Fusé: Memoirs of a Huntress (Fuse: Teppou Musume no Torimonochou, lit. "Fuse: Gun Girl's Case Files") is a 2012 animated film directed by Masayuki Miyaji and produced by TMS Entertainment. The story centers around a hunter girl named Hamaji. Hamaji has spent her entire life in the mountains, living off the land. She receives a letter from her brother, asking her to go to Edo to join him. Arriving at the city, Hamaji is confused by the noise and crowds, and ends up lost. She bumps into a silver-haired young man engaged in a scuffle with local ruffians. After scattering the thugs (with the 'borrowed' help of her gun), the young man helps her find her brother's house by the river. Her older brother, Dousetsu, is a wannabe samurai with a plan. In Edo, there are 8 creatures known as fuse that are part-human and part-dog. The government is offering a substantial bounty for the head of a fuse; Dousetsu wants to take advantage of this to get rich and become an officer. So Hamaji and Dousetsu set out to hunt down a fuse in the bustling city of Edo.
The movie is a Lighter and Softer adaptation of Fusé: Gansaku Satomi Hakkenden (a 2010 novel by Kazuki Sakuraba of Gosick fame), itself a Fractured Fairytale retelling of Kyokutei Bakin's 19th-century epic Nansō Satomi Hakkenden.
Fusé: Memoirs of a Huntress contains examples of:
- Airplane Arms: Itezuru and Shino, F-14 Tomcat style.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Some of the fuses' dog forms. Some of their fur colours are pink, green, purple and orange.
- Anachronism Stew: Hamaji's gun wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi flick. Hamaji Meido's clothes stand out since they resemble contemporary clothing rather than the more traditional Japanese clothes of other characters.
- Anime Hair: Itezuru's pompadour.
- Attractive Bent-Gender: Shino makes for a beautiful woman.
- Babies Ever After: Dousetsu and Funamushi have a baby after the one year skip.
- Blush Sticker: Hamaji and several kids have permanent ones. Hamaji says her blush stickers are because of frostbite.
- Book Ends: The movie begins with Meido recording Hamaji's adventures in a novel. The movie ends with Meido writing the conclusion to her story. Shino and Hamaji first meet on a bridge. The last time Hamaji sees Shino before parting ways is on a bridge.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Dousetsu may seem like a drinking, whoring good-for-nothing bum, but he can kick some serious ass when he needs to.
- Parental Abandonment: Hamaji and Dousetsu's parents are never mentioned. They were both raised by their grandfather.
- Eye Scream: Shino slashes Makuwari's eye at the beginning of the movie.
- Half-Human Hybrid: The fuse are the product of a union between Princess Fuse and her dog. Yes, you read that correctly. When Princess Fuse's country was invaded by hostile neighbours, her father issued a decree proclaiming that whosoever brought him the head of the enemy general would have his daughter's hand in marriage. Surprisingly, Princess Fuse's dog, Yatsufusa, gave the enemy general's head to the king. Keeping his promise, the king allowed Yatsufusa to marry Fuse. The princess found herself pregnant with Yatsufusa's child. The king was outraged, forcing Fuse to leave the castle and live in the forest with Yatsufusa. Her offspring was said to be the ancestor of the fuse.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Unfortunately, Makuwari doesn't last very long, being shot in multiple places and eventually killed by two arrows. He does live long enough to set the keep on fire, though.
- Heel–Face Turn: Makuwari turns on the shogunate when it becomes clear that he will be killed along with Shino. The one-eyed samurai tells Shino of an entrance into the keep and distracts the gunmen.
- Heroic BSoD: Hamaji enters one after helping her brother kill Itezuru.
- Impossibly Cool Weapon:
- The shogun has a sword with the blade made of water, and the hilt and sheath made of bones.
- Hamaji's gun is large, bright red and has impressive range.
- Innocently Insensitive: What Hamaji seems to be this to Meido and Omichi when Hamaji compares her inability to read to Meido's granpa's poor eyesight. The grandpa just laughs.
- Jidaigeki
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: Hamaji is constantly mistaken for a boy by the denizens of Edo. Dousetsu takes advantage of this by dressing Hamaji up in a borrowed set of his clothes. This allows him to bring Hamaji into the Red Light District, where women aren't allowed.
- Madness Mantra: Shogun Iesada Tokugawa has one.Murasamemaru, murasamemaru, murasamemaruI will drive out the imposters
- Meaningful Name: Fuse is written with the characters "person" and "dog".
- Off with Her Head!: The slain fuses' heads are put on display. Such as when Itezuru gets decapitated by Dousetsu.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: The fuse rarely transform into dogs, only changing after death. A bruise shaped like a red peony appears somewhere on their body. Also, fuse need to consume human souls.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Hinted. At one point in the movie we see a tiny bit of Hamaji's childhood, but it's never elaborated on or explored. What we do see, though, isn't very happy.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Shino portrays Princess Fuse during the play. He also wears a fuschia kimono and bright red shorts as everyday wear.
- Red Light District: Dousetsu drags Hamaji into one while hunting for a fuse.
- Shout-Out:
- The movie is loosely based off of Bakin's Nansou Satomi Hakkenden. This is referenced in the movie itself when Shino's acting troupe performs a play loosely based on the novels. Bakin himself is a character in the movie, being Meido's blind grandfather.
- There are many similarities to Spirited Away in the movie. Hamaji resembles Chihiro, both finding themselves in new surroundings where they must adapt and grow. They both meet a handsome boy with a human and a more monstrous form that aids and befriends them. Both girls fall in love with their respective friend (Shino for Hamaji and Haku for Chihiro) and must save them at the climax.
- Villainous Breakdown: The shogun wasn't the sanest of individuals to begin with, but after his fight with Shino, he's reduced to sucking his thumb and sobbing incoherently.
- Waif-Fu: Shino utilizes this to beat up some thugs at the beginning of the movie.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Hamaji and Shino. For Shino it's justified, since he is part of a kabuki acting troupe where women aren't allowed to act.
