Forum - View topicLiar Game (TV).
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Edjwald
 Posts: 3507 |
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Liar Game (TV) Source: Manga (completed @ 19 volumes by Shinobu Kaitani) Demographic: Seinen Animation Studio: Madhouse Genres: drama, psychological, thriller, tournament Themes: crime, gambling, game, moral dilemma, social psychology, strategy Plot Summary: At the sight of greed, your average human being always chooses money over integrity; however, such a thing is impossible for Nao Kanzaki, who is about the most honest person you can find. But when she accidentally joined "The Liar Game", her honesty proved to be a deadly poison. In a game where every player has to either trick their opponents and gain a large prize, or be burdened with an equally large debt, the honest Nao Kanzaki has no choice but to get help from Shinichi Akiyama, who is a genius con artist who conned a multi-billionaire company. With the help of Akiyama, Nao Kanzaki now participates in the dangerous world of "The Liar Game." Air Date & Platform: April 07, 2026 (Tuesday) Available on: Crunchyroll Episode Count / Runtime: Pending Trailer [EDIT: Fancy opener stuff edited. -TK] |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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Well, as much as I like watching a naive, dumb as rocks but basically good soul being victimized - and not even in a particularly clever or elaborate way...oh, wait, I don't enjoy that.
I suppose I'll give the show my usual extra episode benefit of a doubt on the off chance that this is about the MC wising up or getting revenge in a way that's not going to be irritating as @#$% for at least half a season, but I seriously doubt I'll stick with this. For one thing, how hard it is to just put the money in a bank deposit box where you'd have to be physically present to open it, then hide for a month? No money lost. No money found. Me, I'd get in a canoe, sink it in some dark water next to a rocky shore, submerge in some water just in case I had a tracking device on me, then hike and keep hiking. Maybe it would be hard but we have no way of knowing that because the MC is gormless. I don't have to bet right now, but if I did, I'd bet that the secret behind this mystery game organizer is - and I'll put a spoiler on it because I'm swinging for the fences spoiler[ directly involves dear old terminally ill patient in the hospital bed for some reason that will be farfetched and BS)] But even if the game organizer is slick, the first opponent doesn't seem to be. This isn't about a game being challenging. This is about an MC being challenged IMHO. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 4990 |
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The episode did not work for me. Ironically enough I caught myself thinking that it would be better as a killing game anime yet I almost always drop those due to issues I have with them. In a lighter season I may have stuck around for a few more episodes but nope.
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ACｘS
 Posts: 1226 |
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1:
Nah man, this ain't it. See, I already walked into this show feeling very cautious. The premise already sounds like it wants to be something like Death Note, Platinum End, or even In/Spectre. You know, a cerebral show that makes you think, and appreciate how clever the show is. Guess what? Forget all that. You know Squid Game, right? That critically acclaimed show about moral dilemmas? This show wants you to think that it's like that. It's not. That show makes you relate to the characters. In Liar Game? These aren't even relatable characters. They're caricatures. You may argue that the characters in Squid Game are also caricatures, but at least they put up a lot of effort to make them worth caring about, even an ounce. Liar Game doesn't even bother. You saw how comical it was when Fujisawa-sensei's bluff got called. I literally saw everything in this episode happening from a mile away even before they happened. I'm not even sure why the anime is being made, especially when the live-action series came out almost twenty years ago. This is clearly not one of Madhouse's better productions. Honestly, it feels more like a throwaway, so I'm going to treat it as such. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15851 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I really cannot think it would be hard to not just bank the money.
Just a thought, would you even need to have the money on you on the day? The rules said you would go into debt, but didn't say the debt would be any more than what it was. So you could bank it all, not have it on you the day of the game's end, and then pay it all back once it is a debt and there are no more funky rules about someone legally(?) allowed to steal from you. I guess it would have to have some kind of interest, otherwise there would be no reason to aim for some bank interest before paying it back. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 1226 |
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2:
I'm dropping this show, but at least I will give the three-episode test and stick around for the next episode at least. I feel like this show is behind its time. It came out around the same time as Death Note, and I can see many parallels between the two titles. The live-action movies came out in the late 2000s, and I think that was the time this anime should have been made, too. Right now, the theme just feels dated. I'm just wondering why this show exists now and not fifteen years ago, when it would have been more relevant. Also, I'm not sure if the psychological explanation here is accurate. Akiyama explains that Fujisawa was having a moment of cognitive dissonance, yet he gave an example of something different: Solomon Asch's conformity. Maybe this is indeed a case of cognitive dissonance, but it seems out of place: why not just call it a bluff, like in poker? Seems more appropriate rather than dropping a random psychology reference. I digress, of course. On with the next episode. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15851 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I will probably drop it too. I am not really familiar with source material, but I think fundamentally the characters don't act like real people, which kind of ruins the psychological aspect.
I am going to guess that he either changed the time on the watch or got an exact replacement and changed the time and swap out. And presuming that no one knows what the swap over person looks like will trick him into just giving the money. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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Seems like I'm a lonely crowd of 1 in terms of enjoying this. I wonder if Stupidly Honest will continue to be one of the main characters after episode 3. It seems clear her game is going to be wrapped up, so does she get snagged into a new round? Or are there going to be completely new contestants? Based on the ending of episode 2, I hope the "solution" isn't that Con Man disguises himself as the Game Money Collector and A-hole Sensei just hands the money over to him and it turns out that Con Man had snuck into his house and turned his watch back a few minutes while he was sleeping. The show really emphasized his watch to a suspicious degree. I guess why I'm liking this is that I like Stupidly Honest and sympathize with her plight, so I hope she does continue to be a main character.
