Liar Game

Nao Kanzaki is honest to a fault. Uncorrupted and virtuous, Nao is the perfect target for a large-scale scheme—the so-called Liar Game. Suddenly in possession of one hundred million yen, she is expected to steal the same amount from her assigned opponent—her former middle school teacher—or face crushing debt. Trusting her teacher without question, Nao quickly realizes that she is trapped.

To gain an advantage, Nao comes in contact with Shinichi Akiyama, a brilliant con artist just released from prison. Though Akiyama has no real reason to help the naive girl, he ends up aiding her victory. However, driven by her unwavering sense of justice, Nao chooses to continue into the next round, and Akiyama, unwilling to leave her to fail, joins her. In the Liar Game, participants are expected and required to deceive, manipulate, and betray or be buried in lifelong debt. Yet Nao, with the help of Akiyama's genius, is determined to beat the game without abandoning her morals and prove that generosity and sincerity will always prevail.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Akiyama, Shinichi Main

Ootsuka, Takeo Japanese

Kanzaki, Nao Main

Hitomi, Saya Japanese

Miyahara, Hitomi Supporting

Taichi, You Japanese

Yokoya, Norihiko Supporting

Hanae, Natsuki Japanese

Leronira Supporting

Nakaya, Kazuhiro Japanese

Akagi, Kouta Supporting

Hirano, Junya Japanese

Eda, Teruyuki Supporting

Tomioka, Yasutaka Japanese

Fujisawa, Kazuo Supporting

Tobita, Nobuo Japanese

Miura, Takayoshi Supporting

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

Danno, Daisuke Supporting

Fukamachi, Toshinari Japanese

Miura, Fumito Producer

Yoshida, Yuuki Producer

Mori, Ryousuke Producer

Ashikawa, Mariko Producer

Reviews

Apr 20, 2026

hasty_scent8

Recommended

Preliminary (3/26 eps)

Why are people complaining?!

The animation quality is on the same level as Death Note, which is still considered one of the best manga adaptations ever made.

The story is engaging, the characters are compelling, and the opening perfectly captures that feeling of malice and mystery.

What also makes it refreshing is that, unlike most battle royale anime, the characters are not killing each other. Instead, the series relies purely on psychological games, manipulation, and mind battles.

I honestly believe the anime will get much better as more episodes come out.

Definitely one of the most underrated anime right now and a hidden gem that could stand the test of ... time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 5, 2026

sotosama

Mixed Feelings

Funny

Preliminary (5/26 eps)

I get the premise of the "she's too honest/ pure" but damn girl get a hint. Every episode (scrap that - multiple times in an episode) she hits us with the "Soo-na" ("That can't be") voiceline or keeps spamming her "Akiyama-san" joker card everytime something doesn't go according to the "plan". Exposes all the "upcoming plans" to anything and anyone, prematurely celebrates until someone hits the uno reverse card like brother it gets to a point.

I like the art direction, i enjoyed the first episode quite a bit but it's a downward spiral so far. Hope it picks up for the remainder of the ... season (I didn't read the manga).

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 13, 2026

made2break

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (6/26 eps)

What a cool poster, and an interesting name, if you like media about high stakes games and mental warfare you'd surely love this, right?! Wrong! Negative! Absolutely false! This is the anime equivalent of snatching candy from a baby. The twists are all obvious an hour before they're revealed, most of the time you'll find yourself mentally yelling the solution at the screen only for one of the characters to say the exact same thing 20 minutes later like it's some massive feat of intelligence. Liar Game really feels like Dora the Explorer compared to other media in the same genre, and it's not just ... the plot that's the problem.

The characters are as of episode 6 completely one note, they struggle to even become two-dimensional. There has been zero character development, it makes you wonder if this is an anime about mental challenges or an anime about the mentally challenged. Nao is endearing at first, but it quickly becomes tiring as she repeats the same lines and behaviors endlessly, never learning, growing, or changing at all. Akiyama is your typical pretty boy INT chad, but he really just feels like an extremely neutered and watered-down Light (Death Note), he doesn't really have a personality beyond being confident, selfless, and smart, and we aren't getting any character development or meaningful backstory for him either.

The loop of the show goes like this: Nao is being gullible and stupid, runs to Akiyama while crying, Akiyama saves the day, Nao becomes happy Nao, repeat. Now I'm a pretty misogynistic person, but after 6 episodes of enduring this cycle it's too much even for me. This would be so much more bearable if the people she got fooled by were competent and cunning, but every single time it's obvious when someone is lying or when someone can't be trusted, again very Dora the Explorer.

The villains are portrayed as comically evil, it's so exaggerated that the show becomes a parody of itself. It's a shame because the character designs in this aren't bad, they're bland but feel very real, like these people could exist in real life. If these characters had better motivations and deeper personalities they could be likable and memorable. The art in this show in general is very bland, there's no style or aesthetic in my opinion. I wouldn't mind the deficit in character depth and art if the plot tricked me or introduced difficult problems, but it fails at that too. Liar Game feels like a normal person trying to make a story about a genius.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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'Liar Game' Announces Additional Cast

The official website for the television anime adaptation of Shinobu Kaitani's Liar Game manga announced additional cast on Tuesday. The anime series premiered ...read more

Aug 19, 4:36 AM by Syureria | Discuss (3 comments)

'Liar Game' Unveils Additional Cast, Theme Songs, Promo for Second Cour

The official website for the television anime adaptation of Shinobu Kaitani's Liar Game manga announced additional cast, theme songs, a promotional video, and ...read more

Jun 22, 3:58 PM by mobulidae | Discuss (4 comments)

	Poll: Liar Game Episode 22 Discussion Stark700 - Aug 31	40 replies	by sw »» Sep 5, 3:28 AM
	Poll: Liar Game Episode 20 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Aug 17	56 replies	by WMR »» Sep 4, 10:37 PM
	Poll: Liar Game Episode 19 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Aug 10	59 replies	by WMR »» Sep 4, 8:44 PM
	Poll: Liar Game Episode 21 Discussion Stark700 - Aug 24	36 replies	by MrJames85 »» Sep 3, 11:17 AM
	Total of 26 episodes! AnimeHubLLLLC - Aug 31	15 replies	by Rixuel »» Sep 2, 7:27 AM