The Black Swindler

Having read the whole manga 2 years ago (not an MAL member by then), and recently going through ts sequel, I wish to share an opinion of this manga after 2 years of condensing: this is an informative collection on operation and prevention of fraud techniques, but not a great story. Plot: 7 The plot is simple: Kurosaki, a young swindler vowed only to cheat money out of fellow swindlers, investigate them through victims of the swindlers or his boss Katsuragi (operating his own "Katsura bar" as a disguise), then approaches the swindlers and cheats money out of them by no less than the amount the victimsare cheated of. The 20-volume story is pretty independent between arcs, illustrating a wide variety of fraud methods, from domestic ones like prepaid beauty service contracts and sure-win lottery, to commercial ones like defrauding lending banks and insurance agencies. While the plot is fruitful to learn to beware of different loopholes in daily and commercial transactions that may bring in fraud, and demonstrating how some "proof" documents are easily forgible, the story pattern is admittedly repetitive. This is a major reason why I had to take a long break after the 20 volumes. Kurosaki's performance is also understandably limited to a simplified description of "phishing" and outwitting other swindlers. It would be outrageous to expect a published manga detailing step-by-step guidance on how to commit fraud (especially on professional fraudsters). The focus of the story, rather than intense battles of wits, tends towards educating the public to beware of the fraud techniques and how cruel the reality can be. Although the arcs are largely independent and episodic, an overarching plot line does exist between Kurosaki and Katsuragi, but has not been resolved in this story (resolved in the finale of the series). Characters: 6 Characters in this manga largely serve as device to show readers the plot. Kurosaki is almost the only common point between all the fraud arcs. He is practical, but also challenges other characters (law executors) as arrogant, which is quite a realistic opinion from the underworld (as the author also proclaimed to have worked as a swindler). Yoshikawa (female lead(?), a univeresity student studying law and aspiring to become a prosecutor) and Kashima (a young police officer, serving as a complete opposite of Kurosaki's values), while serving as the conventional main cast group (but appearance being less than often), tries to bring in the point of view of lawful citizens and executors of law. The only highlight is a debate between Kurosagi and Kashima on why they had chosen such different paths despite having similar back stories, but, unfortunately, Kurosagi failed to justify the merits of his chosen path, not to mention convincing readers of his choice. Certainly, such justification would unlikely be published on a manga. Art: 7 Typical 90s to 00s manga art-style, the regular cast and characters (victims, swindlers etc.) in the same arc are largely differentiable. Although the same cannot be said for one-off characters across different arcs, there is not any need for readers to do so. Enjoyment/ Overall: 7 Kurosagi only succeeds in being a fruitful casebook of fraud techniques, no matter in domestic or commercial contexts, by an author with proclaimed first-hand relevant underworld experience. Although published over 10 years ago, some fraud techniques are still prevalent nowadays, especially in Asian countries. An example is the re-emergence of "Ore Ore Sagi" (phoning victims and impersonating their acquaintences, and later claiming they have got into trouble and request victims to bail them out with a handsome sum of money). For shortcomings, it fails as a captivating story with persuasive characters, or any deep or inspiring discussions into the relation between lawfulness and righteousness. Kurosagi is a good read for readers interested in understanding operation and prevention of fraud, and perhaps even some operations of finance in real life. However, this niche market is likely the only group Kurosagi can capture and appeal to.