Lupin the 3rd: Part III 48
Lupin III Part 3 48
ルパン三世 – Part III Ep. 48

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Jigen assists Lupin in stealing the 100-carat blue diamond named Hades’ Tear. During the getaway, they are beset by gangster types. Lupin gets captured by a pretty girl named Maria. She takes him to her father, Gordon, who heads the KL Foundation of Kingsland, the rightful owners of the diamond and statue it was on. Gordon reveals that the diamond is fake, used to lure Lupin for a job.

On Lupin’s yacht, Jigen and Goemon pass on the $100M payout to get the diamond, which is actually a data crystal, back to the country of Kingsland. Maria gets kidnapped while attempting to meet Lupin for the job. Gordon’s man, Col. Romez, arrives instead with a ransom demand. Lupin takes the crystal to the designated cathedral. There, a bunch of troops led by Gilva (the Director of Intelligence for the Samonoa Republic) waits.

Gilva becomes angry and whips Lupin unconscious when he discovers the data on the crystal isn’t what he was after. When Lupin awakes in a meat locker, he reveals that he figured out that the other name for Hades in Pluto. Thus Kingsland wanted to smuggle out plutonium. He and Maria escape. Meanwhile, Zenigata escorts the Hades statue to a ship.

Jigen meets up with Lupin while Gilva attacks Gordon’s ship with helicopter gunships. The crew fight back with cannons, missiles, and machine guns. Lupin and company sail to the action on his yacht. Gordon defeats Gilva, but Lupin’s gang defeats Gordon, revealing the plutonium. Maria requests the plutonium be ditched, so Lupin complies via Goemon.

Thoughts/Review

Lupin the 3rd: Part III 48 was another one of those brainless, silly episodes. While it is always a little interesting when Lupin genuinely gets the wool pulled over his eyes, the payoff never quite works out. Funny thing is, Lupin gets fooled twice in the episode by the same people. Heck, he even gets whipped until he passes out. That should make for an interesting episode, but sadly, it doesn’t.

You gotta love plastic explosives that can easily be molded to form a perfect replica mask for yourself as well as gloves and such. And then you have to love a villain who allows his prisoner to keep matches on his person. Meh. My brain hurts thinking about it.

Zenigata only gets an extended cameo in this episode. Goemon and Jigen get to do their usual, “We aren’t interested” routine, followed by helping Lupin in the end, The only character missing was Fujiko. While Maria takes her non-treacherous role, there’s nothing special about the character or her relationship with Lupin.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Lupin the 3rd: Part III 48 is a forgettable, dumb episode.