Lupin the 3rd: Part III 18
Lupin III Part 3 18
ルパン三世 – Part III Ep. 18

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Jigen and Lupin are in New York City and pay a visit to mafia boss Roulette’s secret casino. There, Lupin meets Jenny, a hostess there. The two hit it off, so Jigen leaves them alone. Sometime later, Lupin works out with Jenny. She explains that she wants to be a star on Broadway. Despite her talents, she hasn’t been successful. However, she feels that if she helps Lupin on his job to empty Roulette’s vault of cash, name recognition would get her over the finish line.

Finally, at the restaurant Jenny works at, Lupin agrees to allow her to help him on the heist. On the night of Roulette’s birthday party in his casino, a jealous Fujiko shows up, unhappy with Lupin’s relationship with Jenny. Meanwhile, Jigen and Goemon infiltrate the building. Jenny and Lupin race to the vaults, avoiding the traps. However, they get to a trapdoor that Jenny didn’t know about. She confesses that Roulette asked her to get Lupin here, but she only supports Lupin.

Unbeknownst to them, Roulette has watched the proceedings. Lupin and Jenny escape and make it to the vault, which is empty. At the same time, Jigen and Goemon make it to the trapdoor, where Goemon subdues Roulette’s giant alligator. Before they escape, Jigen finds a note from Lupin, instructing them where Roulette’s cash is.

Meanwhile, the vault rises and opens to a Broadway stage, where Lupin and Jenny have to dance for their lives. Eventually, the tables turn and Lupin reveals that he’s already stolen all of Roulette’s cash, via Jigen and Goemon. Zenigata arrives, so the group flees. Lupin takes Jenny to her audition. While he promises to wait for her, instead, he leaves a rose on her bike and leaves.

Thoughts/Review

While many of the stories in this Lupin III series have been rubbish, Lupin the 3rd: Part III 18 was actually pretty good for the most part. Lupin’s relationship with Jenny kinda reminded me of his later relationship with Rebecca in Lupin the Third Part4. I kinda like the notion of Lupin getting romantically involved with someone other than Fujiko. That’s mainly due to the fact that the formula for the Lupin x Fujiko romance is boringly predictable.

That aside, it was nice seeing someone fall for Lupin. At some level, Lupin did care about Jenny, even though he didn’t love her. That’s what makes the predictable ending unfortunate. For a series like this, the status quo must be returned by episode’s end. At least with the Part 4 series, the status quo never quite returned to the way it was.

At least with the heist itself, the normal status quo of Fujiko stealing the loot, or Lupin’s crew otherwise not getting the score didn’t happened. Heck, I liked how Lupin played the mafia boss, so that while Roulette focused on Lupin and Jenny, Jigen and Goemon made off with the actual cash.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Let me wrap up my review of Lupin the 3rd: Part III 18 with some final thoughts.

• Zenigata only gets a couple of small cameos in the episode.
• Fujiko only gets the one cameo where she gets jealous. That was another moment that reminded me of Lupin the Third Part4.
• In addition to Jenny’s workout outfit, the song “Darkest Eyes” by Cathi Linn reminds one how this episode is firmly set in the 1980s. I’d never heard of the song, but clearly, the production company had the rights to it. As such, there are many moments when the song plays that it is clear the production team were influenced by the movie Flashdance.

In the end, Lupin the 3rd: Part III 18 is a good story with an interesting romance for Lupin, even if the ending of that is predictable.