Tokyo Swindlers Review: Go Ayano Series is Memorable and Entertaining | Leisurebyte (2024)

This crime-drama series showcases a high-octane chase between law enforcement and a group of real estate swindlers who will stop at nothing before getting what they want. However, this time around, their target is their biggest yet, a 10 billion yen scheme that the highly skilled scam artists take great risks to negotiate withland owners and major developers who are desperate to repurpose land. The team consists of negotiator Takumi Tsujimoto (Go Ayano), leader Harrison Yamanaka (Etsushi Toyokawa), informer Takeshita (Kazuki Kitamura), legal advisor Goto (Pierre Taki) and impostor recruiter Reiko (Eiko Koike). Will the team be able to pull off this almost impossible task before they are caught?

The series is based on the novel Tokyo Swindlers by Ko Shinjo.

Don’t let the rather underwhelming CGI bear at the start of Tokyo Swindlers dissuade you from watching the series. Soon after Yamanaka gets rid of that bear at point-blank range, the real dangers start and viewers feel like they are a fly in the wall for a dangerous mind game that is taking place right in front of their eyes. The Japanese crime-drama series is a thrilling look into the life of crime and the thrills that a group of people chooses to live in, which are full of lies, secrets, and hidden agendas. We slowly unravel the personal vendettas of these people as they get deeper into their biggest scam yet, leaving us questioning everyone’s motivations.

I love the gritty and serious tone of the series and how the story is told. The voiceover explaining a scene, however, is a bit much and sometimes gives away too much without letting the audience explore the mystery on their own. The audience isn’t given a chance to understand the tricks and before they have a chance to go through the scene, we are told exactly how things are working out. That’s a bummer because it reduces the excitement of understanding the mechanics behind a heist but still, the wit remains constant and the scale at which the scams take place is nothing short of entertaining.

The emotions in the series range from emotional to thrilling and not once does Tokyo Swindlers stumble in the execution. The different elements in the film work together beautifully and create an experience that is nothing short of immersive. The different backstories and subplots work together extremely well and, in spite of being different, there’s a symmetry there that makes everything gel together exceptionally well. Director Hitoshi One mixes these elements and showcases it with a vibe that is nothing short of sinister and the heavy atmosphere leaves you feeling breathless throughout the runtime.

Go Ayano is so great in this series. Ayano’s Takumi is relentless, and fearless and has an electric vibe to him that is hard to ignore. Although he is a man of few words, there’s something about him that is so mysterious and magnetic that he sways you the moment he comes on-screen. Of course, we see his history in great detail quite early on but that doesn’t take away from any interest one might have in his character because of the way the actor portrays him. Etsushi Toyokawa is also great as the ringleader Harrison Yamanaka, who has his own sordid past to go through in the series. We see him a little less, but whatever we see is really disturbing. However, it’s Takumi’s show through and through and he enamours us in every scene. The action and the gore are great as well and the death scenes are too realistic and gnarly!

Tokyo Swindlers Review: Final Thoughts

Go Ayano’s Tokyo Swindlers is a fantastic watch that balances all of its elements like no other. You constantly sit at the edge of your seat wondering where we are going with the story and the heists take their time to pull their layers back, such that you stew in excited anticipation throughout the runtime of the crime-drama series.

All in all, the series is an engrossing entertainer that delivers its thrills right and doesn’t waste one moment behind fluff. This one is for those who love their crime dramas twisty and with their emotions.

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