Lupin the 3rd: Part III 34
Lupin III Part 3 34
ルパン三世 – Part III Ep. 34

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Lupin and Jigen travel through Harlem, looking for a black man named Ed. After offering him money, he gives up the location of the $8M he stole from the mafia. However, two mafia hitmen followed Lupin and Jigen. They get a sniper shot into Ed, who survives and flees. In another part of New York, Fujiko observes her tagger boyfriend do graffiti art on a building. When Lupin shows up to offer her a role in his heist, she turns him down.

Using a large pickup truck, Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon crash into a mafia warehouse. They head to the sealed storeroom, where there are cases. The trio escape the mafia guards and return to their hotel. They discover Fujiko waiting for them with champagne. However, when Lupin opens the cases, they are filled with newspaper cuttings rather than money. Fujiko goes off in a huff while the mafia boss puts out a hit on Lupin’s gang.

The next day at lunch in a restaurant, Jigen discovers a grenade on their tray. After it explodes, they confront the restaurant owner, who lets them know about the hit job. Jigen and Lupin quickly discover nearly everyone, including crooked cops, are out to make the hit. Zenigata watches Lupin and Jigen elude everyone and make it to an abandoned building. To his horror, a man on a bike throws a bomb into the building, bringing it down.

Lupin and Jigen escape death and trail the mafia boss and his two henchmen. Fujiko takes her tagger boyfriend to the mafia boss’s mansion to perform his “art”. Lupin decides to observe her as she makes an attempt on the real money cases. She’s quickly captured, so Lupin literally smokes the mob guys out and steals the cases. Fujiko chases Lupin, as does Zenigata.

Thoughts/Review

I couldn’t help but be reminded of the John Wick movies with Lupin the 3rd: Part III 34. It wasn’t that we got to see Lupin or Jigen showing off amazing, shooting skills. It came from the fact that everywhere they went, a would be assassin waited for them, trying to get the hit and the reward. That reminder amused me.

Beyond that, the episode was kinda interesting. I liked how the mafia boss used Lupin as a scapegoat to make off with his organization’s stashed millions. I suspect that he used Ed as well. Regardless, it came off to me as if the boss planned this for quite some time. To the “godfather” (assuming the translation is correct), Ed stole $8M. But Ed hid it, rather than use it to get away. And considering how the two henchmen know Ed’s apartment and such, Ed was also a scapegoat.

I even get the feeling that the mafia boss arranged things with the ICPO so that Zenigata wasn’t allowed to get a hotel in New York. That way, the mafia boss could just “stumble” on Zenigata sleeping in Central Park, take him to his mansion, and then pump him for information about Lupin. Pretty clever.

Fujiko’s part in the story is rather laughable. She has some hippy, wimpy, tagger boyfriend. I have no idea why she’d hook up with him in the first place, since he’s not rich. He becomes a plot contrivance in the second have of the story. That aside, I’m glad that when Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon got the score, they left Fujiko in the cold.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Lupin the 3rd: Part III 34 was an entertaining enough episode. There are a few cringe moments with Ed. And the resolution of the mafia boss is cartoonish. But otherwise, I nice outing. Oh, and Lupin even referenced the movie The Untouchables.