ylowe - 2014-10-03 01:29:08

Lupin III is a genuine classic in theworld of anime and manga. Originally written and illustrated byMonkey Punch in 1967-1969, it was later adapted into an anime in1971. It would be the first of several anime and movies that followthe adventures of Lupin III, and would lead to the franchise beingone of the most recognizable titles in anime. So what's the seriesabout? It follows the antics of master thief, Arsene Lupin III, as hetravels around the world stealing the most valuable and challengingtreasures the world has to offer. He's assisted by his allies, Jigenand Goemon, hunted by the determined Inspector Zenigata, andchallenged by his ally/rival/kind-of, sort-of, not really, loveinterest, Fujiko Mine. Fujiko often played the part of damsel indistress and wily seductress. But despite that, she stands out, eventoday, for her charm, her cleverness, and the fact that she was oftenthe one who got the last laugh. Even now she has her own following offans and, in 2012, got her own spin-off titled Lupin III: The WomanCalled Fujiko Mine. A prequel to the original Lupin III that broughtthe series back to its roots (and possibly even more primal) and gavethe spotlight to Fujiko instead of Lupin. It was an interesting idea.Giving the leading role to someone aside from Lupin, and Fujiko was acool enough character. But could she carry her own series? Theanswer? Absolutely!

The Woman Called Fujiko Mine almostimmediately asserts itself as different from the original seriesthough its visuals. The direction was done by Saya Yamamoto, who'sbest known for directing Michiko to Hatchin, and being one ofShinchiro Watanabe's proteges. The series ambition is clear from thestart through its sensual, yet unsettling, opening theme that makesit clear that this series planned to be far more than what we wouldexpect from Lupin III. Filled with dark lines, earth tones, and somerather fantastic imagery, the series comes off as gritty and retroyet artistic. But, Lupin III has never been a completely serious showand, while this series is definitely different in tone, it nevertruly loses its sense of humor. But instead of overshadowing it, thedirection blends with disproportionate character designs, cartoonishmovements, and rather fun action scenes to make a series that looksneither stuffy nor silly, but just really cool. The budget doesn'talways match up to its ambitions. But it succeeds most the time, andit's always a treat to watch. The only big issue with the visuals, isthat they completely outshine the music direction done by SayaYamamoto's mentor, Shinchiro Watanabe. Watanabe, best known for hiswork on the classic Cowboy Bebop (which is fitting considering theseries seems to go for a Bebop feel, and Lupin III is a big influenceon Watanabe) goes for a smooth jazzy feel that sounds good, but nevergets the attention it deserves. The only time the music is prominentis during the aforementioned opening theme. Filled with a hauntingand growing piano and strings that builds up as though it comescloser to ensnaring you in its clutches (similar to Fujiko herself).

But it's impossible to talk about thisseries without mentioning just how explicit it is. In just aboutevery episode of the show, we're exposed to Fujiko's bare breasts andbutt. This series has no qualms about showing you every square inchof Fujiko (the parts they're allowed to show anyways). But, thisshould be expected. Sex is a large part of Fujiko's character andimage. It's her main weapon and she's not afraid to use it to getwhat she desires. She's not ashamed of it or her actions, and that'sa large part of why the nudity in this show works. Almost all nudityand ecchi out there tries to be sexy, but comes off as gross for howvoyeuristic it comes off and often happens at the expense of thecharacter's dignity. Fujiko comes off as sexy (or as sexy as ananimated character can get) because her main appeal comes from hercharm, and her body is simply used as a means for her to come out ontop. Which she has no problems with and even gets a sense of freedomfrom, giving a strangely empowering message through it. Hell, theyeven put a clever twist on her nude scenes in the last two episodes,which I can't go into great detail of for fear of spoilers.

To those who are familiar with thenever-ending antics of Lupin III, the choice in visuals might seem alittle strange. Despite Lupin III's erotic humor and gunfights, theseries itself was more like a saturday morning cartoon. Almost alwayssilly and never having an actual plot. Well, the ambition of the showalso carries out into the rest of the show. Rather than having abunch of episodic vignettes, the show goes for an overarching plot toexplore the mystery of Fujiko. Not to say the show never goes intothe vignettes itself. The first half is filled with creative andsilly adventures, such as a hunt for treasure in a pyramid, a samuraitaking on military planes with nothing but his sword, and an episodethat ends with a cult swimming in a literal sea of drugs and gettinghigh off their asses (Best. Ending. Ever!). But it's all coated in adarker shade and chooses to explore its characters more, wonderingwhat makes them tick, and explaining how they all ended up togetherto begin with.

However, the characters are also farmore gritty than you might remember them. The most notable one isInspector Zenigata, who was once a pure-hearted, if not bumbling,officer, but is now more corrupted and ruthless, but still containssome noble sense to him. They also add a new character into the mix,Oscar. A prideful yet pathetic Lieutenant to Zenigata, who bothdespises and envies Fujiko Mine for being and having everything thathe desires. Then there's Lupin himself, who's gone from being awomanizing Dennis the Menace with a gun, to being a far moreconniving and selfish version of the gentleman thief. It's not a badcharacter change, and it actually fits the show far better. But itcauses some problems for the dub. While almost all the english castbrings a good performance, Sonny Strait was a poorly cast choice forLupin. While acceptable for a more goofy Lupin, Strait just feelsout-of-place in this reimagining, despite him trying his absolutehardest to make it work. It's a good dub overall, but that one aspectis rather unfortunate.

