To reach the top, humans should or will be capable of stepping on anyone and anything survival of the smartest, when the risk is losing everything. It’s the cunning versus the trusting, and the pack against the loner, not necessarily evil versus good. The world he paints in one of black and white, where the black-hearted will always win, and the weak and pitiful will always lose. Therefore, what’s wrong with deceiving others from the start or living faithfully for your own desires? That’s being human.” As the game’s masterful creator intones: “Humans are willing to betray each other in order to survive.
Liar Game instead strives to uncover the heart of human nature itself. The story isn’t merely about forcing poor innocent, indebted people to play a game, practically to the death, financial death. Games and plotting aside, there’s something very unique about Liar Game’s premise. Get lost trying to understand the all the players’ plots and maneuverings? No sweat! Before the game ends, there’ll be at least a 20 minute step by step account of how everything happened, and why. Fortunately, the drama anticipates just such an outcome. Having watched half the drama, the pattern for each match firmly memorized, and my brain starting to unravel to keep up with each game’s rules and intricacies, I found myself spacing out. And then, the suspense becomes merely repetitive. You get the feeling after a while that Akiyama-san will always be there to save the day. You’ll find yourself sitting in absolutely stillness waiting for his manipulations to become clear and work their magic. Matsuda Shota plays his part to perfection as the ultimate silent type: an analyst of humans, ever noting the depths of lies and secrets, and calculating every possible move ages before it happens. If you like sitting for half an hour – or two - in complete suspense wondering how on earth they will ever manage to win each round through sheer guile, biting your fingernails in anticipation of victory – well that might explain why it’s so highly marathonable. No twist is foreseeable, and no puzzle unsolvable to the brilliantly minded Akiyama-san. The games themselves are a logician’s masterwork. Having heard much about it and its cast, I was no ends of hyped up and ready to go, and this highly marathonable drama was a treat to behold, but while it's addicting, it's not perfect. Rewatch Value 4.0 Well I finally got around to watching this classic. Rewatching is almost necessary, to pick up on elements overlooked on first viewing and to concentrate on the overall atmosphere and acting of the show. The music is perfectly chosen, building up when required by the scene, retiring to the background when more attention from the viewer is needed. Liar Game is a perfectly staged metaphor of life, with honesty vs. The main characters and the recurring secondary ones are vivid, clear cut, each one growing and yet remaining the same in substance. The acting follows the same pattern, constantly over the lines, like a classic theatrical piece, with exaggerated costumes and close-up shoots of frozen expressions.Ĭharacterization is strong too. The direction seems to have the quality of a dream in mind, what with the dark colours mixed with splashed of blood red, shiny yellow and electric blue. It engrosses the viewer from the very beginning, accompanying one through a journey which is at the same time thrilling and disquieting. It's clever, thought-provoking, surprising and entertaining. Rewatch Value 10 Liar Game is an amazing drama.