Lupine the 3rd: Part III 23
Lupine III Part 3 23
ルパン三世 – Part III Ep. 23
Summary/SPOILER Summary
Lupin, Jigen and Goemon solve the case of a Swiss bank in war-torn Beirut, Lebanon. When the fighting takes place on the street, the special metal bank will pop up, the bank's crawlers will move it to a safer location. Later, Zenigata meets with the bank manager, Banco. Despite Zenigata's pleas, Banco is not interested in Lupine robbing the bank because no one has succeeded before. Furthermore, it also has an unrivaled AI computer system.
Meanwhile, Lupine, disguised as an Arab customer, deposits $10,000 in the bank. The computer immediately detected that the deposit was one dollar short. Lupine delivers the dollar and the money is sent via conveyor belt to another location. However, the single dollar caught fire, thus causing an error in the system as the computer detected a missing dollar.
Jigen blocks technical support calls. Inside, Lupine changes into a computer technician and reports to Banco. The manager takes Lupine to the vault, where it is said to be at fault. The computer grants Lupine access to the vault for 5 minutes while Fujiko, who has infiltrated the bank as Banco's secretary, puts him to sleep with gas. The two begin emptying the vault while fooling the computer. Outside, Jigen and Goemon receive “trash” from the bank.
However, the war caused the bank to flee again. Zenigata appears and gets Lupine and himself trapped in the cellar. The computer will execute them, but when Lupine burns money, it prioritizes saving money over everything else. Outside, Jigen discovers that the grooves are the bank's weak point, so Goemon eliminates them with a Zantetsuken. The group escapes and Lupine decides to leave the money on deposit in the bank to earn interest.
Thinking/Evaluating
One side, Lupine part 3: Part III 23 is another silly thing. Having a bank made of metal that cannot be harmed by nuclear weapons or Zantetsuken is quite remarkable. Make banking mobile (supposedly a reference to the Crimson Perpetual Assurance skit in the movie Monty Python & the meaning of life) is quite silly and clearly impractical. However, we must forget about things like the utilities that a large building needs (water, electricity, sewage, gas, telephone).
However, once one gets past the ridiculous concept of mobile banking, Lupine's Heist is actually skillfully executed. I liked that Lupine deposited a large sum of money into the bank only to have the AI crash after one of the bills went up in smoke. We already know that Lupine is a master of disguise. So his disguise as a technician is not surprising. But I like that Lupine actually asked Banco to escort him on his looting spree. Then, when the time comes for the computer to grant Lupine access, he uses his real name. And there are other elements that I like.
On the other hand, there are some trashy elements. First, Zenigata appears because the plot needs Lupine to be delayed. The computer's security system then locks them into the vault. Apparently, the computer has instructions to execute those who overstay their welcome. BUT, the computer gives everyone a few minutes to do anything before carrying out the execution. Things like this are the weak points of the episode.
Final thoughts and conclusions
Let me end my review of this episode with some final thoughts.
I found it quite interesting that this story is set in Beirut. Back when this episode debuted, civil war ravaged the city. So this seems like an odd choice for a setting, but I suppose it works. To her surprise, Fujiko disguises herself for a rare change. I love that Lupine decided to leave his $10,000 at that bank branch.
Final, Lupine the 3rd: Part III 23 It's quite interesting because most of the heist aspects are very plausible. But the episode also has “plot needs” at times.
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