden. Lupin follows with Mariya.

Goemon meanwhile isn't doing very well. He manages to cut off the hands of his opponents, but a powerful kick sends him flying through the room, getting pierced by bamboo that is placed on a decorative wall.

Goemon loses.

Hammer laughs and takes the Zantetsuken (with his mouth, since he is missing his hands), before Jigen enters and shoots him. Hammer with the sword falls out of a window, plummeting to his death. With the police approaching from below and the tower's security system coming back online, time is running out.

Goemon is deadly wounded and carried to the roof by Lupin and Jigen. While Lupin readies the helicopter the Suzuki wanted to use to escape the sieged tower, Jigen and Goemon share a tender moment, but Goemon falls into a deep depression due to losing his sword. The gang plus Mariya escape via the helicopter but can hear via the communication to Alice that she has been arrested.

In a final scene we see Zenigata driving Alice away, trying to strike a deal with her, when Zenigata gets a call from his boss. We see a newscast- The US government has set a bounty on Lupin’s head for destroying the DNA database which they acquired legally. He is now the state's enemy No. 1.

Here's this episode's licensed ending theme™ !

[lupin-kot]

2nd Heist - Chicago

Jigen faces the heat. Lupin plays dead. Zenigata gets a hobby. 

Content Warning: Blood

Lupin and gang are challenged to steal a box of government info from Chicago's Federal Reserve Bank. A calling card with his name was already sent and Zenigata excitedly takes Mariya to the job. 

However, the whole heist comes crashing down before it can even start: While staking out the the bank, the police surround the gang and they are forced to make a run for it. The hotel they were planning to stay at is also overrun by cops- no matter which way Lupin turns, the police seem to be one step ahead. The heist planning has to be put on hold while the gang has to find for a place to hide. Another problem rears its head:

Like Mr. Flinch explained, other Crooks are looking to steal the assigned object to advance the competition. Mafia Boss "Mama" (who you might remember from the Manga, Part III and Part V) begins hunting Lupin through the Chicago streets as well. Things are not looking good.

Meanwhile, Zenigata is contacted by Interpol, who work with the Chicago Police Department on the Lupin case. Confident in their secret new ability to seemingly know everything about Lupin- even what he will do in the future, Zenigata is fired. The police chief berates him for not having build up any skills over the years that don't pretain to Lupin.

Disheartened, Zenigata and Mariya go downtown to get wasted. Maria's interest is peaked by what the police chief said and she begins asking Zenigata about how long exactly he has been assigned to Lupin already.

Zenigata explains that as the descendant of Heiji Zenigata, crime fighting runs in the family. His mother was one of Japan's first decorated female officers ever, marrying his father who was a low-ranking public servant. He explains that while his mother was strict, he agreed with her that justice was his destiny. After taking a sip of his drink, he quickly mumbles that he has been chasing Lupin for about 15 years.

Mariya at this point asks if he is in love with Lupin. This seems to take Zenigata aback, but he declines. He explains that after a rough and short-lived marriage, traveling around the world to hunt Lupin was the perfect distraction and made him really skilled at this one job. Mariya wonders if his terrible work-life balance might have contributed to his divorce.

On a drunken taxi ride home, Zenigata seems absent minded. Lupin is just a rival to him. Some crook. That's all, right?

No friends, no family and losing his hair - Zenigata reflects on his life.

Key Art for Daisuke Jigen

Lupin, Goemon and Jigen rush through Chicago's dark backstreets, as Jigen says that he "knows a place" they can hide for a bit, and takes them to a jazz bar run by- family? 

Author's Note: This plot thread is inspired by something that's only spoken off in the German Lupin dub of Voyage to Danger- In Germany, Jigen is a "sharpshooting gangster from Chicago", and I want to bring that back to make the gang a bit more international. Now, I know, I know, it's a bit weird that this American's Name is "Daisuke Jigen", but I think the fans would have killed me if his name was "Johnny Jigen" or something like that. So, the explanation is given that Jigen's father was a Japanese immigrant marrying an American woman.

