Lupin III/Recap/S2 E52

"Emmanuelle is an Angel's Whisper", with the English release titled "Emmanuelle in Bangkok". Released in 2005 by Geneon on Volume 10: Enchanted Lupin.

On a boat, Fujiko is wheeling and dealing with Smith, an ex-American soldier who came across a document leading to a mysterious temple he discovered while fighting in Cambodia. Fujiko wants the document, believing it will lead her to a fantastic treasure: the Fountain of Youth itself. Her overtures are rebuffed when another woman appears to also deal for the document: the beautiful and seductive Emmanuelle Poirot. The two women engage in verbal sparring; Fujiko brags she will win because she has Lupin III himself on her side. This gives Emmanuelle an idea...

Later, in Bangkok, an excited Lupin pulls up outside a fabulous mansion and excited about the invitation he received from Fujiko. When he enters, though, he instead finds Emmanuelle. She also introduces him to her cat, a Siamese whose claws happen to be coated in poison. She makes Lupin an offer to be her partner in an upcoming caper. Lupin counters with his own surprise: a gun hidden in the bouquet of roses he brought for Fujiko. With that understanding, Lupin and Emmanuelle decide to get to know each other better.

Later, Lupin consults with Jigen, who has dug up more info on his new friend's background. Emmanuelle is the grand-daughter of Hercule Poirot; although she's obviously the black sheep of the family and known for her unsavory reputation, she's never actually been caught committing a crime. In spite of this, and warnings from Jigen and Goemon, Lupin is smitten with his new friend. Unknown to him, Emmanuelle has, at the same time, arranged a meeting with Inspector Zenigata, who she promises to hand Lupin over to when she is done with him. Zenigata is reluctant to work by her methods, but based on her grandfather's reputation, he accepts.

That night, Lupin and Emmanuelle, in costume, head to a party at the local Officer's Club. Lupin, disguised as a clown, lets Emmanuelle know he will do whatever she orders. She asks him to kill someone at the party that night. At that same club, Fujiko, disguised as a traditional Thai folk dancer, is informed of Emmanuelle's arrival; however, since Lupin is in costume, he goes unrecognized. She is also furious, as Smith admits has given both her and Emmanuelle a copy of the map to see which one lands on top.

At the party, a folk dance begins. Emmanuelle informs Lupin that one of the dancers, the disguised Fujiko, is the one she wants killed. At the end of the dance, Fujiko hurls the claws from her costume at Emmanuelle, but the Siamese cat safely catches them. Lupin chases after his former ally, each unaware of who the other is. They exchange fire until Lupin has Fujiko cornered, but at the last second, one of Fujiko's hired goons swoops in and saves her.

Elsewhere at the base, Smith hands Emmanuelle her copy of the document, but Emmanuelle prepares to shoot him, knowing he also gave a copy to Fujiko. Smith tries to bargain his way out, and when that fails goes for his own gun. Her cat leaps out and rakes its claws across the soldier's face, poisoning him. Lupin appears soon after, and when he admits his target escaped, Emmanuelle is furious but forgives him; however, the next time he sees the would-be assassin, he must take her out.

With that, the two partners in crime head for the Cambodian temple, where Emmanuelle wants him to steal something from there. Lupin and the cat is sent in to seek out the treasure, and quickly finds the temple hazardous and full of traps. At one point, he drops his flashlight into a deep well, but is pulled out by Fujiko; he also takes note of the water flowing through the main room. Fujiko makes Lupin promise to get the treasure for her before leaving him to his job. The treasure itself is in a glass globe, composed of precariously placed pieces that support a pillar. If the pillar is jolted, the temple will collapse. After a careful examination, Lupin manages to open the globe, but the cat startles him as he reaches for the box inside. It causes the globe and pillar to crumble. Outside, Emmanuelle, Zenigata, Fujiko, Jigen, and Goemon watch in horror as the temple falls, Lupin still inside.

As Emmanuelle storms away at Lupin's failure, her cat and the thief emerge from a nearby well. He presents Fujiko with the treasure box he recovered; she runs off in glee, Emmanuelle in hot pursuit. Seeing the water, Lupin reasoned it had to drain to somewhere; so, when the temple started to collapse, he followed the running water to the temple's underground sewers, allowing him to escape. He also notes that the ancient scripture was indeed very ancient, so ancient it has long crumbled away. With that, Lupin and his gang, along with a relieved Zenigata, watch as the two ladies have an all-out catfight over the empty, worthless box.

This episode features examples of:

 * Antagonist in Mourning: Zenigata is genuinely upset when he thinks Lupin has died.
 * Cat Fight: Between Fujiko and Emmanuelle as the episode finale.
 * Famous Ancestor: Emmanuelle's grandfather is Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot.
 * Femme Fatale: The episode's essentially a battle of them.
 * Fountain of Youth: The supposed treasure of the temple, at least in the English version. The Japanese version more appropriately calls it the Holy Scripture of Immortality, which is much more appropriate as the treasure is a friggin' piece of paper.
 * I Have Boobs - You Must Obey!: How Emmanuelle controls Lupin in the beginning. She tries it on Zenigata as well.
 * Mistaken Identity: Lupin thinks Fujiko is an assassin, while Fujiko mistakes Lupin for one of Emmanuelle's bodyguards.
 * Nippled and Dimed: Emmanuelle doesn't put on a real shirt until well into the episode's second half.
 * Poisoned Weapons: The claws of Emmanuelle's Siamese cat.
 * Replaced the Theme Tune: The episode that debuts the "Lupin '79" version of the theme tune.
 * Shout-Out: Emmanuelle's first name (and lack of shirts) is a reference to a series of French soft-core porn films.