Liar Game, Volume 4

Liar Game #4

by Shinobu Kaitani

Liar Game lautet der Name eines spannenden Taktik- und Verwirrspiels, in dem es gilt, seine Gegner zu belügen und zu hintergehen. Die hoffnungslos naive Nao landet urplötzlich mitten in diesem Sumpf aus Lügnern und Betrügern und die Regeln sind eigentlich einfach. Man bekommt riesige Summen an Geld und muss versuchen es 30 Tage zu behalten und sich von Gegnern auf jede erdenkliche Art von Taktik, Strategie und krimineller Energie noch welches dazu zu beschaffen. Wer sein Geld verliert, hat riesige Schulden in Millionen-und Milliardenhöhe. In jedem folgenden Band werden den Spielern neue Spielvarianten vorgesetzt, neue Teilnehmer und neue Risiken werden definiert und das Lügen und Betrügen nimmt von Mal zu Mal neue, atemberaubende und erbarmungslosere Dimensionen an.

Genres: Manga, Mystery, Seinen, Comics, Thriller, Japanese Literature, Psychology

202 pages

First published May 18, 2007

About the author

Japanese: 甲斐谷忍He received the prestigious Tezuka Prize in 1991 for Mou Hitori no Boku (Another Me). In 1993, his series Suisan Police Gang was serialized in Shoukan Shounen Jump. In 1995, he co-illustrated the series Sommelier in the magazine Manga Allman to great acclaim. His baseball series One Outs, ended its run in Business Jump with 20 tankoubon released.

His current serial is Weekly Young Jump's Liar Game, which has been adapted into two seasons of a highly-rated drama series as well as a forthcoming movie.

Hobbies: horses, travel
Special skill: calligraphy, spoon bending

Reviews

[Rahul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really can't understand why is this manga so underrated.
This manga series is fantastic work with so deeply thought story.

[Lady Tea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5+++ / 5

While volume 3 was definitely the volume to hook people in, volume 4 is where people will start to be seriously impressed, like "questioning this mindfuck" levels of impressed.

Like, seriously.

The very first scene starts off in a cafe, where Akiyama and Nao are eating together. Nao starts to actually doubt for the first time, admitting that while she did speak to a great plan in unravelling the secret of the Liar Game, it's not a plan that will work unless others feel the way she does about it. Akiyama points out that this is doubt on her behalf, and that this is a good thing, resulting in probably the #1 most quotable line from this entire series:

"People SHOULD be doubted. Many people misunderstand this concept. Doubting people is just a part of getting to know them. What many people call ‘trust’ is really just giving up on trying to understand others, and that very act is far worse than doubting. It is actually ‘apathy."

This...philosophically and ethically puts a whole new perspective on "doubt", and as such really goes beyond just the plot of this series. Ordinarily, you'd think that to doubt someone is wrong and to trust them is right, but according to Akiyama, if you just take people at face value, you never really build connections with them or understand them, their motives, fears, desires, etc. Nao acknowledges that this is maybe why she's never had any close relationships: she was content to just take things as they were, but not really take any risks in delving into things further.

Personally, I'm not 100% behind the idea of doubting people, since while doubting people as in questioning them to understand them is one thing, "doubt" also implies that if you're not taking something at face value--which is usually represented as being something 'good'--then you must have some suspicions about the opposite going on, which means expecting the worst in people. I could go on and on and on and really make a whole lecture just around this topic, but suffice to say that it makes one THINK, and that's really something unique not just in mangas, but books in general.

Ahem, anyway, that's just one short scene in the volume, which is followed up by the long-awaited round 3, during which the author pulls out the big stops and goes all-out in everything: from the setup to the team dynamics, to, the most impressive of all, introducing the main villain of the series: Yokoya.

Now, we learn more about Yokoya in future volumes, so I'll comment on him more there, but suffice to say that his intro is worthy of an evil mastermind, in that he doesn't seem immediately intimidating or even remarkable, but the more you zoom in on him, the more uncanny he seems, with something just "off" about him.

