Here’s my scandalous advice: if you want to understand what’s going on with this Japanese drama (or “dorama” for short), watch the final three episodes (Eps 11, 12, and 13) before watching the first 10 episodes.

Shocker!

In the same way that some of you read my blog before beginning to get the gist of the drama, the last three episodes of “Liar Game” conveniently highlight the important plot points so that —

a) you know what you’re getting into and
b) you don’t get confused with the storyline.

That’s my advice. Take it or leave it.

Here are my first and last impressions.

1. Nao

At first watch, the heroine of this dorama, Kanzaki Nao, or Nao for short, is one of the most exasperating heroines I’ve the misfortune to watch. She brings a triple whammy of gullibility, stupidity, and masochism.

In Episode 1, the hero, Akiyama Shinichi, makes her wait for him overnight, hoping she’ll leave him alone. She doesn’t.

Nao: Akiyama-san!
Aki: (exasperated) What are you doing?
Nao: I’ve been waiting for—
Aki: Why didn’t you go home after how long I made you wait?
Nao: But you told me to wait for you here.
Aki: (sigh) That’s how you got conned. You got conned because you’re so stupidly honest. Go home already. (turning away)
Nao: Is it so wrong? Is it so wrong to be stupidly honest?

Side note: the visual imagery worked here. In his leather jacket and blue jeans, he looks like an adult. However, she looks like a kid, with her brightly colored clothes matching the lanterns and the lightbulbs. If her question doesn’t trigger his protective instincts, then her appearance will.

That question is so pathetic but it gets his attention. He’s reminded of a bloodied woman lying on the ground.

Aki: (sigh) I’ll listen to your story.

Then, in Episode 4 (Thanks, @Wenchanteur), she hears the words sadists and masochists for the first time.

Nao: (conspiratorially) Akiyama-san.
Aki: (thinking she was about to report on something important) Did you notice something?
Nao: What are…sadists and masochists?
Aki: (speechless)

I like how he’s quick to think of his feet. Obviously, he can’t tell her the real definition of the words. A sadist is a person who enjoys inflicting pain on another. In contrast, a masochist enjoys being on the receiving end of pain and cruelty from another person. But there’s a sexual connotation to both enjoyment and suffering which he doesn’t think is appropriate for Nao.

Note the camera angle. It was shot from below making Akiyama look taller and Nao smaller. The viewers are supposed to feel that he’s the older and wiser one, protecting Nao with her child-like purity.

Aki: Well…It’s like the difference between defense and offense. Just imagine sadists are offensive and masochists are defensive.

Lol. Note the introduction of the playful musical score in the background as he tries to explain about S&M.

Nao: I guess that makes me a masochist.
Aki: Hey!

Because he sanitized the definition of the words, she doesn’t see that he’s uncomfortable thinking about her sexual preferences. She thinks that he’s protesting because she’s changing her vote.

Nao: Don’t worry. As we discussed, I’ll vote “yes” next. So that makes me a sadist.

In her logic, she thinks a sadist says “yes.” Funnily enough, she’s right: a sadist would say yes to pain when a normal person would have said no and fled from pain.

Aki: That’s not what I meant.
Nao: (persisting) What is it then?
Aki: (wanting to end this conversation) I don’t think you should talk about that so much.
Nao: Ah! You’re right. (turning to go)

Then the image of the scoreboard flashes in Akiyama’s mind and he looks at their surrounding. I think he calculates that Nao is better off with the majority in this round.

Aki: (firmly) Wait. You are a masochist after all.
Nao: (confused) Am I a masochist?
Aki: In any case, you vote no. I’ll vote yes instead.

Comments:

a. Yes, this is an apt description of their relationship. Akiyama is the “yes” man or the sadist. He devises their offensive strategy in order to win the rounds in Liar Game. Meanwhile, Nao is the “no” woman. In terms of defense, she thinks of ways to protect and safeguard the collective group from the negative consequences should they lose in Liar Game.

b. It’s easy to see how gullible and stupid Nao is. But it isn’t so obvious how she’s a masochist.