While hiding out in the bar, Jigen explains that as a young boy, he found out that he had a talented for hitting targets. Slingshots, BB-Guns- if it can shoot, Jigen could hit the tick of a dog's hat, blindfolded and backwards. (Lupin sighs at this campy description). Jigen continues by saying that because of his talent, he was recruited by the Chicago Outfit, a criminal organization that dates back to Al Capone. Initially, he had no interest in joining the mob, he wasn't interested in killing so much as he just liked guns, but he was "convinced" by the Outfit "buying" his father's business. Jigen says that he hasn't spoken with his "family" in a while but is sure that they will protect them, even if it's just to spite Mama's Boys.

Unsurprisingly, Jigen isn't welcome. The rest of the gang learn that after meeting Lupin, Jigen just ran away from the his "family" and his actualy family, leaving an angry ex-wife- and an adult daughter, Alice. (This plot-thread we’re interpreting from “Goodbye Partner!”). 

His ex-wife has taken over the Boss's position and lets Lupin and Co. stay, as a sign of goodwill, under one condition: Jigen needs to try and reconnect with Alice. Jigen tries to wriggle out of this situation, saying that his daughter probably doesn't want to see him at all but Rosie, Jigen's ex makes it very clear that he can either attempt to see his daugher or get out.

Early concept for Alice. I wanted to make her look like she could realistically be this Jigen's daughter. Her clothes are also based on Jigen's causal outfits in the Koike movies, but definitively need to be redesigned to fit her personality better.

Alice Carthwright is in her twenties and wheelchair-bound, spending most of her time on the computer or playing piano. And Jigen was right- despite seeing her father for the first time, she wants nothing to do with him.

Jigen explains to Goemon and Lupin that, as a young gay man pressured into a relationship by his family, he jumped onto the opportunity to leave with Lupin. He fights with Lupin who feels strongly about Jigen not telling him about his daughter, and Jigen leaves to be on his own. Goemon wants to follow him but is ambushed by two of Mama's henchmen. He defeats them, but the info that Lupin and Co. are hiding with the Chicago Outfit makes it to Mama who says that she'll call her "Number One" to deal with issue swiftly and discretely. While we don't hear the person she calls, it becomes clear that whoever is on the other end does not want to return to work for her, but Mama reminds the caller that they owe her.

Meanwhile, Lupin is contacted by Alice.

With her help, Lupin finds out that a copy of his DNA has been given to anyone willing to pay for it, meaning none of his disguises work anymore. A supercomputer has already been trained to predict his every move. (This plot-thread is lifter from Bye Bye Lady Liberty!) Lupin is surprised that Alice wants to help them, but she explains that she will only help in exchange for joining them on their globetrotting mission. She is sick of staying in her room, smothered by her overprotective family. Lupin isn't sure what Jigen would think of this but agrees in exchange for more info. Alice explains that the DNA database and the computer terminal are located in a corporate skyscraper in NYC.

Goemon returns and Lupin and him begin to plan how to approach the bank heist. Time is running out, and Jigen is nowhere to be found.

A few hours later- Jigen wants to reconcile with his Alice but finds her missing- captured by Mama's boys. Without telling the others, he begins the hunt to rescue his daughter.

Lupin meanwhile gets an idea- to infiltrate the one place the police trust blindly- itself. Posing as a cop, Goemon and he manage to steal the briefcase with some real catch-me-if-you-can shenanigans, but get separated during their escape.

I can, for example, really imagine a scene where Lupin can escape the vault by pretending to be a guard that "got knocked out by Lupin" and being escorted out.

Another object secured! 

Jigen vs the Assassins

Jigen rescues his daughter from the trigger-happy gangsters. In a final shoot-out, Mama, in a final act of desperation, holds Alice hostage- Alice in Front of her, a gun to her head. Jigen notes that it seems like she didn't keep count of her bullets, noting that they both have one bullet left in their guns, but Jigen only has one target- Mama has two. Mama begins to negotiate with Jigen, offering to let Alice go if both of them drop their weapons, but he laughs it off saying that he can easily hit Mama without harming his daughter. Mama asks if he is really ready to gamble his daughter's life away. Looking into Alice's eyes, he shoots Mama into her leg. Mama screams in pain and lets Alice go, dropping her to the ground. Jigen rushes towards her.

Alice is still not ready to forgive Jigen, saying that what he did just now won't erase the twenty years he wasn't there, adding that all this trouble is his fault. She scolds him, saying that if he had just talked instead of just shooting he wouldn't have run the risk of her getting shot. Jigen returns that he would have never missed, but Alice is heartbroken that her dad was ready to, as Mama said, gamble. They sit in silence in the abandoned warehouse.

