Every once in a while, it's possible to get tired of the usual story of good versus bad and instead wish for a story a little more unconventional. Here is where the tale of the con job steps in; smart and snappy, relying on twisted morality and an absence of the traditional storytelling rules. A good con requires a different sort of protagonist and one that maybe isn't a hero at all.
They might be smug, ruthless, unlikeable antiheroes who we really shouldn't root for. Yet it's delightful to watch them pull one over on the authority. Whether that authority is the police, the mafia, or maybe even an entire country. Their goals can also vary from gaining riches to simply the ruination of an enemy. For those who can't get enough of the tricksters stealing the spotlight, here are six anime to check out.
Joker Game
Set on the brink of World War II, Joker Game is the collection of stories from a new spy ring known as 'D Agency'. It follows the men employed for their various talents are assigned around the world on various missions to collect the world's most valuable currency--information. With individual stories assigned to the agents, Joker Game maintains a serious approach to the world of espionage, never delving into the adrenaline-packed adventures of a James Bond or Jason Bourne persona yet maintaining the same tense atmosphere with the highest of stakes.
D Agency is born from the labors of Lieutenant Colonel Yuki, a retired spy who has failed to earn respect in the military for his 'cowardly' tactics. The same tactics would later be passed onto the eight men of D Agency. Along with the eight spies is a man appointed by general headquarters to monitor D Agency, Lieutenant Sakuma, who comes as close to a protagonist that the series gets as he realizes just how complicated the games being played around him truly are and how much the men of D Agency are risking. As the world moves towards another global conflict, the con jobs and heists the spies must pull off become all the more serious, and not all of them manage to make it back home alive.
Joker Game can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Baccano!
The fact that this anime's namesake comes from the Italian word for 'ruckus' should be telling in how much it deviates from the atmosphere of Joker Game, but this show--set primarily in the American Prohibition era--is much more than just a ruckus. An immortality elixir is at stake, but as if power-hungry alchemists aren't enough, Baccano! likes to throw in the mafia, two inept thieves, and a transcontinental train known as the Flying Pussyfoot. As alliances fly fast and loose and sometimes aren't tied down at all, Baccano! provides con job over con job where no one can be trusted and everything is all the better for it. To avoid spoiling too much of the plot, Baccano! is probably a show best to simply start watching with the promise that boredom is not an option.
Baccano! can be rented on Youtube.
Terror in Resonance
What if, what seemed like a simple terrorist attack was much more than that once true motivations began to be revealed? Mishima Lisa finds herself bound up with a pair of terrorists known as 'Sphinx' after they save her from the building they blew up, and once she begins to know the teenage boys for more than their terrorist personas, it becomes overwhelmingly clear that the merry game they are leading police on is much more than destructive impulse. They are looking to overturn the country and get revenge for events long since passed, and Lisa is now a part of it, whether she likes it or not. When Sphinx themselves become the target of another con artist who might be a match for their skills, everything is thrown off the rails with the three geniuses, and Lisa in the middle, all trying to outsmart the others before it's too late. This original anime from Studio Mappa is a triumph in animation, score, and storytelling, with a plot that will keep viewers rapt along the entire way.
Terror in Resonance can be streamed on Funimation.
91 Days
The plan is simple: Infiltrate the Vanetti mafia family, earn their trust, and then murder Vincent Vanetti for killing your family seven years ago. Sure, Angelo Lagusa's plan is simple and straightforward, but nothing ever stays that way for long in a world of forbidden liquor and mobster families. Angelo needs to hope that no one realizes he's the one little boy who got away that night the Lagusa family was murdered because then there's no way his revenge plot will ever come to fruition. But that becomes more and more difficult as he's forced closer into the family business and nearer to Nero Vanetti, the one who didn't pull the trigger. Though also set in the American Prohibition era, 91 Days is a much more grim take on the times than Baccano!, as questions of family, allegiance, and the price of revenge come into play on the backdrop of betrayal and lawlessness of Prohibition in a city where bloodshed is simply a matter of cleaning up the stains.
91 Days can be streamed on HBO Max.
Super Crooks
One of Netflix's more recent releases, Super Crooks is an amusing blend of the modern superhero genre and the con job, presenting a world of superheroes that is fresh and fun with engaging new powers and creative ways of using them. If the strength of a con lies in the cleverness of its masterminds, throwing superpowers into the mix is a sure way to spice up how both the con job and the powers have to operate, providing a story with truly unforeseen moments. Johnny Bolt just has to pull off one last heist and then he can retire from being a small-time villain and live happily and anonymously with his girlfriend, Kasey. It's a pity that Johnny can't seem to pull off a single successful con job with the sort of superheroes he and his ragtag group of villains are up against. But Kasey has an idea for a con this time, one that could truly be their ticket to happiness, and Johnny has never been one to turn down a challenge.
Super Crooks can be streamed on Netflix.
Akudama Drive
Flashy, fun, and featuring some fantastic cyberpunk world-building, Akudama Drive is the classic con team thrown together by fate and held together by the promise of a big payday. The anime is dedicated to its premise, not even assigning names to the members of the team, referring to them as their roles--Courier, Doctor, and Hacker being a few. Ordinary Person is even dragged along for the ride. That dedication to the genre pays off majorly as the show's plot complicates and then races for an adrenaline-laced finale that is truly unforgettable. Fans of anime with social commentary and a cool cyberpunk style with also likely enjoy this one, so if Psycho-Pass or Ghost in the Shell were particular favorites, Akudama Drive is a must-see.
Akudama Drive can be streamed on Funimation.
The story of a con job is almost always filled with sudden twists, unexpected allies, and villains, as well as a cast of abnormal protagonists who don't fit the heroic mold. The fact it isn't as common as the dichotomy of good and bad is what makes it so exciting, and yet if it were to become more common, the novelty would wear off, making the con stories we have all the better for it, the heists all the more satisfying. For those who live for some good betrayals, plans gone awry, plans pulled off to perfection, and perhaps a car chase or two, the six anime above are certainly worth checking out.
