Great Pretender is one of my personal favorite anime. Not just because it has the same title from the song of Freddie Mercury "Great Pretender", but they even literally used it as an ending song. They also use different languages and show different countries that you can't mostly find on other anime. One of the best out there but unfortunately it is very underrated.
The first season of this anime was divided into 4 different arcs called "Case". Every case are connected to the story of each characters that develops their personalities even more. So I'm going to give my reviews and thoughts on every case and I'll try to rate it to know which is the best.
Los Angeles Connection (Case 1)
Episode: 1-5
The very start of how Edamura become one of the greatest swindler. This actually didn't happen if he didn't steal the money of a random foreigner guy. The foreigner is actually a much better scammer than he is and its name is Laurent. Taking interest on him, the foreigner took him to Los Angeles to be a part of his group and scam much larger organizations. They may be criminal because they steal money but they follow their own rules. They may only steal from the bad people and never kill anyone.
Their target on Case 1 is a rich and influencial man. He want a special drug that Laurent introduced named "Sakura Magic". Edamura was assigned to be the so called chemist that designed the drugs. With the introduction of their two other members how can be this group of swindler manage to scam this man using their fake drug called "Sakura Magic"?. This is a good case and I'm surprised that they even use English language at some point. But the story is a bit lacking for me. Well it is just the first case anyway.
Rate: 8/10
Singapore Sky (Case 2)
Episode: 6-10
This case is the case that will make Abby (one of their member) even more developed. Singapore Sky is a case with the most intense scenes. Their group will join a dangerous air race to scam the promoter of this rigged race. With Abby as the pilot, they almost win their first race but failed at the end because she saw someone who looks like her parents from the crowd. Abby is a girl who lost her parents in a war when she was a child. She even serve as a suicidal child soldier back then. Traumatized and saddened from her childhood, her life changes when she joined Laurent group of swindlers. She uses her strong and athletic personality as a tool in scamming.
This whole arc is full of scamming, game fixing and intense air racing. The way on how they fixed everything according to their plan is way too funny. Well the tricks that they use is somewhat predictable and simple but still it was so satisfying. Nothing beats seeing a scammer getting scammed. This is also a beautiful story of forgiveness that make Abby so character developed. So good job.
Rate: 9/10
Snow of London (Case 3)
Episode: 11-14
This is the shortest case but it is my favorite. The aesthetic vibes and wholesome story of Cynthia is so heart warming. It is a story of how Cynthia fall in love to a painter. They started very well but the painter becomes so selfish after he worked as a copy maker of famous paintings. And that is their next target. Laurent and his group will target the person behind illegal selling of paintings replica. They will use the same trick to scam the auctioneer. So they are trying to find Cynthia's ex boyfriend to make a duplicate of the painting called "Snow of London" to be used as a scamming tool.
This is a story of closure from the love once promised in a canvass. Beautiful story that will make you so in love to Cynthia. The story is perfect and the trick that they use is interesting. They even solve all problems from different party that makes the ending so satisfying.
Rate: 10/10
Wizard of Far East (Case 4)
Episode: 15-23
The final case for this season and also the longest case that they solve. Well they are talking hundreds of Million dollars here so they need to plan it carefully. It is also a case for Laurent revenge after his lover died and his first group disbanded. This also shows how Edamura is destined to be a swindler because of his father's history. Their target this time is a huge organisation for human trafficking. Edamura acted as a translator for other company and Laurent on other. They falsely translated everything their boss says to make a tension between them and scam their money. It is a case where they make swindling into a whole new level. Their method is very unpredictable and impressive that you can't say negative about it.
The acting of Edamura for this case is an Oscar's worthy. I even fallen on their tricks so what else I can expect. Their execution is a very dangerous and the ending is very funny. I just don't like why it is necessary for their old enemies to show. Still the whole plan is very perfect and the growth of Edamura is impressive. It has the same quality as the Snow of London but I still love that arc more.
Rate: 10/10
It is unbelievable at first that even though it doesn't have a manga or light novel, it is still popular to Japan. Its just the whole world doesn't know how good this anime is. I believe that this series will break even more record soon because other cases are on its way. It has been delayed but they will coming soon. So stay tuned for now and read this article.
well done, super amazing