Walther P38 (ワルサーP38, In Gedenken an die Walther P38 Warusā P38, In Memory of the Walther P38?) is the 9th Lupin the 3rd TV Special released on August 1, 1997.
Synopsis[]
Lupin III investigates the news of a fake version of one of his trademark calling cards during a high-class party. A group of assassins, the Tarantula, crash the party and murder the host. Zenigata, investigating the card, chases Lupin but ends up shot and injured by a silver Walther P38. Lupin, catching a glimpse of the familiar gun, is determined to avenge not only Zenigata, but an episode of his past.
Lupin and Fujiko infiltrate the island by joining Tarantula, while Jigen and Goemon hide in the underground. Lupin also befriends Ellen, an assassin who is disillusioned with Tarantula following the death of her younger brother who was also with the organization. Prevented from leaving by an ingenious poison and also interested in Tarantula's large stock of gold, Lupin and his gang work to bring down the assassins and find the bearer of the silver Walther.
Long synopsis[]
Zenigata receives a card signed by Lupin, in which the thief says that he is going to steal something during a party hosted by a politician. When caught, Lupin says that he did not send any card, and that he himself is investigating. As Zenigata chases Lupin through the house, the party is interrupted by a mysterious gang of masked assassins, who kill the politician and several hosts. Just before arresting Lupin, Zenigata is shot, and Lupin sees the glimpse of a silver Walther P38. Lupin chases the assassins, but they manage to escape.
Lupin and Jigen set sails to a mysterious island, and Lupin tells about the Tarantula, the most cruel and efficient society of assassins in the world, paid and supported by governments and whose base of operations is the mysterious island they are sailing to; the island isn't signed on any map, and a satellite protects it by instantly destroying anything outside the route to the island. Lupin and Jigen reach the island and set a camp, and Lupin mentions the possibility that the silver Walther P38 he saw could be his former weapon, which he used when he was a young man but lost.
During the night, the assassins attack Lupin and Jigen, but the two run away. Lupin later faces Ellen, a young assassin of the Tarantula, and Bomber. He later meets Ellen again as she is paying a visit to a lonely grave; the Tarantula finds them and brings Lupin to their base.
Here, Lupin is injected with a special poison crafted by Tarantula's boss, Gordo: the poison would kill instantly any person who is injected, unless the person breathes the natural gas released by the island. Gordo lets Lupin go around the island, saying that he has no hope to flee. Fujiko and Goemon infiltrated the island too, and are trying to learn more about the organization.
After a short fight against some members of the Tarantula, Lupin is brought by Ellen to Doc, the head surgeon of the organization. Doc is planning to escape the island with some allies—including Ellen and Bomber—who are tired of the violent life they are living; he also says that he is working on a possible antidote to Gordo's poison, and that he wants to take away Gordo's treasure, an incalculable amount of gold he brought together thanks to assassinations commissioned to his gang. He intends to flee on a ship after having deactivated the satellite thanks to a program developed by Alex, Ellen's brother, who died years before and whose grave Ellen was paying a visit to.
Doc manages to synthesize the antidote, and shortly after Lupin and Ellen are sent to a mission. They inject themselves the antidote as soon as they leave the island on a jet, but the antidote stops working after a few moments and they head back to the island.
At the same time, the rebels set sails and try to leave with the gold, but are attacked by the members of the Tarantula who are still faithful to Gordo. Also, Alex's program was supposed to set a countdown before deactivating the satellite, but apparently the countdown is much longer than expected and nobody on the ship knows it; also, Fujiko discovers that the gold they stole is fake. The satellite traces the ship and destroys it. Only Jigen, Goemon, and Fujiko manage to escape.
Gordo, after having lead his men against the rebels, heads to his office and contacts his superiors, but is apparently killed by the man who bears the golden P38. The mysterious men who run the organization agree to shut it down, not knowing that Gordo is still alive and faked his own death in order to steal the real gold reserve of the Tarantula. His partner's identity is revealed: it is Doc, who also bears the silver P38 and injected himself with the real antidote. The two of them destroy the satellite and Gordo tries to kill Doc, saying that he couldn't trust him as he betrayed everyone. Doc, however, poisoned Gordo and finishes him off by shooting him in the head.
