Liar Game

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

It's been a couple years since I first discovered Liar Game, and it has all the elements that can draw me to a fictional story : an intelligent plot, a collection of interesting characters, and a truly original premise.
I read a few arcs (which were very good) and decided to put it on hold until the story finishes because I am not that patient a person.
And when I finally decided to take it again .. boy, does it deliver.

The first thing you'll notice is the drawing. It's quirky and veers to the unusual (especially the reactions), but it really sets a tone to the ... story's atmosphere. The uncanny realism really suits the manga style and rhythm, and makes every character memorable.

The second thing you'll notice about it is the pacing. It starts off relatively slow, then it picks up speed as it goes, soaring at critical times, making the otherwise peaceful and action-free nature of the games a setup to some intense and thrilling moments without using pulling any cheap tricks.
Be warned since some chapters are long-winded. It feels sometimes novel-ish, even. But again, you'll probably be too drawn in to notice. (I would lighten some long "and heeere is how it was done !" chapters but then again, minor inconvenience).
The games are usually very balanced which leaves the reader on the edge, so much so its reaches sometimes the frequency of 1 turning table/chapter ! (the only thing that seems to be more frequent is how many times Nao gets deceived, fooled or laughed at.)

The games are simply A-mazing. If only for them I would gladly give Liar Game its 10/10. Some of them may seem simpler than others but even the simplest ones are very well-thought. Most of them are really just parallels to real life situations put in a Game format, and they're all brilliant.
The solutions chosen by the smartest players are usually ingenious, but be warned because as you progress through the story you might lose the surprise factor. The endings are usually rewarding, however.
As the games become THE container for the story's final point at the latest stages, some stagings become "too convenient" for said point to be driven home. Some loose endings are swiftly cut, but you can still feel it if you pay enough attention. But then again, minor inconvenience.
What's really neat about all the games is that most -if not all- of them had a way to break-even for all players, or even make a profit just by the act of uniting (which is Nao's naive point), but the manga does it job to hammer in the notion that humans ARE greedy, nasty creatures. (speaking of nasty, as much as I hated Kaiji's nastier parts, I really wanted some of the games to gain some troubling aspect, but the author chose to keep all the games very family-friendly, which is not bad).
But before dismissing most of the characters as evil monsters, just try from time to time to put yourself -really- in some player's shoes and see what actions you would have taken under the same circumstances, you may gain some insight in the process!

The characters are also an important point to mention since they really make the package believable (and by characters I only mean the main characters since the background ones all seem mean and stupid to a fault, and are used, time and time again, as pawns in the Chessmasters games).
It's impossible to talk about the characters without giving out some of the plot, so let's just say that most of them get to have a satisfying development.
And unlike, say, Death Note, Liar Game doesn't try to veil who's Mr. Good and who's Mr. Bad: everything from their design to their every sentence is pretty much white or black, which makes it hard to sympathize with the Evil ones (which make up the majority, according to LG).
However, the nature of their evil is usually brought into the spotlight and their evilness is usually justified (sometimes by need, but mostly by greed to a point that the manga might as well be called Greed Game).
The most noteworthy character is definitely Nao (what, not Akiyama ?) since she gets to have the most character development and is the personification of Good, clumsiness and all, but she's not cheesy (if this was your typical shounen when she says something like "loyalty is the key to victory !", everyone would seem deeply moved and invigorated.. well it suffices to say this ain't your typical shounen).

The manga also handles comedy very well. Although most of it comes naturally from the unfortunate shenanigans Nao puts herself into (like, whenever she says "I have a plan!", you just knows she's gonna make some huge plan that is completely impractical, and grin as she suggests it with immense confidence).

The later religious touch was also a very subtle take on both religion and the good/evil question (without judgement nor glorification, which is nice). Same goes for the overall political stand of the manga.

