Fujiko

Fujiko is an excellent markswoman, her favorite weapon being a Browning M1910, typically holstered in her garter.

Later, she's revealed superb martial arts skills, capable of rendering an attacker twice her weight unconscious with a single blow.

She is very good at disguises as well as accents and apparently can speak dozens of foreign languages in addition to her native Japanese.

Like the other members of Lupin's team, she is able to pilot virtually any land, sea, and air vehicle, with her personal preference being a conventional Kawasaki motorcycle.

She can be very promiscuous when necessary to complete a job, and has kissed and even had sex with different men for information or to escape a dangerous situation.

Fujiko Mine (峰 不二子) is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his manga series Lupin III, which debuted in Weekly Manga Action on August 10, 1967.

She is a professional criminal and spy who regularly uses her attractiveness to fool her targets.

Unlike the rest of the Lupin III cast, Fujiko's physical appearance changes for most installments in the franchise.

In the 1999 television movie Da Capo of Love: Fujiko’s Unlucky Days, Lupin carefully treats the amnesiatic Fujiko, hoping she gets better as he "looks forward to her betrayals".

She is the star of the fourth Lupin III anime television series, 2012's The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, making it the first to not star Arsène Lupin III as the protagonist.

As the Lupin III series was made to be published in a magazine targeted at adults, Fujiko Mine was created to add a female presence.

Her name is derived from the title "Sacred Mountain Fuji" (霊峰不二).

Monkey Punch saw a picture of Mt. Fuji on a calendar and in less than a minute decided on Fujiko Mine; omitting "rei" from "reihō", changing the reading of 峰 to "mine", and adding "ko" to "fuji" to make it look more pleasing when spelled.

She was developed from the intention to fulfill a "Bond girl" role.

Creating a new female character each week was too difficult for Monkey Punch, so she evolved into a single character.

At the beginning of the series, many of the women Lupin encounters are named Fujiko, but are treated as different characters from chapter to chapter.

This concept was later changed to make Fujiko a single character who changes style frequently.

Monkey Punch compared the characters of Lupin and Fujiko to those of D'Artagnan and Milady de Winter, and described them as "Not necessarily lovers, not necessarily husband and wife, but more just having fun as man and woman with each other".

While Fujiko is not part of Lupin's gang, she often participates in their exploits either as a partner or a competitor.

Her main tactic is to stick with Lupin and company until the plunder is made available, then double-cross her colleagues.

Frequently, as the very definition of a femme fatale, she finds it necessary to betray Lupin to get close to the enemy, then after ingratiating herself into his trust will acquire the swag and escape (rarely, she will help to extricate Lupin, Goemon and Jigen from capture or any deadly trouble she put them into, as if to atone).

Fujiko is also known to provide law enforcement (particularly Lupin's nemesis Inspector Zenigata) with information and assistance in order to gain her own freedom.

At one point, Fujiko was made Zenigata's replacement on the ICPO's Lupin operation, but this was a cover for her to get into a secret vault.

Of this two-faced nature Lupin is surprisingly forgiving.

The 2012 anime series implies heavily that Fujiko is bisexual or is willing to feign such behavior in order to get what she wants.

Daisuke Jigen despises Fujiko and sees her showing up as a sign of rough times ahead, although despite this, in the original manga he was still one of her suitors.

For Lupin's sake, he will come to Fujiko's defense in desperate moments, and at best he views her as an annoying sister.

Goemon Ishikawa XIII, who had a brief romance with Ms. Mine, has been known to work on capers with Fujiko independent of the other gang members, but can be equally distrustful of her when he thinks she is manipulating Lupin.

Still, in the Lupin the Third Part II anime Jigen and Goemon are seen working together numerous times with Fujiko, trusting their lives on her, and vice versa, with them having a sibling rivalry of sorts.

In the anime, Fujiko also displays at times a more frivolous and care-free personality, which sees her pranking Lupin whenever she can.

Lupin is completely infatuated with Fujiko, and will do anything for her.

While Fujiko is aware of this and always uses it to her advantage, she never gets Lupin into trouble where he cannot escape.

Monkey Punch has said that the two "enjoy each other", and are quite content with their bizarre yet amicable relationship, comparing it to his own marriage.

Although she is more willing to contain her feelings, Fujiko does have a love for Lupin.

She rarely wishes to fully reveal her affection except if she thinks one or both are dying.

On occasions where Lupin appears to have died, she Grieves and considers him the most important person to her.

However, her not-altogether-hidden feelings submerge again when she finds him alive.

Fujiko usually dresses in the height of fashion, with formal gowns and fine jewelry her trademark; when informal, she typically wears outfits that accentuate her robust figure.

Fujiko's favorite pastimes appear to be shopping, attending social functions, disco dancing, horseback riding, and dating wealthy gentlemen.

She enjoys champagne, fine wine and has been seen more than once consuming a martini; she also smokes cigarettes and occasionally uses a kiseru.