Lupin the 3rd: Part 1 04
ルパン三世
Lupin III Episode 04

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Lupin, Jigen, and Fujiko hit an excavation site to snag a treasure chest. Lupin gets caught, but Jigen and Fujiko escape. Fujiko attempts to free Lupin from the prison wagon, but Zenigata thwarts her. Jigen assures Fujiko that if Lupin wanted to escape, he would. Meanwhile, Zenigata gloats over capturing Lupin. However, Lupin causes problems by claiming not to be Lupin.

Over the course of a year, Lupin lets his hair and beard grow, all the while claiming not to be Lupin. Fujiko makes several prison break attempts, only to be stopped by Jigen. Zenigata begins to wonder why Lupin hasn’t made an escape attempt. On the day that Lupin is to be executed, Jigen disguises himself as a Buddhist priest to find out what Lupin is really up to. Lupin asks Jigen to let him do his thing.

After Jigen leaves, Lupin executes his escape plan. He uses his fingernail, sharpened like a razor, to shave and cut his hair. Lupin gets the drop on a guard and forces the guard to dress in Lupin’s prison attire and have Lupin’s long hair and beard. The protesting guard is taken to be executed as Lupin. Zenigata figures out the guard with him is Lupin, but is forced to let him go to stop the execution.

Lupin walks out of prison, where Jigen awaits. Elsewhere, Fujiko mourns Lupin’s loss and throws his Walther P38 into the ocean, proclaiming her love for him. Meanwhile, Jigen and Lupin arrive at a former forest where Jigen had hidden the treasure. The forest is gone and the treasure gets destroyed in a dynamite blast.

Thoughts/Review

It seems as if Lupin the 3rd: Part 1 04 was where Lupin the Third PART4 13 came from.

In Jail

One interesting item that came out in Lupin the 3rd: Part 1 04 is how vindictive Lupin is. As Jigen stated in the episode, Lupin can escape whenever he wants. But even Jigen couldn’t understand Lupin’s plan. He just went with it. Lupin just wanted to humiliate Zenigata for the “crime” of not killing him at the heist. Apparently, Lupin would rather have been shot to death by the cops rather than hit with tranqs and thrown in prison.

Another other interesting element in the episode was Fujiko coming to realize how much Lupin means to her. Initially, all of her attempts to break him out of prison were to get the key to the treasure chest they grabbed. But when she thought he was executed, she mourned for him. I know it won’t happen, but it would have been nice to see Fujiko react to Lupin still being alive.

Finally, there’s Zenigata’s dilemma. While this element will come up again in future, this is the first time Zenigata has had to face the fact that a dead Lupin means Zenigata’s life’s purpose is over. Unfortunately, the moment doesn’t have the impact it should for me.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Let me wrap up my review of Lupin the 3rd: Part 1 04 with some final thoughts.

• This episode has another of those “just go with it” moments when Lupin dresses the guard to look and sound like him. I mean, if you shave your beard, how do you then attach it to someone else and make it look normal without glue and such? 😅
• Goemon gets his first appearance in the “what is this series?” intro to the episode. But he wasn’t part of the episode.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Lupin the 3rd: Part 1 04 doesn’t have the impact Lupin the Third PART4 13 did in telling essentially the same story. Still, it is fun seeing the origins of that later tale.