Liar Game (2007)

Fictional but scarily real.

No spoilers! Proceed safely. :)

“If you do not destroy your opponents, you will be destroyed yourself.”

With a 9.5/10 rating, Liar Game reaches the tier A of masterpieces which I believe should be watched by everyone.

The plot is simple at first glance. “Stupidly honest Nao” who can't lie to save her life gets embroiled in the titular Liar Game organised by an agency of the same name. The game is exactly what it sounds like, a game of lies and deception. And so many things could go wrong with this drama.

It could be full of plotholes and meaningless sub plots with an underwhelming ending that portrays that honesty is the best policy. But no.

Liar Game is different from anything out there and it is something I'd label truly unique in its execution. The slow build up as the rounds of the Liar Game progress from simplistic deception to organised play outs and how Nao navigates it with the help of Akiyama, a con artist who spent three years in jail, and manages to somehow remain “good” no matter how many times she is lied to.

There are many reasons why I should have docked more points from Liar Game. The garrish production, flashy editing, sudden close ups of the pixel dummy, dramatic shots of every character’s face was kind of tiring and bad acting which is actually good acting that is meant to be bad. But somehow I noticed these only when the episodes had ended. While the episode plays, the intriguing plot twists which make sense will keep your mental gears turning and twisting.

So what was the redeeming quality of the Liar Game?
The message of the story.
“I am painting something more abominable than hell. Humankind itself.”

Liar Game conveys a unique message through its pov protagonist Kanzaki Nao. Nearly all episodes begin with an intro showing the first shot of Kanzaki Nao as she passes under cherry blossoms, happy and unblemished. The sort of crystal conscience which shows on her face.

During the Liar Game, I was honestly so annoyed by Nao. She made the stupidest mistakes ever and I was tearing my hair out by the end of episode 1 but Nao is the antagonist and hero the Liar Game and that is the message of the show.

Just because most of us have become used to deceiving others, be it a smal lie to your parent or be it a lie to thousands of people to siphon their life savings off them; each and every one of us has lied at some point in their life. And lying has become a skill which we try to hone. But just because Nao has is trusting and doesn't deceive, it doesn’t make her absolutely stupid. There is strength in trusting, there is strength in not lying, the sort of strength which Nao has and it annoys people but it is a strength which most of us don’t have.

Liar Game has opened my eyes to so many things. I have always been sharply aware and wary of deception and Liar Game hasn’t convinced me nor does it try to convince its viewers to have blind faith in everyone. But through its crooked Liar Game which is so scarily similar to our lives, Liar Game sens a strong message to its viewers and I thunk it would echo differently with different viewers.

Lastly, I don’t want to be THAT person who screams for their favorite shows and tries to convince everyone to watch it, and I have never done that before, but now I would like to say that I’m not lying when I say that Liar Game is honestly such a freaking masterpiece. There are legit no plot holes, at least none that I could discover and any loop holes which were there were discussed and justified. The twists came out of nowhere but still made perfect sense.

There are also hints of romance but that’s left to the viewers interpretation.

I rated the rewatch value very high which is unlike me because I hardly ever rewatch shows. This is mostly because I would like to visit the show again with the ending in my mind.

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I started reading the manga quite a while ago, but I never continued because at that time I was drowning in mangas, and so I decided to only pick up completed stories (this was still on-going). Well, now I have to say, I need to read it again, because if the dorama is even half as good as the original manga, this is going to be a great reading.

The story is, to put it simply, amazing. I love LOVE mysterious/psychological stuff, so this is right up my alley. The whole concept of the game is so great, and the ways to compete in it are even better. My favourite game was the Minority Rule, hands down. I think this would make for a great party game, especially when you're trying to break the ice with new people. Will definitely play it sometimes in the future.

The first two episodes, I'll admit, weren't that great. They were a little boring to me, because not much happens. But as soon as you get past that, everything is like a roller-coaster. Every episode ends with a cliffhanger, and you won't be able to stop watching. For this reason, I highly recommend you marathon the whole thing. I unfortunately didn't have the time to do so during the day, so the whole thing ended up with me not sleeping during the night. Not recommended. Especially if you have to get up at 8 in the morning to study and you went to sleep at 5 in the morning.