The awkward silence is broken as Goemon arrives at the scene. Jigen is suprised to see him but the samurai laughs it off and explains that he's been working with the lone gunman for so long that not tracking Jigen would make him seem like a terrible assassin. Alice is surprised that there are people her dad actually let get close to him. As the three of them leave, Jigen explains how he first met Lupin:

A young Arsène Lupin arrived in Chicago to ask the former boss of the Chicago Outfit for monetary support for a heist he was planning in New York. When the boss declined, Lupin decided to just steal the money from the mob- and the boss' wive. Jigen was sent to track down and assassinate Lupin, but he appealed to Jigen's want for freedom and the two ended up joining forces. Alice recognizes the feelings Jigen had for her family in herself. Finally, Goemon notices that all of Lupin's friends and partners wanted to kill him the first time they met.

On his way back to the bar, Lupin sees himself as the victor already, when he is suddenly knocked out. He awakes, bound and tied up, in a run down shack at the lake shore. His captor is none other than the woman called Fujiko Mine- and she has the precious briefcase. Lupin asks what happened to her "turning over a new leaf", and Fujiko responds that she got pulled back to repay an old debt. She explains that Mama asked her to get her the briefcase so that the mob boss could ascend to the next level of the King of Thieves competition, but Fujiko decides to leave the briefcase with Lupin since Mama "won't need it anymore".

Lupin is surprised, saying that Fujiko isn't usually this charitable. Fujiko is amused and she says that she isn't interested in competing to become King and explains that the information inside the briefcase is more valuable that some title and crown among low-lifes. She kisses Lupin goodbye and turns around to leave him and the briefcase behind. (Lupin is still tied up.) Before she can exit the shack, Lupin finally asks how Fujiko ended up capturing him since even the AI trained specifically to catch him failed. Fujiko laughs and says that while a robot may be smart, no one knows him better than her.

"Me, and maybe Inspector Zenigata. Maybe."

Later, Lupin joins the rest of the gang back at the Outfit's Jazz Bar. Because the Lupin-tracking system is still active, the gang decides that trying to leave the country to reach the challenge's next destination might be impossible via plane. So, they put the challenge on hold and want to first stop in New York to take care of the database first. Road Trip! Alice also explains that the briefcase contained a laptop that she starts to crack. However, Mr. Flinch appears again to exchange the Laptop for money and the next heist item: An Ancient Dragon Statue in Japan.

In the streets of Chicago, Lupin wants to steal a classic Mercedes to use for their road trip but Alice notes that he should probably steal the car he would be least likely to steal to throw the computer off his scent. So, he ends up stealing a yellow Fiat 500. Lupin bemoans that the car's color clashes with his jacket, as the gang plus Alice leave town.

In a final scene, we see a hungover Zenigata and Mariya appear at a crime scene: At a Mama's Boys warehouse, Mama herself is found dead. From the looks of it, someone crushed her windpipe with a stiletto high heel shoe. It's still stuck in her neck.

Zenigata finds a letter on the body, reading:

"No more strings."

It's signed with a red lipstick kiss. Zenigata has a realization.

"Fujiko Mine..."

Finally, as always:

This series would've been a comic- if it were an animated show however, here's this episode's licensed credit music TM.

[lupin-kot]

1st Heist - Shanghai

Lupin takes a tumble. Fujiko turns over a new leaf. Zenigata teams up.  

"Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Fujiko Mine for NHK World-Japan coming at you live from Shanghai, China."

In Shanghai’s premiere landmark, the "Oriental Pearl" TV tower, a priceless piece of moon rock is changing hands between the Chinese National Space Agency and Lockwood Enterprises, the business of a reclusive billionaire owner.

Overview of the Tower

Inspector Zenigata is on the case: Lupin has sent a calling card and is planning to steal the expensive piece.

Mr. Zhou tells Zenigata that security is top-notch at the event. All guests and staff have been screened preemptively. And besides: The Elevators are monitored and the only way in and out.

Zenigata isn't so sure.

"If no-one gets in, that means he's already here!"

Because a famous Chinese Astronaut is at the Event to give the piece of moon rock to the representative of Lockheart Enterprises, Zenigata gets taken for a ride as Mr. Zhou reveals that all waiters are dressed head-to-toe in Astronaut Suits! Panicking, Zenigata starts searching through all the waiters.

