Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna - Episode 11

Having effectively broken Fujiko the week before last, and messed heavily with Lupin's last time around, this week it's Oscar's turn in the psychological spotlight.

After a brief introduction to his chance meeting with Zenigata as a boy which saw him taken under the inspector's wing, our attention quickly refocuses on Fujiko Mine's current stealing spree, as she races around stealing gaudy but expensive items and even going so far as to leave calling cards informing the police where she'll be visiting next to taunt them.  All in all, it seems like very un-Fujiko-esque behaviour, and once we witness Fujiko herself still in a decidedly unhealthy mental state under the supervision of Goemon it seems clear that somebody else is the clumsy mastermind behind these robberies.

Of course, there's only one man that desperate to be the centre of Zenigata's praise and attention, and as this attention wanes so "Fujiko"'s crime spree escalates all the way to murder.  Zenigata has quickly realised that Fujiko isn't the individual behind these cases, and he isn't the only one as a number of parties act to stop the insanity, while Oscar finds himself the object of our owl-loving friends who seek to use him as the catalyst for a new chapter in Fujiko's "story".  With his actions taking an even-more sinister turn as a result, what length will Oscar go to in the hope of getting the attention of his mentor?  By the time he's realised the true extent of his actions, the only way of undoing what he's done could have fatal consequences...

Having expected him to be nothing more than a side character at this juncture, it was something of a pleasant surprise to see Oscar and Zenigata's relationship explored so frankly in this week's instalment of Lupin III, while also using him as a driving force for both Fujiko's mental state and Lupin's actions to boot in another smartly written and directed piece whose only flaw is arguably the unbelievable lengths to which Oscar goes during the course of the episode.  That aside, this was once again a hugely enjoyable and visually striking affair from a series that has barely skipped a beat over the course of the spring season.  With a couple of episodes left, it's going to have to start wrapping things up quickly to ensure for a suitably memorable finale to an already excellent show.