Great Pretender’s lead character is Makoto “Edamame” Edamura. Due to bad circumstances, he is forced into the criminal underworld and often pickpockets and connives with others to make a livelihood. He discovers he is being duped one day when defrauding a tourist who appears to be gullible. He is currently on the police forces’ wanted list, which makes the problem worse.
He runs into the same tourist again as he flees from the police. The tourist is actually Laurent Thierry, another con artist. Together with Laurent, Makoto flees to Los Angeles. Makoto challenges Laurent to a contest to identify the Japanese Greatest Swindler because he admires Laurent’s cunning. Competition is high since their aim is the West Coast’s largest mafia leader.
The animation, which is currently making its way from city to city, examines Makoto’s endeavours with Laurent and his intriguing colleagues, all within the vile world of high-stakes fraud. When Makoto’s professed abilities are continually challenged, his persona occasionally experiences turmoil.
1. Lupin III
The anime follows the adventures of Arsene Lupin III, the grandson of the infamous former burglar Arsene Lupin. The most skilled thief in the world right now is Lupin III, who is renowned for announcing his intentions before to taking priceless items. Always leaving a calling card for the proprietors, he later commits the crime with ease.
The most reliable ally and Lupin III’s right-hand guy is Daisuke Jigen. Daisuke is a skilled shooter who can flawlessly hit a target in under 0.3 seconds. Despite the fact that occasionally Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a master swordsman, and Fujiko Mine, Lupin III’s potential love interest, are with them, they always work together in every endeavour. Fujiko frequently utilises her seduction to entice Lupin to steal the wealth for her personal benefit, but Goemon’s sword is renowned for cutting through anything one can imagine.
Lupin and his gang are persistent Inspector Koichi Zenigata of the ICPO targets because of their notoriety. Koichi’s life goal is to catch Lupin no matter what. The jealous rival crooks who pursue Lupin make the anime more fascinating.
2. Banana Fish
Runaway Aslan Jade Callenreese, also known as Ash Lynx, resides on the streets of New York City. Later, he is chosen by Dino Golzine, a legendary godfather, and fostered by him. As the protagonist, Ash is a 17-year-old who is the boss of his own gang. He discovers a strange medicine called “Banana Fish.” Strangely, when his older brother Griffin returned from the Iraq War, he had already told him the name.
When Dino instructs his men to steal the drug from Ash, who is presently living in an underground pub, the situation becomes problematic as Ash begins to look into the unusual drug.
Ash meets Shunichi Ibe and Elji Okumura, two Japanese photographers who document the way of life of American street gangs, at the bar. Dino’s men enter and rush the bar, disrupting their meeting. They accidentally abduct Skip (Ash’s friend) and Elji in the midst of the commotion.
Ash now has to complete two crucial tasks. He must first save Skip and Elji. Second, he must ascertain “Banana Fish’s” truth. Will he be successful in his endeavour taking into account his previous relationship with Dino?
3. Cowboy Bebop
Humans moved to rocky planets and moons in the Solar System after a collision with a hyperspace gateway rendered the Earth uninhabitable. The anime takes place in 2071. Due to the exponential increase in crime, the ISSP legalised contract system was created (Inter Solar System Police).
Bounty hunters, often known as “Cowboys,” who pursue and apprehend criminals in exchange for a reward are registered with ISSP.
The series’ central figure, Spike Spiegel, is a bounty hunter and a former hitman for the criminal organisation Red Dragon Syndicate. Along with Edward Wong, a hacker, Jet Black, a former ISSP agent, Faye Valentine, and Ein, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi with outstanding human intellect, he works as a team.
The anime delves into their traumatic pasts and misfortunes that frequently leave them destitute. The show also heavily relies on their prior mishaps. These cover a variety of topics, like why Jet quit the ISSP, why Faye had to freeze herself after an accident on Earth, and much more.
4. Durarara!!
Mikado Ryugamine has always wanted to live in the city, and when his friend Masaomi Kida invites him over, his wish comes true. They had been childhood friends and are now getting together.
Masaomi tells Mikado about the criminal gangs and individuals strewn around the city when they are touring its streets, including Shizuo Heiwajima, Izaya Orihara, and a mysterious gang known as “The Dollars.” Along with all of this, there is the urban legend of the headless Black Rider, who frequently neighs like a horse while riding a black motorcycle through the streets. Mikado ultimately gets his goal when he sees him on his first day of school.
The Black Rider, whose real name is Celty Sturluson, is a woman who is actually out searching for her head, which was stolen. She additionally works as a clandestine courier.
Each character’s life is thoroughly covered in the anime narration. As the tale develops, additional supernatural occurrences begin, adding to the overall plot. According to the knowledge of various characters, these events are depicted in various ways. It’s definitely worth watching because of the original plot.
5. Super Crooks
Another anime that resembles the Great Pretender in some ways is Super Crooks. They both depict various cases or heists, hence the genre is comparable. It draws inspiration from the Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu action comic book series. It debuted on Netflix in 2021 with thirteen excellent episodes that Motonobu Hori brilliantly directed.
6. Bungou Stray Dogs
18-year-old Atsushi Nakajima is a young adult who resides in an orphanage. He is the only person who has seen the supernatural tiger that frequents their orphanage. Nobody else has heard of such a being, therefore Atsushi is assumed to be responsible for the odd occurrences there. He is expelled from the orphanage and left on his own to traverse the city and starve to death.
Atsushi discovers a detective named Osamu Dazai who is ostensibly drowning in the water while wandering along a riverside. He discovers that it is Dazai, who has the extraordinary ability to transform into a white tiger under the night, after saving the eccentric detective.
Atsushi is permitted to work for Dazai’s organisation, which hires people with supernatural prowess to solve enigmatic crimes that fall outside the purview of the police. Atsushi’s life now takes an exciting turn as he works with his mysterious coworkers to solve unusual situations. He now faces a greater issue, though, as the Port Mafia group has made him one of their top targets.
The anime has a lot more to offer, but you can only learn about it by watching it on your own. When Atsushi battles the mafia and discovers unbelievable supernatural facts, things take an intriguing turn.
7. Black Lagoon
The only other anime that could have taken the top spot was Black Lagoon. You’ll notice when you switch to it that it is fairly similar to the Great Pretender.
Thailand’s Roanapur is a crooked city with a high crime rate. Even the government and churches are now entangled in the web of corruption because of how bad the city has gotten. It is a centre for publicly carried out illicit operations that are supported by neighbourhood gangs.
Rokurou Okajima is a typical businessman in Japan who is sick of living a routine existence. To speed up his business, he receives an offer for a delivery trip to Southeast Asia.
His ambitions are quickly dashed, though, when he is taken prisoner by the mercenary organisation Black Lagoon, which operates in Roanapur. His business trip has ended, and the gang is now using him as a negotiating chip, but their efforts are unsuccessful.
Rokurou’s former employer betrays him and abandons him. Because of the situation, he reluctantly decides to join Black Lagoon. He must immediately adjust to the new environment and pick up the pace to face upcoming hardship and slaughter if he is to survive.
High-octane thriller Black Lagoon provides nonstop enjoyment. It probes the depths of morality and mankind. It’s interesting to see how Rokurou develops from a hapless businessman to a cunning mercenary.