Tokyo Swindlers is a high-stakes crime drama set against the glittering backdrop of Tokyo. At its core is Harrison Yamanaka, a cunning and ruthless mastermind who assembles a team of skilled con artists to execute a series of audacious land scams. Among them is Takumi Tsujimoto, a haunted figure whose past failures have fueled a desperate ambition for redemption.
Together, this shadowy ensemble weaves an intricate web of deceit, employing forgery, manipulation, and psychological warfare to orchestrate elaborate frauds. Starting small, their schemes grow increasingly complex and lucrative, painting a picture of effortless success. However, as their empire of deception expands, so too does the scrutiny of the law. Detectives Tatsu and Kuramochi, relentless in their pursuit of justice, begin to close in on the swindlers.
What follows is a cat-and-mouse game of epic proportions, filled with unexpected twists and turns. The pressure cooker environment of their illegal enterprise eventually boils over as greed, paranoia, and betrayal erode the fragile alliances within the group. Friendships are shattered, and loyalties are tested as con artists find themselves in a desperate fight for survival.
This article contains spoilers.
Tokyo Swindlers (Season 1) Episode 1 Recap:
The first episode of “Tokyo Swindlers” opens in a forest somewhere. Harrison Yamanaka is seen hanging out with an Englishman who asks Harrison what he does for a living. Harrison replies, “Land swindler” in Japanese. A bear eats another man, and Harrison cocks his rifle. Hearing the noise, the bear runs towards Harrison, but Harrison kills the bear and is thrilled. Now, in Japan, Harrison converses with Takumi Tsujimoto, who suffered because of a land swindler, and asks Takumi to join hands to become a land swindler himself so he can put someone else in misery.
In post-war Japan, land swindling became prominent. Eventually, the government took measures to make it difficult. However, the crimes began to surge during the late 1980s and early 90s when real estate values increased. After a while, this also reduced because everything started to get digitized, making it challenging to forge documents. Later, land swindlers got an opportunity during the Olympic Games in Japan.
Is Harrison back committing Land Swindling?
In 2017, police visited a building and found the owner’s skeleton inside the house. The officers Shimomura Tatsu and Okubo were investigating the case. The case is dismissed as not being a criminal activity as there isn’t much evidence to prove otherwise. Now, Harrison has a team specializing in one area to commit to land swindling. Reiko is in charge of prepping an imposter in place of the actual owner to deal with the buyer. The person getting trained is Sasaki. He now has a new identity, Shimazaki Kenichi.
The man is old and without relatives, so it is easy for the swindlers to deal with him. Goto acts as the broker to negotiate with the buyer. Before leaving for the meeting with the buyer, Takumi shows the forged and duplicate documents to Harrison for approval. Harrison hands Takumi something for safety. Meanwhile, Okubo and Shimomura look through Harrison’s profile and wonder if he is back in business. Previously, Harrison was arrested and sent to prison for five years, after which Harrison maintained a low profile.
What happens during the meeting with the buyers?
To make this scam successful, Goto chose a new company called Mike Homes, which makes it easier to scam. However, Goto drives a hard bargain, making it seem like the property they are selling is asked by other prominent companies. Desperate, the man offers 1 billion to buy the property on one condition: they must meet Shimazaki Kenichi in person, and Goto agrees. To avoid getting caught, Harrison’s team only brought Shimazaki on the final day, and Ishiguro from Mike Homes checked all the documents before proceeding.
However, there is a roadblock when Ishiguro asks about Shimazaki Kenichi’s favorite supermarket near his property. Luckily, Takumi is prepared for it. He uses a distraction and plugs a hearing piece into Shimazaki’s ear, and Harrison gives the answers for Shimazaki to repeat. Once the payment is made, Harrison’s team will leave.
As expected, Mike Homes incurred a loss. They got a notice from the authorities that it was a fraudulent transaction. Meanwhile, Harrison is ambitious and greedy and wants to do more significant projects. Takeshita, the informer, has a place in mind and takes the group to a location. The plot is next to Kouan-ji temple, and the owner is a nun refusing to sell for a long time. However, the team prepares to commit the crime. Meanwhile, Sasaki is killed, and Harrison enjoys watching the clip of Sasaki’s murder. Ultimately, Harrison asks Takumi to be careful with the other team members, and Takumi looks around the property.
