Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is a special spin-off series about the Lupin the Third character "Fujiko Mine".  Fujiko Mine could be best described as a spy, assassin or seductress but at heart she is a very talented thief who's goal is to steal very valuable treasures of the world ranging from items in royal families to ancient relics from pyramids and jungles.  Being a thief isn't as easy as she makes it look as she also has to fight off rival thieves like Lupin the Third himself.  Fujiko Mine is also one very beautiful woman that makes all the women want to be her and all the men want to be with her.  Not only is she beautiful but also a very smart cookie and is a master of disguise which is very helpful to get her into secure places.  Some adventures you get to see her in this volume:  Marrying a leader of a cult, going undercover as a nanny for a king's grandchildren,  getting into steamy relationships with some students while parading as a teacher at an all-girls school, and chasing down a clairvoyant.  I hope you packed some sunscreen as this is going to be one very hot series. (Click "Read More" to read the rest of the review).

What a lovely set of chips.

This show is quite episodic in a way that reminds me of shows like "Golgo 13" and "Cowboy Bebop" as while it may sound like that the formula of the show will get old fast you will be surprised with how fresh it keeps it.  Episode plots and action scenes in this show can get quite ridiculous but in a very fun way like watching old adventure movies like the "Indiana Jones" series or heck it even reminds me of old episodes of "Tin Tin" in some places.  One exception was episode one as it was a bit rough and while it wasn't unwatchable it was a bit un-polished in terms of story and characters.  Speaking of characters I really enjoyed them as they all had something special and unique about them with tons of charm and personality that helped me enjoy this show even more.  While this show is set in the "Lupin the Third" universe you only see Lupin in a small amount so you might be a bit disappointed if you wanted to see this show purely because you want to see the solo adventures of Lupin the Third.  One thing I should warn you about this show is that there is quite a bit of topless female nudity and sex that might make you feel uncomfortable at first (especially when watching it with a group of friends or family) but you will soon get desensitised with it as it isn't anything hardcore like a hentai or even anime films like "Ninja Scroll (1993)" or "Perfect Blue (1997)".

Artwork is really beautiful in this series and it's like going into a museum to appreciate classic art except fully animated instead of still pictures.  All the background sets have a very grand feel that makes this show's world feel very big.  Main characters are very well designed and you will be impressed although there are quite a few villains in this show that look very generic.  If you are wondering about the nudity (and I know you all are whether you like it or not) it does look really good and it doesn't come off as smutty but instead adds to the museum art-piece look like if I were looking at a nude portrait rather than a nude porn star or some dirty stripper.  Animation is very smooth which is good and there isn't anything bad to say about it.  English dub is also very good with voices that suit the characters very well.  The soundtrack makes me weak at the knees as I'm a big fan of hearing saxophone in soundtracks and boy does it sound very sexy in this show and I absolutely love it.  There are also some very nice opera sounds in the shows soundtrack and it sounds just as good as the sexy jazz sax that left me with few tears of joy.

There are some differences between the DVD disc and the Blu-Ray disc but they are pretty straight forward and are all written on the case.  The differences are what you'd expect with the Blu-Ray disc being in 1080p and has one more episode that the DVD version doesn't have.  That extra episode will be on the DVD disc of volume two which will make volume two have the complete opposite situation to this where the DVD disc will have an extra episode that the Blu-Ray disc doesn't have. We will return to that when we get to the review of volume two.

This set comes with a very awesome special feature but it isn't on either of the discs but instead it's related to the cover that they come in... heck the special feature is the cover.  The discs are holstered in a very nice hardback book full of artwork and synopsis of all the episodes you find in this volume.  Much like the show itself the book is full of nudity but not the smutty kind... which is very nice to look at.  Another awesome thing about this book is once you open the cover you see a pop-out picture of all the cast with Fujiko Mine controlling them like puppets which is very appropriate.

Overall this was a very decent show although despite all the positively I have given the show I have to say it just misses the mark on being a really great show.  With all that aside however I do recommend checking this series out but again I must remind you of the nudity and how it can make you feel a tad bit uncomfortable at first so I'd avoid watching this as part of a group unless everybody in that group has seen this series before.  Worth a watch.

Title: Lupin The Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine Part 1

Animation Studio: TMS

Genre: Animation/Anime, Action, Drama

Running Time (DVD): 168 Minutes (7 Episodes)
Running Time (Blu-Ray): 192 (8 Episodes)

Distributor: Hanabee Entertainment (http://www.hanabee.com.au/)

Rating: MA15+ (Strong themes, animated violence, sex scenes, nudity)

Price: $59.99

Recommended: Yes