Line #48 Anime/LupinIIIStolenLupin


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stolen_lupin.jpg]]
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3	''Lupin III: Stolen Lupin ~The Copy Cat is a Midsummer's Butterfly~'' [[note]]盗まれたルパン ~コピーキャットは真夏の蝶~ (Nusumareta Rupan ~Copī Kyatto wa Manatsu no Chō~)[[/note]] (usually shortened to ''Stolen Lupin'', released in English as ''Swallowtail Tattoo'') is the sixteenth ''Anime/LupinIII'' MadeForTVMovie. Directed by Hidehito Ueda, it was originally shown on July 30, 2004, with Creator/DiscotekMedia releasing it on Blu-Ray in the US in March 2023.
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5	A daring young woman makes off with the Bourbon Dynasty treasure in broad daylight, but when Lupin and his gang interfere to try to take it for themselves, the master thief ends up in a trap! His mysterious kidnapper is holding Fujiko hostage in exchange for the Bull's Eye, a unique gem that curses any who try to steal it. Lupin is forced to go along with the plan, but when the young female thief returns the favor by snatching it from Lupin before he can hand it over, he's in even more trouble than before.
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7	Investigation reveals Lupin's new rival to be Rebecca "Becky" Lumbert, a copycat criminal who wishes to become greater than the master thief. Lupin is forced to tangle with the eager young crook to get the Bull's Eye back. As the plot unfolds, both Lupin's past and his own treasures become the target of the sinister mystery man... and a few other parties besides. And how does Becky fit into all of this?
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9	'''Complete spoilers below''' -- don't read further if you don't want to know how this caper turns out!
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11	!!This TV movie features examples of:
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13	* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Hakuryu's sword actually pierces the roof of a bus at one point in the battle. It's still no match for Zantetsuken, though, which cuts it to bits.
14	* BattleButler: Ducross, Malcovich's butler, has some surprisingly strong hands, which allows him to tear and bend a metal bar from the wall with a single grip and nearly kills Fujiko during the climax.
15	* BigFancyCastle: Grand Bateau, an enormous fortress/museum made to house and show off a rich man's private collection of art and artifacts. Due to the way it was built, it has a single road that vanishes at high tide, and has a state-of-the-art security system and a ton of ex-mercenary guards. So three guesses where Lupin has to steal the Bull's Eye from? And then it turns out the owner of the castle is none other than [[spoiler: Brian Murphy himself]].
16	* BrokenPedestal: After he came to France to rescue Lupin and thought he was becoming a more noble person when he offers to be a decoy, Goemon does not take it well when Lupin instead backstabs them during the Bull's Eye heist. He and Jigen both abandon the master thief, telling him he has to clean up his own mess.
17	* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Oh, what a surprise... turns out Fujiko wasn't actually a hostage but working with Malchovich the whole time. Then of course, Malchovich stabs her right back in the end. And then, Murphy screws over everyone.
18	* ConvenientDecoyCat: Convenient Decoy Bats, actually; Lupin releases a sack full of them in Grand Bateau to trigger a false alarm and force the guards to turn off the sensors until the critters are rounded up, allowing him and Jigen to be able to move around the fortress freely.
19	* CoolOldGuy: Lumberjack, an old ally of Lupin's who introduces himself via tank, and apparently provides the master thief with the various components and vehicles he needs to pull of his capers. He later puts the tank to good use on Mosquito Village.
20	* DecoyLeader: Malchovich is not the real boss of the gang. It's actually Murphy.
21	* DefeatByModesty: Delivered by Zantetsuken to Murphy as part of his HumiliationConga at the end of the movie.
22	* EvilCounterpart: Malchovich's henchmen Santana and Hakuryu to Jigen and Goemon, respectively. They are talented with automatic weapons and martial arts in their own right, but in different enough ways to throw off the gunman and the samurai from their usual tactics.
23	* ExplosiveLeash: One in the form of a tacky necklace that will blow Fujiko's head off if Lupin doesn't help Malchovich. Except it's a decoy... Fujiko is on Malchovich's side. It's later tried on Becky, with similar results after Fujiko hacks into and disarms the triggering system.
24	* EyeScream: At one point in the movie, Santana attacks Becky and tries to use his thumbs to gouge her eyes out.
25	* FullBodyDisguise: Lupin's "doll" during the first caper is actually large enough to hold him. However, getting out of the doll disguise leaves him in his underwear and without all of his usual tools to escape after he's trapped.
26	* GenreSavvy: After one of the three policemen in the village points out Murphy's mask and the former ICPO captain is revealed and taken away, Zenigata immediately turns and handcuffs the cop. Of course, the officers are really Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon in disguise.
27	* IaijutsuPractitioner: Deconstructed a bit in this special. Goemon has to be able to draw and re-sheath his sword for his blows to work, which Hakuryu attempts to keep the samurai from doing via his infinite hand pellets.
28	* ImplausibleFencingPowers: Goemon performs iaido so fast at one point that even the audience doesn't see it. When asked when he cut Hakuryu's shirt apart, he simply replies, [[BadassBoast "You came within my reach."]]
29	* ImprovisedWeapon: During the final battle, Jigen's magnum is jammed by one of Hakuryu's bullets, so Santana thinks he's unable to fight back. Jigen still wins by improvising a gun using a hollow cane, a bullet and his own Magnum as a hammer to send the bullet flying. The apparatus, obviously, breaks down after one use.
30	* ISurrenderSuckers: In an odd example, at one point Becky manages to have Hakuryu at gunpoint and forces him to lead her to Malcovich's place. He obeys, seemingly fearing for his life... only to turn on the girl and capture her once she's in the hideout.