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Gina Szanboti
 Posts: 12724 |
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Ep 3
Looks like everybody was right! But I bet nobody predicted what she'd do when she won! As soon as I saw her looking at scumwad's sadface, my heart sank. Oh no, don't tell me.... Even if she went temporarily insane, how hard would it have been to go back and ask for 50 mil back so she could opt out, still leaving him with 50 mil to pay his debts, since Akiyama joined her in going mad. And lawyer scum was also obvious. I'm still curious how Aki got in on the 2nd game, but not sure I care enough to find out.
I know how you feel. I seem to be the outlier on several shows I'm liking a lot, but either have praise or criticism that marks me as a misfit. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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I think the problem is that there are too many shows - or, more specifically, too many mid-range C+ to B+ shows that are watchable. In fact, in terms of mid-tier enjoyable shows, this spring has last winter beat all to hell in my opinion. The season doesn't have a single show that I like as much as Journal with Witch or You and I Are Polar Opposites or Frieren or Jujitsu Kaisen or Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider, but it has a small army of shows that are fun to watch. Flawed but enjoyable enough shows like In The Clear Moonlit Dusk or Wash it All Away that I watched last season wouldn't have made it past week 3 if they were on now. Take this show. I pruned my watching list down to 3 per weekday out of self-defense, so Mondays, I'm watching Farming Life in Another World, Witch Hat Atelier, and The Klutz and the Skirt and enjoying all of them. I've got three shows I like just as much lined up every day this week. During what used to be a normal season, there might be one show that I really liked on a Monday and then this one, which has some stuff going for it even though I'm not into the MC being hapless and hopeless at the same time. Same with Eren the Southpaw and Drops of God and Why Sing When You can Warble and a few others. If this were last season, I'd still be watching them. Edited once to clarify a pronoun. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15851 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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There is way too many shows, which I need to make myself drop some, regardless of if it could have been a curious watch at some point. The worst days for me is Sunday (Saturday), which I think that I counted 13 shows, which I will make myself drop some. But I won't be dropping the particularly trashy stuff I like.
The Tuesday (Monday) is only really four shows, I think lighter, but I can argue Liar's Game is weaker than the 3 Edjwald said. The day is also wedged between what the days I have things drop on Disney+ for Star Wars (Maul) and Marvel (Daredevil), too many things! Also, I was wrong, he didn't manage to replace his watch. Instead, he got to their mail. Was there a reason she couldn't walk away after the lawyer obviously revealing himself? It isn't like she signed anything or had taken any items at that point, so I don't think they could have just said she owed them for something she never agreed to. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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The rationale for having Nao (as in she has Nao Brains At All) is utterly absurd as is how easily Con Man inserted him into Round 2. And yes, I raged at my TV when both idiots gave their money to Jerk Sensei. All their ridiculous action did was clear his 100 million "debt" to this bullshit "game" company... he is still in debt to other people... for how much we don't know, but I hope it's a lot.
Anyway, one of the things keeping me watching is just to see how flippin' stupid the dumb, yet lovable, Nao will get week to week. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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Oh sure, it's subjective. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 1226 |
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3:
Yeah, I'm out. You have any idea how many times I rolled my eyes in this episode? 1) When Akiyama came dressed as an official collector (that was just comical) 2) When Akiyama revealed his trick (man, that felt so outdated that it's lame) 3) When Nao gave away all her money to *Fujisawa (at that point, I thought Nao didn't deserve to win anymore) 4) When Akiyama gave away all his money to Fujisawa (at that point, I thought he and Nao deserved each other) 5) When the lawyer showed up and gave unsolicited advice (I actually began supporting the lawyer over Nao at this point) 6) When Nao said to herself that she wouldn't rely on Akiyama's help anymore (sure, keep telling that to yourself, Nao) 7) When Akiyama decided to join the Liar Game too (a con artist with a moral compass sure became his own liability) My eyes hurt by the end of this episode alone. This show will be the end of me if I continue watching it. It will try to impress me with people's ingenious tricks, but will shoot itself in the foot by how obvious it is. And I can't stand how cartoonish all the characters are (like I said, caricatures). And also like I said before, I feel like this anime adaptation is out of place with the times. When the manga and live-action series/movies came out around twenty years ago, they were relevant for their time. That's why I question the existence of this anime: why now, and not back then? It would have been a lot more exciting when the title was fresh on everyone's minds. As curious as I may be about the Minority Rule round, I have no investment in staying on for this show. Yeah, I'm definitely out. *Fujisawa might be the biggest winner after this episode, for being perhaps the only Round 1 loser who actually received all the money. Ironic, much. |
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#97710-8
Posts: 7 |
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I feel like people are too quick to dismiss this show just from the 3 episodes. The 3 episodes cover only the first game, which is considered to be the weakest arc from the manga. From now on, the games will get more interesting. The second game, "Minority Rule", already has interesting game design. There is a reason that Liar Game is considered one of the top mind games manga, and even the producer of Squid Game and Devil's Plan had admitted that they are partly inspired by Liar Game.
Also, I get that people are frustrated with Nao, but she is important in these early stages as a plot device. Besides being used to explain game rules to the audience, she also acted as a handicap to Akiyama. Akiyama will then have to overturn a seemingly hopeless situation, which is more interesting than just seeing Akiyama play normally. Also, even though she is very naive, I don't necessarily think her giving money back to her teacher is a wrong move. After all, Liar Game money is most likely illegal, and you might be in deeper trouble if you hold on to the money. Don't forget that Liar Game has connections to the legal world, and who knows what kind of trap they set by giving the money to players. Every gambler knows, the house always wins. |
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