'Great Pretender' anime features S'pore landmarks & scenery

Once again, in 2D.

Guan Zhen Tan | September 05, 2020, 06:36 PM

Singapore has served as an inspiration and has been referenced multiple times over the years in different anime.

Featured in Great Pretender

The latest anime to feature Singapore is Great Pretender.

Dubbed as a crime-comedy anime, the show stars protagonist Makoto Edamura, who is supposedly Japan's greatest swindler.

He attempts to pickpocket a foreigner, who turns out to be a French conman himself and has links to several international criminal organisations.

It premiered on July 8, 2020, although the first four episodes were released on Netflix ahead of its television debut on June 2.

It's hard to go into detail without spoiling the series, but long story short, the characters find themselves in Singapore seven episodes later.

Singapore is prominently featured from episodes seven to 10.

While there are some liberal interpretations of Singapore's scenery in some instances, such as the Gardens by the Bay "Sky Trees" being located in multiple places, most scenes are pretty much exactly how they appear in real life.

Here are some screenshots:

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Photo via VisitSingapore's Facebook post

Photo via VisitSingapore's Facebook post

Photo via VisitSingapore's Facebook post

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

Screenshot via Great Pretender on Netflix

More screenshots and detailed side by side comparisons of the anime with their real-life Singaporean counterparts can be seen in this Imgur album, as compiled by Reddit user funtimesayshi.

The first 14 episodes, covering three main arcs -- or "cases", as the show refers them -- are currently available for viewing on Netflix.

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Top image via VisitSingapore's Facebook post