Tokyo Swindlers (Season 1) Episode 2 Recap:
The episode begins with the authorities realizing the seal on the application papers submitted by Mike Home is fake. The authorities send the notice to Mike Homes, making Maki, the owner, frantic. At the police station, Tatsu has a new partner, Kuramochi, who is excited to learn from Tatsu. Later, Tatsu hears about Mike Homes’ case and visits Maki with Okabu and Kuramochi at Maki’s office. At the office, Maki loses all hope when he is told that there is a chance that he won’t be getting his billion yen. However, the police have Goto and Harrison’s identities, but they can’t do much unless they catch the whole team.
What do the swindlers know about the buildings near Kouan-ji temple?
Meanwhile, everyone is on vacation, and Harrison and Takumi spend time hunting. At night, Takumi is lost in thought about how his father had set fire to his house, killing Takumi’s entire family. After the vacation, the team gathers and prepares to sell the new property. The temple was built during the Edo period. The owner is Natsumi Kawai, a resident nun who lives alone in the temple. There is a rehab center on the land. The owner was Kawai’s ex-husband, who had eloped with one of the inmates because the government found out about what was happening. The problem is that Kawai spends days and nights inside the property, making it difficult to sell.
So, Takumi has an idea to stake out the place to find a loophole that can help their plan. However, Takeshita is rude towards Harrison, demanding more money to learn about the property and Kawai. Meanwhile, a real estate company called Sekiyo House faces a problem in cracking a deal, and Aoyagi is pressured to fix the problem. At the same time, Tatsu and Kuramochi find a lead on Takumi when they visit his previous residence.
What does Takumi learn about Kawai?
As planned, Takumi keeps an eye on Kawai for a week, and nothing unusual happens except one night. Takumi is dressed in modern attire and leaves the premises in a taxi. At the same time, Takeshita gets Kawai and the temple’s bank statements and sees that Kawai receives money consistently every month. In a flashback, we also learn that Takumi used to be a driver for escort girls. One day, he meets Harrison because Harrison almost killed the escort girl. Seeing Takumi revive the girl, Harrison is impressed and gives his card, asking to reach out if Takumi is ever in trouble.
Meanwhile, Aoyagi tries to get help from shady brokers, but the process does not go well. Upset, Aoyagi stops to take a leak near a parking lot and is curious as he sees the land. Now that Kawai leaves the premises, Takumi follows her and reaches a hotel. However, Takumi can’t see what’s happening in her room, so he asks one of his contacts to give him access to allow Takumi to enter any hotel room by cracking the security. Once Takumi enters the room, he hears Kawai in the adjacent room having sex with multiple men.
Tokyo Swindlers (Season 1) Episode 3 Recap:
The episode begins with the Head of the Real Estate Development Division, Aoyagi, bringing his colleagues to the parking lot and asking them to gather more information about Kawai. Meanwhile, inside the temple, Kawai is chanting and thinking about the time she had sex with multiple men. When Takumi was at the hotel, he planted a camera on the room service trolley. Now, the team is watching what Kawai was doing that night.
Through the video, Takumi discovers that Kawai made Kaeda the number one host, and they can use him to get to Kawai. As the plans go ahead, Takeshita is causing trouble, demanding a more significant cut from Harrison in his meth-induced state. When Goto stops Takeshita, he leaves in anger. Furthermore, Goto tells Harrison about Sekiyo House, and Harrison wants to make sure they are the buyers.
How does Takumi enter Kaeda’s inner circle?
To put the plan in motion, Takumi gets prosthetic makeup with burn marks on one of his cheeks. In the club, Takumi gets a job by saying he admires Kaeda, and Kaeda puts him away from the customers. Meanwhile, Tatsu visits Takumi’s father in prison, who had survived the fire he lit in his house. From Takumi’s father, Tatsu learns that he was a victim of fraud and blamed Takumi for it. Later, Kuramochi seems to believe Takumi became a land swindler as a form of revenge for what happened to his family.
Back at the club, Kaeda asks Takumi to drive him to a hotel, and Takumi sees that three young girls have been taken to Kaeda’s room. Later, Takumi learns that these are underage girls who are pimped, and Kaeda enjoys spending time with them. Meanwhile, Goto cracks a deal with Hayashi to bring in another company called Abiru Holdings to act as a middleman between Goto and Sekiyo House.
One day, Kawai comes to the bar, and as a joke, Kaeda forces Takumi to sleep with Kawai, making her uncomfortable. However, Takumi does have sex with Kawai. She is satisfied, and Kaeda is shocked. After that, Kaeda asks Takumi to drive him to the hotel again, and three underage girls are sent to Kaeda’s room. The plan is in motion as Oruchi enters Kaeda’s room and beats him. As Kaeda is down on the floor with his puke, Takumi enters without makeup and tells Kaeda that his secret will remain a secret in exchange for a favor. Meanwhile, Harrison calls Hayashi to thank him for the help. As soon as Harrison hangs up, some men enter and kill Hayashi. It turns out it is Harrison’s orders as Harrison enjoys watching the murder while sipping some drinks.
