The greatest thief the world has ever known now has a figure befitting his greatness in Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line. Lupin the Third, and his on-again/off-again partner/rival/lover Fujiko Mine have had hundreds of capers in their expansive history, and now their adventures are squarely in your hands.
I will admit it, I got into the Figuarts line primarily due to the more “Western” properties. Star Wars was the gateway, but now the Ninja Turtles are coming later this year, so at the price and pacing of those two corners alone, I am being kept busy. However, one of my all-time favorite Japanese properties is Lupin the Third (or Lupin the 3rd, or Lupin III, or Rupan Sansei), so when Lupin and Fujiko were announced for an April 2016 release, I was pretty excited. This property is no stranger to the collectable, or even action-figure world, but right out of the box, I think Bandai is now king of the mountain in terms of offerings. Yeah, Revoltech had a swing at Lupin before, but honestly, I don’t think that figure is even in the same class of this new one, accessories not withstanding.
If you are not familiar with the property, Arsene Lupin III is creation of Japanese Manga writer/artist Monkey Punch, and is the grandson of Arsene Lupin, the master thief of Maurice LeBlanc’s novels. Lupin’s adventures are a fun balance of debonaire gentleman thief intrigue and madcap action adventures. Always wanting to pull off the most high-profile heists, Lupin works with right hand man, Jigen Daisuke, as well as Goeman Ishikawa, and Fujiko all the while being chased by INTERPOL agent “Pops” Zenigata. All of the characters are well-established and diverse, and the stories are expansive as they range from Manga, to TV Series, TV movies, and feature films.
These new figures are based off their looks from the most recent movie, Jigen’s Gravestone, and while Lupin wears his tradition jacket and tie (this time in blue and red, respectively), Fujiko’s catsuit is certainly one of the most “toyetic” looks she has donned over the years. While their looks have certainly varied over the years (especially with Fujiko), I think these figures do a great job of capturing the iconic look and feel of the characters. I am sure some will disagree due to the simple fact that Lupin is not wearing a red jacket, but I think I actually prefer the blue now that I have been living with it for a few days.
Since these two figures are pretty different, I think it is important to take a look at each one individually.
LUPIN III
Lupin is a lovable guy who always finds a way to come through on top, until Fujiko runs away with his score. More than anything, I think this figure does a tremendous job of capturing the classic look of Lupin, and while his look is based off of the latest movie, this design takes more cues from the more classic animations. The style of Jigen’s Gravestone is a little more raw and grown up, while this figure carries more of the classic “anime” look, and I am glad they went in this direction as it keeps the figure more timeless and iconic.
The build of the figure matches Lupin’s look from across all incarnations: he is tall and skinny, with larger hands and feet and spindly legs. His loose knot tie and clip are pretty important to the look as well, and those are both brought into the sculpt very nicely. All of the lines are clean and the integrated articulation (I will get to more of that in minute) is minimally invasive in terms of breaking up the sculpt. I think I am more sensitive to that with figures based off of animated characters, so I really appreciate the silhouette maintained here, especially over the previous Revoltech figure.
Lupin is a bit light on classic accessories, but he makes up for it with the amount of swappable parts that are included. There are FOUR heads included with the figure: a “standard” expression, a smiling look, laughing look, and a winking/grimacing look. These are give the figure so many possibilities in terms of personality, so I see myself switching them out on the shelf periodically. All of the expressions have great likenesses to frame-accurate drawings of the character, and all of the painted details are crispy clean. Lupin also has five sets of hands that include a pistol grip, fist, slap, splayed, and “grabby” grips, so you can shoot, punch, and go right for Fujiko with the different options.
Lupin also comes with his signature Walther P38, as well as two versions of his watch and the ever-handy tether line. All of the accessories are rendered faithfully, and since Lupin is never far from his Walther, there was no way it could not be included. The watches are cool, especially with the tether line, and that is a neat accessories in and of itself since it is primarily made of a bendy wire. I do think the watch effect could have been accomplished with just one instead of two, so I wish we could have gotten a gemstone, or even a safe in lieu of two timepieces.
