Lupin no Musume 2 (2020)

still a charmingly corny and manga-ishly sexy entertainment with a tinge of more serious tone

foremost, if you haven't watched the 11 episodes in season 1, i would recommend you watch that first before watching the 9 episodes in season 2. that way you would have a better understanding of the story development. note though, this series, whether season 1 or season 2 might not be for all kinds of audiences. it's either you like it, or you don't, or it grows on you. it's a light-hearted action comedy that deals with relationships, aspirations, (unconditional) love, ideal, fear, and growing/maturity. this series does not deal with difficult subjects too deeply, but it does leave rooms for the audience to empathize/reflect/introspect/analyze.

season 2 episode 1 continues where season 1 ends. season 2 comes with new plots and introduces two new regular characters. the first new regular character is Houjo Mikumo, a young talented investigative detective coming from 2-3 generations of detective family investigating the death of her grandfather and the secret of the L family. the second new regular character is Mikumo Anne, the daughter of the two main leads, Mikumo Hana and Sakuraba Kazuma.

season 2 is 2 episodes shorter than season 1, it has a slightly more serious tone compared to season 1. Hana is still trying to reconcile her desire not to be a thief in the earlier episodes of season 2. and later, she doesn't want her daughter to know that their family has been thieves for generations. Hana would sort of come to a reconciliation in the latter episodes of season 2.

season 1 covers more on the romance and the relationship struggles between the two main lead characters. it also covers the identity/ideal/desire of the main female lead. season 2 covers on unconditional love, and acceptance/support/maturing-relationship between the two main leads. season 2 reveals more of the hope of the previous generation that something intrinsic within the family line could be passed down to the next generation/s. the latter part of season 2 also reveals more of Enjoji Akira and his thoughts/feelings/aspiration towards the main female character.

from the ending of season 2, there is possibility of a season 3. and this series is also supposed to have a theatrical release slated on October 15, 2021. i am not sure if the film and season 3 will be released in the near future, nor do i know if Kyoko Fukada will still be cast as the main lead actor. this is because, "On 27th May 2021, she revealed about her adjustment disorder, caused due to stress related disorder. She decided to take a break from her career to focus full time on her medical treatment. (source: Wikipedia)"

one aspect that i didn't mention in my review of season 1 is on the grey in-between of what's good and what's not. this series repeatedly/consistently bring up stealing as bad and thieves as criminals. it then juxtaposed two families, one with generations of thieves and the other with generations of cops. it raises questions like, is stealing from bad/crooked people essentially something good or bad? does stealing from bad/crooked people and then using the stolen goods for personal use (for example, stealing wine or caviar and consuming them) something good or bad? if you know someone close or know someone in your family who engages in a series of criminal activity, specifically stealing from bad/crooked people, do you condone the person, the act of stealing, and the continuation of the act of stealing? would it be something good or bad if you choose to ignore that the person you know has committed a series of criminal activities? etc.

another grey in-between or blur line is this ...
in Hana's context, she doesn't want to steal, doesn't want to continue the family's trade as a thief, and doesn't condone stealing. if you observe from series 1 to series, Hana doesn't actually perform the act of stealing. but Hana often acts as an accomplice. she is also in full awareness that someone or a number of people in her family plot for a plan to steal, and engage in stealing. from the eyes of the common law in modern democratic countries, Hana is just as guilty as the rest of her family members who steal, even though Hana doesn't steal. in retrospect, Sakuraba is a police officer, an enforcer of the law. Sakuraba's parents are also in the law enforcement field. inadvertently, Sakuraba and his parents become accessory before/after the fact. so, basically from the eyes of the law, things are more or less black and white. but from social norms, moral etiquette, humane consideration and so on, things become more of a blur.

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..THE STEALING CONTINUES..

..yay second season - with the baby~!!..

..and Kanna Hashimoto on the casting..

..another series for Kyoko Fukada - I watch her first as a millionaire detective from Fugou Keiji..

..but this time, she's the criminal..

..a funny series for me, every minute is worth it - the family that steals together, steals forever haha..

..well just a pinch of love story for me, still I do love this drama because of the comedy genre..

..the drama also includes fighting scenes and somehow I found it kinda natural act, knowing they do workshop on fighting scene - esp. the finishing attack of Kyoko haha..

..overall, better to watch this guys..

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