Great Pretender (new WIT Studio project)

[Blaat]

Originally Posted by Kanon

More people need to watch this show.

Indeed but until it hits the US Netflix most people won't. At the moment it's just anime fans willing to go old school who are watching this.

[Kanon]

Spoiler for episode 7:

I figured Abby's past would be rough, but a child soldier? Damn. No wonder she doesn't trust anyone. I hope Edamura will get her to open up. Did we get to see how her parents died during those briefs flashes? I'm thinking they might pull a Gundam 00 on us.

Originally Posted by Blaat

Indeed but until it hits the US Netflix most people won't. At the moment it's just anime fans willing to go old school who are watching this.

Honestly, I don't get what they stand to gain from withholding the anime from the rest of the world for 6+ months. It being available worldwide wouldn't have an impact on the views it gets on Netflix JP, would it? I get it's probably because they want to make dubs in as many languages as possible before releasing it, but it seriously sucks. Good thing we have some awesome fansubbers working on this.

[Irenesharda]

I just started this show last night and I'm really enjoying what I see so far. Makoto, Laurent, Abby, and all the rest of the gang. A modern-day Robin Hood tale that has quite a great appeal.

Spoiler for Arc 1:

I really loved this story arc. I had suspected "Paula" was in on the whole scheme since the episode started, I knew Laurent would have been on top of things and had his own inside man as well. So, I was expecting the twist, but it was still really cool to see it play out.

Meeting Edamura at the beginning of this arc, and seeing what kind of man he is. He grew so much over this small amount of time. In the beginning, he called himself the "best con-man in Japan" because he was basically the big fish in a tiny pond.

However, Laurent tricked him into leaving his tiny pond into a much bigger, global ocean, and he's now beginning to realize that he's not as good as he thought he was, and that there are much bigger fish out there, who can teach him a thing or two.

Laurent and his gang are really like Robin Hood and his Merry Band, and it will be cool to see Edamura being able to join that band and grow.

Spoiler for Arc 2:

I'm just starting this next arc in Singapore, but looking at it, it's going to be a character study on Abby, as the first arc was one on Edamura. She seems to have a pretty dark past as a child soldier, and she lost her family violently. We are currently conning two sexist, corrupt bros, so it will be interesting how that plays out in the future.
Poor Edamura, every time you think you're out....they pull you back in!

[Kanon]

Spoiler for episode 8:

Sam's misogyny is so off the charts that I can't help but be amused by his rants. I love hating him. Hope Cynthia will get to kick him in the balls before this arc is over.

Edamura is thinking that someone on Luis' team betrayed him, and I can only think of one suspect: his wife. Why would she stay with him afterward though? Perhaps she didn't know Sam would go this far and she's feeling guilt?

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Blaat

Indeed but until it hits the US Netflix most people won't. At the moment it's just anime fans willing to go old school who are watching this.

Not really - it's a huge hit for Netflix in Japan.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Just watched Episodes 9 and 10.

I loved it, the colours, the action, and the big heist.

But most of all:

Spoiler for Episodes 9 and 10:

The Edamura and Abby ship has sailed.

My brain's too fried from work, so I don't have many words left to spare. The caper was absolutely entertaining, adding yet another love note for Singapore as a destination for glitz and glamour.

Hard not to like that. I'm biased.

[Kanon]

Spoiler for episode 9 and 10:

Would I be giving Laurent too much credit if I assumed one of his goals was for Abby to confront and overcome her past? It seems like a big coincidence Luis just so happened to be the pilot who bombed her parents. Furthermore, it's been established by now that he doesn't just steal from bad guys, he helps their victims too (Salazar in the first arc, the lady who got sexually harassed and then laid out in the first episode of the second arc, and now Luis), so why wouldn't he help members of his team? He clearly saw the whole thing coming. This con doesn't seem like it was that lucrative given how much they had to invest too, especially compared to the first one.

Seeing Abby smile for real for the first time in 10 episodes was such a joy. Curious to find out how she'll treat Edamura from now on.

[Wandering Soul]

Spoiler for episode 9 and 10:

The heist was pretty good, Makoto and Abby's chemistry was the real highlight. Her smile was a nice treat and I'm intrested in seeing what her dynamic will be like with Makoto from now on.

[Nachtwandler]

I liked second arc a bit more than the first one despite the fact that it has far less twists. Though, I still think Makoto is to generic as MC. He makes a lot of dumb things.

[Irenesharda]

It's obvious by now that each arc is going to deal with one of our 4 core characters.

Spoiler for Ep. 11:

This new arc is now about Cynthia and her past in England. We have a snooty dirtbag of an auctioneer who has a personal connection to Cynthia. And we have a painting that's worth a lot more than you thought.

Poor Edamame, he still has so much to learn. But 25,000 Euros for a painting worth at LEAST 2M Euros! Jeez, man!
Edamura, if you're going to go out on your own, you should have at least taken Laurent's lessons to heart.
ALWAYS know all the angles and plan for them accordingly!
You should have known WAY more about the mark, about the painting, etc.
Now you've gotten shown up and you have ask your "hated" mentor for help.

I like that also, with Abby we see her progressing after her time in the last case. Though I find it weird that Edamura asks her about her parents and homeland. Didn't he know about that? What did he think Abby wanted to kill Luis for? Huh, that's just weird.

I'm also glad that they still act like just friends with no forced romance or anything.

