LIAR GAME

After reading One outs (Shinobu Kaitani's other manga), I became a fan of his work and wanted more of his portrayal of the human psyche, So I found out his next most popular manga and it was Liar game.
If I had to describe this manga in one word, It would be Plot twists. Literally there are so many plots twists at every turn that you will be hard pressed to remember what is happening and how, But thankfully the author's style of explaining stuff is co simple that even someone like me who takes some time to understand stuff enjoyed it.

This manga's plot is as simple as its title. Liar game is exactly what it implies, a game about lying your way out of stuff. Who doesn't like survival games where you have to wrack you brain for the answer only to find out that the answer was explained two chapters ago. Haha.

What solidified my enjoyment and appreciation for Liar game was no doubt its duo of main characters. Akiyama and Kanzaki. Akiyama is extremely cunning and intelligent, almost to the point of insanity. He's so smart that he makes eveb the smartest chess players look dumb, this guy has a backup plan for a backup plan. His motivation for becoming intelligent and cunning is also really well done. But what really stood out to me was Kanzaki's character. She's the typical MC who just has a pure heart and is honest to a fault (doesn't sound appealing right?) But it was her exact character that made me like her even more. Especially since this manga is all about lying and betrayal, when you see a character who is just dauntingly honest and at times dumb obviously but still doesnt give up on her convictions. I never thought her character was annoying actually and infact, once you read the ending of the manga, You will like her character even more because her character is literally about going against the system that the Liar game is devised upon. Also I could somehow relate to Kanzaki's stubborn and dumbfounded nature lol, But her development was really amazing to see thoughtout this manga.

While the ending might be a hit or miss for you, but I think the message portrayed here is so much greater than people give it credit for. The Societal elite always snuff out the hopes for the commoners and manipulate them using a herd control mentality. This manga very clearly gives this message at the end and tells us that the one thing that is able to go against the monopoly of the elite is the bond of trust and honesty among people. The one strength people have is Honesty and Trust, which the main character Kanzaki portrays quite literally. Yes the ending could have been better but the way the author wrapped up the message is quite nice in all honestly which deserves credit.

Actually the message this manga gives about Elite suppressing the weak and liberating from that ideology is really ironic considering the fact that this manga never got an anime adaptation lol. Soooo who knows hahah xD.

Anyways, this was an exciting, brain wracking, thought provoking and actually informative read because it involves several games which help you learn about risk and reward strategy and I even learned how to play Poker (Granted I still am not good at it obviously but still).

Will recommend this to fans of plot twists and in general just stuff that makes you actually read the lines carefully rather than just glancing past them. Its actually incredibly clever and it knows how clever it is and even rubs it in the face of the reader.

This was a solid 9/10, The only downsides were the open ending and some games were a bit dragges out but other than that this was really enjoyable.
Thanks for reading!