The Great Pretender: Anime for People Who Hate Anime

I recently finished The Great Pretender, available on Netflix, which is an anime about confidence men, con artists, who scam and cheat criminals as a means of enacting their own brand of justice. The show is accessible to Western audiences in a way that most anime isn't. There's something incredibly familiar about the characters and settings while maintaining an originality and freshness that keeps you coming back.

The art style of the show is the most radical thing about it. It obviously has an anime style, but more than that, it's got this art deco, mid-century feel to it, somehow. With vibrant colors and sharp shapes and angles, the whole world is rendered in crisp, saturated decadence. It feels like candy, it feels like fantasy. It's not overwhelming, it doesn't burn your eyes, but it's enticing. The appearance of the show mimics the vibrance of its characters, the chaos of the color palette mirrors the chaos of the story. Couple the visual style with the punchy jazzy score, and you have this incredible, cohesive vibe that carries through the whole show.

As I said, though, the show is familiar. The plot is reminiscent of an Ocean's film or the TV show Leverage. The elaborate plans of the con men keep the audience guessing what will happen next, but each story arc ends with sweet satisfaction, even if it doesn't go as originally anticipated. The first job takes place in Los Angeles, grounding it in a culture that western audiences are accustomed to. But the audience never gets a chance to relax. The first story arc introduces the characters and their motivations. As we learn about the major players, we're given whiplash as the story twists and turns with each betrayal and backstab that occurs. It seems like nothing is going right, the drama amping up until it all explodes in the arc's finale. It was incredibly tense, but so much fun. Like a high stakes sports game.

Each story arc takes place in a different location: Los Angeles, Singapore, London, and finally Japan. The main cast of characters are also from diverse backgrounds. There's a Japanese street scammer, a former child soldier from Baghdad, a sultry French orchestrator, and a sexy 40-something Cougar who comes off as American. Since the cast of characters is diverse, the show avoids the foreign-seeming aspects of Japanese culture that often alienate western viewers. No honorifics informing the characters' relationships, no supernatural or paranormal features, no shrines or prayers. Many people enjoy seeing these aspects of Japanese culture in anime to catch a glimpse into how other people live. But for people who hate anime, these things may be a turn off. They're pretty much totally avoided in this show.

I would highly recommend the show for anyone who enjoys animation. It's energetic, funny, suspenseful, vibrant, exciting, and clever. It's a mature show, exploring darker themes like drug-dealing, war, human trafficking, and murder. There's nudity and language, but the show doesn't linger on these things. If you can stomach some violence and some intense moments, then this show will delight you in so many other ways!