#*nervously eyes the ever-shortening list of lupin stuff I haven't watched yet*

[vaguely-concerned]

Rhapsody on Seven Days Rhapsody

zenigata has canonically trained his ears to recognize the sound of the fiat starting up. fiat whisperer. fhsjadfask I love you pops (he's mostly here for comic relief in this one but by god he does it so well)

honestly the subtitle of this special could be 'polycule scheduling problems' (also incontrovertible proof that if it ever really came down to it fujiko would 100% get goemon in the divorce. fujigoe folks come get your good fucking food)

- a particularly upsetting jigen's evil exes situation in this one, but at least the dude is arguably kind of handsome and quite clever this time so I guess there's always that. somehow it's so sad to me that the thing he offers (and knows jigen won't turn down) is to 'fix their relationship'. uuuuugh you just know this guy would sometimes stroke his hair and smile at him while they were fucking and jigen's poor fucked up love starved brain looked at that very barest veneer of human care and decency, however feigned, and went and decided that meant he owes him.

in some ways this dude's much worse because he's not stupid or just plain nuts, tho. like jigen honey I know this is not your strongest suit at the best of times but self respect, buddy, don't let people push your buttons like this ;___;

- a lady plants an impassioned surprise kiss on jigen in a flashback near the beginning and HE DOESN'T EVEN TAKE HIS HANDS OUT OF HIS POCKETS AT ANY POINT OF IT fkjhdsjklasfsdaljkh iconic (he did clearly care about her but proooobably not in quite the same way as she did for him huh lol)

yes. indeed. this did happen. more than once, in fact. this whole special is SPECTACULARLY gay, which I know is a high bar indeed for a lupin installment. some of it is in the form of gay jokes but it didn't feel like particularly malicious ones as these things go this time around, if you see what I mean. also fuck you I'm not taking it as jokes it's just nice to have on-screen confirmation that lupin is into goemon's tits as much as fujiko's (great content for most pairings in this tbh)

- this is of course an incredibly silly stupid story, as all lupin iii stories are, and don't let the fact that I found it very entertaining fool you into thinking otherwise, but it feels like there's something real and quite sweet in the running theme around heaven and hell in this one, especially when lupin and jigen have that reconciliation conversation where, I don't know... all the dread and deadness is taken out of it by that sense of looking at someone like 'I know I'm going to hell in the end, but that's okay because I'm going there with you and as long as it's the two of us we could make even that a fucking party'. like yeah, I think that's what it's all about when you get right down to it, that kind of partnership.

(also jigen's stone cold "you can't" in response to riat trying one last ditch guilt trip *chef kiss*. again -- this idea of both heaven and hell as lonely places vs. what lupin and jigen talk about ever so indirectly in that scene after the fire, tho. thoughts. emotions.)

- goemon and taking down a helicopter name a more iconic duo (possibly 'zenigata and crashing them' gets close)

how am I supposed to not be ready to lay down my life for him at a moment's notice. what do you want from me. am I fashioned from cold unfeeling steel? is my heart a lump of ice? am I to remain unmoved by him using a high squeaky voice to make the puppet go 'hai!'????

- this one has some GREAT lupin characterization for me. it's the perfect blend of silliness and competence (and occasional straight up ruthlessness). the god of failing upwards and having fun the whole face-planting way

- still thinking about how, when lupin shoots jigen's hat off in their standoff, it's treated as more of a disarming than if he'd actually, y'know, disarmed him. that part is also the only time you see jigen's eyes in this entire special, I'm pretty sure, which is really emphasized by all the close ups during the scenes where he's realizing just how fucked up his employers are and you don't get access to his eyes at all. sort of like a mix of emotional vulnerability + helping him see clearly again going on here, especially since it's heavily hinted riat brings out old bad habits in him (namely numbness, near-fatal levels of unassertiveness and a light sprinkle of suicidality, what a cocktail).

WHAT A FUCKING POWER MOVE!! Lupin really went 'I stole your diamond, I stole your hostage, most importantly I stole your man and unlike you I'm gonna treat him right... and I did it all without wearing any pants (they're in custody. zenigata's got them)'

the way riat keeps talking about lupin in relation to jigen is so funny tho he is one step away from pulling out the 'don't worry I'll get you back to the ol' ball and chain in one piece by the weekend buddy' card

- I'm still cracking up about the fact that lupin made jigen come with him to the store where he was planning to buy ice (as in frozen water) and nothing else, apparently just because he wanted the company, and all he seems to have needed to do was go 'hey jigen c'mon I need you for something let's go' with no further explanation lmao. you needy lil shit lupin <3 (adorable to just have them have a cute domestic conversation as they walk through a comically bad neighbourhood haha, lupin's infodumping about an extremely niche yet intense current interest of his while jigen both follows along and offhandedly averts a robbery, and the situation has the definite vibe that this type of conversation happens regularly between them)

- warning that there is some very questionable stuff around an underage female character in this one and while I think they don't quite cross the line into completely heinous territory with it, it did make me a bit uncomfortable in places so, y'know, mind how you go etc.

let's do as the special and end on this

#lupin iii #seven days rhapsody #arsene lupin iii #daisuke jigen #inspector zenigata #goemon ishikawa xiii #somehow I love that lupin has made sure tiny puppet jigen still has the tiepin lol if he can't be anything else he will always be extra #*nervously eyes the ever-shortening list of lupin stuff I haven't watched yet* #I guess there's always part 2 to get through holy shit but they got so much of that made in such a short time?? #jigen x lupin #lupin x zenigata #fujiko x goemon