Rupan Sansei: Kiri no Eryuushivu
ルパン三世 霧のエリューシヴ
Lupin III: Elusiveness of the Fog

SPOILER Summary:

Lupin and Jigen are on the bottom of the ocean near the island of Kiritappu where Lupin is looking for a treasure that Fujiko has talked him into finding. While she sunbathes, Zenigata and police arrive. Lupin and Jigen manage to make it to the boat, and a chase ensues, ending with their boat “cruising” through the streets of Kiritappu until the duo bail out.

The duo flee in Lupin’s classic compact yellow car where Goemon is waiting. Naturally, Zenigata and the police are hot on his tail. However, weird things start happening in that people begin to literally disappear from their cars as a fog rolls in. They find themselves at a lighthouse as Zenigata steals a scooter to continue the chase. A flash of light happens and the time traveler Mamo appears. He sends the trio back in time and Zenigata manages to get caught in it with his scooter.

Arriving in the past, the trio find themselves in a battle between the forces of the Shine clan and the Norse clan. Jigen uses his magnum to great effect, but when the trio gets caught in the swamp, he has no choice but to give it up, with Lupin losing his weapon in the swamp. Zenigata crashes down into the Norse village and is taken captive as Lupin and company are taken captive by the Shine troops.

In prison, two soldier disappear and Mamo appears, stating that Lupin XIII stole his girlfriend and he’s getting revenge, which will end up killing Lupin III and thus removing Lupin XIII from the future. They break out of prison, but stop to grab a bite from a pot of food and are discovered. In the lady Iseka-sama’s chambers, a Norse spy attempts to use Jigen’s gun to take out Iseka, but Lupin and company arrive to take care of the problem and Jigen gets his gun back, though sadly, the bullets in the chamber have been used, meaning he’s worthless.

They are kicked off the island and given a ride in boat by the boy Takaya. They are ambushed, but defeat the Shine troops and head to Takaya’s hut. As they eat and talk, they discuss the legend of the treasure and Lupin thinks coming back to the past will allow him to get it since Iseka’s blue-flamed necklace seems part of the legend. A thief named Ofumi (who looks like Fujiko) comes to steal Iseka’s necklace, but is prevented by Lupin and company. She gets away and Mamo returns, also wanting the time treasure. If Lupin doesn’t do what he says, he’ll make sure Fujiko is never born.

Goemon takes a job as Iseka’s bodyguard and learns that the Shine Island contains lots of natural gas, which they’ve trapped and use as energy, heat, and lights for their homes in the village. This is what the Norse crave and their chancellor, Obitaki, is eager to keep fighting. The Norse leader, Eshika-dono, is uncertain and wants peace (as does Iseka), but goes along with Obitaki.

As Jigen makes new bullets, Lupin continues to investigate the treasure. He manages to enlist Ofumi’s help as they head into the Norse village, looking for the White Tamayura treasure that Takaya has given them a clue for. Things go well, but then Ofumi betrays them in an attempt to get the treasure herself. However, she learns that the clue of Takaya was a lie and he was using them to attempt to avenge the death of his father, who was killed at the orders of Obitaki.

Regrouping to meet Mamo’s three-day deadline, Lupin sees the natural gas flames coming from a pipe and hatches a plan. He has Ofumi free Zenigata, who then gets on his bike to pursue Lupin, refusing to believe they are in the past. Lupin enacts his scheme, which involves allowing Zenigata to pursue him into where Lupin has stated the treasure is. Mamo arrives to take possession of the White Tamayura, which Lupin has lead him to believe is a sacred relic on the island, but it is not the real one. Lupin produces a white stone and appears to make Zenigata disappear as well as himself several times, claiming the stone allows him to travel in time. Mamo panics but returning to the future, finds himself still OK. He returns to the past, but as Ofumi moves to take out Mamo and allow Lupin to take control of his time machine, Zenigata comes to and interferes, allowing Mamo to escape.

