Lupin the 3rd: Part III 31
Lupin III Part 3 31
ルパン三世 – Part III Ep. 31

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Fujiko catches the eye of a wealthy Mexican art collector named Gelan, who buys a lot of stolen art. He wants a Renoir painting on display and Fujiko offers him the means. Lupin takes the job while Zenigata takes the job of protecting the painting. When Lupin arrives as Zenigata to steal the painting, Zenigata, as a normal cop, arrests Lupin. As Zenigata gloats, Lupin escapes, giving Fujiko an opening to steal the painting.

Fujiko goes to Gelan’s mansion to sell the Renoir. She uses seduction to convince him to show off his art collection. Fujiko uses this to send Lupin intel on the security measures at the mansion. She then “finds” an electronic bug to further convince Gelan of her sincerity. However, it is a signal for Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon to “attack”. However, Gelan’s security thugs force Lupin’s party to retreat.

The following day Gelan follows Fujiko’s advice and has his collection shipped to a safer location while repairs are made to his mansion. To Fujiko’s surprise, Gelan employs a large number of decoy trucks. However, he’s aware of Fujiko’s treachery and lets out false information for which truck contains the actual collection. Fujiko relays the info to Lupin. When Lupin gets the truck, he finds Zenigata waiting for him. Zenigata arrests them, but they somehow escape before arriving at the prison.

Meanwhile, Gelan attempts to have his way with Fujiko. Zenigata shows up, warning Gelan about Lupin. The bedazzled Gelan goes along with Zenigata’s absurd plan to physically move the art room to safety. The real Zenigata shows up, so Lupin and the rescued Fujiko, Jigen, and Goemon use a crane and giant truck to move the art room.

Thoughts/Review

Lupin the 3rd: Part III 31 could have been an interesting episode, but alas, it is filled with idiocy. The concept of conning a corrupt, art collector to steal his collection is a good one. I liked how Fujiko baited Gelan. And I could believe that Gelan could give into Fujiko’s seduction attempts. Further, I liked that Gelan got onto Fujiko’s game and mislead her. Sending out decoy trucks and setting up Lupin for arrest was brilliant.

After that, it is just a bunch of mostly mindless pap. Zenigata shouldn’t have a job after the events of this episode since he arrested Lupin twice, and then Lupin magically escapes twice. Gelan attempting to rape Fujiko made me ill. But then Gelan lost all of his IQ points and fell for the faux Zenigata’s idiotic plan. And obviously, Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon cutting out and stealing Gelan’s treasure room made me go, “Whatever.” In a weird sort of way, it reminded me of a Sparks Motor’s salvage video.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Lupin the 3rd: Part III 31 did nothing for me. Outside of Gelan outwitting Fujiko and Lupin for a time, the rest of the episode is forgettable.