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Lupin III/Recap/S2/E66


"Shooting Orders!", released in English as "Beauty and the Deceased". Released in 2006 by Geneon on Volume 13: All's Fair in Love & Thievery.

On a dark night in a sleazy part of town, a robber is dozing in a low-rent hotel room. Suddenly, the door flies open. He awakens, spots a man in the door, and reaches for his gun, but it is too late and he is quickly blown away by his assailant. A caption appears below the mystery man: Top Secret: Kill Lupin.

Elsewhere, Inspector Zenigata has been informed by his commander that he has been chosen to attend an international crime conference in Hawaii to speak on his hunt for Lupin. Although honored, he refuses to accept and has to be ordered to attend. As he flies off, Lupin and his gang breathe a sigh of relief that Zenigata's chase has been temporarily discontinued. The peace is brief, however; the gang is almost mowed down by an out-of-control car, driven by the mystery man from earlier: Inspector Beauty. He tells Lupin he has been sent by ordered by Interpol to kill Lupin, and is giving him a day to set his affairs in order. He then drives off, leaving more damage in his wake, and a stunned gang.

Jigen has crossed paths with Beauty before on an assassination job six years earlier, which resulted in the death of Jigen's partner and the gunman barely escaping with his life. Jigen and Goemon spend the night urging Lupin to run away and not face Beauty; Jigen in particular pointing out the more powerful, up-to-date gun Beauty has versus Lupin's classic Walther P38.

Fujiko, meanwhile, has managed to find Zenigata in Hawaii and tells him of Beauty's orders. Furious he has been duped away from Lupin, Zenigata and Fujiko race back. However, as dawn approaches, Lupin drugs Jigen and Goemon to keep them out of the whole mess, and goes off to face Beauty alone. As he pulls away in his Mercedes, Beauty appears and gives pursuit. He damages Lupin's car before ramming it, forcing it off the road and into the side of a cliff, where it explodes. Lupin somehow manages to survive and drag himself free from the wreckage. Staggered but not out, Lupin leads Beauty into a ravine, where the two exchange gunfire. As they reload, Beauty chuckles as he loads in two special bullets, aims his giant gun at Lupin, and fires. The rock is blown to pieces, and Lupin flies out from behind it, wounded. As Beauty prepares to put the second bullet into Lupin at close range, Jigen and Goemon arrive, along with Fujiko and Zenigata. Fujiko cradles Lupin, soothing him as he passes away. Jigen furiously notes that Beauty used hollow-point bullets, which are illegal for police officers under international law. Beauty gloats Lupin is dead either way.

After attending to Lupin's grave in a pouring rain, the gang returns to the hideout where Lupin is actually resting, bandaged and very much alive. Jigen explains about Beauty's hollow-points, and confesses the only reason Lupin survived was he managed to fire a bullet of his own, carrying an adhesive, that slowed down the hollow-point and prevented it from wounding Lupin too badly. Furious at Beauty's lack of ethics, Lupin formulates a plan for revenge. A few hours later, Beauty is on a plane headed home when he receives word that Lupin has survived, and is furious. He confronts Zenigata at ICPO headquarters, but Zenigata refuses to help him find the thief. A sniper bullet fired into the window by Jigen shortly thereafter serves as both a warning and a challenge.

At their new hideout, Lupin has Goemon and Fujiko help him make a new dirty weapon of his own: a mercury bullet, inspired by Ernest Hemingway. His two friends wonder about mixing gunpowder and mercury, but Lupin waves their worries away. That evening, Jigen meets Beauty on Dream Island, and confesses he relishes facing down his former foe again. He taunts Beauty about the weight and power of his weapon, pointing out the inspector needs two hands to draw and fire. Beauty responds by facing off against the gunman, outdrawing him and striking Jigen in the shoulder. As he gloats over the bonus he will get, Lupin, Goemon, and Fujiko arrive. Lupin makes it to Jigen's side and hands him the mercury bullet. Using Lupin's shoulder to help him aim, the wounded Jigen manages to get off a perfect shot and strike Beauty right in the torso, where he promptly explodes from the combination of mercury and gunpowder. Lupin acknowledges he might have been off on the mixture before going to soothe Fujiko, who has fainted from the horrific death of Beauty.

This episode features examples of:

  • Abnormal Ammo: Lupin's mercury bullet.
  • Bandage Mummy: Lupin, after his first encounter with Beauty.
  • Blown Across the Room: Or ravine, in Lupin's case. After the bullet has passed through a rock, no less.
  • Character Filibuster: Jigen gets one on the differences between Lupin and Beauty's weapons.
  • Coup De Grace: Beauty almost gets one on Lupin before his friends interrupt.
  • Drives Like Crazy: Beauty.
  • Faking the Dead: To give Lupin a chance to come up with a plan to defeat Beauty.
  • Firing One-Handed: Played straight with Jigen and Lupin, and also has the two-handed "police" variant for Beauty.
  • Flash Back: One for Jigen's failed assassination attempt.
  • Friendly Enemy: Zenigata rushes to help Lupin when informed about Beauty, and later refuses to give Beauty any information on the thief after ICPO learns he survived.
  • Game-Breaking Injury: Jigen is shot in his shoulder, but Lupin helps him steady his gun for the final shot.
  • Ludicrous Gibs: Beauty's final fate.
  • Moral Dissonance: Lupin's revenge for Beauty "cheating" and using hollow-points is actually more horrific, if anything. Not to mention the fact that to make a mercury bullet, you would likely have to use a hollow-point as well!
  • One Bullet Left: Lupin only has one mercury bullet for Jigen to use.
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