Lupin III: Stolen Lupin ~The Copy Cat is a Midsummer's Butterfly~ note (usually shortened to Stolen Lupin, released in English as Swallowtail Tattoo) is the sixteenth Lupin III Made-for-TV Movie. Directed by Hidehito Ueda, it was originally shown on July 30, 2004, with Discotek Media releasing it on Blu-Ray in the US in March 2023.
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.
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?
Complete spoilers below — don't read further if you don't want to know how this caper turns out!
This TV movie features examples of:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: 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.
- Battle Butler: 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.
- Big Fancy Castle: 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 Brian Murphy himself.
- Broken Pedestal: 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.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: 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.
- Convenient Decoy Cat: 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.
- Cool Old Guy: 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.
- Decoy Leader: Malchovich is not the real boss of the gang. It's actually Murphy.
- Defeat by Modesty: Delivered by Zantetsuken to Murphy as part of his Humiliation Conga at the end of the movie.
- Evil Counterpart: 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.
- Explosive Leash: 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.
- Eye Scream: At one point in the movie, Santana attacks Becky and tries to use his thumbs to gouge her eyes out.
- Full-Body Disguise: 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.
- Genre Savvy: 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.
- Iaijutsu Practitioner: 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.
- Implausible Fencing Powers: 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, "You came within my reach."
- Improvised Weapon: 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.
- I Surrender, Suckers: 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.
- I Will Only Slow You Down: 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.
- Janitor Impersonation Infiltration: 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.
- Knuckle Cracking: 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.
- Latex Perfection:
- 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.
- 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.
- Logical Weakness: 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.
- 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.
- MacGuffin Location: 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.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: 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 Spit Take
- Marshmallow Hell: Accidental during Fujiko's struggle against Ducross, who tries to perform a Bear Hug to crush her spine but, being shorter than her, ends up with his face smothered against her breasts.
- The Mole: 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.
- More Dakka: 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.
- Murderous Thighs: During the melee grapple between Ducross and Fujiko, the latter tries to snap his neck with this method.
- Outfit Decoy: Jigen uses his jacket and a bicycle to distract Santana long enough to get away out of a shed's back entrance.
- Pocket Protector: The locket with Cat's picture ends up saving Lumberjack from Santana's bullet.
- Potty Emergency: 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.
- Sky Heist: During this film's opening heist, the truck with the treasure is on a bridge when Lupin forces it to stop, and turns his fake body doll disguise into a balloon to escape with all the treasure. Unfortunately for him, the semi-trailer was a cage in disguise and he loses all the jewels.
- Stock Wushu Weapons: 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.
- Storyboard Body: 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.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: 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.
- Sword Fight: 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.
- Tap on the Head: Averted, Fujiko gets rid of her tenacious opponent by bludgeoning him on the head with a huge pot.
- Tempting Fate: 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?
- Throwing Your Gun at the Enemy: 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.
- True Companions: 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 Big Damn Heroes moment...
- What the Hell, Hero?: 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.
- You Killed My Father: Becky isn't just into her crimes for the thrills. She's also trying to draw out the person who killed her mother.
