Personal Rate: 7
Rate based on different characteristics: 7


I've been aware of the hype generated behind this manga for years now but it's only after watching the Korean tv series by channel tvN that my curiosity was raised enough to read it. I should mention that although it seems the Japanese dorama is relatively faithful to the manga, it is not so for the K drama. This being said, I've got to admit I loved the kdrama more than the manga, but the stakes were different and it does change fundamentally how the series should be regarded.

I initially gave it a rate of 8 but ended up giving it a 7... The brilliance of the many twists makes it easy to overlook the plot-holes but I feel that as enthusiastic as some readers have been, it is no justification to blatantly ignore some of the elephants in the room.

Now for the review:


Story: 8

Plot-wise, it's pretty straightforward. The whole point of the manga is in the many games, strategies, twists and turns and many reversals occurring. It's just completely unpredictable and it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This being said, I've got to remove 1 point for the complexity of some of the games involved... There's just so much time spent on explanations, that I found my attention drifting away on several occasions and had to reread several times . What with the rules of the games, the demonstration of the games, the games itself with the explanations of the twists, you're in for A LOT OF READING. And ok I get it's the point of the manga but still, some of the games are so complicated, I got headaches trying to understand what was going on. After about a bit over half of the series, the games got easier to grasp and the explanations got more fluid but I bet some readers would have probably renounced understanding everything going on by that point.

The second minus point is Kanzaki Nao... But more on that later.

Art: 6

The first volumes are...ugly. No other way to put it. By the end of the series though, the art looks great although it may not be to everyone's taste. The use of photographies for the background at times is not smooth but again who reads this for the pretty pictures anyway?

Character: 6

Weakest point of the series as far as I'm concerned. In a nutshell, while some characters have interesting trajectories, the vast majority of them don't change a bit over the course of the series. They were scum at the beginning, they remain scum at the end. Now let's elaborate a bit for our main characters:

Kanzaki Nao: You'll need a whole lot of patience with this character. She'll let you experience the true meaning behind the word "exasperation". I'll bet some readers gave up this series just because she is such a retard. This being said, you have to give it to her that she sticks to her ideals through and through, a character trait that is particularly remarkable and praise-worthy in such a wicked game. The problem with Nao is that her stupidity at the beginning of the series is just out of this world.
She does grow on you by the end of the series though. At the core, she still can hardly hold a candle to Akiyama and Yokoya's brains, but she does learn to put her innocence, lack of animosity and ability to see the good in people to good use and develops an ability to read people and as such to know how to move them. Nevertheless, some of her decisions throughout the series are just plain irrational and are responsible for the biggest plot-holes you'll witness. STUPID just does not cut it at this point .

Akiyama Shinichi: A character whom I found difficult to read, so I won't talk much about about him. He's truly impressive and his sole motivation is to make sure that Nao's ideals stand true. Together they do form an impressive combination. Though it appears at the beginning that Nao is a dead weight he carries for some unknown reasons, by the end of the series, it's clear that Akiyama's plots which often rely on trust and tricks could never have been carried out without the apparently clueless Nao. He also has a tendency to self-sacrifice and put himself at risk for a bunch of trash people with no conscience whatsoever... That is what makes him such a puzzling character in my book. Nao's a philanthropist but it's clear that he is not, yet why does he accept to put his neck on the line for people who betrayed him and whom he could easily crush with that brain of his is beyond me. It's not like Nao would blame him if he ever did, after all they would have ripped what they sowed.

Fukunaga: A side character worth mentioning for his interesting arc. From despicably low to a savior, he's one character who redeemed himself as the story went on, changed by Akiyama and more importantly Nao.

Yokoya Norihiko: That guy's got Akiyama's brain but no conscience whatsoever... which makes his end trajectory pretty puzzling to me.


Liar Game is filled with characters whose levels on the moral spectrum varies a lot... While some characters do learn from their mistakes, most of them remain their selfish selves all throughout which is truly sad to see as a fellow human being. Are we that low I wonder? My personal belief is that faced with unbearable difficulties, most people would choose to support each other instead of saving their own skin at the cost of others. Unfortunately, looking at the players in this game, it seems I belong to the minority.


Enjoyment: 8

Apart from Nao's initial stupidity which made me roll my eyes for most of the first half of the series, I enjoyed reading Liar Game immensely: there was no way I could predict how things were going to turn out. Every chapter was always full of twists and turns, and I could only expect the unexpected, which made for an exciting read.


Overall: 7


WARNING: no spoilers ahead, but some comments on the message of the manga by the end of the series.


I mentioned it, but my biggest complain lies with the characters. Apart from Nao, Fukanaga and a couple of side characters, nobody changes radically. The saddest part is that we get some open ending with a morality speech on the power of trust when even in the very last game, that sorry bunch couldn't agree with each other and still wanted to win over the other. After all they'd been through, up to the last minute, only their distrust won over and they only managed to get to where they were because as usual, Akiyama tricked them hence rendering the trust speech empty.

It would have done wonders, if for once, they learned to work together instead of constantly try to get the best of the others. It is sad that Nao's ideals couldn't get through to most of them...

Also, we play games after games, there is no such thing as "rest period" in this series, it's fast paced but it doesn't give breathing room to get to know our characters more, which consequently given how rotten they all are makes it even more difficult to empathize with them.

We also get an open-ending which is a bit frustrating to be honest... Though the series stands on its own. No explanation is given about how the masked men managed to create the whole game and the logistics involved... It's not indispensable... but still. Finally... would it have hurt the author to give us a proper epilogue I wonder. The game's finished, end of story... OK. What happened to the players?

Would I recommend this? Sure, it's GREAT entertainment, but at the end of the day that's it. I don't feel like this story is going to leave me a lasting impression nor its characters... since we never took the time to know them properly and the whole point of the story wasn't properly handled. "Victory lies with those who learn to put their trust in the others" would have hit home if only that is what they'd have done by the end... but sadly not.