This was another episode written by Dai Sato, and really: his influence is all over it and I am reminded again why he is one of the top scriptwriters out there. I’ve really missed him: Norageki had his ideas, but not his writing style, while the Tekken movie felt like he was forced to be generic. Here though, he got lots of freedom to tell Mine Fujiko’s backstory. The result is one of the best episodes of this show so far.
This was dark and surreal, and it had a great script that explored Mine Fujiko’s past without having her even in it. I love how it was non-linear on purpose, revealing a bit each time with different images and references, including Hegel of all people. It’s a great way to meet the owl baron as well, and this episode also built further upon episodes 1 and 6. It all comes together wonderfully at the end. Serioulsy Dai Sato needs to write another series. Get him to do some sort of Noitamina series or something. He can make something awesome out of that.
This series is probably really different from what the original Lupin III was, but I like that a lot: instead of trying to relive the original it really went into its own way. This doesn’t come without risks, though. The most dangerous is when a remake can’t choose between trying to be faithful or going into its own direction, or when it doesn’t really have anything impressive to add. Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna isn’t going to win the best of the season award, but it still had plenty of noteworthy things and is another addition to the collection of great remakes.
Rating: **+ (Excellent+)
The Hegel reference kinda surprised me. The most I’ve seen in terms of actual philosophy in anime has been a quote here or there from Sartre or Heidegger, but this Hegel one actually seemed quite appropriate and well placed compared to the other name drops. Definitely some cool stuff.
As I understand it, the reference to owl flying at dusk is a metaphor that explains why philosophy is not a causal agent for social change.
When the hustle and bustle of the day is over, wisdom begins. Thus, philosophy is essentially a retrospective discipline.
As I understand it this series is the closest to the original in terms of the sensual aspects and the general approach. A lot of the older TV series were considerably lighter in tone than Monkey Punch’s manga.
Just don’t let him touch Tekken 😐
The trippiest thing ive seen since Yellow Submarine!