The Spirealm: Behind the Mysterious Doors
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. The article can be viewed in either Light Mode or Dark Mode. |
  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 your toes into dorama (Japanese drama) world that is full with their 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 eyes 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.
Season 2 was released in 2020 and continues the life journey of Hana with the L family and her own. Both instalments are perfect for binge-watching since they have only 11 and 9 episodes, respectively. For Season 2, I am sure that you would enjoy the drama if you watch it from the original Japanese-English subber, as they explain the Japanese language term and culture uniqueness at their site, not embedded in the video. Here is one crucial example:  When you read the English subbed dialogue: "Dad, let's take a bath!" in some cultures, the practice is unheard and sounds shocking. In their site, the subbers explained: "It's not taboo per Japanese culture for a 3rd grader to want to take a bath with her father. Most kids grow out of it between 1st and 3rd grade." (Blitz Fansub) |
The story revolves around the lovely 25 years old Mikumo Hana (Fukada Kyoko) who lives with the L family. Although Hana acquired her grandfather's excellent pickpocketing skill, she doesn't want to be involved with the family theft business. Instead, she chooses a normal life and works as a librarian. Until one day, she met the handsome 28 years old Sakuraba Kazuma/Kazu (Seto Koji), who claimed that he is 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, too! 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, that Hana has to get involved in rescuing him and covering her family business. And their relationship turns to Romeo-and-Juliet type of forbidden romance!  |
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Mikumo FamilyMikumo Takeru (Watabe Atsuro)Hana's father. Strong sense of leadership, smart and wise. Specializes in stealing fine arts. Mikumo Etsuko (Ozawa Maju) Hana's mother. Attractive and stylish. Jewellery thief. Mikumo Wataru (Kurihara Louis) Hana's older brother. A modern-day hermit and an inventor. Helps indirectly with family operations. Mikumo Matsu (Donguri) Hana's grandmother. Keymaster. Mikumo Iwao (Maro Akaji) Hana's grandfather. A pickpocketing master. Lives and acts alone. Mikumo An/Ann (Obata Nono) Hana and Kazu's daughter.  | Sakuraba FamilySakuraba Norikazu (Shida Masayuki)Kazu's father. An SAT Captain of Security Bureau in the Metropolitan Police Department. Sakuraba Misako (Marcia) Kazu's mother. A Criminal Forensics part-time staff in the Metropolitan Police Department. Shintani Kaori (Sato Honami) Kazu's younger sister. Works in Traffic Division. Shintani Mikio (FISHBOY) Husband of Kaori. A Public Security Officer. Sakuraba Kazuichi (Fujioka Hiroshi) Kazu's grandfather. Former Chief Detective of the Investigation Division 3 of the Metropolitan Police Department. Don Retired award-winning K9 police dog.
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  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.  |
AUTHOR The series is based on the novels written by Dai Yokozeki. So far, Mr. Dai has released four of them:
The author also wrote other detective novels, one of them was also adapted to Japanese drama Kiwadoi Futari: K2: Ikebukurosho Keijika Kanzaki Kuroki. |
PRODUCERS Naoto InabaToshio Arai | DIRECTORSShunsuke Shinada, Koji Dong, Kazuhiro Nishioka, Hayaki Ozaki | SCREENWRITER |
COSTUME
The custom-made Lupin costumes (including the Venetian masks) were designed by Art and Visual Director Tsuge Isao.
MUSIC
 Theme song: "Unforgettable/Moss" by Sakanaction (concert video Youtube link) "Moss" was initially named "minority" because it meant "what everyone really likes, not what everyone likes," but it has a different meaning, such as a social minority.  Because of that, the title was changed to "moss," which means 'moth'. (Source: Japanese Wikipedia)Soundtrack by Face 2 fAKE The composer and music producer duo were in charge of the soundtrack, background music, and songs sung by Enjoji Akira. |
When you read the section above, you notice that the author recently released the fourth instalment of the Lupin series titled Rookie of Lupin. Who will be the rookie? Will the person be Ann, their daughter? Or someone else? |
If you haven't watched the series yet, I recommended them.
If you're still not convinced, below is what Dad Mikumo said:
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.
