Lupin the 3rd: Part III 49
Lupin III Part 3 49
ルパン三世 – Part III Ep. 49

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Zenigata heads to Mexico to the estate of Madame Tequila. He warns her that Lupin is after her black diamond, named Black Pig of Mexico. After annoying her for a while, Tequila allows Zenigata to set up a guard. Tequila’s butler questions this, since they want Lupin to come and steal the diamond as part of an insurance scam.

Jigen aides Lupin with his jet pack. However, the jet pack malfunctions, allowing Zenigata and his police forces to fire rockets at Lupin, sending him packing. Lupin tries an elaborate digging machine, but Zenigata is waiting when Lupin emerges. While Lupin’s failure to penetrate her mansion frustrates Tequila, Zenigata’s actions impress her.

Eventually, Lupin makes it in with a decoy truck that blows through Zenigata’s barricade. Lupin, disguised as Zenigata, cons Tequila into giving him the black diamond. However, the real Zenigata arrives and foils that. After a while, Lupin manages to shake Zenigata, only to discover the diamond is a fake. Meanwhile, Tequila cashes in on her insurance claim and wants Zenigata to become her heir.

Zenigata flees while Lupin plans his revenge with Jigen. At the same time, Tequila dumps the $10B in cash at the bound Zenigata’s feet, hoping he’ll agree to be adopted as her heir. He refuses as Lupin and Jigen show up to steal the real diamond and all the cash. An enraged Tequila throws a ton of bombs, destroying all the cash and the diamond. Lupin and Jigen barely escape as Tequila chases Zenigata.

Thoughts/Review

Well, we have yet another insurance scam story with Lupin the 3rd: Part III 49. The difference here is that this is a Zenigata story with very little story to tell. We see that off the bat when the episode wastes time showing Zenigata’s car breaking down, followed by Lupin showing up to taunt him. Has almost nothing to do with the actual story.

Indeed, a lot of time is wasted in the episode. Lupin’s adventures on the jet pack go on WAY too long. Zenigata has a weirdo dream that can be tied to the plot, but was mostly a waste of time. It really is clear that the writers had nothing in the tank for this episode. And going back to an insurance scam story didn’t help.

Frankly, I didn’t get why Zenigata’s actions caused Madame Tequila to want to adopt him and make him her heir. There’s no logic to it. That aside, the story would have been interesting IF the temptation of Zenigata were done in a better fashion.

Finally, this is the second episode in a row where Fujiko didn’t show up. Even Goemon was MIA. Jigen only gets an extended cameo.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Lupin the 3rd: Part III 49 was a tedious, boring episode that tries to inject fun into things, but fails miserably thanks to a retread story and time wasting antics.