Following the events of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Goemon Ishikawa XIII has taken a new job, as a bodyguard for a Yakuza boss named Inaniwa. While aboard the Inaniwa clan's splendid gambling ship, a rival gang tries to make trouble and Goemon uses his skills to save the boss from an assassination attempt, earning Goemon the boss's glowing praise and causing the gang's more established members a great deal of resentment. Meanwhile, in the ship's vaults, Lupin III, Daisuke Jigen, and Fujiko Mine are working on lifting as much money as possible from the gang's coffers. When the ship begins shaking, Goemon goes down to investigate and finds a massive bearded man with metal teeth working on destroying the ship's engines with two heavy hatchets. The intruder causes the ship to explode; in the ensuing chaos, Inaniwa dies, Lupin and company manage to escape, and the mystery man abandons the ship and goes after Lupin's group when he spots them.
The next day, Inspector Kouichi Zenigata arrives at the burned out ship, seeking the bearded man. His name, as both Zenigata and Lupin independently find out, is Hawk, also known as the "Ghost of Bermuda". He was an accomplished mercenary thought to have died in a mission gone wrong; instead, he seems to be alive and well, superhumanly powerful, and dead set on killing Lupin, Jigen, and Fujiko. While the Lupin and company get drunk and celebrate their robbery, Goemon goes to Inaniwa's funeral to pay his respects and ask for forgiveness for his failure to protect the man; the boss's son and guards, already loathing Goemon after he so easily showed them up, give the samurai one week to track down and find the boss's killer. A further encounter with Hawk leaves Goemon stunned and doubting his abilities. As the week counts down, Goemon begins a brutal training like he never has before. Because the next time he and Hawk meet, only one can be victorious…
Like Jigen's Gravestone, the movie was split into two parts on initial release. Both halves were released on DVD in Japan on May 26, 2017. Discotek Media released the film on Bluray and DVD with an English dub on September 24, 2019.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: It's a movie about Goemon. It would almost be shorter to list the things he doesn't cut in half.
- Always Someone Better:
- Inaniwa's men think they're pretty hot stuff until Goemon splits a bullet to save the boss's life. This starts off massive resentment that fuels their section of the movie.
- Hawk, who manages to grab Goemon's blade between his fingers without cutting himself and then nearly destroys both the sword and Goemon. A big part of the rest of the movie is Goemon's training to work through his defeat and fear of Hawk.
- The tables turn at the end, when Goemon's training and newly found sixth sense make him superior to Hawk. Hawk acknowledges this and calls off his hunt.
- Art-Shifted Sequel: It once again uses the Fujiko Mine character designs, but has fantastically fluid animation.
- Assassins Are Always Betrayed: After Inaniwa chose Goemon as his favorite new "bodyguard", his jealous son and veteran bodyguards let him die when he calls for Goemon to rescue him instead of them. It's clear after Goemon departs the funeral that their disdain for him is so strong they are going to take out Goemon, whether he avenges their boss or not.
- Bare-Handed Blade Block: Hawk pulls this on Goemon when they duel the first time, stopping the tip of Zantetsuken between his thumb and index fingers. He does it again during their rematch, though this time he actually gets a cut on his palm, which makes him realize that Goemon got better.
- Big Damn Movie: After Fujiko and Jigen, Goemon gets his turn to shine.
- Bloodier and Gorier: If the title weren't a dead giveaway already, this is easily the most graphic Lupin film so far. Goemon and Hawk's battle at the end is particularly brutal, with Goemon basically getting most of the skin removed from one arm. But at least he gets to keep his arm, unlike Hawk.
- Bloodless Carnage: At the very end, Goemon and Hawk do not seem to bleed from the ghastly wounds they got (which include Hawk's missing arm).
- Bring It: When Jigen threatens to shoot Hawk if he tries to use his axes, Hawk is amused at the prospect of testing his axes against a pistol and accepts the challenge.
