WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of Great Pretender, now streaming on Netflix.
Great Pretender has a number of highlights. Its English dub is one of the best around, its art style is absolutely stunning and it has a compelling crime heist narrative to boot. One of its best aspects, and something many anime fans may end up skipping, however, is its opening credits sequence (OP) and end credits (ED).
Filled with jazzy music, smooth transitions, Freddie Mercury's "Great Pretender" and singing cats, the opening and ending themes for Great Pretender are not only unforgettable but also call back to the narrative of the series as well.
Great Pretender's instrumental jazz OP, composed by the series music composer, Yutaka Yamada, instantly sucks viewers into the pop-art world of the series. It is based on the plot of its series, and in mostly chronological order, too. It begins with Edamura falling off the title sign with bills flying out of his wallet, thus referencing the fake wallet scheme he tries to pull on Laurent. Edamura ends up losing in that scenario and thus follows Laurent all the way to Los Angeles.
As the OP cuts from the police car chase to the second case in Singapore it changes its focus to the exciting plane races the second arc centered on. Following this, it cuts to a shot of Cynthia in London, before zooming out to reveal this is a painting up for auction and referencing the Snow in London painting that is key to the third case of the series.
The last stretch of Great Pretender largely takes place on Akemi's private yacht. As the boat sails away through the night, mahjong pieces fall below. In the final case, it was revealed that this scheme, targeted towards Liu and Akemi, all had its start thanks to Laurent beating Liu at mahjong, so it's fitting those pieces would appear in the OP. The pieces also fall down into the water, an indicator of how this heist ended up failing for Laurent. Finally, the OP cuts back to Makoto hanging on the Hollywood sign before getting cut off, a callback to the opening scene of the show.
Aside from following the plot of the series, the OP also includes motifs that become important in the series as well. Cats are a common symbol throughout the show and are likely tied to themes of luck and chance, with one cat in this opening sequence popping out of a Gachapon capsule. Those Gachapon toys are ones Edamura is particularly fond of, as he likes to collect many of the figures he wins from those machines and shows them off constantly.
One shot that is a nice hint towards Edamura's future endeavors is the coffee cut-in between the end of Case 1 and the start of Case 2 in the OP. In the end, Edamura decides to travel the world to learn about coffee. He learns it was one of his passions and wishes to make others happy with his creations. It's a nice dream to aspire to, and one that appears to be hinted at during this segment of the OP.
The ending sequence of Great Pretender both references the show and also pays homage to the ED singer as well. Freddie Mercury's cover of The Platters' "The Great Pretender" has many sequences in its music video, especially at the start, that greatly match the ED of Great Pretender. Notably, the ED replaces all the people with cats. But also not without reason. Freddie Mercury was actually a huge fan of cats, having owned 10 of them, with one even named Dorothy.
Aside from this loving homage, the cat imagery also connects to the cat motif that is commonly used throughout the show. Cat figurines like maneki-neko are often used to bring about good luck, wealth and customers, which are aspects of the life Edamura and other characters in the series greatly desire. The ED's imagery could connect to the lyrics of the song, too, which follows heartbreak and a man smiling through the pain. It is similar to Laurent's own situation regarding his relationship with Dorothy, but also similar to Edamura's as well.
In Edamura's case, he has been living life as an orphan but still respects his parent's wishes, notably his mother's, greatly desiring to please them and essentially "pretending" that they are still around. One last item to note is the coat of the cat in the ED. It resembles the pattern of a tie Laurent gifts Edamura, so it is possible this cat is meant to represent him.
The OP and ED of Great Pretender are expertly crafted, hinting at multiple story beats and adding to the themes and motifs of the series, making them essential experiences for any watcher of the series.
