Lupin III/Recap/S2 E51

"Lupin, Whom I Loved - Part II", released in English as "The Second Time Around - Part Two". Released in 2005 by Geneon on Volume 10: Enchanted Lupin.

"Previously On..." Lupin III...

After the montage, Zenigata receives information from the Palm Beach police that sponsor of the charity auction was traced to a cemetery owner in Venezuela. Confident Lupin will show up there for some reason, the detective sets off on the thief's trail. In the meantime, Lupin has reunited with Jigen and Goemon, who examine pictures of the cemetery, Lupin remarking on the creepier feel it had from before. Jigen and Goemon warn him about the zombies there, but Lupin fills them in: Zel's specialty was attempting to hypnotize corpses so that men who died in battle could be returned as undead soldiers. He insists on hatching a plan to rescue Fujiko, who he knows is in the graveyard via a bug he planted on her earlier, and find out what exactly happened to Cornelia.

In the dungeon, Cornelia confronts Fujiko about her confidence in Lupin. When Fujiko mentions she and Lupin are lovers, Cornelia has another massive headache and flees, growing more confused.

Jigen drives Lupin to the graveyard, hidden in a coffin placed in the back of a hearse. The automatic systems of the graveyard, however, result in Lupin being sent to the crematory. The coffin has been nailed shut, and just before he is roasted, he is rescued by Sergio, who remembers him from all those years ago. After Sergio shows Lupin that many of the coffins that are brought to the cemetery are full of stolen art, he tells Lupin what transpired after Cornelia was shot and the thief fled. Zel, devastated by his daughter's death, put his life's work into attempting to revive her in some fashion. The result was a special chip, planted in her brain. Zel then transplanted his own consciousness into the computer that controls the chip, allowing Zel to take over her body and control her remotely. Sadly, Sergio, notes, that when she died, anything that made her Cornelia seemed to have died with her. Lupin then goes to rescue Fujiko, who promptly abandons him to search for Zel's stolen art.

Zenigata arrives in the cemetery, is chased around by a zombie, and promptly falls into a trap door that delivers him straight into Zel's underground lair...and right in front of Lupin! The perpetual chase is quickly interrupted by steel panels that cut Zenigata off from Lupin and surround the thief. One panel re-opens with Cornelia behind it, who shoots Lupin in the shoulder. As she prepares a second, killing shot, Lupin tells her he deserves it since she died for him before. Horrified, Cornelia listens as Lupin tells her the truth about what happened. Unable to cope with the conflicting stories, she grabs her head in pain and flees in tears, a concerned Lupin right behind her.

Meanwhile, Fujiko has found a room full of coffins. Assuming they are all full of treasure, she opens one and is promptly rewarded with zombies, who chase her to the graveyard above. There, she runs into Jigen and Goemon, where all three realize their friend is still in the compound.

Sure enough, Lupin has come across the glass-encased Zel. The glass opens, however, and Zel's body, no longer protected, rots away before his eyes. Zel's voice gloats; he has been wanting revenge against Lupin for years, and he finally has his chance. He then reveals the master computer housing his mind. Restraining the thief, Zel calls for Cornelia. She appears, but she also demands the truth from her father. She struggles, and memories of Lupin and her love for him begin running through her mind. The conflict causes the Zel-computer to start shorting out as he screams for her to shoot Lupin.

Above ground, the battle rages between Jigen, Goemon, and the zombies. The two men plus Fujiko charge the zombies and the base, but Jigen accidentally falls through another trapdoor in the cemetery. Without his help, Goemon and Fujiko are quickly surrounded and about to be overpowered.

Back in the lab, Cornelia struggles to her feet. Her face is determined, her eyes flash, a gun sounds...and she falls to the ground, dying once again. Jigen, who managed to find his way through the tunnels to Lupin, was forced to shoot her before she could shoot his comrade. As she dies, Cornelia looks up and smiles; she remembers Lupin, the truth, and their love again. She bids him farewell before her eyes shut for the last time and her body rots away. Zel, staggered at seeing his daughter die again, rants about the frailties of life as he activates his self-destruct. The two thieves flee the destruction of his compound.

As it dawns, the compound explodes and Zel's zombies fall down, dead for good this time. Lupin and Jigen reunite with Fujiko and Goemon; Sergio also appears, carrying an unconscious Zenigata over his shoulder and confessing he saw this outcome a long time ago. Together, they all stare at the rising sun as Lupin vows never to forget Cornelia as long as he lives.

This episode features examples of:

 * Absurdly Sharp Blade: Again averted, via crazed zombies and steel trapdoors.
 * Brick Joke: Zenigata speaks with the local police about how much of a cockroach Lupin is, seeing one on the police cheif's desk and imagining Lupin as it before he squashes it. Later after Zeni falls into a trapdoor and straight to Lupin. Lupin likewise compares him to an annoying cockroach, complete with an image spot of Zeni as said bug.
 * Brain Uploading: How Zel tries to conquer death.
 * Downer Ending: While Lupin's gang, Zenigata, and Sergio escape, Sergio sadly explains that Cornelia never really stood a chance of being saved.
 * Everything's Deader with Zombies: Excuse me, um..."hypnotized corpses."
 * Love Is a Weakness: The exploding Zel rants on this in the English version. Interestingly, the Japanese version of this scene hints more towards an Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other between Cornelia and Zel.
 * No Body Left Behind: Averted hard with Zel and Cornelia, but played straight with the zombies.
 * Only a Flesh Wound: Lupin is shot in the shoulder, but seems remarkably unaffected by it later.
 * Pitiful Worms: Zenigata pictures a cockroach crawling on the police chief's desk with Lupin's face and promptly crushes it in rage.
 * "Previously On...": The opening.
 * Redemption Equals Death: Cornelia.
 * Sliding Scale of Undead Regeneration: Zel's minions would appear to be Type III.
 * Tracking Device: Lupin secretly deployed one on Fujiko in Part I.
 * Trap Door: All over the cemetery; Zenigata and Jigen manage to fall in one each.
 * Virtual Ghost: Zel basically uses Cornelia as one.