Also props to the many languages presented here, my mild French got quite a workout!

[Blaat]

"You should do the same and go home to Korea"

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Not really - it's a huge hit for Netflix in Japan.

I was talking about western anime fans, but it's great to hear that it's a hit in Japan.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Irenesharda

It's obvious by now that each arc is going to deal with one of our 4 core characters.

Spoiler for Ep. 11:

I like that also, with Abby we see her progressing after her time in the last case. Though I find it weird that Edamura asks her about her parents and homeland. Didn't he know about that? What did he think Abby wanted to kill Luis for? Huh, that's just weird.

Spoiler for episode 11:

Edamura was never actually told about Abby's past. And he's not exactly the brighest bulb, so I'm not surprised he didn't manage to infer her parents are dead.

Given that Laurent was the one who found Edamura his new job and presumably the boarding house too, the whole thing reeks of another set up. He's being taken for a ride once again.

Abby looks really good with longer hair. She's definitely mellowed out too.

[Wandering Soul]

Spoiler for episode 11:

I actually forgot that Makoto doesn't know that Abby's parents are dead, though I feel like he should figured that out himself. Speaking of Abby, ste looks good
with longer hair.

Props to Makoto for at least trying to a con on his own but it looks like he'll have to crawl back to Laurent for help regardless.

[Kanon]

Spoiler for episode 12:

Cynthia's background was interesting (hey, her coworker was the woman she helped in ep 6). Her boyfriend was a really good guy who was apparently corrupted by Coleman. I guess Coleman had him take the fall for everything. Looks like he's still alive at least, since it's strongly implied they're going to rely on him to make a forgery of the Montoya.

Cynthia being a former aspiring actress makes a lot of sense.

[Irenesharda]

I really need the insert song from Episode 12. It is so sweet!

Spoiler for Ep 12:

I feel really bad for Cynthia and how her and her boyfriend's happiness was destroyed by this guy who corrupted what seemed like a pretty nice dude.
The two would have probably been dirt poor with her being an actress and him and painter, but they would have been sweet together.

I really hope now that they're older and wiser and richer, that the two will try again. And take out the other guy as well.

[TinyRedLeaf]

This series is getting better and better, and I'll go out on a limb and say it's easily the best show this season that not enough people are paying attention to. I've long been of the opinion that anime needs to expand its horizons and start incorporating broader sensibilities into original productions, instead of staying stuck in tropes and inside jokes that only the hardcore domestic subculture would enjoy.

Spoiler for Episode 13:

I loved the insert song for this episode, serving as the theme song for Cynthia and Thomas' relationship in the past. Ah, the bitter irony of having their roles and positions reversed some 10 years later, with Thomas going back to the downtrodden straight and narrow, while Cynthia became the con artist she hated to see him become.

Thomas is wrong on one point, though: Cynthia continues to be an actress. What is a con but an elaborate act? Just like him, Cynthia probably realised at some point that honest work alone is not good enough to put food on the table, and she got tired of it. I guess they're even. Just like another particular anime couple I've been rooting for this whole season, I doubt Cynthia and Thomas would get back together again. Too much has happened, and they're different people now. But I can hope, at least, that they'd be able to repair their friendship.

Props too to Abby this episode, allowing herself to be pawed by the sleazeball James for the sake of the con. Here's hoping she gets payback — and some "therapy" with Edamura after this job.

The fan-subbers of the version I watched went the extra mile to imagine how Edamura would be speaking in English slang (possibly with a Cockney accent, no less). That's a good call, given how Edamura is speaking with a noticeable low-class accent in Japanese, which I believe is meant to underscore his uncouth command of pidgin English.

Here's hoping, too, that the dub does justice to this tremendous title.

[Wandering Soul]

Spoiler for episode 12:

The insert song was beautiful and did a good job of selling Cynthia and Thomas's relationship. Those two have changed lot so I don't know about getting back together, but it would be nice if they at least became friends again.

[Anh_Minh]

I finished watching the first arc.

It was nice, but it felt too much like stuff that happened around and to the MC, and not enough stuff that the MC did.

Then again, when the MC does something, it's stealing money from old ladies or ruining a tourist's vacation, so maybe it's just as well.

[Irenesharda]

The series keeps getting better and better.

Spoiler for Ep. 13:

I feel so bad for Thomas and Cynthia and how they two ended up trading places because of the mistakes they both made earlier in their lives. I really love how that song, Someday, really plays well with both them falling in love as well as breaking apart.

I like that Thomas came to the realization of the impact of what he was doing by seeing what was happening to his paintings and then had to pay so much money to get those paintings back.

I honestly hope that this will be good for both Cynthia and Thomas and they can grow closer again someday.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

I finished watching the first arc.

It was nice, but it felt too much like stuff that happened around and to the MC, and not enough stuff that the MC did.

Then again, when the MC does something, it's stealing money from old ladies or ruining a tourist's vacation, so maybe it's just as well.

To be fair, that was kind of the point. You are introducing Edamame to this new world and showing him that he was basically a big fish in a small pond and now he's been thrown into the ocean. He continues to be the butt of the joke, but him bouncing off of all the much more knowledgable and worldly other characters like Laurent and Abby is half the fun.

He's the audience stand-in to help get us involved with the new underground world of conmen.

[Kanon]

Episode 13 was wonderful. Perfectly conveyed the feelings of Thomas and Cynthia.