2020 was awful, but of the myriad shows that audiences flocked to for escape, one anime seemed to answer the wanderlust of every quarantined weeb more than most. Great Pretender was a story about con artists that spanned the globe, painted with heavy coats of mid-century modern style while feeling decidedly contemporary, something its long-awaited sequel carries on in stride.

Great Pretender: Razbliuto sees the glorious return of the same creative team, this time with a story centered on Dorothy, the former partner of Season 1's Laurent Thierry. Suffering from amnesia and living under the name Xiang Xiang, Dorothy finds herself in trouble when Taipei's criminal underworld discovers her and seeks retribution for a con she forgot she pulled.

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Less of a Sequel, More of an "Intermission"

Before release, details about Razbliuto were a bit scarce regarding what form this new adventure would take, whether it would be the first case in a new season or a self-contained film. After the recent limited theatrical release in North America, it turned out to be the latter; an intermission between Season 1 and whatever is going to come next. The story is fragmented into individual chapters, just like cases previously.

So, yes, it's a TV arc edited together like a movie, but to its credit, it works better than a lot of projects that edit together glorified TV episodes under the pretension of a theatrical event. It's a story that demands standing alone, as it's not one in which the protagonists are trying to run a con like in the main series. Rather, they're trying to survive the chaos caused by a con - a delicious framing for a story led by a former con artist.

Never Try to Con a Con-woman

Dorothy might lack her memories, but her instincts are just as sharp as if she remembered it all. This comes in handy when her adoptive mother is almost scammed by the first of Razbliuto's new main characters, Yang Kunyi - nicknamed Ai. Yang is a big oaf who will either come across as despicable or adorable depending on one's tastes, and his blackmail at the hands of Dorothy sets the story in motion.

Jay, Yang's friend and partner in crime, gets close to Dorothy to get rid of the blackmail. In the process, he suspects that she might have conned his father years back, Jay's father being Tsai, a boss in Taipei's underworld. Thus begins a spiral of mistaken identity, misinformation, and betrayal that brings Dorothy, Jay, and Yang together as they try to stay alive, with a tenuous trust between them wrapped up in complicated feelings.

Great Pretender's New Characters Soar

There are a lot of moving parts to Razbliuto's ambitious narrative, which makes it all the more impressive that it finds the time to endear the audience to the new cast so effortlessly. It's a testament to the character writing and the subtlety with which complex histories are explored through the smallest lines or flashbacks, potent with meaning.

Dorothy might have been in Season 1, but it's funny that it feels like the viewer is privileged to truly know her at a time when she hardly knows herself. Jay and Yang might bicker, but there's a genuine friendship despite their flaws and the strains they inflict on their bond. Even the character of Lin has an entertaining arc, constantly in conflict between his loyalty to his acquaintances and his opportunistic desire to rise through the ranks.

Razbliuto's Hidden Story Hurts The Main One

Sadly, the highs of Great Pretender's character-focused narrative amid such elaborate plotting serve to highlight the lows, which are at their strongest by the climax. Of all the characters that work well, there are two that feel severely underutilized. The first is Bingyan, who is established early on to be Jay's ex, and the second is Tsai, Jay's father.

It's one thing to have characters that aren't as fleshed out as the rest, but it's a big problem when they are so (supposedly) integral to one of the primary characters. For all its effective subtlety, Razbliuto can't quite make these two work, which hurts the climax. Worse yet, it's a side effect of how the film connects to the main series and the original protagonists.

This film is not so standalone that those unfamiliar with the series can hop right in. Those who were hoping to see Laurent or Edamura will be delighted to find that they are there, but in a reserved capacity; cameos, mostly. This was the right call, as it doesn't distract from Dorothy, Jay, and Yang's story. Unfortunately, the storyteller's restraint might have hurt Jay's character arc by withholding information that would have made Bingyan and Tsai more complete characters.

Despite that, Razbliuto is a very satisfying experience. The hour and thirty minutes fly by through a whirlwind of engaging twists and turns as numerous and carefully considered as a Coen Brothers film, though perhaps without as much black comedy. For all the maturity that is to be found in Great Pretender, there's a tendency for ridiculousness that can occasionally sour things, like Jay surviving a mishap that would have killed him in any other story. Then again...

Great Pretender Isn't Like Other Anime

The biggest blessing of this film was the loud reminder of how fantastic, fun, and utterly different this show was when it premiered in 2020, and how overdue it has been for a continuation. Its artwork alone is masterful. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto has created character designs for the likes of Evangelion, FLCL, and .hack, yet his work on Great Pretender might be the peak of his career. His designs aren't just striking, but endlessly expressive and remarkably diverse as well.

But then there's the background art, which somehow manages to ground the setting in reality while simultaneously painting over it with this abstraction of bright colors and stark shadows. No anime since perhaps 2007's Mononoke has captured reality through such thoughtful, abstract color design. Director Hiro Kaburagi and the team at Wit knocked it out of the park (again).

In recent memory, there's been some trepidation regarding Wit Studio's future, from their dabbling in A.I. to their working on a remake of the still-ongoing One Piece. And it's worth asserting that these concerns are NOT rooted in some doubt as to the studio's prowess. Quite the opposite is true. Wit Studio does incredible work and Great Pretender is a loud, proud, and colorful testament to what they are capable of.

The fear, then, is that Wit might be about to shoot itself in the foot by committing to a gargantuan adaptation. Again, Great Pretender isn't like other anime, and for that reason, Wit Studio must continue to be able to produce anime as creative and original as this one. Thankfully, if the "intermission" tagline is to be taken as a promise, this series will continue at the very least.

Great Pretender: Razbliuto is not the second season fans have been hoping for, but it's exactly as good as they deserved after waiting so long. Even with a mostly new cast, it feels like the show never ended, and it should make the wait for whatever comes next even more exciting. Were the climax a bit better, it would easily rank among the best moments of Season 1.

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5

Great Pretender: Razbliuto is now streaming on Crunchyroll.

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