# The Black Swindler (2006)

> A vigilante con man swindles criminals to avenge his father and the family a mastermind destroyed.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/32048

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 11
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Takeshi Natsuhara
- Network: TBS
- Cast: Tomohisa Yamashita, Maki Horikita, Yui Ichikawa, Koji Kato, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Shiro Kishibe, Ryosei Tayama, Nana Yanagisawa
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0824021/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, calculating, brooding

## What critics say

Critics and viewers generally regard it as a slickly made, entertaining con-artist drama whose clever schemes and lead performance outweigh its formulaic episode structure.

## Synopsis

The Black Swindler (2006) is a Japanese TBS crime drama adapted from a manga by Takeshi Natsuhara. Tomohisa Yamashita plays Kurosagi, a vigilante con artist who swindles criminals to set right their misdeeds, driven by the ruin of his father, who attempted suicide after being deceived by the mastermind Toshio Katsuragi, played by Tsutomu Yamazaki. The engine of the show is a patient cat and mouse contest: each episode builds an elaborate financial con against a corrupt target, while the protagonist's personal grudge against Katsuragi lurks beneath every scheme. The single eleven-episode season is one continuing story rather than a case of the week. Set in contemporary Japan, its tone is tense and brooding, with a cool, calculating register and moments of quiet emotional weight. Viewers who enjoy Lupin the Third, Breaking Bad or Mr. Robot will find resonance in its clever schemes, moral ambiguity and the slow pleasure of watching a con unfold.

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