I've always been on the outskirts of the Lupin series. I know of the characters, read some smatterings of plot, seen some out-of-context scenes - I know a vague approximation of Lupin, at best. Enough to make me love the charm, and enough to draw me to Jigen in particular, with his character archetype being a long-lasting fave of mine. The grumpy stoic trying to hide his gooey center? Handmade for me every time. I loved the hints of his and Lupin's relationship I saw in Is Lupin Still Flirting, so naturally I was super excited to see it expanded upon when I noticed this game.
BOY WAS I NOT FUCKING PREPARED FOR IT.
**SPOILERS**
Having never officially SEEN Lupin, I actually had no idea about Lupin and Fujiko's marriage and the following divorce. But I loved that you never tried to downplay Lupin's behavior about Fujiko in ILSF, so I didn't think much about his constant talk of her here either, which made for an extremely effective punch to my gut when Part 3 of the game came around. I spent Parts 3 and 4 mired in an odd little disbelief about what was happening, how abruptly things had spiraled down. I saw it through because of the care for characters and story I saw throughout both ILSF and this game, and I'm glad I did!!
The ending really ties everything together in a way that's so incredibly satisfying. I genuinely got a bit teary when I realized Lupin's little act wasn't working the way the stats told me they would; Jigen refusing to look away after a whole game centered around trying to get him to raise his hat, alongside the failure of Lupin's mental math when it worked to pinpoint perfection every time, got me right in the heart. I LOVE those big moments of reversed expectations so much, and it worked so well here. Lupin's a man of casual manipulation swept under his goofy charm, but Jigen never misses his mark, and Lupin's no exception!! All of it made me feel extra gleeful about the fourth wall break at the end. After everything, it made me SO happy to have a little personal hand in helping Lupin get what he wanted.
To say all of that and then talk about how much I liked the stats and the building of the relationship between Jigen and Lupin is a bit of putting the cart before the horse, but I was very emotional about the ending and I will not apologize. But I did love those aspects very much!! I still have to play around with options and outcomes and see how much is possible without it, but it really ties the bow on the game when you use Lupin's openness to 'influence' Jigen; how Lupin sees it as a necessary evil in order to get what he wants when it's really just him participating in what makes a relationship work by making it a two-way street. We love when a manipulator plays himself!! And every tidbit Jigen shared about himself broke my heart and made me adore the character all the more. Watching him wrestle with his own issues and insecurities in regard to Lupin really made him feel like his own person, someone I cared for and wanted to see happy.
I don't know if I'll ever get around to actually properly experiencing the Lupin series (I'm one of those 'when the stars are aligned' people when it comes to sitting down to these things) but I had a blast with these games regardless because I could tell just how much care and love was poured into each one. If I got this much enjoyment as someone hovering at the fringes, I can only imagine how lucky true Lupin fans must feel to have these works to enjoy! Thank you so much for making and sharing them.