Finally, the articulation scheme is right at about what you would expect from a Figuarts offering, and all of the points on this particular figure flow well with a good range of movement. Lupin is tall and scrawny, so he has a very high center of balance, and that holds true with this figure as well. Additionally, his stick legs don’t help that predicament, so his large shoes help to offset the weight balancing. Now, the articulation is, as I said, very nice, but because of Lupin’s design, I find some of his posing to be limited due to being unable to find a good balancing point for a lot of the action stances. You have to work at it a bit, and in seeing the TMNT figures with die cast feet and lower legs, I cannot help but wonder if those could have been a help here.
Overall, I like this Lupin figure and awful lot, and getting a definitive version of the character right out of the box is a good feeling. The extra heads and hands make for some very expressive combinations, so it will be easy to get lost in all of the swapping. I probably could have taken double the amount of pictures that I did, but things were starting to get a little out of control.
FUJIKO MINE
Lupin’s Girl Friday is also one of his key rivals in the world of pilfering precious and expensive items. Her look can vary wildly from movie to movie and so on, but I think Bandai picked the very best look for her in this figure, and she certainly cuts a nice silhouette. The surname “Mine” is play on words as it is also the word of “peaks” in Japanese, and I am sure you can surmise why that is . . . Lupin is certainly infatuated with Fuji’s physical presence, and they go round and round all the time between being rivals, lovers, and two people who genuinely care for one another.
Fujiko is a pretty straight-forward figure, but the character is represented well. Like Lupin, I am pretty sure this figure is modeled after her primary look in Gravestone, but if I remember correctly, that costume had red piping on it too, so this might be a more generic take on the classic catsuit look. It make sense because she is, at her core, a cat burglar, but she has a LOT of different looks (not just limited to her clothes), and I find this to be the best one and certainly the most worthy of an action figure. Sure, that makes he a bit monochromatic, but she looks slick and ready to join in on a heist, or take on a caper of her own.
The likeness to Fujiko works well here, though I am don’t believe it is based specifically on any one appearance. It works an “iconic” looks since Fujiko is so varied, so the face and long red-orange hair capture the way she is usually thought of, at least to me. At any rate, she goes great with Lupin, and all of her extra parts integrate into the figure well, though very different from how the pieces work with Lupin. Her extra hands (fist, open, and gripped) change out as normal, but instead of having different heads, Fujiko has three different “face plates” that change out from the head by removing the bangs portion of her hair. This is a sensible choice as it saves on plastic, and the standard, side-long, and winking expressions are all nice, but I have a tough time unseeing the seam. It is not bad, in fact, it blends in well, but knowing it is there can be a little distracting.
Her articulation is very good, especially compared to most other action figures, and her joints work in tandem with different materials in her costume to ensure better range of movement. For example, Fujiko’s hips are actually a soft rubber overlay over the top of her legs; this configuration helps keep the form while improving the function. The rest of her articulation is, again, fairly standard for Figuarts, but I wish the turning in the knees and elbows worked just a touch better to achieve more posing, especially with her pistol (her lone accessory). She can achieve some great action poses as well, and the scheme helps ensure there is a bit of sexiness to them, which is perfect for the character.
Lupin is a very expressive figure, but I think I actually dig Fujiko a bit more as an action figure. She has a classic cat burglar look, and any fan of the Black Widow should take notice that this is a near-perfect base of an upgrade for that character, too. I think Fujiko is a great choice to be released alongside Lupin, and the two of them together look absolutely great on the shelf.
Hooray for new Lupin figures! I am having a GREAT time with these two, so it is so nice to lock up two beloved characters at the same time. Bandai just keeps getting better and better in my opinion, so these are really hard to put on the shelf to just let them stand. I am very happy to have already locked in my pre-orders for Jigen and Zenigata who will both be coming later this year. Goemon has been shown in prototype form, too, so hopefully he will complete the main cast by year’s end. If you are a fan of Lupin III at all, you will want to pick up both of these figures, you won’t regret it.