- Bullying a Dragon: When Hawk crashes in Lupin's hideout, he still snarks and taunts him, despite the latter's notoriety. Fujiko even calls him out on this, though Hawk himself sounds amused by his chatter,
- Butt-Monkey: The nameless guy whose bike gets stolen by Hawk. Later in the second act, the poor fellow tries to get even and is nearly killed in an accident.
- Carry a Big Stick: The Saigo Brothers' weapon of choice consist in an ararebo, an ornate metal cudgel which they use to viciously bludgeon people to death.
- Combat Clairvoyance:
- After his harsh training, he reports to the Inaniwa clan; they beat him out of jealousy and for failing to avenge their leader. Between these things, something flashes in Goemon and he realizes he can predict their moves accordingly. He uses his new skill to eradicate the gang.
- Hawk also appears to have this to a degree, only in his vision he sees himself losing when Goemon decapitates him. He gasps in shock and fear, and calls off his hunt for Lupin.
- Darker and Edgier: If it's not the darkest Lupin entry yet, it's certainly up there. There's not much humor, serious characterization, and lots of death.
- Deadly Euphemism: Hawk never openly says he wants to kill people. He refers to his job as "deforestation" and tells his victims that they're going to become fertilizer.
- Don't Make Me Destroy You: After Goemon undergoes the revelation about his sword skills, he warns the Inaniwa gang not to make another move against him, or he will kill them all. They do... and he does.Goemon: Even wiggle a finger and then... I will kill you.
- Drunken Glow: Lupin is visibly intoxicated after a heist well done.
- Foil: Hawk to Goemon: the latter is short, thin, with black hair and shaved, using a single thin, long sword as his weapon of choice and a fighting style which is fast but precise. Hawk is a massive, fat blond bearded man wielding two short but heavy axes, who bears down on everyone and everything in his path. Their careers and skills as killers are the only thing those two men have in common.
- In addition to that, Goemon is graceful and disciplined in his movements. Hawk, on the other hand, crashes multiple vehicles, and comes across as reckless and somewhat clumsy, not that it hinders his fighting skill.
- Heroic BSoD: Goemon undergoes one after Hawk defeats him, and he continues to have Flashbacks to the battle throughout his training.
- Hypocrite: The Saigo Brothers blames Goemon for Inaniwa Sr's death... despite the fact that it was them, along with the other two "Heavenly Kings", who decided to abandon their boss to his fate on the burning ship. On a lesser note, they also call Goemon's samurai attitude as a walking anachronism, but aside from Makio all of them wield old school weapons.
- I Let You Win: Near the end of part one, Hawk is held gunpoint by Zenigata but simply decides to surrender, claiming that he's tired and he wants to sleep, and in fact he spend the rest of the night and a good part of the following day sleeping. Once he's rested enough, he evades in no time to resume the chase.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Lupin's arm gets impaled towards the climax and it stays there until the end of the movie.
- Implacable Man: Once Hawk is on the move, there's nothing that will stop him. Nothing. The only reason why Zenigata manages to arrest him near the end of act I is because Hawk himself was feeling sleepy and wanted to rest. As soon as he's slept enough, he breaks out of prison like nothing to resume the hunt.
- Implausible Fencing Powers:
- Goemon was extremely good before his training, but after he acquires a sixth sense when being worked over by the Inaniwa gang, he realizes how much farther he can push his skills.
- Although he uses hatchets, Hawk also has these; he's able to block bullets with the blades and redirect them at his foes. During the final battle he brings down an entire Buddhist temple.
- Interquel: Judging by the Japanese setting, Goemon being part of Lupin's crew, and Zenigata being part of the Tokyo Metro PD, the movie is set some time during the first TV series.
- Later-Installment Weirdness: Fujiko is seen smoking marijuana from a bong when the gang celebrates their heist.
- Literal Disarming:
- Every single member of the Inaniwa gang who draws a weapon against Goemon looses both the weapon and the hand or arm holding it, save Inaniwa Jr, who gets away with having his hair cut off and his gun sliced apart.
- Hawk himself when Goemon confronts him for the final time; Goemon doesn't quite dodge the hatchet's blow, but he still manages to cleanly cut off Hawk's right arm.
