First off, to call Woman Called Fujiko Mine a more grown-up version of Lupin III is sort of like calling Shadow the Hedgehog the adult version of Sonic.
Oh sure, there's more sex, and quite a bit of female nudity (the male characters remain fully clothed), and it packs as much violence into thirteen episodes as Red Jacket would spread over an entire two or three seasons, but that's more edgy than adult. Faux Symbolism abounds, the plot is a mess pretending it's a mystery (the show doesn't really even bother to pretend that it has an overarching plot until halfway through it's 13 episode run, and then jumps the shark about halfway through that), and the numerous references to Western literature and art, while all reasonably appropriate in context, do more to show off the writer's breadth of knowledge than they do to provide meaningfully to the plots, which are just as absurdist and hamfisted as Lupin's ever been, if not more so. The whole thing reads, as one of the people I was watching it with said, as if it was written by a very smart and impassioned highschool-aged girl who had just heard of BDSM. It wants to be taken seriously, so, so badly, but it just isn't up to the task.
Which is not to say it's bad. Quite the contrary, if you go into it with the right mindset. It's not a more adult version of Lupin, but what it is, as I previously alluded to, is the same old Lupin, and it's just as much cheesy fun as it's ever been. The episodes, taken individually, would not seem out of line in the second series (if perhaps leaning harder on romance and noir tropes than that series did), from a mission to rescue (or was it to assassinate?) a rockstar Fidel Castro Expy, to a mad psychic death-reader with a twist, to a very Lupin-esque take on the Phantom of the Opera. The art is nice, a blend of moody and stylized that fits the series well. The western high-pop culture references are fun easter eggs for those who get them, and don't get in the way for those who don't. Taken with that attitude, even the Faux Symbolism and teetering meta-plot become charming: it's all part of the roller coaster ride.
And the climactic two-part finale, as frustrating as it is if one is expecting any sort of insight into Fujiko's character, is a delightfully bombastic Lupin mini-movie, oozing with fanservice and zaniness. Remember the castle of Cagliostro? What if it was instead an amusement park full of killer owl men? How about Mamo? What if he was even more batshit insane (and also kind of G La DOS)? Ever wondered who would win in a fight: Goemon or Jigen, Zenigata or Fujiko? Let's You and Him Fight! Which is not to say that one has to get the references to appreciate it, or that it doesn't do new things with the material, but the series' writers clearly knew their audience, and the material they were working with.
One of the odder things about the show is that, as over-the-top as it is (even by Lupin standards), and absurd as it is, and how seriously it tries to appear deep and meaningful, while being anything but, and all the references and nods it makes to previous material and outside works... it's hard to say that the show isn't a stealth parody, or that the writers aren't taking the piss with their audience. It's not overt, there are no Take That!'s at the audience, and it's certainly not a shallow parody, if it is one at all. It might just be in my head. The show is perfectly enjoyable taken at face value.
Oh, and I hope Oscar comes back, sometime. It's hard to break in a new character into Lupin's economical core cast, but a crossdressing misogynist ex-partner of Zenigata who is terribly jealous of Fujiko (and probably Lupin as well) because he wants Zenigata in the worst way possible? That's got legs ("and boy, he does too!" as Groucho Marx might say). It's probably not a every-episode character, but he would make a wonderful semi-permanent addition to the cast, appearing occasionally as a recurring villain, pursuer, and even recalcitrant ally. Sort of like a combination of Zenigata and Fujiko herself, squared.
Recommended?: If you like Lupin, and want a bit more Lupin, then I'd say so with a resounding yes! And if you want to get into Lupin, and don't mind starting with one of the more vulgar and confused entries, I'd say go for it. Despite its status as a spinoff, it is, in its own weird way, a distillation of what Lupin is.
Anime Not "more adult", but definitely Lupin III
First off, to call Woman Called Fujiko Mine a more grown-up version of Lupin III is sort of like calling Shadow the Hedgehog the adult version of Sonic.
Oh sure, there's more sex, and quite a bit of female nudity (the male characters remain fully clothed), and it packs as much violence into thirteen episodes as Red Jacket would spread over an entire two or three seasons, but that's more edgy than adult. Faux Symbolism abounds, the plot is a mess pretending it's a mystery (the show doesn't really even bother to pretend that it has an overarching plot until halfway through it's 13 episode run, and then jumps the shark about halfway through that), and the numerous references to Western literature and art, while all reasonably appropriate in context, do more to show off the writer's breadth of knowledge than they do to provide meaningfully to the plots, which are just as absurdist and hamfisted as Lupin's ever been, if not more so. The whole thing reads, as one of the people I was watching it with said, as if it was written by a very smart and impassioned highschool-aged girl who had just heard of BDSM. It wants to be taken seriously, so, so badly, but it just isn't up to the task.
Which is not to say it's bad. Quite the contrary, if you go into it with the right mindset. It's not a more adult version of Lupin, but what it is, as I previously alluded to, is the same old Lupin, and it's just as much cheesy fun as it's ever been. The episodes, taken individually, would not seem out of line in the second series (if perhaps leaning harder on romance and noir tropes than that series did), from a mission to rescue (or was it to assassinate?) a rockstar Fidel Castro Expy, to a mad psychic death-reader with a twist, to a very Lupin-esque take on the Phantom of the Opera. The art is nice, a blend of moody and stylized that fits the series well. The western high-pop culture references are fun easter eggs for those who get them, and don't get in the way for those who don't. Taken with that attitude, even the Faux Symbolism and teetering meta-plot become charming: it's all part of the roller coaster ride.
And the climactic two-part finale, as frustrating as it is if one is expecting any sort of insight into Fujiko's character, is a delightfully bombastic Lupin mini-movie, oozing with fanservice and zaniness. Remember the castle of Cagliostro? What if it was instead an amusement park full of killer owl men? How about Mamo? What if he was even more batshit insane (and also kind of G La DOS)? Ever wondered who would win in a fight: Goemon or Jigen, Zenigata or Fujiko? Let's You and Him Fight! Which is not to say that one has to get the references to appreciate it, or that it doesn't do new things with the material, but the series' writers clearly knew their audience, and the material they were working with.
One of the odder things about the show is that, as over-the-top as it is (even by Lupin standards), and absurd as it is, and how seriously it tries to appear deep and meaningful, while being anything but, and all the references and nods it makes to previous material and outside works... it's hard to say that the show isn't a stealth parody, or that the writers aren't taking the piss with their audience. It's not overt, there are no Take That!'s at the audience, and it's certainly not a shallow parody, if it is one at all. It might just be in my head. The show is perfectly enjoyable taken at face value.
Oh, and I hope Oscar comes back, sometime. It's hard to break in a new character into Lupin's economical core cast, but a crossdressing misogynist ex-partner of Zenigata who is terribly jealous of Fujiko (and probably Lupin as well) because he wants Zenigata in the worst way possible? That's got legs ("and boy, he does too!" as Groucho Marx might say). It's probably not a every-episode character, but he would make a wonderful semi-permanent addition to the cast, appearing occasionally as a recurring villain, pursuer, and even recalcitrant ally. Sort of like a combination of Zenigata and Fujiko herself, squared.
Recommended?: If you like Lupin, and want a bit more Lupin, then I'd say so with a resounding yes! And if you want to get into Lupin, and don't mind starting with one of the more vulgar and confused entries, I'd say go for it. Despite its status as a spinoff, it is, in its own weird way, a distillation of what Lupin is.