Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to lu Onna

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · April 19, 2012, 10:57:05 PM

Or, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, if you prefer.

Anyways, the series is 3 for 3 so far as I'm concerned with its 3rd episode having aired this week. Obviously Fujiko is the main character of this series, but so far we've gotten each episode dedicated to introducing another one of the main characters.

In the first episode we got Lupin III himself competing with Fujiko to see who was the craftier thief.

In the 2nd episode we got to see Jigen and learn of his back-story, with Fujiko being stuck in the middle of an old affair with him and his ex-lover/boss.

In the 3rd episode we got graced by the presence of Goemon, who is portrayed as honorable but lost soul, not unlike Fujiko herself which is why they can oddly relate to each other on some level. This also happens to be the most bad-ass version of his character in any of the anime incarnations of Lupin III that I have seen, so that's a huge plus as well.

I can't wait to see what the next episode brings to the table. Now that the series has introduced all of the classic key characters from the franchise (including Zenigata, of course), I'm wondering if it'll delve into the origin story of how Fujiko came to team up with the 3 of them, or if it'll just focus on separate stories that may happen to involve these other characters at some points in time but not really working together as a team. Either way, it'll be interesting to see what direction this show goes in from this point on.

If you're a Lupin fan in any regard, of if you even have a curious passing interesting in this decades old classic series, then you NEED to be watching this show. For me its easily shaping up to be the best anime that I've seen in years, and while that alone may not sound like its saying much, suffice it to say that this could easily become one of my new favorites if it keeps up its high level of quality that its had so far for the rest of its run.

Foggle · April 19, 2012, 11:24:16 PM

I've still only seen the first episode, but I'm eager as hell to watch more.

gunswordfist · April 20, 2012, 11:18:05 AM

I, of course, don't keep up with new anime so this is the very first time I heard of this phenomenon. A series starring someone else from the main group sounds like something a spinoff of comic book would do, which means I'm interested.

How's Fujiko? They don't have her showing off her breasts all the time, do they? Honestly, she was my least favorite member of the gang.

Foggle · April 20, 2012, 11:19:09 AM

Quote from: gunswordfist on April 20, 2012, 11:18:05 AM
How's Fujiko? ... Honestly, she was my least favorite member of the gang.

She's a lot better here than in the other series. And yeah, she was my least favorite too.

Quote from: gunswordfist on April 20, 2012, 11:18:05 AM
They don't have her showing off her breasts all the time, do they?

In the first episode they do.

gunswordfist · April 20, 2012, 11:20:23 AM

Quote from: xXxFoGgLe=420xXx on April 20, 2012, 11:19:09 AM
Quote from: gunswordfist on April 20, 2012, 11:18:05 AM
How's Fujiko? ... Honestly, she was my least favorite member of the gang.
She's a lot better here than in the other series. And yeah, she was my least favorite too.

Quote from: gunswordfist on April 20, 2012, 11:18:05 AM
They don't have her showing off her breasts all the time, do they?
In the first episode they do.

Jesus, Superman, that was fast.

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · April 20, 2012, 11:42:12 AM

She's a bit more interesting in this series than in previous ones, but whether you like her as a character or not, the other characters of this series are each given plenty of screen-time of their own, so its not like its all about her.

Oh, and yeah, there is actually a fair deal of nudity in this series if that really turns you off. Its not really excessive, but its definitely present to some extent in each episode that has aired so far.

LumRanmaYasha · May 16, 2013, 06:05:55 PM

FUNIMATION'S TRAILER FOR THE DUB IS OUT! WHOOOOOOO!!!!

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3xwSP-kDiE&list=UUVi2lI40LetxLBKn-rtWC3A&index=1

This must be put on Toonami. NOW.

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · May 16, 2013, 06:50:35 PM

Since its FUNimation, I'm expecting some good quality English voice-work. This also reminds me that I still need to finish this show.

Foggle · May 16, 2013, 07:47:44 PM

Quote from: Cartoon X on May 16, 2013, 06:05:55 PM
FUNIMATION'S TRAILER FOR THE DUB IS OUT! WHOOOOOOO!!!!

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3xwSP-kDiE&list=UUVi2lI40LetxLBKn-rtWC3A&index=1

This must be put on Toonami. NOW.

Have you seen Fujiko Mine? I don't think they could air that on CN without butchering it.

Dr. Ensatsu-ken · May 16, 2013, 08:33:44 PM

Yeah. The violence isn't really a problem, but the nudity would definitely have to be cut, and while this show isn't exactly hentai, it has probably a couple of nude scenes in each episode. Normally it'd be fine to cut that, but would you believe that actual big, important character moments are had during some of those particular scenes?

Now, if HBO ever decided to air an anime show (and I think they've actually done so in the past; and I at least know for certain that Starz has done that), something like this would be a perfect fit, IMO.

gunswordfist · May 19, 2013, 02:59:20 PM

When's the DVDs coming out?

Foggle · October 16, 2013, 11:13:15 PM

I wrote a thing about this great, great series. Warning: it contains major spoilers!

http://animationrevelation.com/readables/?p=1936

LumRanmaYasha · October 17, 2013, 11:22:15 AM

Excellent article, Foggle!

I have to admit, the first time I watched the series I didn't catch a lot the satirical elements of it, mostly because the story seemed to me more of the same style and homage to some of Monkey Punch's more surreal and dark stories to the manga, including how the twist played out, and I was more fascinated with that structure plus the gorgeous art style/animation/directing/character development that I ended up overlooking it.

It's awesome how the team behind Fujiko Mine could capture Monkey Punch's storytelling style (the most accurately than any other Lupin series or movie, I might add) and combine that with this satire on women's portrayal in typical anime, on top of other cool stylish things as well. I'd LOVE for another high-quality Lupin series in this vein to be made in the future, with Lupin in his signature Red Jacket, of course.

Foggle · October 17, 2013, 11:40:42 AM

Yeah, it succeeds at being a successful satire while still feeling like Lupin... Monkey Punch Lupin, at that. I don't usually like Mari Okada's work, but she really hit it out of the park here.

The social commentary is a lot more obvious if you already know the plot twist before watching the series, so try going through it again now that you've seen it once (or at least episodes 8-13).

It also helps to know that both the head writer and director were women, which I hear is very rare for anime.

LumRanmaYasha · October 17, 2013, 11:51:06 AM

Oh, I actually have watched the series twice now, and yeah, it was on that second time through that I noticed the satire where I didn't see on my first run-through. Of course, I could always go through it a third time and see if there was anything else that I missed the first two times around.

EDIT: Oh, one thing I wanted to mention is that I actually loved the inclusion of Oscar, not just because he was a fun and interesting character, but also because he was basically a version of Melon Cop from the Lupin the Third: World's Most Wanted manga, albeit without his backstory with Lupin, and I thought that that was awesome.

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Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to lu Onna