Liar Game

[MugiwaraMarius]

Liar Game Manga | Anime-Planet

I love high stakes games and psychological manga/anime so I've got high hopes for this one.

Just read the first chapter and I have to say there were somethings I liked about it but there were others I didn't. I think the biggest thing I noticed were the sheer number of coincidences that were used to get the plot moving. Although to be honest Nao is so damn naive nothing would have happened without the coincidences. Still the concept is interesting and with the game having practically no rules I think it gives the manga the freedom to take whatever direction it wants to with the plot.

Anyway I thought Kaiji was gullible at the beginning but Nao is easily one of the most foolish character's I've seen. She hasn't seen her teacher in years and she just forks over the whole 100 million without even thinking about it. She didn't even think to ask where he was going to deposit the money and it's not like asking a few basic questions would have made her seem distrusting or anything if she was afraid of offending him. She should at least have asked to go with him to see the money deposited that way when he inevitably said no or made some excuse why that wasn't a good idea she would have realized something was up. Although I don't think her being naive to start off with is a bad thing. It leaves plenty of room for her character to grow but she needs to start growing up fast or she's fucked.

Otherwise her character does remind me a bit of Kaiji in a few small ways. She's a disaffected loser with no real friends and no family other than her dying father. She has no one she can count on and seems to be a bit of a loner. Although she is missing the cynicism and bitterness Kaiji had at the beginning of his series. It'll be interesting how a more pure character deals with this world of trickery and lying. Kaiji may have been naive at the start but he at least had some experience with lying and being fooled before he got onto the Espoir. Again I don't think it's a bad thing that she has such an innocent view of the world as long as she gets over it rather quickly.

Like I said the only thing that kind of bugged me about the start was the coincidences. She would never have found out about her teacher if she hadn't of just happened go over to his house and hear his phone call. Then when she's looking for a conman to help her she just finds out that the greatest one is Japanese history is getting out of prison that same day. Then she literally just happens to run into him when he was getting out of jail. He managed to avoid all the reporters that were waiting for him but she bumps right into him.

Of course there would be no story if she didn't overhear that phone call because she would have sat there with her thumb up her ass until the month was over and then been in 100 million in debt. That's the other thing the initial amount of money is much higher than what Kaiji was dealing with at the outset. Kaiji was only 3 million in debt at the beginning but she's already starting off with a potential debt of 100 million so as this thing progresses I could see the amount of money quickly becoming staggering.

The last thing that I will say is the solution about what to do with the money seems obvious. Just put it in a bank account that way it's not only safe but you would also earn a little bit of interest on it. It's not like there is a penalty for not having the cash on hand when they come to collect so you'd still only owe the 100 million which could then be transferred to them.

So far I'm intrigued I just hope it doesn't turn into one of those things where nothing happens without a bunch of convenient coincidences. Other than that potential problem I'm digging it so far.

[Marceus]

This series looks pretty intriguing. I'm gonna check it out.

Has it been published in English yet?

[Funari]

Would seem it isn't. Which is a damn shame, really.

And Marius, let's just say I'm thrilled you're reading this one. A fair point about the coincidences, will have to say, but I at least remember only the first game containing them. After that it's pretty much all planning.

...actually, I got into re-reading it too. In my own opinion, chapters 28-29 is when starts getting really good. The games get somewhat more complicated, but it's worth it.

[MugiwaraMarius]

Chapters 2-7:

Hmm well I'm through the first game and it's still one of those things where I like some of what I'm reading but annoyed by other parts of it. Honestly at this point I see lots of potential but the first arc doesn't really take advantage of it. Right now I'm writing off the parts of that I'm not impressed with as being part of the tutorial for the game. This first arc was just to set the stage for what I hope is awesomeness to come because all the elements are there for something great but the question is can the author come through? I really want the answer to be yes.

I think my real problem is how predictable this arc was. I predicted pretty much every step of Akiyama's plan right down to small details. In fact the only part I failed to call was also the most annoying. I can't believe that Akiyama gave up his 50 million knowing she was going to fork it over to Fujisawa. Nao is a naive girl that has still has a rosy world view so I can see her giving up her half but Akiyama doing the same really pisses me off because I feel like the author took a dark story and tried to force this cheesy happy ending on it. I know Funari has said this story doesn't always show the darkest side of people the way Kaiji does which is fine but I felt they went overboard with the kindness here to the point where it was unbelievable.

Really I think Akiyama needs some background because I can't really get a good grasp on his character. He seems to be one of these savant genius types but he's also supposed to be a conman and they can't survive being that nice. He keeps putting himself out for Nao and I need to know why before I can decide if what kind of character he is or if I like him. We're still early in the story so I'm sure it's coming in due time but until then I remain undecided on what I think of him. However the other thing is I can't be sure if he's really a genius because his plan was incredibly simplistic. Now that isn't a bad thing because plans don't always have to be convoluted to be interesting but I just hope I'm not supposed to be super impressed with his planning in this first arc. It's one of those thing where I wonder if the author has created this supposedly brilliant character but then doesn't know how to write for him. Now at this point I'm kind of running away with the speculation here because this could all be fixed in the next arc or the ones after that.

Now what I really did enjoy in this first arc was the psychological talk. That was interesting but again it was really simplistic so while I see potential in that aspect I'm hoping it's going to get more meaty later on. To me this could easily be the best thing about the story if the author manages to get it right.

