An anime like no other that is filled with loveable characters and action-packed scenes full of jazz and thrilling music. Netflix’s “Great Pretender” is a comedic heist anime television series. It’s directed by Hiro Kaburagi, written by Ryota Kosawa and produced by WIT Studio who is famous for creating other animes like “Attack on Titan” and “Vinland Saga.”
“Great Pretender” pursues the story of Makoto Edamura, who was once innocent, but turned into a con man and calls himself “Japan’s top scammer.” One day, Edamura scams a tourist and his skills caught the attention of a thief named Laurent Thierry who was the tourist all along. Their lives would later intertwine when Laurent nonchalantly planned Edamura to come along to Los Angeles and become part of the infamous life of a professional thief traveling around the world swindling other criminals.
The soundtrack of this anime is utterly explosive because of the music composer, Yutaka Yamada. He composed the opening theme “G.P.” which is a jazzy work of art from a large band ensemble piece. Alongside the music, came the animated title sequence which was done by Kotomi Deai. It closely resembles the opening of Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can” because it sets the tone of the show creating exhilaration and heart-racing atmospheres as if you were part of the story. It’s also not every day that an anime would round off their episodes with Freddie Mercury’s cover of “The Great Pretender” originally by The Platters.
With a beautiful art style and eye-catching colors being bright and vibrant, all of the scenes are quite cinematic to tell the story visually. Which made “Great Pretender” feel like an animated version of heist films like “Ocean’s 8” or “Now You See Me” that can top a standard anime or television series. And with the character design, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto created characters that have a presence and purpose that really drives the story.
So far in the series, there’s a total of 14 episodes and three-story arcs. The series breaks down the story arcs into cases. Episodes one through five would indicate that it would be case one of the first story arc. During these cases, the creators show a story with plot twists, humor, action, drama and character development. The protagonists are thieves, but they can also grow to be a person who can be more than what meets the eye.
“Great Pretender” is definitely not your ordinary anime, it packs a punch with the soundtrack, striking visuals with the artwork and overall production of the anime and the story will lure you in and next thing you know it you’ve been swindled. It’s an anime gem worth stealing.