All in all though, this is definitely a volume that readers have to pay more attention to, both in terms of complexity, and often times just in keeping the rules of the game straight. (All I can say is that thank goodness the author has already done all the math for us, otherwise it'd be a bit of a trial to keep up with who does what and what sums of money those result in!)

[أحمد رشيد · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is such a nice story.... u better read it

[Dhia Nouioui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my god this is getting physically painful to read with all the cringe about forgiving everyone and remaining buddies, way to ruin a series.

[A_ bookbound _soul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. The story is improving...
Love the way the author draws Akiyama's scheming face.

[Kesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best volume until now. The Team Game Northern and Southern country has some unexpected turning points I can sense that.

[Coke Fernández · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I totally forgot this game existed until I began rereading this volume, but WOW it's fantastic. Another solid 4/5 read.
---------
note:
vol 4 = chapters 29-38

[Rocio Valenzuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nao y los restantes siete jugadores que han superado la repesca afrontan la tercera partida del Liar Game. A ellos se suma Akiyama, que había logrado imponerse en la segunda fase del juego.

Los nueve participantes son conducidos a un aeropuerto donde transcurrirá el “juego del contrabando”, el primer juego en grupo del Liar Game, consistente en sacar dinero al extranjero moviéndose entre los países imaginarios “País del Norte” y “País del Sur”. El juego del contrabando es una intrincada mezcla de deseos individuales de recompensa, estrategia de equipo y anticipación de los movimientos de unos rivales desconocidos.

[Madalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the game in this volume, it was very entertaining mainly beacause it was a team game this time. Also I noticed a small change in Nao, she isn't such a crybaby anymore, I suppose my guess was right, she is developing as a character, helped by Akiyama of course .
Yokoya is a pretty interesting character, I'm curious what will happen in the next chapter... I bet Yokoya still has some tricks up his sleeves. I can't wait for the Yokoya & Akiyama face off.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story just keeps getting better and better. First of all, Nao's personality and attitude changed even though I haven't seen much yet. Whenever she's stuck in certain situations, she doesn't cry like a big baby and actually tries to do something herself. This was much better than how she was acting back then. I hope I get to see more of her personality change, and most of all I hope she stops trusting every single person she meets.

[Carolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was much harder to get through than the previous volumes, mainly because it was hard to grasp the many rules of this new game. However, it proved worth the effort. It’s predictable enough you can fit the pieces by yourself, but just the right amount to keep you hooked until the reveal. Fukunaga was so relatable this volume that I’m starting to like him…

[Strange · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vòng 3 mang tính chất đồng đội nhưng thực chất mọi người vẫn chỉ nghĩ cho bản thân mình... Nội dung vòng 3 quá hay và lạ, khó có thể đoán được là nên gan dạ mà doubt hay là pass

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and intriguing manga, Really love this so far! Great suspenseful Psychological/ High stakes game manga 😻😻🃏 🎰😁❤️

[Amara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even when I see a trick coming, it's still impressive how intricately the games and winning methods are designed.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, the psychology goes deep here. A clairvoyant tricks is just another political game.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This never fails to amaze me.

[Leonie]

The r slur was completely unnecessary. Might’ve been an intentional choice by the author to make the character look even worse than before, but pretty sure that’s not the case.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

[Trang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Game 3 này đỉnhhhhh

[soyatra · Rating 5 out of 5]

IN LOVEEE

[Đức Nhật · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yokoya là đối thủ quá mạnh của Akiyama, để xem anh này thắng kiểu gì.
Mà game buôn lậu này khó theo dõi thật, vì luật rườm rà và khó hiểu. Số tiền buôn lậu cũng lẻ tẻ nên khá khó hình dung.

[Omexmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 - O jogo mais interessante até agora hein

[Dominique "Eerie" Sobieska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall Rating: 8/10 ... if... it didnt have 19 volumes. So honest rating- 5/10.