Tokyo Swindlers (Season 1) Episode 4 Recap:
The episode continues with Takumi and Oruchi holding Kaeda at the rooftop’s edge, asking him to do as Takumi says. After making a video of Kaeda agreeing to do anything, Takumi informs Harrison that they can get Kawai out of the temple anytime they want using the video. Meanwhile, Harrison is also not worried about Takeshita as he considers his job to be done soon. After the deal with Abiru, Aoyagi gets information about the sale of Kawai’s property, and his team contacts Abiru Holdings immediately. Meanwhile, Reiko is making progress in finding an imposter for Kawai.
What happens during the meeting with Aoyagi?
Now, Aoyagi has successfully set a date to meet with the buyer and is preparing for the meeting. On the other hand, Harrison, Goto, and Takumi are happy to use Taniguchi Yoshie as the imposter. Reiko is working on convincing Taniguchi to accept the deal. Considering Taniguchi’s son is in the hospital and is in desperate need of money, the chances are high that she will accept the offer.
When Reiko offers the imposter job to Taniguchi, she refuses to do anything illegal. But Reiko pays Taniguchi some money and asks her to think about it for a while. It is the day of the meeting, and Takumi negotiates and cracks a deal for 11.2 billion yen. However, Aoyagi has a condition that Kawai meets with them and shows the team around the property. Hearing the condition, Takumi accepts and adds that only after they receive their company’s internal approval, Takumi will talk to Kawai. Both the parties agree upon the conditions.
What happens to Tatsu?
On the other hand, Tatsu and Kuramochi are making progress in finding the land swindlers as Kuramochi finds the Abiru Holdings Company on the internet, where the next deal will possibly be held. To catch Takumi, Kuramochi visits Takumi’s father in prison and finds out about a happy memory they made as a family during a vacation. Since the death anniversary of Takumi’s family is right around the corner, Kuramochi hopes to find Takumi at his family’s grave. Meanwhile, Tatsu decides to investigate Abiru Holdings and waits by a coffee shop near the company.
When Tatsu is waiting in the café, Takumi and Goto arrive. Goto tells Takumi that this would be his final job as he suspects Harrison has hired people to kill Hayashi and Sasaki. As soon as Takumi and Goto leave, Tatsu leaves the coffee shop and gets a call from Harrison congratulating him on his progress in the investigation. When Harrison cuts the call, some men kidnap and bring Tatsu to Harrison to an under-construction building.
While Tatsu faces Harrison, Kuramochi finds Takumi’s family’s graves. At the building, Tatsu assumes Harrison will kill him. But Harrison forces Tatsu to kill himself and has also prepared a suicide note. Now, Tatsu has no choice but to jump as Harrison gives Tatsu two options: either to live and get his family killed or kill himself and save his family. Despite this, Tatsu finds it difficult to jump and asks Harrison if Haba from the police force is Harrison’s informant, and Harrison confirms. To make it easier, Harrison pushes Tatsu from the building, killing him. After the fall, Kuramochi calls Tatsu, but Harrison receives and drops the cell phone.
Tokyo Swindlers (Season 1) Episode 5 Recap:
The episode opens with Tatsu’s funeral. Haba asks Kuramochi to report on the investigation she was working with Tatsu. However, Kuramochi suspects Tatsu’s death is murder, specifically a murder committed by Harrison. However, Haba dismisses the idea and refuses Kuramochi to access Tatsu’s phone call logs. Meanwhile, Taniguchi has come through, and Reiko trains her to be the perfect imposter. Takeshita was also present at this meeting. Harrison has agreed to give Takeshita a more significant share. Still, in exchange, Takeshita also needed to launder money rather than just being an informant.
Will Aoyagi get the company’s approval?
At the Sekiyo House, Aoyagi gives a presentation about the new property and pushes to get approvals as soon as possible to finish the deal before the competition swoops in. However, Aoyagi’s competitor, Sunaga, worries that it could be a fraud, mainly because Aoyagi has not met Kawai. Despite Sunaga’s concern, Aoyagi is sure about the deal and is pushing to get the director’s approval. The next hurdle is to get Kawai out of the temple. Kaeda convinces Kawai to go on a trip to Okinawa on the day of the meeting by creating a fake story.