- Know When to Fold 'Em:
- When Hawk parries Jigen's shots with his axes and actually wounds Jigen with the ricocheting bullets, Fujiko decides to run away… and Jigen himself follows suit.
- After losing pretty much all his retainers to Goemon, Inaniwa Jr
- Hawk decides to call off his "deforestation" of Lupin's gang once he realizes that Goemon can kill him.
- The Man Behind the Man: Someone sent Hawk after Lupin and his friends, but other than being rich and powerful, it's never mentioned exactly who it is.note
- Meditating Under a Waterfall: Goemon doesn't just use a large waterfall to contemplate his loss to Hawk; he also fights against the beatdown its powerful waters deliver to strengthen him.
- Mythology Gag: The scene where Goemon is standing on a tall rock in the middle of the ocean, unable to draw his sword due to the fear and hesitation caused by his loss to Hawk, while a huge shark jumps off the water and gets close enough to hurt him, is a reference to a nowadays infamous gory scene from chapter 27 of the Shin Lupin manga, where Goemon cuts a shark in two as it jumps out of the sea.
- Not So Stoic: Hawk spends the entire movie being apathetic, calm and collected. He loses his temper when he tries to attack Goemon after losing his arm, but freaks out and steps back in terror after seeing his own death in the attempt.
- Off with His Head!: Hawk, during his final encounter with Goemon… until he realizes it's what will happen if he lets his rage and pride get the better of him. He calls off his hunt for Lupin and Jigen instead.
- Pet the Dog: A little girl Hawk affectionately hugs and addresses as "Lady Salifa" brings Hawk his task. Scarily, that task turns out to be to kill Lupin, Jigen, and Fujiko.
- Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Four Heavenly Kings of the Tetsuryu clan, which include the two Saigo Brothers, a scarred man with a kusari fundo and Inoue, a bare-handed fighter. In a slight subversion, they do not get much spotlight (except for the brothers) and are no match for Goemon alone.
- Real Men Eat Meat: Hawk devours ten servings of ribs in one sitting at a roadside diner.
- Scary Teeth: Hawk has sharp pointy ones made of metal. He only shows them when he smiles; because of said teeth, his smiles come off as immensely threatening.
- Shout-Out:
- Inaniwa's first name is Makio, and his henchmen who fights by clenching his fists together is named Inoue. Makio Inoue was Goemon's Japanese voice actor from the second series until his retirement in 2012.
- Hawk's metal teeth, huge frame and Determinator attitude seems to have been inspired by Jaws from the James Bond franchise.
- Slasher Smile: The normally stoic Hawk flashes a couple of them at his opponents, an effect made creepier by his metal teeth.
- Sole Survivor: After Goemon brutally demonstrates his new skills on Inaniwa's gang, only Inaniwa Jr. is left alive. Goemon only spares him because he agrees to forget his revenge against the samurai.
- Spare a Messenger: Goemon kills all of Inaniwa Jr's gang before his eyes. Inaniwa is only spared when he promises to leave the samurai alone, presumably as example of why Goemon is not to be trifled with.
- Threatening Shark: A Great White Shark the size of a Megalodon appears when Goemon is training perched on a rock in the sea and leaves him a deep gash on the back with his teeth.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Hawk and his axes. This include throwing them at Fujiko (slicing part of her dress at chest level) as a warning and using them while hunting for Lupin and Jigen in the buddhist temple. In his clairvoyance, he tries to toss his first axe at Goemon as he rushes, only for the samurai to slice it in half.
- Training from Hell: Goemon undergoes a particularly brutal regimen after Hawk defeats him, involving extremes like fire and sharks.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Fujiko disappears at the beginning of Goemon's training scenes and isn't seen again for the rest of the film.
- Worthy Opponent: Goemon trains enough he eventually is viewed as this by Hawk, who realizes he has acquired a sixth sense about his sword. It probably doesn't hurt that he cuts Hawk's arm off in their final battle. He realizes Goemon is easily capable of killing him and declares he lost.
