WARNING: SPOILERS for characters’ descriptions. The story is mainly taken from the synopsis and Episode 1 of Season 1, to avoid spoiling the main plots of both seasons.
Introduction
Lupin no Musume or Lupin’s Daughter (ルパンの娘) and its sequel Lupin no Musume Season 2 (ルパンの娘2) are a series of two quirky Japanese dramas (and more to come). Anyone who wants to dip their toes into the dorama (Japanese drama) world that is full of unique plots and a wide variety of styles will comfortably watch these sweet, funny, and light-hearted, yet theatrically unique shows that only Japanese dramas can do.
Genres: action, comedy, romance, crime, family.
Season 1 was released in 2019 and introduces the audience to a young woman named Hana who comes from a lovely yet unusual family of phantom thieves nicknamed the L family. They are notorious in the public eye that there are dramas and plays made of their fame. Yet, they are mysterious as no one has seen them, as they always wear costumes and Venetian masks. One day, Hana’s not-so-normal life was turned upside down when she met the love of her life.
Phantom thief (怪盗 = Kaitō) is a manga/anime term for gentleman/lady thief, a stereotypical fictional character who steals with style and avoids using physical force. A phantom thief appears classy, he/she feels the thrill by stealing only rare/challenging items from immorally wealthy targets (Source: Wikipedia).
The L family nickname is short for Lupin. It's originated from Arsène Lupin, a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc (Source: Wikipedia).
Season 2 was released in 2020 and continues the life journey of Hana with the L family and her own. Both installments are perfect for binge-watching since they have only 11 and 9 episodes, respectively.
Story
The story revolves around the lovely 25-year-old Mikumo Hana (Fukada Kyoko/深田恭子) who lives with the L family. Although Hana acquired her grandfather’s excellent pickpocketing skills, she doesn’t want to be involved with the family theft business. Instead, she chooses a normal life and works as a librarian. One day, she met the handsome 28-year-old Sakuraba Kazuma/Kazu (Seto Koji/瀬戸康史), who claimed that he was a civil servant. They fell in love and started dating. When their relationship turned serious, Kazu took her to meet his family. That was when Hana discovered that the Sakuraba family are generational police officers, and prefer Kazu dating a police officer. Additionally, he is a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo!
For some reason, Kazu’s cases always intertwine with the L family’s target operations, and Hana has to get involved in rescuing him and covering her family business. And their relationship turns into a Romeo-and-Juliet type of forbidden romance!
Meet the Families
Mikumo Family
Mikumo Takeru: Hana’s father. Strong sense of leadership, smart and wise. Specializes in stealing fine arts.
Mikumo Etsuko: Hana’s mother. Attractive and stylish. Jewellery thief.
Mikumo Wataru: Hana’s older brother. A modern-day hermit and an inventor. Helps indirectly with family operations.
Mikumo Matsu: Hana’s grandmother. Keymaster.
Mikumo Iwao: Hana’s grandfather. A pickpocketing master. Lives and acts alone.
Mikumo An/Ann: Hana and Kazu’s daughter. (Season 2)
Sakuraba Family
Sakuraba Norikazu: Kazu’s father. An SAT Captain of Security Bureau in the Metropolitan Police Department.
Sakuraba Misako: Kazu’s mother. A Criminal Forensics part-time staff in the Metropolitan Police Department.
Shintani Kaori: Kazu’s younger sister. Works in Traffic Division.
Shintani Mikio: Kaori’s husband. A Public Security Officer.
Sakuraba Kazuichi: Kazu’s grandfather. Former Chief Detective of the Investigation Division 3 of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Don: Retired award-winning K9 police dog.
Wataru’s Inventions
Wataru, Hana’s older brother, though not directly involved during the stealing actions, invented many tools important for spying or guiding his family during the thefts. As a modern-day hermit (Japan has a special term for it: hikikomori – ひきこもり), Wataru rarely gets out of his room that is full of monitors and gadgets. He communicates with his family, mainly thru the robotic tablet. His main invention is the Lady Bug, that has many functions besides as a bugging device.
The Music
Meet Enjoji
Talking about this series won’t be complete without mentioning Enjoji Akira (Onuki Yusuke). Mr. Enjoji is a family friend who is also a phantom thief that operates internationally. He is rather mysterious, comes and goes as he wishes. But it seems like many times when our protagonists are in despair or problem, he shows up. He sings and dances to console them or lure their villains away, theatrical way. When he shows up, the atmosphere suddenly turns musical. He makes people around him sing and dance, and the screen turns karaoke-like with song lyrics available for sing-a-long.
Actor Onuki Yusuke is also a singer and a dancer and did his own acrobatic stunt during filming. Below is a 1-minute YouTube video clip during the filming of Enjoji’s scene, showing the actor’s dance movement agility.
OST
Theme song: Unforgettable/Moss by Sakanaction
Soundtrack: Duo composer and music producer Face 2 fAKE were in charge of the soundtrack, background music, and songs sung by Enjoji Akira.
To Be Continued
Season 2 has ended. In the last episode, there are two big secrets thrown into the audience as teasers for the next installment. It was already announced that Lupin’s Daughter the Movie is being planned for 2021.
I do not own any of the images; credits go to their respective owners. The images are from FujiTV official sites of Lupin no Musume and Lupin no Musume Season 2; Japanese Wikipedia, MyDramaList, Google search, and drama screenshots. The gif clips were made by me and taken from drama scenes at AsianCrush and Blitzfansub.com. All outside info is linked to their sources.
The original article was published on December 29, 2020. Link HERE.