This was original, years ago. I have no idea how I had stumbled on Liar Game but it was phenomenal, original, intriguing with so much treachery and deceit, I just couldnt get enough. Liar Game plays on human emotion from the pages until the end. A game were deception and manipulation as well as conning strategy will keep you going in the game, avoiding exceedingly vast debt and psychological trauma, one can safely say that there are no winners at the end of the line of this secretive con tournament.

The psychological evolution of the main female character Nao changes as the series progresses but unfortunately her good nature of saving even those that wronged her would get on my nerves further on. Akiyama was a well rounded character to begin with and helped Nao during the tournament.

The ending felt rushed, with made no sense as this was a 19 volumes series. Honestly, I feel like 5 maybe 6 volumes would have been enough as the battles would become more intricate, convoluted and repetitive. Since the author had written for such a long time, I would have honestly expected a better ending instead of the mess it was with holes and details left unexplained.

So do I recommend it:

I guess, but down the line if I really think about it, no... Unless you like psychological scheming dramas that last a bit too long. Kinda like soap operas!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first volume so far that I’ve felt a bit iffy about. Part of the problem might be me though. I’ve been binge reading these obsessively and they can be a bit much when you read them one after the other. My mind is constantly racing and I’m always trying to figure out who can be trusted and what the best strategy is. The idea behind the contraband game was interesting, but I really didn’t need 30 plus pages dedicated to explaining the rules. It was a little too complicated and I found myself starting to zone out. I would have loved this so much more if the story had been condensed or edited down somewhat. There was honestly no reason for the rest of round to be drawn out into the next volume.

[Elaine Ker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fukunaga (qui se présente comme une drag queen) est, selon l’analyse faite par mon frère et moi la première fois qu’on l’a lu, le personnage auquel les lecteurices sont censé·es s’identifier. En effet, en tant que lecteurice, on voit très bien quand quelqu’un ment à Nao, quand elle se fait avoir, et on ne se sent pas trop dans sa peau puisqu’on se dit que jamais on ne se ferait avoir comme ça. Les stratégies d’Akiyama, quant à elles, sont beaucoup trop complexes pour qu’elles nous viennent à l’esprit, et quand il révèle son plan, on se dit que jamais on n’y aurait pensé. Fukunaga est un parfait entre deux !
La suite de mon avis (sur la série complète) : https://elainevker.com/blog/2024/03/1...

[Lyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing really happened, it was like they suddenly cut off the rest of the manga and left it at that.
A new liar game has began, but it has not finished yet, I suppose in the next volume it will be completed.
At least Nao is much more brave and a bit more confident. I have to proudly say that she didn't cry once in the entire volume. Her character devlopment is going well.
The L of the series, Sinichi, has encountered his nemesis, Yokoya and I expect a great battle of wits between them in volume 5.

[Hikaoru · Rating 4 out of 5]

In volume 4 we get to see the 4th game. I admit that I thought it would end here and we'll proceed to the next game. Sadly, that does not happen. More treachery here despite Nao's preach/speech. Nao is less of a cry-baby and manage to get a bit of an insight. Like Nao, I hope I'll learn something from this 'cause I'm becoming apathic for some reason.

[Violet Sakura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this manga!!! Has made me yell a lot!!! I love the game of a genious mind!!! Akiayama sometimes reminds me of L (from Death Note), well I think now we have Light Yagami here as Yokoya :)
This is getting more and more interesting! Shot Matsuda is great as Akiyama!

[Muhamed Sewidan · Rating 5 out of 5]

لعبة الكاذب مصممة لاختبار صدق المتنافسين واظهار أنقى صفاتهم، او اظهار أسوأ مل فى الجنس البشري
انا كنت عارف سر الخدعة بتاعة ضرايب فريق الجنوب، لان مش معقول حد يتنبأ تنبؤ دقيق جدا كل مرة، قوانين الاحتمالات بتقول ان الاحتمالية لدا رقم فلكي، فأكيد فيه جاسوس