Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko no Uso (Lupin the Third: Fujiko Mine’s Lie) was released in Japanese cinemas on 31 May. This is the third movie in the Lupin IIIrd series following Lupin the IIIrd: Jigen Daisuke no Bohyo (Lupin the IIIrd: Jigen Daisuke’s Gravestone) and Lupin the IIIrd: Chikemuri no Ishikawa Goemon (Lupin the IIIrd: The Blood Spray of Goemon). The newest movie reveals sides of Fujiko Mine that we have not seen before.

MANGA.TOKYO invited producer Yu Kiyozono to talk about the movie, Fujiko, and the new villain, Bincam. Kiyozono also talked to us about Lupin fans from his perspective and much more.

What sort of advice did you give Mamoru Miyano regarding his portrayal of Bincam, a killer who is creepy, yet somehow not totally loathsome?

I simply asked him to keep Bincam’s creepiness from the beginning to the end. Miyano himself is incredibly cool and handsome, and often plays characters that reflect those aspects. I assumed that he didn’t have that much experience portraying such creepy-looking, strange characters. However, he understood the characteristics of Bincam right away and portrayed the character just as we hoped he would throughout the movie. Bincam is a character who is difficult to portray as he is weird and apathetic. He doesn’t show his emotions and always keeps a cool head. Miyano is used to acting on stage, so he used a lot of gestures in the recording studio. As the recording proceeded, he got right into his role. However, he managed to keep his cool and managed to play an indifferent character who has a consistent mood.

I felt a shiver down my spine when I saw him, especially his nails…

We had his character image in our head when the movie’s creative designer Katsuhito Ishii submitted a rough draft of Bincam. Director Takeshi Koike created Bincam’s character design based on Ishii’s draft. It’s like Ishii created the concept of Bincam and Koike embodied him.

I saw motherly instincts in Fujiko when I watched the scene with Fujiko and Gene. The scene was refreshing and exciting as it showed us a different side of Fujiko we’ve never seen before. Could you tell us what you were particular about when depicting Fujiko in this movie?

I thought, ‘We should depict Fujiko’s weakness to show a new side of her which no one has ever seen before.’ I was wondering what sort of weaknesses Fujiko might have and came up with the idea of a child who hinders her. She tries hard to get along with Gene to complete her mission of getting a large sum of money despite the fact that she is annoyed by him and actually wants to get rid of him. Since she can’t use her usual tactic of the honey trap, it would be interesting to see how she deals with the child. It’s quite refreshing for me to see Fujiko raising her voice to a child, as I’ve never seen her like that.

What did you think of Miyuki Sawashiro’s performance?

She was brilliant. Before this movie, whenever Fujiko got angry, she came across as more annoyed than furious. However, this movie has a scene in which Fujiko is really frustrated. She freaks out because a child is the thing she least wants to have. Gene must give her so much stress. Fujiko displays a hidden motherly instinct in this movie. Actually, she has a more complex personality than we presumed. [laugh]

When you mention scenes involving children, a certain scene with Ai Haibara in the Detective Conan crossover movie comes to mind. However, the scene from that movie technically involves two mature women. So it’s quite different to the scene in this movie.

Fujiko is certainly most annoyed by stubborn, spoiled boys like Gene. It was so exciting to see Sawashiro yell the line ‘That’s enough!’. Her Fujiko performance really exceeded my expectations, and she fully brought Fujiko’s raw emotions to life.

What is the main component of Fujiko’s charisma, in your opinion?

I think Fujiko’s charisma stems from her femme fatale character, from tip to toe. I think there are hardly any anime characters who are as ‘bad’ as Fujiko in recent anime. I believe her charm is that she never tries to butter anyone up. She is gorgeous and proudly independent. Even her killing techniques are elegant. She is an object of men’s adoration and an icon, but I can’t think of a worse woman than her. I wanted to depict a Fujiko who is cool even from a woman’s perspective, so I decided to focus on her femme fatale aspect. I think she is great because she is fantastically and thoroughly ‘bad’. It’s not only Fujiko but also all the main characters that do terrible things if you see them objectively. They are a bunch of evil-doers. [laugh]

I’ve never thought of Fujiko as a ‘bad woman’. However, if I ponder on her character, she probably is one.

We are all dazzled by her charm. Otherwise, we would have realized that she is horrible. [laugh] Fujiko is bad yet attractive. I believe many people of both genders have been attracted by a bad person at some point in their lives. They usually realize that going out with a regular person may be boring but becomes easier after a while and they end up settling down. However, there are also people who stay infatuated with the bad.

Even if they aren’t a protagonist, by centering on any of Monkey Punch’s characters, a unique narrative with deep insight can be woven. I guess this demonstrates the charm of Monkey Punch’s characters.

He told me not to destroy the relationship among the five main characters. Each Lupin IIIrd movie is based on an original story and isn’t from the manga created by Monkey Punch. However, they are recognized as part of the Lupin series. This is because each character created by Monkey Punch has such a strong presence. Each Lupin fan has their own image of Lupin. I believe this series hits the spot as the characters are just packed with his charisma. I think young people will find something new and die-hard fans will enjoy Lupin at its best.

What do you pay extra attention to when producing the Lupin series?

I’ve been producing the movie series and Part 4 and 5 of the TV series simultaneously. As for the TV series, I want people to rediscover Lupin. When I was a child, I could watch it whenever I put on the TV. We’re the generation who watched so much Lupin in our childhood. However, children after my generation never got the chance to watch Lupin on TV. Lupin the Third may be a household name in Japan, but he was absent from our TV screens for 30 years. We don’t have many young fans as a result. I want to carry on Lupin’s legacy to future generations. I think not only the audience, but also the production team must hand down Lupin’s tradition in order to keep the Lupin series alive. We are grown-ups but still love Lupin from the bottom of our hearts. Just like Lupin and Co., we will never compromise on creating the Lupin series. I want to tell children that they can also be inspired by Lupin and his teammates.

I feel like I’ve constantly been watching the Lupin series and I didn’t realize the blank you mentioned.

The fans kept on watching the Lupin anime but there were no events for quite a long time. Events are very important, especially in this era of social media. We’ve now been producing TV series and a new edition of manga series as well as events and tie-ups. We’ve been keeping Lupin fans busy and I think it’s important to keep doing so. I want to make it so that the young people who develop an interest in the Lupin series now will stay fans for the next 30 or 40 years. I must say that the Lupin series has been and still is supported by the die-hard fans.

Do the fans who come to the events tend to be on the older side?

We had a lot of fans in their 40s and 50s, crossing their arms while listening to us talk. However, as we’ve held more events, the number of younger fans increased. Many young anime fans come to our events for this movie in order to see Miyano. I felt happy when I saw them waving to not only Miyano but also to Lupin’s VA, Kurita. It was a pleasant surprise to hear screams of joy when Jigen’s VA, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, appeared on stage. It was an experience unique to such an event.

Die-hard Lupin fans are well-behaved as they have their own principles as Lupin fans. They never leak spoilers because they consider the other fans who haven’t watched it yet. They stay calm during events, so there is no disorder. On the other hand, younger fans who are used to anime events tend to use social media to tell people, ‘I’ve watched it!’. I think we need to spread Lupin in this way in today’s society.

I see that fans from various generations enjoy Lupin in their own style. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Lupin series develops from now on!