However, Lupin has planned ahead for this: 

Jigen infiltrates the staff as an elevator operator and cuts the wires in the elevator, basically trapping everyone up in the TV tower. Goemon has infiltrated the staff as a sushi chef and has a bit where the sushi chef doesn't care that he is a thief- he wants him to stay because he's never seen anyone work so precisely with a knife.

Left: First concept of Bellhop Jigen; Right: "Chef" Goemon transports precious cargo.

Zenigata spots Fujiko and tries to make her talk: Where is Lupin? What's he planning? Fujiko says that she doesn't know. She explains to have changed her ways and now works as a reporter. While Zenigata interrogates Fujiko, her assistant reporter, Mariya Isshiki, slips away from the conversation.

Key Art: Mariya Isshiki, originally from Tokyo Crisis

Maria seems to have psychic powers and foresees that the CEO of Lockwood Enterprises, a mysterious man that no-one has any photos of, will be there. Fujiko is interested in the identity of this man as well. Using her powers to sneak past the guards and up the Elevator to the Spaceflight exhibit, she witnesses money exchange hands- but Mr. Lockwood seems to have changed his mind and is not present. The tall man in a well-fitting suit that's come as a representative instead triggers a flash of strange memories in her- and she is caught and thrown out.

Meanwhile-

Lupin is hiding out in a meal-cart and rigged some of the astronauts suits to dispense tear gas when opened- he jumps out when Zenigata is busy interrogating Fujiko, steals the moon rock and escapes with his gang, running off the balcony of the TV tower- revealing a wingsuits underneath their disguises, they land on the ferry the goes across the river from the TV tower's side and the city center. 

Zenigata and his men want to follow- but of course, Jigen had cut the power to the elevator. When the police arrive to capture the criminals trapped on the ferry, Lupin and gang manage to slip out because they already hid disguises under some seats on the ferry in preparation for the heist. 

They lose the police officers in the subway system. 

An overhead view of the place. The ferry is marked red, and Lupin's escape is marked in blue.

After Zenigata fails to catch Lupin- again- and embarrasses himself in front of the world’s richest, he is assigned Maria to improve his PR. Maria has no choice but to take the job too since she almost got fired for leaving the party to look for the mysterious CEO. 

In their hideout somewhere in a small apartment, Lupin reveals that he was challenged by an anonymous source to steal a list of objects to be crowned King of Thieves, going head-to-head with other "wannabe thieves".

Jigen and Goemon are skeptical and want out, but the anonymous source comes through and pays them handsomely. The huge man in the doorframe introduces himself as Mr. Flinch. Goemon and Jigen have a sneaking suspicion that they have seen this guy before somewhere. Flinch warns them that now that they’ve entered the challenge to become king of thieves, they will face the other contestants. Their next target: Chicago, USA.

In the Epilogue, we see what this iteration's Lupin III is like (at least at the start of the series.): a scumbag.

He pickpockets tens of IDs from unsuspecting travelers to let Goemon and Jigen "take a pic" from the pile to use as a fake ID. He flirts with the booking agent to get upgraded to First Class. Only him, of course. Goemon and Jigen are stuck in Economy. While enjoying the company of Stewards and Stewardesses that hand on his every word and a glass of champagne, the plane leaves for America. Little does he know that this attitude isn't going to be enough to survive- let alone become king.

Also, I know I said this series would've been a comic- if it were an animated show, here's this episode's licensed credits music TM.

Key Art: Koichi Zenigata

In this first Episode, we also learn about Zenigata's unique qualifications:

"Like, imagine being the detective in his situation. 

Lupin is such an expert thief that there are literal hundreds of possible plans that he could execute for every target. All you know is that at the beginning, the treasure is there and in the end is gone. 

Especially in a public space like the TV tower. Lupin could be a member of staff. He could be a guest. He could be the manager, or one of the detectives. He could make a grand entrance, poison the food or fill the room with sleeping gas. He could come through the vents, he could already have swapped the treasure for a fake, he could have planned this for months and have married the host’s daughter. Hell, for all you know he could crash a car into the venue and drive right back out. 

All these options must be so overwhelming. 

But then you have Zenigata, who, after years of hunting Lupin, can be more precise in predicting which path Lupin is more likely to take. I personally also think that, despite being in his 50s in this iteration, pops is physically in better shape than Lupin and could take him in a 1-on-1."