So, in summary :
- Is it worth reading? YES.
- Is it perfect ? No.
- Why does it get a 10/10 score ? for many reasons, including :
1. The Games. The Games. The Gaaaaayyymmmmezzz.
2. Some characters are just very admirable, especially in the story's world.
3. Some twists are really unpredictable, I mean REALLY.
4. The expression when someone you can't help to hate loses miserably.
5. Did I mention the games? Right.
6. The Overall message.
7. The ending was .. you need to see it to judge for yourself (genius, lazy or both?)

All in all, what a little masterpiece.

This manga has reminded me to not put too much stock into MAL's rankings for popularity + scoring. Perhaps I walked in with expectations that were just too high, but this didn't even live up to its premise all that well. While the characterization and artwork were competent enough to keep me coming back, the story itself is pretty shoddy. Let's dig in and see just why I feel this way!

[Story - 4]

The basic premise is that an overly honest girl gets a pro conman to help her out in an underground tournament of games revolving around deception. This is all fine and dandy, since ... it's a fairly intriguing premise and it does deliver initially, but there are some things I take issue with.

One thing I'll harp on right now is PACING. God, the pacing is so abysmal. The first 3 or 4 volumes have great pacing, but following this, it just gets progressively slower and slower until the final 'game' is over 3 or so volumes yet takes place in the timespan of several hours or so. For a title that is supposed to feel pretty 'high stakes' and tense at all times, it just got extremely dull for me after a while.

To lead into my next gripe: It would have been one thing if the story was paced like this to slow burn towards an explosive climax. However, this title does quite the opposite. It goes out with something that can be said to be less than a whimper - a tidy, clean ending that comes and goes in about......3 to 5 chapters or so. I don't necessarily mind this 'happy' ending, but the final few panels really grind my gears since there was no previous build-up or indication it would turn out like that. It just comes out of nowhere for shock value, and that's especially insulting considering how intellectual this title presents itself to be.

It isn't ALL bad, however: Some of the 'games' are actually pretty intriguing, and can have great twists (first one that comes to mind is that musical chairs one, along with the contraband game). The themes of trust and doubt (+ how they go hand in hand), the human condition, and psychological complexes dovetail well with the story and can be rather poignant at times. Just a shame that they didn't get a better writer to handle them.

(Side note - you know those two extra chapters? They're just the original last chapter split into two. Totally worthless to read them.)

[Art - 5]

Okay, I'm not gonna beat around the bush on this - the art is so hit-or-miss that I don't blame anyone for being turned off by the first 2 volumes alone. The expressions of each character can get rather goofy, the settings can be either too moody or bare-bones, and most of the character design isn't really all that notable.

On the flip side, however, the rest of said design can get good; I'd say that Akiyama's consistent stoicisms, matched with his cunning personality and bland fashion taste, suits him well (and totally reminds me of Light Yagami). Kanzaki's wardrobe and expressions just ooze 'woobie', Fukunaga's an absolute treat to see, and Nokoya's very face is just pure mischief.

[Character - 6]

This is probably the strongest element of the title in my opinion, even if that wasn't what it was aiming for. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the investment in some of these people's fates are what really kept me going after the story started to drag its feet.

Shinichi Akiyama is a bit of a Gary Stu, sure, but he's just too much fun to read. Something about how wildly sharp and on-the-nose he can be is just addicting, even if it takes AGES to get to the true payoff of his reveal. His backstory is adequately angsty, and he's got the temperament to match! It rubs up perfectly against Kanzaki's overbearing warmth.

Speaking of Kanzaki, let's move onto her. I have more mixed feelings about her than I do about her male counterpart, but she's fine for the most part. I know that some people don't enjoy naive kindness in characters, and it remains until the end here, but seeing her develop was interesting. It wasn't much, unfortunately, but you can totally tell that she has a shift in mindset over time and is able to adapt to the situation accordingly. Again, something about her compassion is just too palpable, and it just rubs off on you.

