Great Pretender

Everyone lies...

That simple and that simple is one of the most uncomfortable truths that human beings can have. Because no matter how we see it, there will be times when pretending is the best option (or perhaps the only one) and the series to which I dedicate this post does nothing more than remind us of it in a great way. And yes, I mean Wit Studio's latest gem: Great Pretender.

Yes, only the bad guys are our target, so brace yourselves because you will be scammed. That is the main line on which Great Pretender moves, and for this the story puts us in the footsteps of Makoto Edamura (Edamame for easy) supposedly the best con man in Japan, or at least that is what he believes until he meets Laurent Thierry, another scammer (French in his case) and who, after winning a certain bet, recruited him as part of his "Confidence Man" team alongside Abigail "Abi" Jones and Cynthia Moore, making him participate in different cases in order to scam to individuals of all stripes, from drug traffickers to disgraced Arab princes, an art curator, a child trafficking organization, in short, no one will be saved.

Once upon a time, Ocean's Eleven ... This is how Great Pretender will constantly move between adventure and to a lesser extent, drama, posing 4 different cases that will travel around the globe: Los Angeles, Singapore, London and finally Japan. Based on the above, it is not surprising that the series focuses on the group's different and well-developed plans to defraud their targets, always based on their prior knowledge and doing so not only as work but as revenge for their "misdeeds ", with which they also become the most curious antiheroes. And it is precisely thanks to this point that they are reminiscent of that Ocean's Eleven film franchise. (The Great Scam) where his team of scammers was also in charge of collecting justice. All with a narrative that despite not being so deep, it is well used, making each episode something worthy and super entertaining to watch, always managing to maintain interest in how the scams were carried out.YES, I'M THE GREAT PRETENDER! However, far from stagnating in a typical adventure and scam series, Great Pretender goes further and not only plays justice but also presents the fragility of its protagonists. Because as I wrote at the beginning, the human being is full of fear and that is why we pretend, that we pretend in order to protect ourselves.

And the 4 protagonists are a clear example of this: Edamame, Abi, Cynthia, Laurent ... all of them swindle with a smile on their face, with phrases as false as "We are lone wolves" because they have more sense of justice than they are he would like and above all, with great pain and loss in his past. And that is why they succeed, because in each of their respective cases they are "stripped", fragile and damaged yes, but because they also end up redeemed, a little more at peace with the world and with themselves and that is where Great Pretender really shines, by showing us those who pretend to everyone, including themselves, smiling like one who has not won anything despite being on top of the world ... despite their loneliness. Because as Freddie sings in what is perhaps the best phrase (also the most significant) of the work:

__I'm wearing my heart like a crown ...
pretending that you're still around !!! __

In spite of everything, nothing is perfect and Great Pretender is no exception to this rule, having in its case, an ending that may or may not be liked and that does not allow the series to close with a flourish. Likewise, sometimes there is a lack of tension in the antagonists of each case, since our protagonists are never really on the verge of being discovered. Now, does this affect the viewing or the genius of the series? Well no, the truth is that Great Pretender is so round that even these errors are insufficient to take away the high level of quality and entertainment.

But Great Pretender is not only adventure and action seasoned with sensitivity and pain, it is also a tremendous effort on a technical level; because yes, this work has one of the most risky, unique and effective proposals of the year. From its character design, by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto we find well-defined features and a particular aesthetic that tends little to rounding off features, also presenting us with protagonists of different ethnicities and with their own characteristics in each one, making each place shown in credible. the play. The costumes are also effective, having a wide variety according, again, to the role played by each protagonist at the time. However, the most outstanding thing comes when talking about the backgrounds and especially the work of Yuko Kobari who is in charge of the color direction and gives us scenarios full of it, stunning, attractive, aesthetic and that play with a changing palette. according to each of the cases. Even the CGI used by the series is well exploited thanks to its incorporation into the landscape. This type of animation may or may not be liked but in any case it will never leave the viewer indifferent.

And the series not only fulfills in terms of animation, also standing out at the sound level thanks to the work of Yukata Yamada , who presents an OST full of ballads to the rhythm of jazz and pieces that perfectly enhance the sequences we see on screen. From intimate songs like "Our Love" , to some more generic and powerful like "You Know" , each piece reflects the moment of the series in question, as well as the feeling of the protagonist in turn. A separate case deserves the OP "GP" which to the rhythm of jazz traps us in the world of the work, having a base that more than remembering Cowboy Bebop has reminded me of another classic of the scam: "Guns & Roses" Baccano . In short, we are facing one of the best openings of the year.

And if the OP seemed incredible to us, the ED of the series is simply amazing, because it is from nothing more and nothing less than the great Freddie Mercury: Great Pretender. Yes, the homonymous song is also in charge of closing each episode and the truth is that there could not be a better piece to do it because this is, in short, the whole essence of the work. And Wit Studio was in charge of letting us know thanks to a great montage with cats in which we can not only see kittens being ... kittens, but it is also loaded with elements of the work, from the backgrounds to the calico cat itself. stars in the sequence... and that is a reflection of Thierry himself. Simply the best closing and summary of what Great Pretender is, making us wonder how much the series was inspired by the song.

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The human being is an entity at least curious when exposed, almost never satisfied with what he has and almost always afraid of what he may lose. Great pretender is an excellent portrait of it and it is thanks to the way it tells its story, hooking us from the first moment. With a great plot that, without being the most complex or the flattest, perfectly exploits its charismatic characters and takes them through chaotic, exciting adventures with an amazing animation and a powerful OST (with an epic ED), delivering us one of the best works I've seen in recent times ... A work that cheats itself with a stoic smile ...