Lupin the IIIrd: Mine Fujiko no Uso

After the TV series A Woman Called Fujiko Mine, there were three hour-long videos that were positioned as part of the same series. The first two were sequels only in the sense that they also had violence and nudity, but they lacked everything that made the Fujiko Mine series so interesting.

Fujiko's Lie is closer to that original series. The focus is back on Fujiko, who is sexy and complex and awful and sympathetic. And the story is more compelling and with more genuine emotion than the two before.

It's as though the people who made these "sequels" made two before watching the Fujiko Mine series and then were like, oh, we got this totally wrong, let's do an actual sequel.

This is a very different Lupin III special. This is part of a OVA Trilogy focusing on Lupin's gang. This one, as the title implies, focuses on Fujiko. This is a cool idea in theory, but in practice, it does not come together.

First off, this is not a pretty movie to look at. It is well animated, but poorly drawn. All the movement is smooth, and it doesn't recycle animation or anything like that, it is just unpleasant to look at. All the character designs are too lanky, like their heads are squished jellybeans. Their limbs are all made of rubber, and it just doesn't look natural. It is a style, and it did not work for me. And if you take Fujiko Mine, and make HER look ugly, that's unforgivable.

Likewise, the voices seemed off. After watching 10 movies where Lupin sounds like Krillin, here he sounds more like April O'Neal's dad. All do a good job emoting they just don't match the characters.

The kid in this film really gets on my nerves. Fujiko says it best, "Kids are always such a pain." And there are some REALLY uncomfortable scenes between Fujiko and this 9-year-old. Like, call the police level of yuck.

The villain in this, or at least the henchman, is interesting. He is too supernatural for my typical Lupin III adventure.

And the titular Fujiko is just...just awful. She is absolutely deplorable in this film. I get that she's not a nice person, but this took it to a whole new disgusting level.

I mean this movie doesn't even have Goemon or Inspector Zenigata. I am with Lupin in this one: "What do you think about calling it quits on this caper?" Yeah, I'll call it quits on this one.

I love Lupin III and have seen almost all of the movies and series up until this newest iteration but this is by far my least favorite of any.

Taking a movie about Fujiko and turning into a sob story centered around an annoying child (who does not stop whining or crying throughout the entire show) is a crime against humanity all by itself, but the fact that they gave her a villain that belongs in Naruto is even worse.

The vibe and voice of Lupin III has been consistently great for so long, I guess it was about time they swung and missed.