Fujiko Mine - Background

Background

In the original manga series, Fujiko originally arrives in the third chapter of the first volume, thus being the first of Lupin's three associates to arrive. She initially appears as a con woman attempting to worm her way into the fortune of a rich family, whose heir has hired Lupin as security. Immediately upon arriving, she recognizes Lupin through his disguise, and by the end of the arc, Lupin has sided with her to rob the entire family.

Due to the episodic nature of the manga, many of Fujiko's appearances treat her and Lupin as meeting for the first time, even after the incident where Lupin kills her father. Many of the stories feature her trying to capture the same object as Lupin, usually being bested by Lupin, only occasionally being the one who gets the prize. It should also be noted that unlike his anime version, Lupin is a ladies-man in the manga, with he and Fujiko having slept together numerous times.

This is the opposite in the anime adaptations (excluding the fourth series), which often has Fujiko betraying Lupin and for the most part denying his flirting. Fujiko's professional background is most likely connected with Japanese organized crime, as hinted by the TV episode, "An Assassin Sings the Blues". During the episode, Lupin's sidekick Jigen recalls a story of the Golden Couple; a partnership formed between a mysterious female assassin and the notorious Killer Pun. The couple was famous for carrying out contract killings without failure. However, the partnership ended abruptly when Pun's employer ordered the woman's execution. Pun failed to kill the woman, due to emotional attachment, and she disappeared. Furthermore, Lupin and Jigen were led to believe that Fujiko suffers from amnesia. Fujiko claims not to remember anything prior the three years she first met Lupin. The timing of her memory loss coincided with the disappearance of Pun's partner. Her connection with Pun was later confirmed in the episode.