Lupin arrives with Ellen and reveals the truth: Doc is no other than Lupin's first partner, who betrayed him years before by stealing the silver Walther P38 and nearly killing him. It is also revealed that Doc forced Alex, Ellen's brother, to modify the program and then killed him.
After a brief shootout, Doc flees and takes off on an airship with the gold, bringing Ellen as a hostage. Lupin reaches the airship and fights Doc. Ellen is wounded and Lupin helps her to kill Doc, even if the latter had the only remaining dose of antidote with him. Doc falls into the sea with the gold he stole, and Ellen, after having heard from Lupin that he can recreate the antidote in any moment, dies in Lupin's arms. Lupin throw the silver P38 into the sea.
Lupin buries Ellen near Alex and creates the antidote for himself and for Fujiko. Zenigata arrives to the island with a battalion of policemen. Lupin and the gang flee.
Voice cast[]
- Japanese
- English ("Island of Assassins")
- Click on "Show" to view the cast
| Characters | Voice Actors |
|---|---|
| Lupin III | Sonny Strait |
| Daisuke Jigen | Christopher R. Sabat |
| Goemon Ishikawa XIII | Mike McFarland |
| Fujiko Mine | Meredith McCoy |
| Inspector Koichi Zenigata | Phillip Wilburn |
| Ellen | Caitlin Glass |
| Doctor | Kent Williams |
- Italian ("Walther P38 Nome in codice Tarantola")
- Click on "Show" to view the cast
| Characters | Voice Actors |
|---|---|
| Lupin III | Roberto Del Giudice |
| Daisuke Jigen | Sandro Pellegrini |
| Goemon Ishikawa XIII | Antonio Palumbo |
| Fujiko Mine | Alessandra Korompay |
| Inspector Koichi Zenigata | Rodolfo Bianchi |
| Ellen | Beatrice Margiotti |
| Doctor | Roberto Certomà |
Translation Notes[]
- In the Japanese original, after Zenigata faints, the ICPO chief simply tells the doctor, "I leave the rest up to you", and the doctor says nothing. In the English dub, after the chief says "He's your mess now", the doctor sarcastically replies "Gee, thanks."
- In the Japanese original, as Zenigata studies the badge that barely blocked the bullet, he notes that he "barely survived" thanks to it. In the English dub, he says it "slowed the bullet down". In the Italian dub, he remarks that it saved his life.
- In the English dub, the article Zenigata reads aloud only states Lupin by his last name. In the English dub, he reads aloud, "Gun that brought down the Inspector was registered under the name of Arsène Lupin the Third".
- In the Japanese original, young Mr. Flanagan doesn't mind being called Vicky. In the English dub he insists on being called Victor.
- While Vicky's dialogue is usually drowned out by the music, in the Italian dub we can hear him say something along the lines of "Turn down your volume!", to which Zenigata replies "Huh? What?" as he's about to remove the earbuds.
- In the Latin American Spanish Dub, Vicky is portrayed and referred to as female.
Notes[]
- The third animation to depict Fujiko as a blonde. The first time was in The Castle of Cagliostro, and the second was in The Secret of Twilight Gemini.
- One of the few times Lupin, along with Fujiko, has an uncertain ending, since they escape the island with the gas needed to keep themselves alive, but no antidote. Since the franchise has no continuity, whether they live or die is not an issue.
- A file on the Cagliostro case is presented to Zenigata while he's eating at a Japanese restaurant. The file shows the event took place in 1996, although contradicting evidence in The Castle of Cagliostro shows that it took place in 1968, but also reported the death of Aghostino Neto, which took place in 1979.
- Flanagan brings Zenigata a file on the Cagliostro case which has a picture of a Walther P38 on top of it. Lupin carried his Walther in the film but he doesn't have a chance to use it, since it was melted by a laser in the third act.
- The English dub is one of the few times Zenigata mentions Lupin's full name, though not in his presence.
Releases[]
- Further Information: Home Media Releases/TVSP#Walther P38
Gallery[]
Logo[]
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External Links[]
- Official English TMS Page. tmsanime.com
- Official TMS Page. tms-e.co.jp (in Japanese)
- Official TMS Global Page. tms-e.co.jp (in Japanese)
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