As the team progresses with getting their plan in motion, Kuramochi meets Tatsu’s wife, who is also suspicious that Tatsu has not killed himself. Tatsu’s wife gave Kuramochi the contact information for Masashi Kubota. Kubota is the man who met Tatsu during an investigation, and Tatsu had requested to be contacted by Kubota after his death. Meanwhile, Harrison hopes to learn about Takumi’s real intentions for becoming a land swindler. Back in Sekiyo House, Aoyagi is having difficulty getting the approval of two directors. Hence, his boss helps him out, manages to get the approval, and informs Goto. Before getting the excellent news, Aoyagi also receives suspicious mail.
Will Kuramochi confront Takumi?
As per Tatsu’s wish, Kuramochi meets Kubota, an informer formerly a tabloid journalist. During one of his gigs, Kubota was in trouble, and Tatsu had saved him. Now, Kubota is working on finding out about Tatsu’s death free of cost as a form of funeral gift. He has already figured out that Tatsu was probably forced to kill himself. After watching Abiru Holdings for a week, Kuramochi decides to move. Kubota discovers that Saeki Kazuma (the man who scammed Takumi’s family) has fled to Manila.
There are chances to get clues about Tatsu’s murder from Manila. The next day, Takumi visits his wife and son’s grave as it is their death anniversary. Kuramochi arrives and talks to Takumi. Without any introductions, Kuramochi asks about the Ebisu swindling case, but Takumi pretends not to know anything. However, Kuramochi tells him not to lie as she knows Takumi is a land swindler.
Tokyo Swindlers (Season 1) Episode 6 Recap:
The episode continues with Kuramochi trying to convince Takumi to surrender so nobody else can take a hit like his family did. However, Takumi does not listen and drives away. Before that, Kuramochi put a tracking device in Takumi’s car. At the meeting with Harrison, Reiko has bad news as Taniguchi has backed out from being an imposter because her son has died that morning. In anger, Goto suggests Reiko become the imposter. Harrison takes it seriously and thinks it’s a good idea. Luckily, Reiko’s eyes look similar to Taniguchi’s, and they can pull off the deal. The following day, Reiko is ready with a shaved head and almost prepared to attend the meeting, and Takumi asks more questions to be safe.
What happens to Takeshita?
Meanwhile, in Okinawa, Kaeda and Kawai arrive at the airport. Takeshita arrives and takes Kaeda away, saying he has something to give him, and it is ordered from Tokyo. In the washroom, Takeshita kills Kaeda and forces Kawai to return to Tokyo. However, Takeshita is caught by men keeping an eye on Kaeda, and they take Takeshita to an abandoned hotel.
Now, Takumi and the team are worried because Kawai may return to the temple when the meeting is ongoing, so Harrison asks Takumi to improvise and finish the deal. At the abandoned hotel, Takeshita is already bleeding as Harrison’s underlings hit him. Now Harrison enters, and Takeshita already knows about Harrison’s plans to kill him, so he decides to betray the team. Furthermore, Takeshita calls Harrison a sick pervert as he enjoys watching people getting killed. To finish off, Harrison kills Takeshita and blows up the hotel.
Will Reiko pass the identity confirmation test?
Despite the hurdles, Takumi, Reiko, and Goto meet with Aoyagi and the team, and the identity procedures begin. Through the meeting, Takumi gets a call from Oruchi to get permission to kidnap Kawai from the airport. But he fails to do so and continues to follow her. Preparations help Reiko as all the anticipated questions are asked, but Reiko fumbles when Aoyagi and the team ask about the temple’s inauguration. Takumi helps her out, and the meeting comes to an end. Unfortunately, while following Kawai, Oruchi’s vehicle meets with an accident. Now, the team is at the parking lot, giving Reiko details about the plans for the building in that plot of land. As this continues, Takumi becomes worried because Kawai can reach the temple anytime. After placing the tracker on Takumi’s vehicle, Kuramochi arrives at the location but gets some news from Kubota.
Tokyo Swindlers (Season 1) Episode 7 Recap:
The episode begins with an injured Oruchi trying to escape the titled taxi. At the temple, Reiko opens the gates to show Aoyagi and the team the area. Takumi informs Goto to wrap up the inspection as soon as Kawai arrives. As Reiko takes the men inside the temple’s main hall, a taxi scares Takumi and Goto. Thankfully, an old couple leaves the cab, putting Takumi and Goto’s minds at peace. Inside the temple’s main hall, Aoyagi gives Reiko a note he received from Kawai stating that the deal he will sign is a scam, and Aoyagi wants to confirm if it is true.