The main leads are Toda Erika and Matsuda Shota, whom I loved even before watching this dorama. Their acting is great, and so is that of the supporting characters. In the case of some characters, though, the acting is too over the top (Fukunaga-san and Yokoya-san, I'm looking at you), and Nao-chan actually irritated me to no end because she's just so idiotic sometimes (read: 99% of the times). As for Akiyama-san, I'm both in love with him and scared of him.

The music was okay, it didn't feel out of place, so that's enough for me. I'm giving it a 7 because it complimented the scenes.

As for the rewatch value... hmm... I wouldn't know if this is a good dorama to rewatch. I feel like mystery/psychological/thriller doramas can't withstand the repetition because you already know what happens. I'm giving it a non-committal 6.

On a final note, I felt like some of the explanations were unnecessary and made me feel like a child. The dorama treats its spectators like stupid people sometimes.

Still, a very pleasant watch. I think this is getting a spot on my favourites' list.

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"Sorry for lying."

I first heard about the Liar Game while Imawa no Kuni No Alice trended back in December 2020. I decided to watch this while the Squid Game hype was ongoing as I've seen several people prefer Liar Game as the top choice when it comes to games involving mind tricks.

☆ The first episode almost had a comedic effect on me. Kanzaki Nao-san, a girl who is so used to believing everyone and speaking the truth that she is nicknamed as "stupidly honest". When she receives a letter and a box with 100 million yen, she accidentally agrees to participate in the "Liar Game". The first task involved stealing your opponent's 100 million yen or losing the game and returning the 100 million you owned as a form of debt payment. She is relieved to find out that her 'opponent' was her old middle school teacher. Discussing the issue with him, it's not long before she is tricked out of her own 100 million yen by him. Now at the verge of being a victim with a 100 million yen debt, she takes a desperate action: begging for help from a con artist who was fresh out of jail.

☆ I did not see what was coming. As I was not well informed about the plot, I was blind to several things that happened. But, the hero himself deserves his own paragraph. Akiyama Shimichi, who was jailed for three years for defrauding a pyramid scheme organization, is astounded by Nao-chan's stupid honesty. The exact moment that he gets down to help her is the point where the drama changes tracks. He is no ordinary or extra talented hero; he is plain experienced con artist who was also possibly a valedictorian of his University. His method is not exactly simple, but it's evident that most of his skills are acquired from experience. Intelligent and meticulous in his game, he wove plans involving tricks and deception so much that by the end of the drama, I did not trust a single one of his actions. He was pretty much ruthless till the very end. Nothing magical changed him. He had his own judgements and plans when it came to everyone.

☆ The games: the only thing I can proudly boast about is that I successfully managed to pass the Trail game in Round 2. If that counts. The trouble with this drama is that it keeps you at the edge of your toes, playing the game right along with the actual players. And there was no loophole out of any of them. Everyone of them required pre-planning as to what the players were betting on: losing or winning? Both of the choices had their own drawbacks. And in a room full of people desperately trying to avoid a debt stricken condition, how could one guarantee that no one would lie to win? If Akiyama-kun wasn't there, 60% of the cast, including our heroine Nao-chan might've 100% ended up in debt. But, that doesn't mean that the other players are imbeciles. Though not on the level of a well experienced con artist, they knew their tricks well. But, same as before, I did not trust a single player by the end of the drama.
The timing of each game was really reasonable. But, it also showed how much our mind convolutes itself during critical moments. Though the games were pretty simple, what mattered was the result or the choice that each made, making the final decision absolutely nerve wracking to watch.

☆ What I found particularly striking about it was the unpolished and raw storyline. The plot and games were on point. No draggy episodes, no moments of intense emotions. The story was also insane when required. It pretty much puts the female lead through a duck press multiple times until the very end. All characters go through moments of doubt and despair. I found the punishment of living with a monumental debt even more intense than instant death. It was something that could lead to psychological distress and possibly a life of depression. The purpose of the Liar Game was intensely explored during the final few episodes.

● The Drawbacks:

☆ Nao-chan is incredibly naïve. She is called stupid multiple times and very reasonably so. The good thing about her was how she handled matters and was mature enough, unlike many female leads, who are just noisy.

☆ The *bad guys* of the drama or the villains of the moment were really comical or anger inducing. Almost a combined eight minutes were spent on the overdramatized laughter and tears.

☆ Liar Game was released in 2007, 14 years before this review. Unlike the more well polished production that all recent dramas have, this one appears distinctly outdated. The colour grading seems off in several places. It had freeze frames, close up shots, and effects that me me mad.