31	* IWillOnlySlowYouDown: A variant; when Lupin claims that since he set off the alarms in Grand Bateau, he should serve as the decoy so his friends can escape. He twists this when he instead disguises himself to hide among the guards and uses Jigen and Goemon's getaway as the decoy instead.
32	* JanitorImpersonationInfiltration: Lupin plants an explosive in the guard office's toilet so it blows up during his heist. Naturally, the panicked guards call a repairman, who just happens to be Goemon, getting him and his sword into Grand Bateau.
33	* KnuckleCracking: Variation with Ducross, who raises his hands and makes some ominous cracking sounds by clenching and extending the fingers. It's later revealed that his grip is uncanningly powerful.
34	* LatexPerfection:
35	** It wouldn't be a Lupin movie without him disguising himself as Zenigata at some point. In this case, it's to sneak into ICPO so he can try to find more information on the Bull's Eye.
36	** Lupin disguises Murphy as himself at the end of the film so he and the rest of the gang can make their getaway from Mosquito Village.
37	* LogicalWeakness: As long as Hakuryu is standing on solid ground, he can generate infinite hand pellets by grabbing stones and gravel. When he stands in water he can't find suitable pellets, only mud, rendering his skill useless and allowing Goemon to deliver the killing blow.
38	* MacGuffin: The Bull's Eye Gem. It turns out to be a disguised tracker that Malchovich created and spread rumors about its curse to interest thieves. Lupin was enticed into stealing it so that Malchovich and his gang could follow the master thief to his hideout and collection.
39	* MacGuffinLocation: Mosquito Village, home of the Lupin Collection, a place where Lupin has hid every treasure he's stolen. Turns out there is no Lupin Collection; he used the village as bait and paid the villagers to leave on a trip. When they returned, he gave them a million euros as compensation for the damage to their village so they can rebuild.
40	* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: It's never clear who Becky's father actually is since Cat had many paramours across her life. Lupin's gang taunts him that Becky could actually be his daughter, prompting a SpitTake
41	* MarshmallowHell: Accidental during Fujiko's struggle against Ducross, who tries to perform a BearHug to crush her spine but, being shorter than her, ends up with his face smothered against her breasts.
42	* TheMole: Captain Brian Murphy of ICPO, who is actually the head of the gang and boss of Malchovich. He killed Becky's mom, erased his underling's files, and manipulated Malchovich and Lupin so he can find the Lupin Collection for himself.
43	* MoreDakka: During the Mosquito Village fight, Santana and his goons try to keep Jigen stalled by keep shooting at his hideout with a veritable shower of lead. Once Jigen has enough respite he's able to nail the three mooks with one shot each as he's making his getaway.
44	* MurderousThighs: During the melee grapple between Ducross and Fujiko, the latter tries to snap his neck with this method.
45	* OutfitDecoy: Jigen uses his jacket and a bicycle to distract Santana long enough to get away out of a shed's back entrance.
46	* PocketProtector: The [[TragicKeepsake locket with Cat's picture]] ends up saving Lumberjack from Santana's bullet.
47	* PottyEmergency: Lupin pretends to have one of these while disguised as an old man to give him access to the guard's office and the bathroom within.
48	* SkyHeist: During this film's opening heist, the truck with the treasure is on a bridge when Lupin forces it to stop, and turns his [[FullBodyDisguise fake body doll disguise]] into a [[{{Balloonacy}} balloon]] to escape with all the treasure. Unfortunately for him, the semi-trailer was a cage in disguise and he loses all the jewels.
49	* StockWushuWeapons: Chinese martial artist Hakuryuu uses a jian in combat. Subverted when it's revealed that his actual fighting style is much more unorthodox: pebbles and lead bullets shot from his hands.
50	* StoryboardBody: Becky's butterfly tattoo helps Lupin identify her as the daughter of Cat, Lupin's first partner in crime who had the same image on her chest.
51	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: It would be foolish to believe that the Bull's Eye Gem is actually cursed. Goemon certainly has other reasons he needs to walk away quickly whenever it makes an appearance.
52	* SwordFight: Near the middle of the film, Hakuryu and Goemon have a show of Chinese swordsmanship vs Iaijutsu. The former is able to hold his own with a ''jian'', but as soon as Goemon can counterattack, he proves to be superior.
53	* TapOnTheHead: Averted, Fujiko gets rid of her tenacious opponent by bludgeoning him on the head with a huge pot.
54	* TemptingFate: The head guard at Grand Bateau remarks that even Lupin III himself wouldn't try to break into the fortress. Guess who happens to be waiting right outside?
55	* ThrowingYourGunAtTheEnemy: Jigen does this after his gun is jammed by a stray hand pellet, and still manages to knock the gun out of Murphy's hand. He's just that good.
56	* TrueCompanions: After Lupin is kidnapped, Jigen calls Goemon, who comes right away to rescue his missing friend. After they abandon him later in the movie when he betrays them, Zenigata points out Lupin "is really nothing without those two." Cue "those two" having a BigDamnHeroes moment...
57	* WhatTheHellHero: When Lupin explains himself after betraying Jigen and Goemon at Grand Bateau, Goemon asks why Lupin didn't opt to try and rescue Fujiko over stealing the Bull's Eye. Lupin says he doesn't want to be reckless with Fujiko's life, causing Goemon to point out it was far more reckless to betray his other friends and leave them to fend for themselves.

Context Anime / LupinIIIStolenLupin