Rupan Sansei: Honou no Kioku - Tokyo Crisis

This Lupin title is a bit different in that Lupin actually takes a back seat to Inspector Zenigata. As such, we get a more interesting tale than if the focus had been on Lupin and his gang. With Lupin out to steal some rare etchings, Zenitata is out to stop him. Fujiko has somehow weasled her way into the job as the head of a Tokyo magazine and on her staff is a young female reporter named Maria. Maria is voiced by the excellent seiyuu Hayashibara Megumi who does an excellent job of making Maria come to life as a sweet, innocent young lady.

Maria joins Zenigata one evening as he foils Lupin's attempt to steal the etchings from a convoy. However, things go very wrong and Zenigata is put on suspention. This is where things get interesting. Maria stays with Zenigata as he gets drunk, then ends up taking him home and into his apartment. This is a nice touch because we get to see where and how Zenigata lives -- like a slobby bachelor. Of further interest is the jutte (a weapon used by Samurai police in fuedal Japan) that Zenigata has -- a link to his police heritage.

So while Lupin may be the star, Zenigata and Maria working together end up taking the focus. Zenigata ends up getting somewhat taken with Maria and naturally comes to her rescue when she's in danger. She helps him by using her special gift of precognition, so it ends up being a good partnership and a sweet one to boot. Too bad the writers didn't have it go a bit further. I would have liked to have seen Zenigata get the girl, but that's not where they went. How it went is much more realistic though.

The story itself isn't all that interesting, but serves its purpose. Lupin gets plenty of time. Fujiko starts off with more of an interesting role, but simply doesn't pay out. Jigen is taken out with a tooth ache, so he's not much of a presence in the special. Goemon having Zantetsuken stolen from him made him look like a complete moron rather than a cool, powerful samurai. Without his sword, Goemon is worthless in the special. We finally have a semi-intelligent villian in this special, but Lupin is just a tad smarter, as you might expect.

Bottom line: Megumi-san's work as Maria is very good and the depth given to Zenigata's character is a very nice touch. The story is only average making this worth a rent.

Last updated Saturday, November 26 2005. Created Saturday, November 26 2005.