But it's made very clear in the showthat all these characters are nothing more than a supporting cast inthe tale of Fujiko Mine. So what about Fujiko herself? She's aselfish, somewhat even, vicious thief. Through it's opening theme, asoliloquy spoken by Fujiko's voice actors in each language, shespeaks about how wicked she is, and how much joy she gets from it.She entrances you into her world and challenges you. 'Figure me out,if you dare'. She's fun to watch, yet morally reprehensible. She'scharming, yet most likely to stab you in the back and make off withall your money. You feel her touch, only to ignore her claws sinkingdeeper into you. She's dangerous, and yet you can't help but feeldrawn into her world. As the show goes on, each character she comesin contact with wonders, who is Fujiko Mine? Though eventually thequestion becomes, what made Fujiko Mine into the person she is? Bythe end of the show, every character has their own answer to thesequestions, based on their own experience with her and point of viewon the situation. Yet not even Lupin, who's probably the closest toher, can truly put their finger on what makes her tick. But theanswer to those questions the show gives us, is so obvious, and yetso powerfully brilliant, that it'll leave you thinking about thewoman called Fujiko Mine for many days to come. Making her possiblyone of the best female characters in all of anime.

Yes the show is thematically fantastic.Always visceral and sincere, even at its harshest. The woman theymake Fujiko out to be, the numerous situations she gets herself thatconnect to her character, and, strangely enough, even Fujiko'sobjectification, all provides for a very powerful and rare feministmessage that you would never expect from Lupin III. I'd be ready tocall this show an absolute masterpiece. If not for one thing. Theplot to this show is really, really, dumb. From the beginning theseries hints towards a large mystery, always providing a few visualhints to connect all of it together. The result though is a contrivedmess of conspiracies and a wholly excessive amount of owls andbutterflies that makes you question what the writers were smokingwhen they wrote this. Even the vignettes at the beginning of theseries aren't safe from criticism, as the two Goemon episodes,written by Dai Sato, are the sole weak episodes of the entire series.Being overly political and taking the spotlight away from Fujiko, butresulting in no new development for Goemon's character. But by theend of the show, you're presented with two major twists involvingFujiko's past that almost makes you think the entire thing waspointless. Until you look at those final scenes and really think whatthe show was truly about, and you realize that there is trulybrilliance within this series. The catch is that you have to lookpast the plot, and focus more on the themes and characters, to trulyappreciate it.

The Woman Called Fujiko Mine iseverything we never would've expected from Lupin III. Some older fansof the franchise might be turned off by the darker tone and strangeart style. But others will find what the series has to offer to benew and rewarding. Plus, seeing as it's a prequel, it can be watchedby those unfamiliar with Lupin III, and might even encourage some tocheck out more of this classic franchise. Despite the show'snonsensical plot, it's fulfilling narrative, direction, and FujikoMine, is enough to outshine the negatives and make this a show worthchecking out. Anyways, that's all for now. Til next time.  

ekling - 2014-03-10 20:03:23

Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is the 4th television installment of the Lupin the Third franchise. It is a prequel series showing Fujiko's first meetings with the main cast of the franchise. It also delves very deep into Fujiko's dark and mysterious past while unraveling a twisted plot. This series is much darker, psychological, and mature compared to other installments. Fans of the franchise will be surprised, but excited about this new take on Lupin the Third.

Story: 9/10

After taking a step back when finishing the series, I have to say that this story is near perfect and intriguing. It was so bizarre and twisted that I wasn't sure where it would go next. It kept me on edge and excited with each minute passing. However, I will say that it may be hard to follow to some viewers, particularly when the illusions come into play towards the end of the series. The viewer is left in the dark until the very end. It may also seem strange that Lupin seems to know everything through implied research. Other than that the story is riddled with dynamic characters and an overarching plot that is well connected.

Animation: 10/10

The animation is very unique coming from a Lupin the third series. It has a much more dark and film-noir tone like Watchmen. Honestly besides the characters I think this was the best part of the series. Every detail seemed so colorful, yet at the same time it seemed very contained. It is a unique animation that I have never seen before. It was absolutely brilliant.

Sound: 9/10

This show has a great soundtrack produced by Shinichiro Watanabe. I loved the opening theme song "New Wuthering Heights" with its assortment of strings. It was very jazz influenced that covered various emotions. The sound effects were also very bombastic and fit well with the animation.

Character: 10/10

The series had all the main characters of the Lupin the Third franchise together with a couple of new faces. I loved that the main protagonist was Fujiko, as it deviated from the usual antics of Lupin the Third in a well done manner. The viewer got to see a more seductive glance of the franchise, while still keeping the extraordinary feats of theft close to heart. The series also shed light on the more personable and fragile side of Fujiko.

Enjoyment: 10/10

I loved this series and see it as a great installment to the Lupin the Third franchise. I couldn't stop watching it and I looked forward to each episode. Fans of the series expecting the usual Lupin the Third should watch with caution.. The Woman Called Fujiko Mine isn't your typical Lupin the Third show. I think that's what makes it great: it was different, but amazing.

Overall:

I give this show a 10/10. A super fun show that really kicked ass. It was a delight episode after episode and I highly recommend this series. Definitely a new favorite and a new reason why I love the Lupin the Third franchise so much.