On a whim, I put in my bluray of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine the other day. It had been a while since I first watched the show and it was a lot… stranger than I remembered. No matter what you think about its bizarre plot and gratuitous nudity, the style is undeniably fantastic (Koike's handiwork, judging by the staff credits.) The two recent offshoots of the show share the style but, as feature films, have far simpler plots. In my opinion, this works in their favor.
Goemon Ishikawa’s Spray of Blood—what a fucking title—is, first and foremost, beautiful. Not only does it share the great style of TWCFM, but it goes even further when it comes to the action. The action scenes in this film are as if the animators studied every single great chanbara of the 20th century and, pooling their knowledge and passion for these works of art with their knowledge and passion for animation, created the film. Okay, I’m being hyperbolic, but Goemon’s sword-fighting is very reminiscent of classics like Lone Wolf and Cub. The delayed blood-sprays, the delayed dismemberment… it’s very satisfying.
The plot is not only simplistic, it’s mystifying. The antagonist is a lumberjack-looking fellow who, according to a brief moment of back-story, apparently died in a covert military operation in Bermuda; thusly called The Bermuda Ghost. Before slaughtering his enemies like a demon with limitless strength and endurance, he tells them that he’ll turn them into compost for fertilization. At first hearing this dialogue I thought he was going to end up having some monologue about radical militant environmentalism… but it goes unexplained. Does he originate elsewhere? I certainly don’t remember him from previous Lupin III chapters, but who knows how many antagonist-of-the-weeks there were in the original television show.
This film is central to Goemon’s character, and it does a perfect job examining him. It’s no origin story and there’s not even much of any character development. It simply depicts Goemon Ishikawa’s obsession with his status as the strongest warrior around. He has no real moral dilemmas outside of his austerity to bushido. After pointlessly slaughtering an entire yakuza clan, he simply prays for the dead at a shrine as a matter of honor, not of regret. The best part of the character study however is Goemon’s desperation to understand how he failed the duel the first time and how to correct the mistakes that lead to that failure. He endures extreme suffering (that should definitely kill him at many points) to achieve the skill to defeat his opponent (Lupin calls it finding a sixth sense and achieving enlightenment, but who knows what Lupin is rambling about.)
Goemon Ishikawa’s Spray of Blood is a simple action flick that is a beyond-worthy addition to the enormous Lupin III franchise. If you like any Lupin III show, manga, or film, you’ll probably enjoy this one. If you have a liking for samurai flicks, you will surely enjoy the animated katana-slaughter. Oh, and Fujiko makes obscene moaning noises in one scene.