While there is a high chance this drama will get buried as the years go by, I'm glad that I finally decided to watch it. It was a well planned and excellently executed drama that would be remembered by the ones who saw it.

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Amazing show!!

I love love the game!! Before watching it, I had no idea how they can make a game where you lie to win...I was curious and thought concept like this couldn't have gone far with the plot, i was so WRONGG. I was amaze by how the author could thought of these games and how each character can manipulate their way to win the games...

Characters: Loved akiyama, his character is so clever, calm, caring,..kyaa!!...he become even more handsome every episodes (atleast for me)...I admire him for how much patient he had with the FML, its just show how much care and understanding he had towards her cause her character is just too innocent.

As for FML, I wouldn't say I hate her but she just so annoying, believing the same person who lied to her over and over again... Actually stop watching for a while because of her but continuing again for the games and akiyama.

However, I shipped the both of them so hard, wish they can be together in the show, unfortunately the just FRIENDS.

I actually think Fukunaga is better than her. He's also a smart character where it is good to have him on your side but when he's not...you would have harder time winning (not for akiyama though). At first I thought he's just someone who is bad, annoying and overreacting but he contribute his part in the group games like he's friends/enemy with the main character depending on which group/games he's in. He just do what he do best to win and not a bad guy I initially thought he's gonna be...

I probably will watch season 2, just praying here that the girl will not make my blood boils as much as this one does...
TRULY RECOMMENDED for someone who like game theme show. You won't regret it!!... well... if you could look past some over dramatic part....It is an AMAZING show.

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NO SPOILER JUST REVIEW: This drama is amazing in every way. It jumps straight into the plot which is nice as it is able to hook the reader to the story before you even get a chance to think of dropping it. Although it is a little predictable, some of the characters actions shocked me and left me with my mouth wide open. In my opinion old j dramas don't have the best acting but the acting in this was top notch and convinced me where it needed to. The music creates suspense and foreshadows the decisions characters will make in the game. I highly recommend re watching as it lets you fully grasp the psychological aspect of the characters and what they are there to portray.

READ AFTER WATCHING: A big part of this drama that is disregarded is the psychological aspect of it. People dislike the FL because she is dumb and easily ticked, but if you interpret her character a different way, it can be very thought provoking and eye opening. The reason we see her as stupid is because of the evil, greedy and manipulative traits most humans possess. She isn't stupid but she is so innocent and pure that she continuously gets deceived by other players but also helps and still trusts those who deceive her, making us think she is foolish as we wouldn't do the same. She is the perfect FL as she contrasts the liars in "Liar Game" by being honest and trusting others which is not the point of the game as we can tell from the title.

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Out of the Box Awesomeness

Epic beyond scale. The adaptations from manga was done beautifully. I'm amazed and still in awe on how amazing the show is when it was airing. The hype was well-deserved. This drama is pure legend. Everything is perfect and I wouldn't change anything. Even the annoying elements are simply overlook because I want the good guys to win.

Story
Adaptations from manga was not always a success, but this drama excel and triumph in its own charm. The way that the story was able to draw us in to this world where it felt somewhat normal but actually quirky, cold and dark setup of good versus evil, is really spellbinding. It didn't feel out of place or jarring. We are naturally sucked into this other worldly dangerous and mysterious journey of how good people can actually overcome any obstacles. To have faith in humanity. The very battle of own struggles versus the better of society.

The story lets me question my moral compass and critical thinking to its limit and sometimes it misled me to an idea that probably had unfavourable outcomes. I found myself rooting for the idea that naivety is a form of greater defence rather than having a high degree display of intellect/ aggressiveness in manipulations and deceptions.

Cast
ML is awesome, cool and mysterious. FL is annoyingly naive-dumb-too-good-to-be-true and sometime unbearable to tolerate but I'm still rooting for. But Mushroom guy is the winner here. He is so irritatingly fun but hateful guy that I still want him to be around so that he can caused trouble and I can beat him up to it. The best character in the story tbh. The overall casts are pleasantly good and the chemistry works in a weird, quirky and disfunctional way.

Music
OMG the arrangment of the score was pure magic. The background music works like a charm each time. The synchronization is awesome. I love it.

As always; Do I want to rewatch it all again?
Yes, although the element of surprise is no longer exist.

