Lupin the 3rd: Part II 26
Lupin III Part 2 26
ルパン三世 – 新シリーズ Ep. 26
Lupin Sansei Shin Series
Lupin III New Series

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Zenigata arrives in Spain, having acquired a new skill with cuffs. Meanwhile, Lupin and Jigen leave the picky Goemon to head to a Spanish dinner and show. The Spanish lady on stage winks at Jigen and tosses him a rose. During the show, Zenigata plans to nab Lupin. However, gangsters arrive with gas grenades. Lupin and Jigen put on breathers and pretend to fall asleep while the gang kidnaps the woman.

Before Zenigata fell asleep, he tossed finger cuffs on Lupin. While Lupin attempts to escape, Jigen steals a car and pursues the gangsters. They arrive at the mansion of Herbert von Meyer. He says that the woman, Linda, belongs to him. However, when Jigen forces the issue, Meyer backs down. Jigen grabs Linda and they escape.

Back at Lupin’s residence, Fujiko shows up. However, it is an android that explodes. A monitor rises from the torso, revealing Meyer. He wants revenge on Lupin for getting to a Nazi submarine before him. As such, he has Fujiko in captivity. Meanwhile, the gangsters attack Jigen again. Linda warns that Meyer is a master of disguise.

Both Jigen and Lupin show up separately at Myer’s mansion. Both assume the other is Meyer in disguise. As the shootout starts, Lupin quickly realizes that Myer’s gun skills are too good. Lupin yells out to Jigen and tosses a coin. When the two trade shots at the coin, Jigen is convinced it is the real Lupin. They pretend to shoot each other. When Meyer and his girlfriend Linda leave, Lupin and Jigen give chase, causing Meyer’s car to go off a cliff into the ocean.

Thoughts/Review

As episodes go, Lupin the 3rd: Part II 26 wasn’t bad. Sure, there were some dumb moments. For a start, there was the silliness with Zenigata and cuffs. In addition to the gag element, the cuffs were used so that Jigen could get some solo time as the hero. As such, I was okay with that bit of nonsense. On the other side, the Fujiko android made zero sense to me. How nice that after exploding, her torso remained upright and the video monitor undamaged.

As revenge plots go, I would have loved it if the Nazi submarine incident had been a previous Lupin III episode. Nevertheless, this episode did a decent job showing how Jigen and Lupin are as partners. Even while reacting emotionally, Lupin and Jigen were able to figure out that the other was legit, thus resulting in the fake deaths.

While Jigen always gets tragic romances, at least here, his relationship with Linda isn’t a reunion with a lost love. Still, it sucks that he never gets a good end with the girls.

Fujiko gets forgotten in the episode. She’s basically a McGuffin to get Lupin involved. The hilarious thing about her role in the story is that she was supposedly on her way to Tokyo to buy Japanese food so Goemon can eat. As such, there’s an ongoing gag about Goemon’s stomach growling because he refuses to eat Spanish food.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Lupin the 3rd: Part II 26 isn’t a bad episode. It could have been better, but compared to some of the previous episodes, it is brilliant. 😅