The genius is watching five people with completely different reasons converge on the same prize, each one thinking they're the smartest thief in the room. Jigen hunting Lupin for revenge, Fujiko playing angles nobody else sees yet, Goemon after a sword that's just window dressing for something bigger, Zenigata flying blind from Japan. By the time you realize how they actually become a gang, the movie has already shown you why they need each other to survive what comes next.
Lupin the 3rd's most iconic crew didn't start as a team. Before they became legends, they were strangers whose paths crossed on American soil. Galvez, a ruthless mafia kingpin, guards a treasure so valuable it's hidden inside another treasure. Lupin enters the heist with his usual charm and cunning. Jigen shows up as hired muscle tasked with stopping him, nursing a vendetta after one failed hit. Fujiko is the girlfriend of Brad, a rival of Lupin's. Zenigata pursues her all the way from Japan, dead set on arresting her. And Goemon hunts for the legendary Zantetsuken, a sword said to slice through steel, which is somehow tied to the treasure in that vault. This special, a comedic mystery adventure, shows how the five first meet through a string of twists and turns, told with the humor that makes Lupin worth revisiting.