As for the characters Fujisawa was a bit too exaggerated as the first villain. Just look at this facial expression:



Jesus Christ, that is a bit much. I'm giving the story a bit of pass on that one because he's the freshman villain and if he was a bit too much on the so evil he needs a twirly mustache side of things maybe it will get toned down later. Even if it doesn't as long as the villains are more interesting than him I won't mind too much. Really he was a one trick pony and once he played that trick he was a really chump. He was just a bitter ex-school teacher that thought he was way more cunning than he actually was.


See a complete chump.

For what I think of Akiyama well see the above paragraph. For now he kind of seems like a generic antihero genius type. He really needs some development before I can make any more concrete statements about him.

Then there is Nao. I've already said she is gullible and frankly her naive nature seems a bit too extreme. However what pissed me off about her was she apparently didn't learn a fucking thing from the first game. Right when chapter 7 starts the fucking fake lawyer comes to her apartment and gives her free advice. Her only though is "I'm lucky to have met such a nice lawyer." Seriously wake the fuck up. She didn't even have any foreboding feelings about that visit. It's like she has no survival instinct at all. For now I'll put it like this. On the one hand she's annoying as hell but on the other I'm kind of glad I'll get to see her naive world view shattered first hand. Hopefully she does learn from her experiences. I don't want to see her keep getting in deeper because she has the memory of a goldfish.

So now she's caught up in the second round of the game which was just being set up. I have to say I like the set up because having all these people brought together and then being given money reminds me a lot of the first arc in Kaiji especially with the ominous way the guy said they will get the money back from the losers one way or another. I'm not sure what Minority Rule is going to end up being but I like the way it's going thus far.

I have to say I love that the amount of money involved has already gotten out of hand. We're already at 2.2 billion yen at stake and this is only the second game. I mean there might be trillion at stake before all is said and done.

The art style is really simplistic and I can't say I'm enjoying it all that much. The character designs almost seem minimalistic and the backgrounds are particularly detailed. Now I will always take a great story over great artwork so if the story improves I probably won't give a fuck about this. However I do appreciate different artstyles and I adore the ugly style of Fukumoto's works like Kaiji.

Anyway I'll cap off this post by saying that I see tons of potential here and I like the concept I just hope the execution gets better. So far things are too simplistic but that can easily be written off as part of the author setting up the story. There are a lot of good elements here that leave me wanting to read more to see how they get used even if the first arc wasn't particularly impressive. While I don't think this will ever get as dark as Kaiji I still see plenty of opportunities for some fucked up characters and twisted plot twists. For now I'm cautiously optimistic and hoping things will improve from the first arc.

[Funari]

^ In my opinion the first arc is basically a tutorial. The game is very different from the ones after it, the villain is about the only incompetent idiot-villain in the series and it's one-on-one, also with a lot more time than any other game, not to mention it's in the players' own environment. Going to chalk that up to the author still thinking of just what to make of this series or something. The next ones will be very different.

And no worries, Akiyama's background reasons for this incomprehensible-sounding action will be explained later on. It was soon after Round 2, I think. Whether it'll satisfy you is an entirely different thing altogether, but this wasn't just randomly decided without explanation, anyways. (Annnd... not saying that this series doesn't show the darkest sides of people, more like... it doesn't leave quite as hopeless an aftertaste as Kaiji.) I just hope you don't get an annoyance spike and drop this before 29... well, at least you made it through the first arc which is the most meh one in my opinion, too. Minority Rule's pretty good already, so if Nao doesn't start exploding veins in your forehead in the chapters between them, you should be fine.

[Pentan]

After a gap of about one and one-half years, Shinobu Kaitani's Liar Game psychological thriller manga is continuing in this year's 52nd issue of Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump on Thursday. The new manga will again follow the Nao Kanzaki as the genius con artist Shinichi Akiyama helps her in another high-stakes psychological test called the "Liar Game."

The Liar Game manga launched in Young Jump in 2005, and Shueisha published the 13th compiled book volume last year. The manga already inspired two live-action television seasons with Shota Matsuda as Akiyama in 2007 and 2009, as well as a 2010 film. Mikako Tabe (Kimi ni Todoke) will play a new game's heroine Yū, while Matsuda (Hana Yori Dango) will reprise his lead role in a second live-action film slated to open in Japan next March.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web

Source: ANN

Oh god, FINALLY. I liked the manga really much. There were some boring parts, but Akiyama always made it damn cool when everything went according to his plan!

I need to reread a lot though. I generally remember what happened, but I don't think this will be enough to enjoy what is to come

[Tiel]

I really enjoy this manga as well.

I find Nao does start out annoyingly innocent, like you said, but eventually smartens up while still remaining very sweet.

Though I find the games get so complex that it's hard for me to grasp what's going on all the time. I get the gist of the strategy, but sometimes it just washes over me- the money in the briefcase game, for example.
But overall, it's a fun and surprisng manga that taught me a lot about psychology, of all things!

[Ailly]

^ Haha, I've got the same problem. Well, not that it really is a problem. The manga still remains enjoyable, even though I don't get everything. Sometimes it's alright to sit back and enjoy the mindblowing and awesomeness, without wondering too much.

And YES! Chapter 139 is out. I've been waiting so long for this. And Nao had me facepalming within the first 15 pages...

I get the fact that she "has" to continue, sort of, to save everyone. But seriously! Every sane person would have quit. For a moment it just seemed kind of illogical to me. Especially since it happened after she heared Akiyama had already quit. And then he shows up again... Of course.

The manga is still going strong though. Can't wait for the next chapters ^^

[vernanonix]

I just picked this up. I'm a fan of High Stakes Games kind of stories. Being psychological is a plus for me as well. And scanning over these posts, it makes me anticipate good things from this. I've only read the first chapter so far but it looks promising.

[Ailly]

Does anyone know if the author is taking a break or something?