Liar Game

Joined
Aug 3, 2019
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37
30 chapters in and I think the rating is extremely high for how underdeveloped the characters are and how much the story actually lacks a hook. I'd give it a 3/10 based on the first 30 chapters, but I'm going to keep reading it albeit slowly and hope it picks up more as it progresses. The games are interesting, but otherwise it is almost a chore to read
 
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Feb 22, 2020
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62
You don't read this for the storytelling, only to surprise yourself with the strategies or try to predict what will happen
 
Active member
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Jan 30, 2018
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132
The games and strategies are the focus here, not the plot and characters. Just like how you'd watch a sports game primarily for the play on the field.
 
Member
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Feb 18, 2020
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43
There is a lot to nitpick on here, but overall it's a very entertaining read for someone who likes mind games, strategic play, deception, betrayal, reveal, sudden (but not random) turns of events. It's also quite a page turner when you're in a middle of an arc.
This manga just wants to do one thing - the games - and it does it so well I gave it 9/10 despite that characters are cardboard, plot is practically nonexistent, art is ugly, some things were rather naive, the last arc crashed and burned and the ending got me rotfl. But most of time the games themselves were so brilliantly clever, I wanted to appreciate it.

The female MC is irritating naive damsel in distress in the beginning so it might be a turnoff, but she gets better later, and a funny non-binary person appears too. And besides, it's not about the characters as I said before so just bear with her... I did and I do not regret it.
 
Double-page supporter
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Aug 15, 2020
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223
I read about 20 chapters, so bear with me.

The art is subpar. Compared to Death Note for instance, it's night and day.
The main character is uninteresting. She is gullible, yes, but gullible doesnt mean retarded. And she went full retard several times. I know her and the con artist are supposed to be polar opposite, but it just doesnt work.
So far, the story's decent, but it's been poorly introduced. You can keep us in the dark all you want, but you need to give us something at some point, or we are losing interest. I'm 20 chapters in, and i've no clue what's going on. There's no sense of scale.

At least, where i stopped, the author gave us a peek in the con's past... but it's too cliché. I wont spoil, it's just cliché.

I dont understand the intentions of the author, and if in 20 chapters you cant even start to guess what's going on, then what's the point?

I'm hesitating between 4 and 6. I think it depends on what you're looking for in a manga. So, for me, it's a 4.
 
Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Messages
158
7/10. I would rate this manga (8) Very Good if it has not been axed. This manga is all about mind games, strategies and psychological assaults. If you are looking for plot, romance, thriller or whatever you're not going to find it here. It should be clear from the start the FL and Akiyama are going to win every single time. It's the how that is important. It's a combo of survival + game + psychological that I really enjoy. If you want more of the same combo I recommend Tomodachi Game.
 
Dex-chan lover
Joined
Jun 11, 2018
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1,465
Liar game had a few hiatuses during it's run and Kaitani kinda rushed to get it over with, he was clearly burned out. Still had about 100 chapters of top top tier psychological warfare. Which is around as many chapters Death note had in it's entirety.

Death note also went down the shitter
after L got killed, and they had to create some weird orphan geniuses to try to take Yagami down and have him get his just desserts for having killed so many people, and that was extremely lame.

so saying death note is good and this manga is bad is hypocritical at least. They both went from being top tier at one point to dropping in quality midway through, ironically at a similar point. The best moments of Liar game are better than the best moments of Death note and the worst moments are worse too. If this is a 4/10 then Death Note is a 5/10.
 
Group Leader
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Jun 24, 2018
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1,613
Every comment on this thread makes immaculate and great points about this manga (as expected of readers of works that require high IQ™ such as this). I'll add that I really loved the little details in the art and that the comedy, though few and far between, lands every time. Also Nao's the perfect lead for these kinds of manga - we definitely need more characters who naively believe in the goodness of humanity in media. I can't even really be too mad at the rushed final arc - 8ish years of having to constantly come up with the most creative and intriguing games there are would make even the greatest of authors burn out. I personally recommend Liar Game for the journey - just keep in mind that the destination will be EXTREMELY disappointing

Also, the Portuguese translators didn't make a mistake in numbering the chapters. Somewhere down the line, the author decided to rewrite and split the final chapter into 3, creating 2 extra chapters with some very slight and insignificant changes and additions. They include a panel of Nao and Akihaya hugging each other and reveal that Artier was Nao's father and Leronira was Akiyama's university professor

And, massive thanks to the scanlators! This manga would not have been as enjoyable if the translations did not deliver - which it did and some more
 
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Joined
Jul 12, 2023
Messages
6
Reading it for the second time after its publication ended, I can say that it's still one of the best Psychological/gambling/death game manga out there. The author really put in an insane amount of research to bring out clever upsets, situations, and games. While reading it, I kept asking myself how large was the witheboard the mangaka's team used and how long they've been looking at it to make all the situations airtight. I cannot insist more: this is as clever as you'll find in any other manga, no contest. Yes, people mentioned that around the 2/3 of the story, the games unravel a bit, but it's not that bad. I'm personally mildly upset with how the 4th game (musical chairs) unfolds (I mean, from the start, why don't the non-players just follow the players, get their chair numbers, locations, and sell the info to other groups?! Or just move these chairs and hide them?). However, that game introduced a great antagonist as Harimoto who underlines perfectly the main character's strength (Yokoya and Akiyama are psychological strategists who win by manipulating the rules and people's greed, where Harimoto and Kanzaki use charisma, Nao being truly honest, and harimoto faking benevolence).
So people complaining about "the dumb monodimensional protag" either havent read more than 30 chapters, or have missed the character's progression entirely. Nao slowly learns from her mistakes game after game, and go from a hopeless rabbit in a viper's pit to an influence to be reckoned with in the later games.
Definitely recommend if you like complex psychological games.
 

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