Hearing this, Goto loses his cool, but Aoyagi raises his voice, stating the amount of money involved in the purchase and, hence, they need to make sure. Luckily, Takumi had prepared Reiko with the details about the temple, so Reiko started to cry and showed Aoyagi and his men the five main Buddha statues inside a room that was not shown to the public. After that, Reiko says she would never send such a letter, and Aoyagi believes the drama and leaves. At the temple gates, Takumi and Goto see a taxi arrive and close the temple doors quickly. Inside the temple premises, Reiko runs to close the temple’s main door. Once Kawai enters the temple, everything seems normal, and the swindlers escape.
What does Kuramochi tell Takumi?
A few days later, Aoyagi signs the deal, and the money is cashed. As usual, Harrison takes it upon himself to launder it. During the conversation with Harrison, Takumi realizes that Takeshita is dead and that he has betrayed the team. That night, Kuramochi arrives at Takumi’s house and tells him everything she learned from Kubota. The truth about Takumi’s case is that Kazuma Saeki and Harrison worked together. After the case with Takumi’s family, Kazuma and Harrison had a fight about money, and Harrison tried to kill Kazuma. Because of this, Kazuma fled the country and went into hiding. Furthermore, Kuramochi adds that Harrison knew who Takumi was from the beginning. All this while Takumi was working with the man who had tricked his family. Before leaving, Kuramochi asks Takumi to call her when he can talk.
What happens to Aoyagi?
After signing the deal, Aoyagi celebrates with his team and is ready to be promoted. Meanwhile, Kawai is back in the temple and continues praying when construction workers outside the temple premises disrupt her chanting. At the Sekiyo House, Aoyagi gives a presentation but is interrupted to give the news about the application and police at the property. Worried, Aoyagi arrives at the temple and realizes he is the victim of a scam. Aoyagi wails and walks on the road and is hit by a truck. The death is no accident. As it turns out, Harrison has given orders to murder Aoyagi.
Tokyo Swindlers (Season 1 Finale) Episode 7 Ending Explained:
Will Takumi get his revenge?
After thinking things through, Takumi arrives at their usual meeting spot to chat with Harrison. During the conversation, Harrison mentions that Goto and Reiko will pay a price for quitting on him. Eventually, Takumi shows a picture of Harrison and Kazuma. In his defense, Harrison says at first, he did not know who Takumi was. But after finding out, Harrison thought Takumi was destined to be a swindler. The excuses are not enough to calm Takumi as he points his gun at Harrison, ready to shoot. However, Harrison is prepared because Oruchi comes from behind and attacks Takumi, injuring him. Later, Harrison shoots Oruchi. Takumi and Harrison are engaged in a fight.
When Takumi is lying on the floor bleeding because of his injury, Kuramochi arrives but hesitates to shoot Harrison. Using this opportunity, Harrison throws a grenade and escapes. Now, Takumi and Kuramochi are impacted by the explosion and are unconscious. After a few days, we see Takumi has confessed to everything and is still at the hospital getting treated. In the end, Kuramochi tells Takumi that what he was doing was not a job, but he is a criminal. Meanwhile, Harrison is away from Japan, hunting on snowy mountains.
Ultimately, the main mastermind behind the land swindlers is not behind bars but enjoying his life by hunting down animals. After maintaining a low profile, Harrison may return and continue land swindling and commit murder as it excites him. However, Takumi confesses to his crimes as he only became a swindler because he wanted revenge. Towards the end, the series does not clarify who had sent the letter from Kawai to Aoyagi. But it can be assumed that it was Takeshita as he was desperate for the deal not to go through. Meanwhile, Reiko showed some character in the end as she helped the woman by giving her money after her son had passed away with no demands.
Tokyo Swindlers (Season 1) Review:
“Tokyo Swindlers” is another crime series with the scam as its central plot. Despite many shows and films on the theme already out there, “Tokyo Swindlers” has done a great job. The characters were well-defined, and the show did not make anything seem like a wild plot twist, especially because Harrison’s character was well-written and set the tone for the show. From the first episode, all the key characters are introduced brilliantly, and the focus is primarily on how the swindlers operate.
It is also intriguing as you can see different points of view of the characters, especially the victims. The many reasons one can become a victim of a scam are wonderfully shown. In the first case, the company needed to prove itself against more prominent corporations, so they fell victim. In the second case, the desire to have power in a large establishment with promotion on the line and the existing deal fell through. The pressure upon a large corporation resulted in a hasty decision to fall victim to a crime. The cast has done an incredible job embodying their respective roles. There is also a subplot in the series as Takumi’s life is explored, and nothing in the series feels over the top.
