Lupin III/Recap/S2 E37

"The Buried Treasure of Genghis Khan", with the English title "Khan Job". Released in 2004 by Geneon on Volume 7: Royal Scramble.

Lupin and Jigen are preparing to depart for Mongolia to steal the double-headed lion of Genghis Khan, which legend says holds a map to a vast treasure Khan hid away before he died. Goemon wishes them well; he has to go to the family graveyard in Hiraizumi to pay respect to his ancestors and cannot participate. As Lupin and Jigen's flight departs, Fujiko finds Goemon and tells him she is annoyed that she wasn't invited along on the caper. However, she has a lead on something possibly worth more: the lost treasure of warlord Yoshitsune Minamoto.

In Mongolia, the current Khan has already recieved one of Lupin's infamous calling cards, and naturally Inspector Zenigata is there as well. Zenigata is confident he will catch Lupin easily this time, but the concerned Khan decides to make one last check of his threatened lion statue. When he opens the safe, just out of Zenigata's range of sight, he finds Lupin inside, holding both the lion and a gun on him. Lupin grabs the Khan, ties him up, and, disguised, switches places with him before Zenigata looks back. When the disguised Lupin declares everything fine, Zenigata reminds him not to go out the door leading into the trap he has set for Lupin. Lupin chuckles at Pops's thoughtfulness as he exits, but the smile is wiped from his face when he finds himself in the back of a prison van...Zenigata had set him up!

Back in Japan, Goemon finishes his prayers for his anceestors as Fujiko prepares for a gold hunt, which is conveniently also in Hiraizumi. As the samurai keeps watch, Fujiko dives into Ryujin Pond, the supposed hiding place of Minamoto's legendary treasure. Both are unaware they are being watched by a shadowy figure in the woods.

As Lupin sulks in the back of the van, Jigen catches up to him and smuggles him some plastic explosives. Lupin tricks Zenigata into starting the fuse by asking for him to light a "cigarette" for him. The door is blown off the back of the van and Lupin and Jigen easily make it to a small airplane stashed nearby, in spite of the now charred Zenigata's best efforts. They are unaware that another foe is following them; Khan is in a helicopter and wants his lion and family honor back at any cost. As they fly, Lupin has Jigen look into the glass eyes of the lion and hold it up to the light; etched inside is a map where the treasure is located. Oddly, it too is in Hiraizumi.

Speaking of which, Fujiko emerges from the pond after hours of searching and completely empty-handed. As she laments her failed efforts, Goemon hears a sound in the distance, a quiet, lone flute. He and Fujiko investigate and find a ghostly woman near a five-story pagoda. When she sees the two thieves, she runs away into the nearby building.

In the skies, Khan has caught up with Lupin and Jigen and shot one of their wings off. The two parachute to safety, and note with great fortune they were shot down over an airport. Finding no light aircraft available, Lupin decides a Boeing 727 will do nicely instead to complete the trip back to Japan.

At the pagoda, Goemon and Fujiko open the doors to find the robes, flute, and headdress of the woman enshrined there. The priest enters and explains that the building is dedicated to Lady Shizuka, former owner of the estate at Hiraizumi and also wife to none other than Minamoto himself. Before leaving for battle, Minamoto told Shizuka to wait for him and protect the treasure he left behind. He never returned; legend had it his ship was swamped by a storm at sea and he was forced to land on the Asian mainland, where he eventually ended up in Mongolia as none other than Genghis Khan. The spirit of Lady Shizuka supposedly remains, waiting for her beloved to return home and playing the flute to guide him.

Lupin and Jigen have at long last arrived in Hiraizumi, but Lupin's attempt to land the plan on a freeway fails when he finds out too late it is under construction. Although he and Jigen are uninjured, the smoke attracts the attention of Fujiko and Goemon, who investigate and find their friends. The two groups get each other caught up on their adventures and findings; Goemon suspects someone familiar with the area has already found the treasure and hidden it elsewhere. Unknown to the group as they move off to enact a new plan, Khan has overheard their conversations about the treasure and is eager to get his hands on it.

Later that night, the ghost of Lady Shizuka reappears on the pagoda roof. Goemon and Lupin manages to corner her, and Goemon cuts her outfit to reveal the priest of the pagoda. As suspected, he had found the treasure long before and moved it elsewhere. He flees into the temple, and when the gang tries to follow him in they are blocked by shots being fired from Khan on an overhead balcony. Goemon and Jigen work together to bring Khan down (literally), and he lands hard on the floor and opens up a hidden trap door. The trap door leads to a long, long tunnel. Five hours later, the tunnel ends in a room full of gold.

As the gang revels in their good fortune, Lupin opens up a door in the wall, thinking more gold is hidden behind. Instead, it opens on a modern day bank. To keep his loot safe, the priest burrowed into the bank's safe for safekeeping. Hearing of a bank robbery, Zenigata, somehow back from Mongolia, rushes in to help and is delighted to find Lupin there. Lupin and his gang steal the police car and drive off with what they could grab, the furious priest and Inspector Zenigata chasing on a bicycle but being left far behind.

This episode features examples of:

 * Artistic License History: Most egregiously with Yoshitsune Miramoto. While he was a legendary rebel Samurai of the Heian and Kamakura periods, his death is well recorded as being betrayed by his brother and forced to commit Seppuku, and he never went overseas.
 * Ass Shove: In the English dub, Goemon accuses the rather portly priest of doing this with the stolen gold.
 * Calling Card: Of Lupin's usual "before the robbery" variety.
 * Contrived Coincidence: Well, look here...everyone's suddenly in Hiraizumi!
 * Defeat by Modesty: When Goemon reveals the identity of the "ghost"...and some major Fan Disservice.
 * Implausible Fencing Powers: Goemon blocks the bullets Jigen fires at him.
 * Latex Perfection: Lupin for the current Khan.
 * Magical Flutist: The ghost of Lady Shizuka.
 * Scooby-Doo Hoax: Used by the priest to keep people away from the temple where he hid the stolen gold.
 * Two Lines, No Waiting: Lupin/Jigen's and Fujiko/Goemon's jobs start out as separate capers.
 * Universal Driver's License: Lupin knows how to fly both light aircraft and commercial airliners. Both are very different to operate. But then again, he is Lupin.