Anime Series “Great Pretender” debuted on Netflix earlier this year with a second part being added in the last month. The series follows a group of conmen named Team Confidence as they take on four cons over the two seasons.
Stepping into the long-lasting debate on whether or not one should watch Subbed or Dubbed, the production studio decided that regardless of what the viewer picks the first 10 minutes of the Dub are unique, then after the 10 minutes are up the Dub turns on and the experiment is over.
The same thing applies to the Sub, the first 10 minutes are the same as the Dub then from then on out it’s just the Japanese Sub. Unfortunately, the entire series isn’t like the first 10 minutes.
The first half of the first episode created a truly realistic world where the top Japanese conman walking the streets of Japan, Edamura gets scammed by French con artist Laurent.
In the experimental 10 minutes, the interactions between the two men have Laurent speaking Japanese in a French accent. Then in a taxi ride, both men share a conversation spoken in broken English and Japanese. Each con artist speaking with their respective accents.
Every other anime character has their own distinct voice and characters from various countries aren’t a first there has never been a character from a foreign country to speak the language with their native accent. One could reasonably assume that a Frenchman speaking Japanese might have an accent so the efforts of the Wit Studio to create a real-world in the anime is a historic first.
From there, the season goes through the first case, a concentered in Los Angeles to introduce all the characters, the last three cases each have something in it to make it personal for the main members of Team Confidence.
Fans are hoping for a third season so the cons can continue but the ending has sent mixed messages. Many members of Team Confidence went their own way with Laurent being revealed as the newly elected president’s bodyguards, he appears to make a call during the president’s speech leading some to believe the next con involves the entire United States.
Additionally, a figure from Laurent’s past is revealed to be alive but suffering from amnesia, her memories are coming back piece by piece however, most of the pieces she remembers are from roles she has played in various con jobs.
While it was announced that it is a 23-episode series the success of it may mean a season three is on the horizon, after all, it was an original work done by Wit Studio so there wouldn’t have to be a licensing agreement with a manga author, just a broadcast deal.