Lupin III/Recap/S2/E68

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"Casino Island - Inversions and More Inversions", with the English title "Games of Chance". Released in 2006 by Geneon on Volume 13: All's Fair in Love & Thievery.

Millionaire businessman and casino owner Domino is running for president. He brags about keeping his $500 million locked away in his casino's heavily-insured and theft-proof vault, even going so far as to say not even Lupin III could break in and steal all of his funds. Fujiko spurs him on to meet Domino's challenge, and so Lupin makes a calling card video and sends it to Domino, unaware he is doing exactly what Domino wants.

Casino Paradise is a man-made "island", akin to a sophisticated ship anchored two kilometers off of New York City, and topped with a giant skyscraper that serves as the main hotel. The gang naturally figures out the vault itself is "underground." Lupin (in disguise) and Fujiko enter as guests, and while gambling and keeping an eye on Domino and his chief of staff, Robert, a beautiful woman accidentally spills her drink on Lupin. He is soon distracted when Domino sends him a note and a drink called a "Pitiful Loser", easily seeing through his disguise and wishing him luck on his upcoming caper. Lupin quickly sends two drinks back to Domino and Robert called "Old Farts", wishing him equal luck on his presidential campaign.

The girl who bumped into Lupin earlier also easily identifies the master thief and introduces herself as Nina, a college student in physics and criminology who has decided she wants to be one of Lupin's lovers. Lupin laughingly dismisses her, but the conversation is interrupted, naturally, by Inspector Zenigata. Zenigata tries to explain to Nina who Lupin really is, and Lupin takes advantage to flee.

Lupin catches up with Jigen and Goemon to go over their plans. It turns out the hotel has three safes: one on the twentieth floor, one on the first floor, and one in the casino basement, and while cash clearly goes to the mainland, there's no visible sign of how it's transported. The planning session is interrupted when someone throws a paper airplane into the room...an airplane that contains the casino blueprints! The thieves find out one of the safes is actually an elevator that can travel between all three vault doors, collecting the funds without exposing them to the outside.

Close to midnight, Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon ascend to the top of the hotel to enact their plan. Lupin makes it into the safe/elevator, but is met by Nina, who also wants to use Lupin as a subject for her thesis. When she turns the safe dial, however, the entire island begins to shake, and suddenly flips over, submerging the tower upside-down and underwater. Water begins pouring into the shaft from the hole Lupin made in the roof, and Lupin and Nina have to find a way out or drown.

Safely ashore, Fujiko looks on in horror as Domino and Robert congratulate each other. Not only will this generate publicity, but Domino will collect ten billion dollars in insurance for the destruction of the vault and his property, and Lupin will be blamed for it all! With that, Robert declares they will no longer need Fujiko's help, and pulls a gun on her...

Meanwhile, as they attempt to escape the flooded building, Nina confesses to Lupin she is actually Domino's daughter. She passed the blueprints to Lupin (via Robert), and also could freely enter and open the vault as a member of Domino's family. Seeing a rat flee into a nearby air vent, the two decide to follow the rats abandoning the submerged building.

Domino, meanwhile, has just been told his own daughter is also trapped in the building as part of Robert's plan. Robert chuckles and informs Domino he will also be killed, as he is in no way worthy to be president. Robert, as the third beneficiary on the insurance, will also collect all the money should Domino and Nina die. In a flooded tunnel, Goemon and Jigen, who managed to survive the island's flip, overhear the conversation on a small radio Goemon is holding.

Lupin and Nina have made their way to the main casino, where the grisly sight of dead guests meets them. They soon find out why...the chandeliers are booby-trapped with automatic firing devices, exploding flying roulette wheels, and projectile launching slot machines. As Lupin and Nina dodge the devices, Nina confesses she's followed Lupin's adventures since she was young, and doesn't want to give up on her dreams yet. Luckily, Jigen and Goemon have managed to find Lupin and help him get rid of the last of the traps, and warn him that Robert is about to blow up Casino Paradise. As they speak, Robert pushes the button, and the base of the island, now the top, begin to go up in flames as the horrified Domino and Fujiko watch.

The safe within is blown loose from the elevator and falls through the hole in the roof Lupin made on to a set of tracks running along the sea floor, the way that the casino's cash was secretly transported ashore every night. It arrives in Domino's house, and Lupin steps out from it and fires just as Robert is about to shoot Fujiko, knocking the gun from the chief of staff's hand. The safe has already been emptied of its 500 million by Jigen and Goemon in a helicopter. Lupin growls at Domino, informing him his daughter is dead and he has informed the authorities of his insurance scam. Zenigata bursts in, ready to arrest everyone, but Lupin and Fujiko dive out of the window into their comrades' waiting helicopter. Fujiko tries to apologize for betraying Lupin to Robert, but he refuses to give her penny of the stolen money.

It turns out Nina is actually alive, and Lupin has decided to give her father's money back to her so she can make her way in life. However, he can't be with her, and so Nina, on a ship back to Switzerland, tearfully lets his last note to her fall into the sea, bidding him farewell.

---

This episode features examples of:

• Blasting It Out of Their Hands: How Lupin saves Fujiko from Robert.
• The Cavalry: Jigen and Goemon, who come out of nowhere and take care of the last of the traps that have overwhelmed Lupin.
• Engineered Public Confession: Overheard on Goemon's radio and turned into the authorities.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Domino is willing to kill hundreds of innocent people to pull of his insurance scam, but don't you dare threaten his daughter.
• Faking the Dead: So Nina can live her life in peace, away from her scheming father.
• Food Slap: Nina throws her drink into Zenigata's face after Lupin makes a run for it.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar: Domino flashes Lupin a "V" Sign when he receives his drink. However, he alternates the front, "V for victory" sign with a turn of the wrist into a back-facing V several times, which is used as an alternative to Flipping the Bird in Britain and its Commonwealth countries.
• Humiliation Conga: Domino's money his gone, his insurance scam has failed, his campaign for president is in ruins, and his daughter is (seemingly) dead. Not a good day, all in all.
• Implausible Fencing Powers: Goemon blocks and slices in half coins flying at him at a very high velocity.
• Reaction Shot: Jigen and Goemon have a shocked one after they rescue Lupin and Nina. At first, it's implied it's because Nina was killed. It turns out later it was because Lupin and Nina were kissing.
• Shout-Out: Lupin calls the whole affair "The Poseidon Adventure Show" at one point.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Nina and Lupin.
• Stealth Hi Bye: Done by Lupin while Zenigata talks to Nina.