Mind Games

Months after phoenix chix got me interested in the drama Liar Game, I finally got the series last weekend.

Played the first episode just to check if the file was intact, but it opened with the main character returning a lost property of 100 yen (~ 1++ SGD) to the police, which was funny enough to get me watching on... then the Game plot started, and I couldn't stop until I finished the whole 11 episodes overnight -- though I did skip some of the flashback-ridden 3-hour special last episode. (Ah, the efficiency of Japanese dramas when compared to the average 20++ episodes of other Asian series.)

By the way, I learned from other sources (variety shows..) that in Japan, keeping a lost property is considered a crime, and that includes keeping the extra change a shopkeeper gives by mistake. On the other hand, returning that lost property entitles the finder to a reward of 5--20% of the property value. Don't know how effective of an incentive that is, but I think it's a nice gesture..

Anyway, the drama plot is about a "stupidly honest" girl, Kanzaki, who got involved in a real-life game where the players need to manipulate others to win a huge sum of money, or end up in a huge debt if they lose. Of course the series wouldn't progress if she just got cheated all the time (which she would have!), so she got help from a genius psychology-student-turned-swindler, Akiyama, who, as such plots typically require, had a tragic past and was out for revenge of some kind.


I was prepared to get annoyed at this girl's naivete since even phoenix chix did, but the plot momentum was so good (or was it the marathon-watching?) that I didn't feel it. I was even happy for her when she finally showed some smart planning on her own, then I took a look at the episode number and well, episode eight was high time for it..

It also helped mightily that it was Toda Erika in that role-- she made even Deathnote's Misamisa all right for me, heh. I think she belongs to the type of cuteness that is likable-- the other would be the overbearing "act cute" type that, from past observation, seems to appeal to (some) males only, lol. Another reason may be that I can sympathize with people who cannot be manipulative, though in my case it's not so much due to the faith in the good of humans than the limited stretch of imagination..

There might be some flaws and plot holes, but my only major complaint was that the last scene, probably in a cliched thriller attempt at a hanging feel, sort of defeated the good concluding point that had been made earlier: that life itself is a liar game. (I consider this as part of the premise of the story and thus not a spoiler, though the way it was put forth in that last episode might be.)

phoenix chix compared this series to Kurosagi, which I've watched before LG, and I quite agree with his points. Kurosagi's swindler character was made out to be half on the funny side and was thus more enjoyable in that aspect, but I didn't mind LG's Matsuda Shota "playing cool" all the time either (or maybe it was my increased tolerance from all the exposure?) as I think he acted well and the strategies were very interesting.

And somehow I found the treatment of romance, or lack thereof, in LG to be a plus too-- all we got was some subtle remarks leaning in that direction which contributed to the scarce humorous moments in the whole series. ("Personal property" kinda cracked me up, especially after the earlier SM* talk.. (Warning: this may or may not be PG material.))

Now it would be instructive to mention the Trick series with its detective work plus occasional magic-show tricks.. Despite the darker criminal/spiritual background, my impression of this is "the comedic one" (with very likable characters), while Kurosagi is the emotional one and Liar Game is the thrilling one. All are pretty good series. (Just like Kanzaki-san I don't like conflicts and don't want to choose, lol.)

But I guess my thoughts on Liar Game would be, while I wholeheartedly believe that honest and positive thinking is the way to be happy, it also requires skillful means. If Kanzaki didn't win the games, there would've been little impact she could make on others; and she couldn't have won without Akiyama's manipulative strategies. We'd certainly prefer those strategies not to harm others (now this would lead to a whole new discussion on Game Theory, wouldn't it) but...


* If you haven't known this term, I prefer not to be the one explaining what it meant in the drama, but the G-rated interpretation (that my other sources said was also common in Japan) is somewhat as the character first tried to turn it to: the psychological categorization of aggressive(S) versus passive(M) personalities.