Lupin the Third: Part III 40
Lupin III Part 3 40
ルパン三世 – Part III Ep. 40
Summary/SPOILER Summary
Lupin discovers that the American lottery is rigged. While the $50 million prize is legitimate, the $500 million grand prize is not. To that end, Lupin and Jigen disguise themselves to ensure that Zenigata receives the ticket after the ticket booth closes. Lottery Commission chief Tony Luckino (Luckyno) gives his henchman a lottery ticket with guaranteed winning numbers. Tony then meets with Zenigata to arrange for the $500 million cash guarantee.
Zenigata points out that one of the girls Tony hired, Fujiko, is a member of Lupin's gang. At that moment, Fujiko briefs Lupin on the security situation of the facility. She produces a drink so that Lupin can get Tony's fingerprints to access the lottery computer control room. To that end, Lupin disguises himself as Tony. Although he is able to gain access to the lobby leading to the control room, Zenigata is suspicious of him. Lupin doesn't get far before a trap is set, eventually resulting in him falling into a hole that opens up on the subway line.
Jigen acts as a gatekeeper while Lupin exchanges tickets with the henchmen. The henchmen report the theft to Tony. While Zenigata and the police bring the money to the stage, Tony goes to the control room. Goemon cuts the power lines, forcing the place to go to the generator. Lupin confronts Tony after Tony enters the henchmen's ticket numbers. Lupin learns that Tony sent counterfeit money to the stage, leaving the real money underneath.
Tony tries to escape but gets caught in his own trap. Meanwhile, the lottery takes place, revealing that Zenigata and his henchmen both have winning tickets. During the argument, Lupin and the gang have won $500 million.
Thoughts/Reviews
We actually get a pretty interesting plot twist in there. Lupin the Movie: Part III 40. I’ve heard stories about how McDonald’s “lotteries” and the like are rigged. So it’s pretty easy to believe that the head of the Lottery Commission would rig his own lottery. The beauty of it is the counterfeit money aspect. Since the cash is protected by Zenigata and Lupin is after the cash, no one would suspect the commissioner of hiding the real money. The only thing I’m not sure about is whether Tony plans to betray his henchmen.
While Lupin's escape from the trap was hilarious, I appreciated that he failed on his first try. Lupin's second attempt was much smarter. He already had the ticket. So stealing the fraudulent ticket and exchanging it for a fake copy of the ticket Lupin owned worked quite well. Lupin then allowed Tony to change the numbers to Lupin's liking.
I liked that Zenigata suspected Tony was actually Lupin in Lupin's attempt to gain access to the control room. Furthermore, Zenigata informed Tony about Fujiko, who he hired as the lottery girl. I liked that. The writers portrayed Zenigata as smart for a change. At the same time, I found it funny that Lupin disguised himself as a reporter to put Zenigata in the hot seat regarding the lottery win.
Final thoughts and conclusions
Final, Lupin the 3rd: Part III 40 was a pretty fun episode. And I'm glad Lupin got the award without any stupid betrayal from Fujiko.
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