Liar Game

I read a lot of Japanese manga, and most of it is pretty terrible. But sometimes I come across a real gem, and those rare stories are what drive me to continue reading manga. One of those gems is Liar Game.

The main characters of Liar Game couldn't be more different. One is a "foolishly honest" college student who is easily tricked, and the other is a genius ex-convict who drove a multi-level marketing group to bankruptcy. This unlikely pair gets dragged into a tournament-style contest run by the mysterious Liar Game corporation. As the name implies, the point of the game is to lie, and the winner stands to win huge amounts of money. The losers, on the other hand, go into debt.

The Liar Game consists of multiple rounds, and each round is a different type of game. One round is called "Minority Rule," where everyone is given a yes-or-no question, and in order to win, you have to always vote with the minority. Another round is a harmless version of "Russian Roulette," which requires more strategy than luck. How the participants use psychology to achieve victory is absolutely fascinating. It's a great story.

Furthermore, there are a wide variety of supporting characters. Many people with different backgrounds, ages, genders, personalities, and motivations help show how different people react to intense situations.

Unfortunately, the art is below average. It's enough to get the job done, which is to make you pay more attention to the story and the characters. There's nothing to distract you from the dialogue.

Liar Game chapters are available here until it is licensed for American release, at which point it may or may not be removed.