I guess my biggest problem with Part 5 (besides how Ami was treated because *Jesus Christ why?*) is that while it has a lot of potential and some really good concepts and themes it wants to gesture at, it never feels like it does more than just gesture at them. Like it's more interested in the concept of *having* these concepts and themes than actually following up on them in a way that makes sense. Part 5's got some fantastic individual scenes, but the whole is kind of a hot mess for me.

I agree and I disagree -- I think some of the themes are actually solidly brought through the whole way (fujiko and lupin's relationship especially, but also the running theme of 'where is lupin's place in the modern world', which it essentially answers with 'he's what he's always have been: first and foremost a good story, which holds a different power and influence than the stripped clinical kind of information tech giants wield' -- I wouldn't want them to go back to that tech-focused intensely online-aware theme again, but I think it was a worthy thing to explore for one season. and then the more subtextual stuff like jigen as the one stable thing in lupin's life, which is additonally wrapped up/given a day in the limelight in 'the times', that one satisfied me Greatly), and some of the themes are dropped long before they're brought to anything. ami's ending in particular is... wow. that's how they did it huh lol. but part 5 is still my fave because of its strengths and despite its failures, the whole tone of it and ways of doing character interactions appealed to me.

again tho you have every right to feel exactly how you feel! very little lupin iii media is like....... objectively good by normal standards (affectionate), so it's all about what specific trash garbage they serve up that sparks joy for any one individual hahaha. I genuinely dislike the vast majority of part 4 -- I find it both unforgiveably boring and thematically incoherent and unsatisfying -- but many people I respect and admire love that season; they just got something else out of it than I did, and that's okay, neither of us is in the wrong for it.