Lupin the IIIrd: Mine Fujiko no Uso

[THIS WAS WRITTEN RIGHT AFTER WATCHING IT AND ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACC. KEEPING THIS HERE FOR AN ARCHIVE]
Last koike film (for now) done 😭😭😭😭😭
Now goemons movie is objectively still the best so far and I will say that but I play favorites and I will admit I like fujiko a lot more than goemon (sorry goemon). She was so good here even with the screaming child who was with her for most of the movie. Jig and lup were also very fun to watch here too
I like how koike is slowly building to a grand overarching plotline with I Assume mamo from the OG ... movie. Every big villain is some super powered crazy killer and they’re all being manufactured on some island in the middle of nowhere probably at the hand of mamo which is probably a reference to mystery of mamo where he shows lupin that he can recreate the brain of all kinds of historical figures and shit. I find it all sooo Fascinating.
Just an overall really fun and really GOOD movie!!!!!! It’s hard to say whether I’d put it on the same rank as goemons bloodspray even if best girl fuji was the star of this one since goemons movie was so visually impressive so I’d say it’s a solid A

Lupin the IIIrd: Fujiko Mine's Lie is the third entry into Takeshi Koike's series of movies, so needless to say, this review will be for those who have already watched the other two. If you're curious about the others and want to check them out then I wholeheartedly recommend them. For those already invested in the series (the Koike Movies and the franchise in general) it is indeed a worthy entry into the series.

Fujiko Mine's Lie is a bit of a slow burn compared to the other entries, with a greater focus Fujiko herself and Jean, son of an accountant who siphoned off funds from ... a shady company in order to pay for his child's heart surgery. Lupin and Jigen are involved in the adventure going forward but they take more of a backseat role this time round. This character focus extends to the the assassin in this movie as well Binkam. I didn't find him as intimidating as the tooled up and tactical Yael Okuzaki or the unstoppable force known as Hawk, but he struk me as the most interesting villain character wise. He additionally serves as a good foil/counterpart to Fujiko just as the other two in the previous movies.

The art and animation still stands as excellent. Character designs always look good (with my favorite being the henchman Carla), and the action scenes are fluid and fun in that characteristic Lupin way. You also get to see Fujiko more involved in the action, with some wonderfully choreographed hand to hand scenes that also make use of her distinct charm. The setting has been moved to a city within an arid desert. Background art is still great in both the city and desert environment, but there are some low texture CG model citizens walking the street in the city area. Its a minor nitpick though since it isn't too distracting when they're in your periphery, but its a bit jarring when you notice that the bustle of the city is made out of them.

All in all, Fujiko Mine's Lie works well on its own merits and within the continuity of these movies. Its a bit headier and character focused, but its a treat if you particularly like Fujiko's character and her conniving ways.

STORY: Finally! Things are starting to come together! The last few years have seen a series of Lupin movies in the same art style. This was the last one in the "series" as we move on to the finale. I really hope that the next one is Zenigata focused. A fun thing about this story was flipping the typical Lupin story about a young girl, damsel in distress story on it's head with Fujiko working to help a young boy. The story has no morale, nor overly dramatic Hero's Journey type ending. Fujiko isn't Lupin, after all. Fujiko is Fujiko, and will always be Fujiko. ... She's the one in the group that will never evolve as a character, and there's nothing wrong with that. She's successful, and stopped being the damsel a LONG time ago. So why change? It's who she is, and this story is true to that.

ART: Absolutely gorgeous animation. A lot of effort put into the animation for sure. Something that was pretty neat was that this was a... no jacket Lupin story. Which makes sense, because it was Fujiko's story, not Lupin's.

ENJOYMENT: Another gem in the Lupin franchise. There's some enjoyment here in a one time watch; not sure it's good enough for a rewatch, but I enjoyed it!