Lupin starts his next plan while Mamo arms the Norse forces with rifles and machine guns. The leader of the Shine forces is determined to beat the Norse once and for all, not wanting peace talks, and has Goemon disarmed. As they set up their defenses, Lupin and Jigen look for the treasure. The Norse attack, aided by Mamo, begins with the dawn and it is devastating to the Shine troops. Goemon overpowers the guards assigned to them and he and Iseka go to the top of the giant statue on the cliff of Shine Island. There, she pleads for the life of her people as Eshika arrives, saying he too wants peace and accepts Iseka’s offer to share the natural gas.

Lupin springs his plan, showing a new stone he claims is the White Tamayura. Mamo having been fooled earlier isn’t buying it, but Lupin goes through the legend and shows the things happening now are what the legend talked about. Mamo leaves the stone but goes back in time to just before Lupin takes it. Lupin had planned on this and Mamo ends up getting trapped, allowing Lupin access to the time machine. Mamo soon discovers that what he thought was someone trying to kill him with a time machine was the result of his own actions in the past. He brings out Lupin by threatening to kill Ofumi. However, Ofumi, aided by Takaya, attack Mamo, allowing Jigen to shoot the knife out his hands and forcing him to flee.

Meanwhile, the statue falls to the sea in a flash of light with Iseka on it. However, Lupin has rescued her in the time machine so all’s well. The villagers call the time machine the White Tamayura, which explains the treasure. Zenigata arrives on his scooter and so its time for Lupin and company to return to the present. Zenigata manages to grab the time machine as it returns to Kiritappu. Goemon is forced to destroy the time machine to allow them to escape. They flee on the boat and irritate Fujiko by not having a treasure. Lupin notices that Fujiko is wearing the blue-flame necklace of Iseka, meaning that Ofumi managed to steal it after all. Zenigata starts chasing them again, first by boat, then by car as our adventurers go for their next adventure.

Thoughts/Review:

OK, I had to just laugh at the absurdity of Lupin’s boat being able to magically skid down the roads without losing speed or anything else. But I digress…

Bringing back Mamo (who first appeared in episode 13 of the first TV series and is not to be confused with the character Mamo from The Mystery of Mamo movie) was a neat idea. I gather that this episode isn’t exactly a sequel as Lupin doesn’t seem to know Mamo in this special. Regardless, you don’t have to have seen to original episode to appreciate this special, but bringing Mamo back was a nod to the fans and 40-years since the manga started.

As to the special itself, I did like it. The concept of having Lupin go back in time was actually interesting. However, the mystery of the treasure was a bit wonky to me and I figured that Mamo was the cause of his own troubles. Still, I never felt bored by the special, which is a good thing.

I almost hate to say this, but I was glad that Fujiko got left behind. Her ancestor was so much more interesting as a character (Fujiko has become way too 2-dimensional). Zenigata was a complete waste of time. I wanted him to be in on actually believing they’d gone back 500-years and work to help get them back to the present. Instead, we get his seiyuu sounding very old and tired saying “Lupin” and “Your under arrest” and “I’m from Interpol” way too often.

I was glad to see Goemon become a bodyguard for Iseka-sama, because as a samurai, that is what he’d naturally do. He didn’t get to do a whole heck of a lot though, which was a shame.

Then there was the problem with Jigen and his gun. Having only the bullets in the chamber of his magnum, I thought, “Why would a professional shooter not carry a whole lot of extra bullets?” I think the writers considered that too late in the production. When Jigen was making new bullets to put in the used casings, I thought, “Were are they getting the gun powder from to fire these bullets?”

One final thought — the special felt at times like a nod to Castle of Cagliostro. It was not only the compact, old yellow car that Lupin was driving, but some of the chases therein seemed to remind me of Cagliostro for some reason.

In the end, Lupin III: Elusiveness of the Fog is not a bad story, but not one I’ll likely want to watch again.