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A Good Start, An Intriguing ML

I'm a huge fan of films and shows about high-stakes games, and this was no different.

It is a little cliche in terms of its characters: the ML is smart and cold, while the FL is bright but naive. With that being said, I really think the drama could have focused more on character backstory and growth. While I liked the contrast between the leads, the ML was the most interesting character of all, while the FL felt like she was there as a plot device, just for his character development, to get him and all the side characters to open up.

And to be honest, I just don't fundamentally agree with some of the messaging here; Nao really feels naive and trusting to a fault, and it felt more frustrating than inspiring.

Still, I liked watching the games, particularly the earlier ones that were more simple and psychological. I love thinking through my own potential solutions and it was actually possible to do that at the start, whereas the later games got more confusing with a lot of rules and loopholes. If you're like me and like being able to treat shows like puzzles, this show is good for that at the start but starts diverging from it. Overall, it became a show where I would just sit back and watch things play out.

Sidenote: the editing is SUPER dramatic and it's kind of funny sometimes.

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This drama tells the story of Nao Kanzaki, a very naive girl that accidentaly gets involved in a thing called Liar Game. In this game, the contenders receive a huge amount of cash and have the objective of tricking the oppoent and get their money. The loser ends up with a debt of, at most, 100 million iens. Desperate, she insists until she enlists the help of a professional con man named Shin'ichi Akiyama.

The drama is very clever, with a lot of rational thought, sometimes I can even believe the writer of the original manga, Shinobu Kaitani, is a genius. Akiyama is very smart and constantly we, the viewers, don't know what's happening, but he does. Many of the games presentes in the show are original, and even then they're well done and interesting.

The drama's unpredictability is one if its greatest assets. Another one is the character of Akiyama. He glues us to it, hoping for one of his great moments. Nao is kinda weak in comparison, but she's also responsible for some twists that happen. The twists themselves are very impressive and some episode endings leave you craving hardly for the next.

Liar Game shows the worst side of humans. And despite being extremely focused on the games, there is still a little bit of background plot, involving the organisation that realizes the Liar Game, its objectives and the motives that lead certain characters into certain actions.

Speaking of characters, outside of the main ones, we have a lot of bizarre. Definitely it would work better with less weirdness and wacky secondary characters, but when you take away all of this tacky layer, what stays is pawns and characters with good objectives, therefore deep down they're good and deliver what they ought to.

Once upon a time I've read that Liar Game the drama has "neon in weird places". And after further verification, I can corroborate that. LG tries too hard to be edgy and cool. Indeed it does manage to accomplish that, but it sometimes goes too far. Especially in the editing.

But even with these howevers, I have to say Liar Game is awesome because, despite the weaknesses, the main part, the writing, is above above average. The acting is also good (even when the character itself is not). It's a drama to leave you tense. Recommended.

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There’s not much to say about this drama except for the fact that I’ve never felt so enraged about the main female character in my entire life. The show tried to play her bad qualities off as something that ultimately benefits everyone, but let’s be real, she just brings everyone down over and over and over again without ever learning her lesson. Besides the main character, this drama lacks in story by making every liar game repetitive and rather predictable. While the situations were resolved in creative ways, which I appreciated, Liar Game’s biggest issue was that there were just not many ways they could add variation to a game about stealing money, and they ended up creating a story that went in circles and rehashed the same issues again and again. Thankfully, the fast pace of the drama made it rather addicting and very easy to binge-watch, so I can’t deny that the entertainment value is definitely there. As long as you keep your expectations low (which I failed to do), you can enjoy this drama without taking any of it too seriously. On that note, I probably won’t be watching the sequels but I’d still recommend the first season since I definitely had fun watching it.

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Whom will you trust?

In life we constantly find ourselves becoming the subject of deceit or foul play. That’s what makes us act assuming the others are likely not to play fair. The liar game agency exploits exactly that. However, given the right incentive, people can also believe one another to take collective action for the benefit of the whole. This requires someone vulnerable but selfless to step forward (Kanzaki Nao here). The duo of Akiyama & Nao complemented each other really well.

Besides lying/deceiving, this series also makes you utilize your brain. On numerous occasions, other than deceiving another person or team it seemed like there was an intelligent strategy to be discovered. This made me look forward to the next episode, the next instalment, and the finale.

The unanimous red vote in the final seemed like a win for humanity.

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