The Black Swindler - Netlfix Series

Kurosagi - The Black Swindler (2022) FMV
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The characters in this show are a little confused.

This story is a little uneven, it is not as smooth as some shows. The story starts well before the show does when a father is defrauded of his life's savings. This so psychologically devastates him that he kills his whole family including himself. However, his son survives and sets out to take revenge on the man who swindled his father.

It seems that in Japan, where this story is set, swindling people is an industry with multiple players who are organized into a hierarchy. In order for Kurasaki (our hero) to get revenge on Minimoto (the villain), he has to work his way up, targeting other swindlers. All this is done under the direction of Kurosagi, the mild mannered sweet shop owner who is actually a lynch pin in the swindling industry. He provides two services for swindlers. Up front he provides an information package on the target for their scam and then he launders whatever loot they manage to collect. That's the major thread of this story.

There is also the problem with the police. The police won't investigate or arrest these criminals because it is almost impossible to convict them in court, so these fraudsters operate with impunity. The police are trying to take down our hero because his actions are making them look bad.

One of the first cases our hero deals with rescues a family very similar to his own that was on the brink of financial ruin. The college student daughter is set on becoming a prosecutor so she can deliver justice. Even though our hero has rescued her family, she condemns the way he took down the swindler - he swindled them.

So these two characters beating down on him is super annoying. Are they stupid, or is Japanese society that screwed up? I suppose it's no worse than what we have in America when an armed robber is shot in self defense and the victim is prosecuted for defending himself. Guns are bad, don cha know.

The show goes into lots of detail of how these scams are perpetuated. The scammers will hire halls, print up promotional materials, set up websites and then hire actors to pose as satisfied clients. Kind of reminds me of the movie The Sting with Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Of course, in that case our two swindlers were the heroes and the victim of their scam was a villain who deserved what he got.

Tech tidbit: when one guy goes to China for a meeting, both participants put in ear buds that translate the other speaker's words for them.