Liar Game | |
![]() First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Nao Kanzaki (center) with Shinichi Akiyama (behind) | |
Genre | |
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Manga | |
Written by | Shinobu Kaitani |
Published by | Shueisha |
Imprint | Young Jump Comics |
Magazine | Weekly Young Jump |
Original run | February 17,2005 –January 22,2015 |
Volumes | 19 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by |
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Written by | Tatsuhiko Urahata |
Studio | Madhouse |
Licensed by | Remow |
Original run | 2026 – scheduled |
Live-action | |
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Liar Game (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shinobu Kaitani. It was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump from February 2005 to January 2015. It was adapted into a Japanese television series in 2007,with a second season which ran from 2009 to 2010. It was also adapted into two live action films; Liar Game:The Final Stage in 2010 and Liar Game:Reborn in 2012. A South Korean television series adaptation aired in 2014. An anime television series adaptation produced by Madhouse is set to premiere in 2026.
An uncommonly naive college student named Nao Kanzaki receives a package containing 100 million yen (about US$1 million) and a note that she is now a contestant in the Liar Game Tournament. In this fictional tournament,contestants are encouraged to cheat and lie to obtain other contestants' money,with the losers forced to bear a debt proportional to their losses. When Nao's first opponent,a trusted former teacher,steals her money,she seeks assistance from a con man named Shinichi Akiyama. Though they manage to defeat him,Nao and Akiyama decide to buy out his debt and advance through different rounds of the Liar Game Tournament against merciless contestants,while at the same time attempting to free their opponents from debt and defeat the Liar Game organization from within.
The LGT Office operates as the clandestine organization behind the Liar Game Tournament,structured to experimentally recreate scenarios from a suppressed radical political text. Its membership comprises two specialized roles:masked "handlers" who directly manage contestants and distribute game information,and observing "hosts" who supervise tournament rounds. The organization represents a second attempt at this social experiment,following an aborted initial trial. Several key members' identities eventually become known to participants through the tournament's progression.
Liar Game,written and illustrated by Shinobu Kaitani,was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump from February 17,2005,to January 22,2015. [3] [4] Shueisha collected its chapters in nineteen tankōbon volumes,released from September 16,2005, [5] to April 17,2015. [6]
A short story,titled "Roots of A",was published as the title piece of a Shinobu Kaitani's anthology released on July 18,2008. [7]
Liar Game was adapted into a Japanese television series: Liar Game ,a 2007 series broadcast on Fuji Television,followed in 2009 by a second season. In 2010,the full-length film Liar Game:The Final Stage was released as a continuation to the television series. A sequel,entitled Liar Game:Reborn ,was released in 2012. [8]
A 2014 Korean drama adaptation also titled Liar Game aired on cable channel tvN. [9] [10]
An anime television series adaptation was announced during Remow's panel at Anime NYC 2025 on August 22,2025. The series will be produced by Madhouse and directed by Asami Kawano,with Yuzo Sato serving as chief director,Tatsuhiko Urahata writing and supervising scripts,and Kei Tsuchiya designing the characters. It is set to premiere in 2026. Remow licensed the series. [11]