Lupin the 3rd: Part II 07
Lupin III Part 2 07
ルパン三世 – 新シリーズ Ep. 07
Lupin Sansei Shin Series
Lupin III New Series

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko come to Egypt to steal Tutankhamen’s burial mask. Jigen and Goemon both have a bad feeling about the mission and bail. As such, Lupin disguises himself as an Egyptian cleaner at the museum to arrange for the mask to be stolen. He and Fujiko make off with the mask, leading to world headline news.

In Israel, Zenigata is sure that Lupin is the thief. He gets angry when he finds there are no flights to Egypt from Israel, leading the police to arrest him. Meanwhile, Lupin and Fujiko celebrate their score. Lupin puts on the mask and claims to hear Egyptian music. No one else hears it, so Goemon knocks him out. When they take off the mask, they discover Lupin to be catatonic.

Jigen feels Tutankhamen’s curse is at work. Lupin manages to escape with the mask, where he heads to the top of a pyramid and declares himself king. As the Egyptians worship Lupin in the mask, Zenigata shows up to arrest him. Fujiko somehow attaches a clear kite with a string to Lupin to haul him away. She escapes with him, Jigen, and Goemon.

Fujiko gives Jigen and Goemon the mask to return. Meanwhile, Lupin is handcuffed to a hotel bed, having a fit. Fujiko goes to get him something, but gets caught by Zenigata. However, Lupin again escapes. Zenigata heads to the Valley of the Kings to find Lupin. Fujiko goes as well, eventually passing out. The now clear-headed Lupin finds her, and they take a camel out of the desert, leaving Zenigata to futilely search.

Thoughts/Review

I’m told that Lupin the 3rd: Part II 07 is a popular episode in Japan. I struggle to see why. To me, this was just a weird, meandering story that changed history to big up King Tut’s curse. Still, I do appreciate the supernatural element of the episode. The writers didn’t try to game the system to invent an excuse for Lupin’s unnatural behavior.

What I didn’t like was Lupin’s “rescue” from the top of the pyramid. Basically, the writers wrote themselves into a corner. Then they “magicked” a clear kite attached to Lupin so he’d appear to float. But the kite is attached to the car. When did Fujiko do this? She came over with Jigen and Goemon. Lupin was already on top of the pyramid with the implication that he supernaturally got up there. Frustrating.

That aside, I did like how the story was a Fujiko and Lupin story. I kept expecting Fujiko to betray Lupin since that’s what she usually does. However, that didn’t happen. Instead, we got to see how much Fujiko cares for Lupin. She gave up millions to save his life. She nearly died in the desert for Lupin. That was cool.

Finally, Zenigata getting dragged off by the police made me smile. He didn’t have much a role in the episode though, other than to just be there as the ongoing pursuer of Lupin. But then Jigen and Goemon had little to do as well.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Lupin the 3rd: Part II 07 is an odd episode, dealing with King Tut. It isn’t bad, but I don’t understand why it is so beloved in Japan. Maybe because it is a Lupin and Fujiko episode.