Lupin III/Recap/S2/E114

Shin Lupin III: "The Secret of the Mystery Painting 'The First Supper'"

It is a dark and stormy night, and in a house, a scientist works feverishly on a secret formula. He announces it complete, and out of the shadows steps a woman named Nova. She uses the concoction, special eye drops that let the user see through any surface with complete clarity, on the torn half of a painting in her possession she calls "The First Supper". It reveals half of a map. The good news is that Nova knows where the other half of the map is, but the bad news is that it is in the secret vault of one Lupin I. She swears on the name of her tribe to reunite the two halves of the map and take them to the treasure: the legacy of Jesus.

In another part of the world, Zenigata is urging a taxi driver on with urgency, to the point of complete recklessness. So engrossed is he in getting to his destination by 3 P.M that he even passes up an opportunity to arrest Lupin and his gang when the cab crashes into the cafe they are dining at. As he leaves, Goemon spies a piece of paper the detective dropped and the gang reads it: a love letter! Wondering what is going on (and what kind of woman could be remotely interested in Pops), the gang decides to trail him.

Zenigata arrives outside the church right on time where he is greeted by Nova. Confessing she wrote the letter, she tells Zenigata she wants to marry him, but on one condition: he has to catch Lupin once and for all, so his single-minded pursuit of the thief will not disrupt their marriage. Stunned by Nova's beauty, he agrees, but wonders how on earth he can accomplish such a thing. Nova provides him with the special eye drops, telling Zenigata they will make it impossible for Lupin to hide. Sure enough, after Zenigata applies them, he spies Lupin's gang through the walls of the church, watching him on the roof of a nearby building. He tears after the gang after declaring he has superpowers, much to their confusion. They flee, but Zenigata and Nova are able to find them everywhere they go, from a nearby bar to deep under the sea.

Lupin eventually leads the gang to Lupin I's hideout, a remote island and the one place Zenigata does not know where to find him. Fujiko, who was attracted by all the attention Zenigata and the gang created in their chase, meets up with them there. She tells them that ten years ago, a professor known for his studies of transparency went missing, and that Nova was responsible for his disappearance and funding his research. She also presents the other half of 'The First Supper' to Lupin, which was stashed among his grandfather's things. Apparently, after the crucifixion, Judas bought the painting, done by Jesus himself, with his thirty pieces of silver in hopes of finding the location of Christ's treasure. He failed, and the painting was passed down through his descendants. With them it remained until a young Lupin I made off with half of the painting.

The gang decides it might be worthwhile to go after the treasure themselves, but they'll need the other half of the painting. Before they can move, Zenigata and Nova enter, lead by Zenigata's "superpower". Lupin leads them to a hot-air balloon, hidden by his grandfather as an escape route, and the thieves fly off before Zenigata can reach them, losing the dogged detective for the moment. They land and take control of a train, where Lupin plans to grab the other half of the painting from Nova. Sure enough, Zenigata has found his location and has rallied the local police to his side. Giving them each some of the eye drops, Zenigata goes to assure Nova of his plan. However, while he is away, Fujiko enters, disguised as a train attendant. The police are distracted by their newfound powers and Fujiko's lack of bra, only to be admonished by Zenigata and Nova when they return. It's just long enough to delay them while Lupin turns out the lights. In the darkness, Fujiko exchanges the box with Nova's painting for another and pickpockets the eye drops from Zenigata. When the lights come back on, Zenigata has cuffed Nova by mistake and Fujiko is gone.

The train pulls to a stop at the next station, and Zenigata sees Lupin and Fujiko fleeing onto the platform outside. He and the police capture them, but when he inspects the thieves more closely, he discovers they are wearing not one, but two masks, fooling the transparency trick. Lupin and Fujiko are really ordinary bystanders the gang captured and dressed up. Much too late, Zenigata realizes the real ones are still on the train, but it has already pulled out of the station. He leads the police to head the train off at the next station.

However, Lupin naturally has a plan: he has Jigen and Goemon make tracks out of ice between the two stations, tracks that break apart and melt away after Lupin directs the train over them. With no trail to follow, Zenigata is absolutely perplexed. He is even more perplexed when Nova gives him the cold shoulder after failing to stop Lupin yet again, slaps him, and storms off for good.

Triumphant, Lupin fits the two halves of "The First Supper" together and uses the eye drops to see through the painting to map below. The treasure is located in Bethlehem, in the very stable in which Jesus was born! The gang digs up the floor; Goemon finds a sealed urn, which the gang opens. Inside is an old baby bottle, the infant Jesus' most treasured possession. Lupin comments Fujiko's "natural milk bottles" are much nicer. Realizing he still has the transparent eye effect, the embarrassed Fujiko crams the bottle into Lupin's mouth, telling him it's quite suitable for him as the rest of the gang enjoys a chuckle.

This episode features examples of:

 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: Goemon cuts through a suit of metal armor.
 * Art Imitates Art: "The First Supper" is a parody of "The Last Supper", except with Jesus and his disciples as toddlers.
 * Implausible Fencing Powers: The suit of armor Fujiko hides in falls to pieces without a scratch on her after Goemon cuts it into pieces.
 * Island Base: Lupin I's hideout.
 * Pinch Me: Zenigata tries this after Nova tells him she wants to get married.
 * Power Perversion Potential: Inadvertently by Zenigata after he uses the eyedrops for the first time, as well as the police he gives them to.
 * The Schlub Pub Seduction Deduction: Goemon believes this is why Nova "loves" Zenigata. And he's right.
 * X-Ray Vision: Nova's eye drops give the user this ability.
 * You Fail Physics Forever: Where to begin with the "ice rails?"
 * Also the fact that Samurais somehow seem to have a low coefficient of friction.