Review: Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine

If you haven't realized it by now, I love strong female protagonists. What do I mean by strong female protagonist? I don't necessarily mean a female protagonist with great physical strength, but a female character with strong writing behind her. There are sadly far too few strong female protagonists in anime and comics, or at least consistently well-written ones. Wonder Woman's a feminist icon forever, but she's never been a consistent character thanks to her various writers have different ideas on how she works as a character. To end Lupin Month, we'll be taking a look at another long-running iconic woman of media, Fujiko Mine. She's long been a staple of the Lupin franchise, but never been the main character. In the original anime series, she served as somewhat of a foil to Lupin. They were both thieves, but unlike Lupin who was in it for the glory and thrills, Fujiko was in it for the treasures and riches. She was just as skilled at Lupin when it came to stealing, but she had the bonus of her sexuality to pull the wool over her enemies, and over Lupin when she didn't feel like sharing. While Lupin III is known more for its wacky characters and over-the-top heists, Fujiko was a well-rounded character. She'd occasionally get kidnapped, but she was extremely competent for a woman in an action series, and in a 70's anime that's nearly unheard of. So it only makes sense that she'd get her own TV series, albeit not until 2012.

Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine

Directed by Saya Yamamoto
Written by Mari Okada          


So, what happens when your franchise lasts for over 40 years? Either you let it die, or you completely revamp it and do something daring with it, and Fujiko Mine definitely fits the latter. While the characters are mostly consistent with their personalities from earlier incarnations, the tone of this series is drastically different from previous series. The comedy is much more subdued this time around, instead focusing more on the characters and what makes them tick. That's not to say there isn't any comedy. No one can not laugh at the site of Lupin surfing on a rocket-powered statue made of drugs, but moments like that happen only once in awhile in this show.



There's an actual narrative arc in this series, which is unheard of for a Lupin TV series. The first half is mostly episodic, but it's main purpose is to reintroduce the main cast of Lupin III, and one brand new character. This is supposed to be the first time the cast has met each other, with the exception of Lupin and Zenigata already knowing each other. Lupin lays eyes on Fujiko for the first time and makes stealing her heart one of his new goals in life. We learn why Jigen is so distrustful of Fujiko. We learn of the odd relationship between Fujiko and Goemon. While formulaic, it never gets old, as each adventure finds a new way to thrill the audience and introduce newcomers to these iconic characters. The brand new character I mentioned earlier is Oscar, Zenigata's young assistant who has an unrequited crush on his superior, and he's sadly the weakest link of the story. While each character in the future Lupin gang goes through their own character arc, Oscar's arc goes nowhere. There's a set-up to explain why he hates Fujiko, because he views her as a threat to his love for Zenigata, but he lacks any solid conclusion, which is a shame because the writers seemed to have a lot planned for the character, and we might never know what those plans were. However, he's a minor character in the grand scheme of things.



While this is technically a Lupin story, Fujiko Mine is undoubtedly the star here. All of her skills are on display here: her seduction, her craftiness, and her ruthlessness. It's a great way to highlight the character, and it's consistent with her character from the Green Jacket series. Given that the series directly references the Green Jacket series a few times, most notably by giving Lupin the green jacket again, it's easy to assume that the creators of this series loved that series and really get the characters. The first 7 episodes work as both fun adventures and character analysis pieces, giving viewers the best of both worlds. But what of the last half?



This is where the series will lose some people. It's far from bad, but it ends up in a place that some people didn't want. Throughout the series, there are hints of Fujiko's backstory, and that the series will eventually answer the question "who is Fujiko Mine?". Does the series answer this question? Yes and no. The ending takes a turn for the unexpected, putting to bed any red herrings the series throws at the viewer in the second half. Some viewers will likely get angry at this, but it actually makes the ending better than what was expected. To relate this to recent events, one of the major failings of female-driven stories is the misconception that they need to be about things that happen to women, and one thing people assume happens to women, and only women, is rape. This was a huge controversy when the latest Lara Croft video game was announced. The red herrings imply a similar incident for Fujiko, and these kinds of stories can be rather sexist, because they misuse horrifying events to separate female characters from male characters, and it shows a lack of understanding. The women behind this series, and yes, both the writer and director for this series are women, understood the implications of what they were doing, and by doing so they were able to destroy any negative conceptions viewers had of the character. I'd go as far saying this is a rare feminist anime, because it understands the gender roles of both men and women and manages to subvert the hurtful stereotypes associated with them.



Yes, Fujiko uses her body as a weapon and is frequently nude, and fanservice tropes are something I criticize heavily, but it's not because I think sex is wrong. Quite the contrary, sex is a wonderful thing. It's objectification that's the issue with many fanservice shows, and this show subverts that. While Fujiko is exposing herself for the pleasure of others, she's still in full control of her body. Every member of the Lupin gang has their own weapon. Lupin has his wily craftiness, Jigen has his marksmanship, Goemon has his sword, and Fujiko has her sexuality. Sexuality is just something that's part of Fujiko's life, and her using that is not wrong, nor is it a mark against the series. I actually have to praise the series for using sexuality as both a part of the character and narrative as opposed to using it as a cheap way to cash in on fanservice like so many other shows do. It's handled with great maturity, and anyone calling it a bad thing will miss the point of the show entirely.



While I won't spoil the answer the series gives to the question "who is Fujiko Mine?", it will open your eyes to the character, and you'll come out of the show thinking of her in a new light. That answer might not be what everyone wants, but at the end of the day it's the answer that's needed.



Not only is The Woman Called Fujiko Mine different from previous Lupin incarnations on a story-level, it's a completely new beast on an animation level. The characters have received brand new designs. They still resemble their old character models, but there's a new sharpness to the characters. The artwork is extremely ambitious here, using heavy penciled lines to represent shadows everywhere it can, creating a sort of noir vibe. Then there are times where the artwork becomes psychedelic. There are several dream sequences in which Fujiko is surrounded by butterflies and owls, common motifs for the series, and the coloring and character designs become quite deranged. Visually, there's nothing else like this series. Sadly, the show clearly does not have the budget it wanted. There are scenes where the animation looks really cheap and janky, and it might be a distraction for some viewers, but the gorgeous art and great characters more than make up for it.



The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is a series with high ambitions, and while it falls short of some of its goals, it's still a great show, both as a standalone story about a strong female protagonist and an introduction to the Lupin characters. Some won't like the answers it gives or that it features nudity, but they'll be missing out on what is the best Lupin story in years.

BUY IT/STREAM IT!

The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is currently streaming on Hulu and Funimation.com. It's been licensed by Funimation Entertainment for a video release and will most likely be available for purchase in 2013.