Finally finished Usogui. Have been reading it for a year, and honestly, it's left such a huge impression on me, I probably won't ever forget it.

The beginning starts off slow, but after the first few arcs, it really takes off. It's a gambling manga, that actually takes itself seriously without going into cringe territory. It has some of the most convoluted mind games I've ever seen, with unexpected twists and an OP shounen mc. It isn't really grounded in reality though, it has some weird destiny elements and superpowers. The other aspect of this series is the fighting. Now, without going into spoiler territory, this series has a fighting aspect alongside the actual gambles. It's not that the gambles are usually combat-oriented, but there is action and a little bit of gore on the side, though not necessarily less important, as the plot also moves forward within these parts. It executes this perfectly, the physical and mental parts are balanced excellently and you never really get bored.

The characters are all fleshed out, there's weirdly a phenomenon where almost no character is an actual side character. It's crazy, every character has a unique backstory without being too preachy and if you changed the writing style, a lot of them can end up being the protagonist (it's amazing, over 50 fleshed out characters that work well with each other) and the fun isn't in the whodunnit but rather, the whatthefuck. The main character can get annoying sometimes, with his "I predicted your predicting of my predictions about your predictions", but it doesn't bother me personally, as it's nice to see a capable main character that isn't a complete joke.

There's a lot of mind and death games, and every single one of them is important to the overall plot and they each get incrementally higher stakes. It has over 500 chapters, but i brushed through them, once an arc starts, you probably can't really put it down till it finishes. The artstyle starts off really really poorly, it's total batshit. But after the 70~th chapter, it starts to evolve and then by ch150-200 all the way till the end, each panel is a masterpiece. I love the way the mangaka draws their faces, you don't get confused by who's who, even though most characters wear similar clothes, it's all in the face.

The writing itself can be a bit confusing, especially for a first time reader, as the plot becomes very convoluted and it jumps back and forwards quite a bit, but the scanlators i read had an explanation at the end of each arc with graphical presentations, so after a reread, you're golden. There is no filler in this manga, and what i mean by that is every detail is important, at least for character development. A throwaway line in ch40 actually becomes a gigantic deal towards the end and there's all these bits of foreshadowing that the scanlators explain sometimes and it excites me for when i am gonna reread it again, cause honestly i can't wait.

Because it's a gambling manga, there's gonna be comparisons to kaiji and co. I'm gonna be honest, i don't like kaiji. A lot of the time, those games end up being won due to luck, i don't particularly like that. Here, there is almost 0 luck factor, every phone call, every dialogue, every piece of the background actually matters, but this foreshadowing isn't actually necessary to be noticed for the series to be enjoyed. They're just little tidbits that some people might want to indulge in finding, they're by no means major players.

It's a complex series though, i recommend reading slowly and understanding most pieces, it's really a slow burner, though reading it in a flash is as enjoyable too, at least in my opinion.

I think I should be finishing up with the review, i recommend this manga a lot, especially if you like just sitting down and slowly consuming and enjoying a piece of literature. You probably won't regret it, just power through the first 100 chapters, it gets really REALLY good. If you're one of those people who care about a series by whether it has a satisfying ending, I can tell you, the ending personally satisfied me, a lot. Some people don't like it, but I think it's perfect and it really captures the essence of the whole series. Try it out, Usogui. The Lie Eater.
Perfect to sit down, relax and slowly read through.

If you have any additional questions about the series I didn't go through, you can ask me, I don't mind talking about this series.

10/10