Monkey News: Fujiko's Big Score
It's the new year and time for some good old-fashioned Monkey News. Welcome to 2020 and our first roundup of the new decade!
You may notice we have changed up the way we title our news posts. As the date of each post is already labelled underneath the title, we figured it would be better to have some fun with the naming. This will be the new standard going forwards, though we are always open to feedback!
The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is crowned anime of the decade by Fanbyte!
Characters and above image owned by TMS and NTV.
The 2012 spin-off series has won quite a whopping award from video gaming, anime and sports website Fanbyte!
The site has crowned Fujiko Mine with its best anime of the decade award, praising it for its strong handling of sensitive topics such as sexualisation, homophobia and exploitation. Sayo Yamamoto is also praised for her unique narrative and Mari Okada for her strong writing. The visuals and characterization of the main crew are also mentioned in positive light.
While at the time this series was not for everyone, it is possible to look back on the short thirteen episode show far more fondly. Its tagline in 2012 was hard and dangerous, which while seemed a bold and ridiculous claim at the time, was an attempt at signifying that this wasn't your typical Lupin - or perhaps, not even your typical anime.
If you haven't seen The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, we recommend going back and watching it before reading the Fanbyte article as it does contain spoilers. If you have seen the show or are not fussed about discovering critical plot points ahead of watching it, definitely give the (roughly seven minute) article a read by clicking here.
Dragon Quest: Your Story is coming to Netflix worldwide!
Characters and above image owned by Square Enix, Yuji Horii and Akira Toriyama.
A news story draws near! Command?
Hang on, this isn't Monkey news. It's something a bit more like... slime time!
While we think everyone will agree that it is very goo-d Takashi Yamazaki's (rather controversial) take on the Dragon Quest video game series is getting a worldwide release, we hope TMS are paying close attention.
Yamazaki most recently directed Lupin and the gangs first venture into feature length 3DCG, with Lupin III: The First. While the film is getting a theatrical run in Japan, Italy, Spain and Brazil - there is currently no news on it releasing in additional territories.
Characters and above image owned by TMS and NTV.
Netflix may well be the best place to release the film abroad, joining The Castle of Cagliostro (which is already available to stream and download on the service). The only downside with the possibility of it coming to Netflix would be that it is far more unlikely to receive the Discotek Media treatment - and fans can never grumble at the quality of their DVD and Blu-ray releases.
While there is no official announcement for the films release in English speaking territories, we will be keeping our eyes peeled. In the meantime, be sure to check out Dragon Quest: Your Story when it eventually comes to Netflix sometime this year!
If you already have an account, you can add the film to your watch list and set up a reminder for when it goes live by visiting the Netflix website here.
Lupin the Live is coming to Universal Studios Japan this year!
Characters and above image owned by TMS and NTV.
A Lupin III themed live show is coming to Universal Studios in Japan!
Lupin has had a strong presence at the theme park since early last year, and since then new actors and actresses have come on board to play the parts of Jigen, Goemon and Fujiko.
Keep an eye out for more details due later this year! For now, you can check out the live show's trailer in all its glory over on the official Universal Studios Japan Twitter account by clicking here.
Seasons greetings from Hirotaka Marufuji!
Above artwork created by Hirotaka Marufuji.
The character designer from Goodbye Partner and Prison of the Past has welcomed in the New Year with style!
The illustration above was posted by Mr. Marufuji over on Twitter earlier last week, and shows both Lupin and Jigen sporting their most recent animated designs.
If you have an account, be sure to give the tweet a like by clicking here!
