Lupin the 3rd: Part III 10
Lupin III Part 3 10
ルパン三世 – Part III Ep. 10

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

An ad in a local paper saying “Dear Mr. Lupin III YOU ARE SO IDIOT” provokes Lupin. He informs Jigen that this is a secret, family cypher to arrange a meeting with the Minister of Justice, Ricchi Wairo. Lupin arrives at the minister’s cliff-side mansion, disguised as Zenigata. However, the minister already knows this is Lupin because the real Zenigata is there. Over Zenigata’s objections, Minister Wairo wants Lupin to verify the authenticity of a Lupin family heirloom.

In a deep, basement vault, Lupin, Wairo, and Zenigata inspect the Lupin Diamond. The minister brags about the security, including the explosive, liquid sphere surrounding the gem. Lupin shines a laser pointer at it, causing the image of his grandfather to appear on the wall. With the diamond authenticated, Wairo baits Lupin into a bet. If Lupin steals the gem, he gets the diamond and the minister loses his job. If Lupin fails, Zenigata hauls Lupin in to spend life in prison. Lupin accepts.

Lupin has Goemon train to cut water balloons in a certain way. Meanwhile, he conducts a breakout of a unique thief named Kusogumo. According to Lupin, Kusogumo has a supernatural power to phase his hands through anything and retrieve stuff, including within safes. The breakout goes as plan. However, Kusogumo is actually a frustrated Zenigata in disguise.

Lupin and Kusogumo enter Wairo’s mansion and wake the minister. He escorts them to the basement. However, it is there that the minister has Zengata reveal himself. Lupin pretends to be taken in. However, he’s buying time for Jigen to fly a helicopter in. Goemon cuts into the sub-basement and cuts the diamond free without setting off the explosive. As they flee, Zenigata and the minister have to dive into the water to avoid getting caught in the explosion that follows.

Thoughts/Review

While entertaining enough, Lupin the 3rd: Part III 10 isn’t quite my cup of tea. But there are some things I liked. For a start, I liked that it was Zenigata who broke the Lupin family cypher in order to get Lupin to visit the Minister of Justice. How “Dear Mr. Lupin III YOU ARE SO IDIOT” converts to a specific meeting at a place and time with the Minister of Justice is one of those plot contrivances one has to allow to roll past. 😅

I also appreciate how the writers of this episode wanted Zenigata to not look like a fool. Indeed, had the minister done things Zenigata’s way, Lupin would be arrested. Granted, he probably would have escaped, so I do get the minister’s political point there. I just wish the writers would have had Zenigata retort about never having arrested Lupin. He has arrested Lupin, including in the previous episode. But Zenigata got the last, gleeful laugh, so there’s that.

In addition, I liked how Fujiko’s absence is explained. It shows that despite Lupin’s infatuation with Fujiko, he’s not stupid. Thus he has her off somewhere else, allowing Lupin to work without interference.

Finally, I’m not sure why the official English subtitles changed two of the names. Minister Ricchi Wairo’s name is changed to Lynch Graft. Huh? 🤨 And Kusogumo’s name is changed to Sogumo for some reason. Granted, in the Japanese, Kusogumo means “Crap Spider” (or worse), but not many in the West would know this. So why change the name? 🤔

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, though there are plot contrivances, and there are no surprises with any of the supposed plot twists in the episode, I still enjoyed Lupin the 3rd: Part III 10 for what it was.