Jimenshitachi

I thought this series was one of the best Asian drama series I've seen on Netflix since Squid Game. It features some amazing actors. Not a dud among the entire very large cast. One huge problem though: The voice dubbing actors for Harrison the ring leader and the guy who plays the swindleing attorney, aren't consistently convincing and come across as over-striving amateurs. Takumi's voice actor may be reasonably cool, but these 2 bad dub actors render the English dub version virtually unwatchable by the middle point of episode 1. So that being said, I'm reviewing the original Japanese with English subtitles "Tokyo Swindlers" from this point onward. The ever impressive Go Ayano stars as Takumi, a cat loving swindler with PTSD who acts as an inscrutable foil to a psychopath mentor mastermind (who could be the devil himself he's so evil). How this series is not higher rated may have to do with its raw treatment of some very dirty business and a continual flow of of violent repugnant weirdoes with sick execution fetishes. Bottom line is this series is SO not for the squeamish and/or those who watch crime shows to root for one heroic protagonist who miraculously dodges every bullet. Special props to the theme music composer Takkyu Ishino. His claustrophic techno-pop is perfect for biting your nails to while you watch each adrenaline-laced scam unfurl. (And if you get hooked on Ishino's theme music like I did, watch the credits at the end of every episode for 4 full minutes of its trance-inducing vibe.)

I was initially impressed by the production quality, screenplay and writing which dared to pull off twists which stir the emotions and keep you wondering what happens next. That and it was a fresh take on Japanese dramas which didn't have the usual anime-derived dramatisations.

However holes start to appear when it appears certain characters are so omnipresent but yet oblivious where the plot armour resides.

Then the season finale slips on its own banana peel in the last episode. There were so many unrealistic interactions as some characters and sequences suddenly suffer from the usual prolonging, dramatisations and silliness to force the series to end on a certain note and pave the way for a money grabbing 2nd season.

Rest assured it did not get my thumbs up from the choices given after the show ended.

Everything stated so well as a 'con man' or heist series, there the right mix of suspense, wit, character development and fun in the series. You really wonder what happened to the con men that turn them into con men. You start caring for the characters cause they're not paper thin single dimensional characters. Things are going well in the first 5 or 6 episodes.

Then it fell apart really quick in the last 2 episodes. As if they're told they have to wrap it up all of a sudden, the series got really dumb in a hurry. Plot conveniences, irrational thinking, rushed pace... It would have been so much better if they stopped after 6 episodes and leave the rest in season 2. It was still worth the time to watch but it really fell apart towards the end.

This story is based on a real crime happened in 2017 in Tokyo. The criminal group was much bigger than in the TV series, but mostly the stories are real and it's well performed. The guy in charge (Harrison Yamanaka in the TV series) was a legendary land swindler in real story, and he committed so many real estate sales frauds in the past like in the TV series. It is an interesting show to watch.

I was not crazy about some fictional parts because some parts are so unrealistic like hitting by a car suddenly...etc.

But I enjoyed the castings and the series overall.

Btw, those criems are still actively going on in Japan 2024.

I made an IMDb account specifically to review this show. I haven't watched such a gripping drama in a long time, and as an English native I honestly wasn't expecting a Japanese thriller no less. The pacing, the exposition, character development, lead actors; all top tier. At times the acting was alittle bit faked and overboard; but those moments are literally only 1min out of 420 min.

I think what works so well is how episode 1 is basically all you need: it summarises the MO of the entire series. The rest of the series then builds on this MO slowly, adding complexities and plot junctures that keep you clicking on the next episode.

Brilliant show.