But bad jokes aside this has to be one of the most fun experiences I’ve had while watching an anime. After finishing the first arc of this show I knew this would be one hell of an experience.
Firstly, the art style for this show is gorgeous. I usually don’t comment on the art style and animation when it comes to series because I don’t really know enough about it to make specific comments. If it’s bad I’ll comment on it but as long as it’s good looking and doesn’t take me out of the show I won’t really comment on it. However this is a special case since this is the most unique artstyle I’ve seen in an anime. Everything has this sharp, angular, and patternized look to it. Every backdrop has so many incarnate details to it. Not to mention this show is just so colorful. It’s nice too that every country has a unique color palette and style to it, it really gives the show character. Each frame just looks like it had a lot of care and passion put into it and I loved it.
The soundtrack is amazing too. Going with the stylized animation, the soundtrack has this nice jazz sound to it which adds character to the show as a whole. It really gives off that fun heist feeling to it and even the songs with lyrics used fit well in the series too. As I said before, each setting feels unique in their own way and the soundtrack compliments that nicely. And of course anything with Freddie Mercury in it is bound to be amazing.
The actual schemes pulled by the confidence men are nothing short of phenomenal. They all feel so different and unique from one another from both location to scheme. They’re just so fun. One of the highlights of this show is just watching the pieces connecting and watching these large schemes unravel. Every twist genuinely took me by surprise and by the end of each of the arcs I would always let out one of those “oooohhhh”’s. I was invested and confused in the right places. There was a lot of thought and detail put into these plans and in the end it all made sense and made me realize details and connect points I didn’t before.
What makes them even better is the fact that they have a personal stake in them. Each one of the targets/schemes focuses on one of the main cast members giving not only a reason to be invested in the schemes but you also get to learn about the characters past and motivations. Honestly I was shocked how many heartfelt moments were in this show such as Edamame’s conversations with his mom, learning Abby’s backstory, Cynthia and her relationship with the artist, and Laurent and Dorthy. Whenever the show wasn’t showing these schemes there was a lot of these genuinely bittersweet backstory moments which shows the characters backstories and as I said, they really did sell me on these characters. Having these characters come to terms with their past and accept/forgive themselves were up there with the schemes as being up there as some of the best moments of the show.
However, one glaring flaw that I think holds this show back is the fact that, to me, I feel like outside of their respective arcs these characters don’t have much agency in the story. When they’re not the center of the arc it just feels like they’re background characters or a piece to the puzzle rather than actual people. The only two this doesn’t apply to is Edamame and Laurent Abigail is probably the worst example of this because I remember being invested in her arc only for her to not really have anymore big moments outside of it. In the end I don’t really feel like they changed or evolved at all which may make some people dislike them but I’m not really mad about this fact because at least they all got a proper conclusion. Don’t get me wrong, whenever these characters do get the proper attention they’re great and very likable I just wish they ended up feeling more like people consistently than everyone and awhile.
Still overall, this show just oozes care, charisma, and passion. So much care and detail was packed into this story from start to finish. Every episode was engaging and I never found myself bored at all. Most importantly, this show is just fun. If anything I can guarantee you’ll just have fun with this show which is the most important thing in my opinion.