This leaves two other characters to discuss since the rest are admittedly bland and/or forgettable. To sum it up: Fukunaga's a delight to read between her comparable wit and her overall vicious personality. She serves as yet another foil to both Akiyama and Kanzaki, and it's genuinely great to see her develop over the course of the title. It's a damn shame that she got shafted HARD during the last arc, because the payoff in her arc was just....splendid. As for Nokoya, he's totally just another Rich Brat Who Loves Being Mean, but he presents as a perfect match for these three. While he doesn't get royally screwed over in the end, the few comeuppances he received were wonderful. He does have some form of an arc, but it plays second fiddle to seeing him ham it up as a 'primary' antagonist.

[Enjoyment/Overall - 5]

As you can see, this title has left me feeling unsatisfied despite its good elements being enough to keep me around until the very end. I'm sorry to say it, but I can't really recommend this one to anyone save for those who want to see psychological game shenanigans get drawn out way too long. The real liar game at play here was most of MAL giving this a 9 or 10.

Inglish

I had dropped it months ago and one day two weeks ago I woke up wanting to finish it a good time

History (4/10):
Let's make it very clear, the manga has a null tension thanks to Akiyama (Gary stu)What the mangaka should have done is take the route of the showtime and the momentum as the other manga of the same author "One Outs" where the protagonist is equal a Gary stu but in that work if It has its sense of the show, here on the other side Akiyama more than anything is a very boring character, doesnt awaken any charisma and is just like ... the type of "I have a plan ready to destroy your plan"but in a very flat way, the manga becomes absolutely boring and shit for that same factor, the games are more creative than kaiji but that does not make writing better at a general level, the final arc and the ending is the pinnacle of stupidity that basically is basically "Everything was a social experiment "And with a cliffhanger of the most insulting to the reader

Characters (3/10)
The whole cast is disgusting, Nao has no brain during the first 100 chapters, Akiyama is a very boring gary stu, the judges already reach the point that their reactions are monotonous and repetitive to the rhythm of the game, the characters of the cult are equally forgettable and the only thing that is more or less saveable is fukunaga and Yokoya

Art (5/10).
Functional for what the work is

Enjoyment (5/10).
At times very entertaining (The game of chairs, The infection) and others wanting to get a bullet (The game of poker and the first game of Fishing), is a piece of shit that thinks it is smarter than it is .

Overall (3/10).
Highly creative games but they were used in the wrong manga


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Espanish

Lo habia dropped hace meses y un dia hace dos semanas me levante con ganas de acabarlo de una buena vez

History (4/10):
Dejemoslo bien claro, el manga al no tener tensión gracias a Akiyama (Gary stu) debería tomar la ruta del espectáculo y el momentum como el otro manga del mismo autor “One Outs” donde el protagonista es igual un Gary stu pero en esa obra si tiene su sentido del espectáculo, aquí por el otro lado Akiyama mas que nada es un personaje sumamente aburrido, no despierta nada de carisma y solo esta como el tipo de “Yo tengo un plan listo para destruir tu plan” pero sin carisma, el manga se vuelve absolutamente aburrido y mierda por ese mismo factor, los juegos son mas creativos que kaiji pero eso no hace mejor la escritura a nivel general, el arco final y el ending es el pináculo de la estupidez que en resumidas cuentas es básicamente “Todo fue un experimento social” y con un cliffhanger de lo mas insultante al lector

Characters (3/10)
Todo el cast es un asco, Nao no tiene cerebro durante los primeros 100 capitulos, akiyama es un Gary stu muy aburrido, los jueces ya llegan al punto de que sus reacciones son recontra monótonas y repetitivas al ritmo del juego, los personajes del culto son igual olvidable y lo único que es mas o menos salvable es fukunaga y Yokoya

Art (5/10).
Funcional para lo que es la obra

Enjoyment (5/10).
Por momentos muy entretenido ( El juego de las sillas, La infección) y por otros con ganas de meterme un balazo (El juego de póker y el primer juego de Pesca), es una mierda de manga que piensa ser mas inteligente de lo que es.

Overall (3/10).
Juegos altamente creativos pero fueron utilizados en el manga incorrecto