You would need to consider the many occasions she willingly and recklessly sacrificed herself for the sake of others. For example, she gave up her winnings to her middle school teacher from hopelessness. She also gave her chance to withdraw from Liar Game and saved the Leopard Skin guy from debt. She also saved the Mushroom Guy from elimination despite the Mushroom Guy ganging up on her. And Akiyama? She didn’t let him enter Round 3 on his own.

To the very end, she readily bears the pain and cruelty that others inflict on her. She’s a masochist alright.

c. In the final episodes, I realized the reason for her gullibility, stupidity, and martyrdom (aka masochism). It’s because she’s idealized. She’s an ideal, a paragon, a saint of virtue, an icon. Despite her implausible naivety, she can do no wrong because she exists as this idealization of a pure-hearted person.

Here’s what the Hasegawa of the Liar Game says about her.

Hasegawa: I’m the organizer of the Liar Game. The pyramid scheme that you destroyed was one of my organizations as well.
Ari: (controlling his anger)
Hasegawa: Have you overcome your hatred?
Ari: What is the goal of this game?
Hasegawa: I’ve come down with a serious illness because of the evils I’ve committed. As I gaze upon my own death, I found her. I wondered could a pure girl like her be involved in a cruel battle and retain her purity? Does anything truly beautiful exist in this world. With my death before me, perhaps I desired the answer I couldn’t find in my own life.
Ari: Just for that?
Hasegawa: She’s innocent. She trusts everyone and doubts no one.

Hasegawa: (continuing) Many may think she’s stupid, but they all eventually realize that they believe she is stupid because they have grown used to doubting and hurting others.

Lol. He’s making her out like Santa Claus. “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist.”

Hasegawa is saying that Nao isn’t stupid. It’s people fault that they misunderstand her ways because they don’t trust and care for one another. If they truly believe in inner goodness, Nao can become a brain surgeon. Lol.

Hasegawa: (continuing) I realized this, as well. I have been saved. Weren’t you saved by her, as well?

With all due respect, this old man is creeping me out.

This is how cults are formed, you know. The cult of an individual, the cult of Nao. I’m not surprised, though. A person, often near death, imagines himself reformed and saved from hell because somebody with saintlike qualities appears in his life.

Hasegawa: That’s all I have to say.
Ari: When will the fourth round begin?
Hasegawa: The fourth round? Perhaps it’s already begun. Isn’t this world just like the Liar Game?

Hence, the artwork.

Instead of putting Nao on a pedestal, the Hasegawa of the Liar Game has painted her as an angel saving a heap of writhing sinners like him.

Hasegawa: Look at the painting. I’m not finished yet. But I decided to make changes.
Eri (his assistant and daughter): It’s a wonderful painting.
Hasegawa: You tried to show me hope through Kanzaki Nao, didn’t you?
Eri: Not quite. I also wanted to try believing in people.

See that? Nao has been glorified as some sort of angel. It’s a good thing, however, Akiyama doesn’t view her like that. He thinks she’s stupid at times, and doesn’t idealize her.

Lol. He just said what I’ve been thinking for 12 episodes.

2. Akiyama

About 98% of the time, I pity this guy because he has to hand-carry Nao to victory in all three rounds, plus the revival game. The image I have of him is that of a catcher in the rye. Remember that passage from the J.D. Salinger book?

Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around – nobody big, I mean – except me. I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.

From “Catcher in the Rye”

Through most of the drama, Nao stands on a precipice and Akiyama must catch her before she falls. He thinks of ways and means to extricate her from situations she created herself.

Three scenes stand out for me.

a. Episode 8 when he outlines his goal for Nao.

Aki: My goal is to take all their money. Then you withdraw from the third round.

Aki: Only the person in first gets to withdraw. Combined, all players’ funds and the special prize are worth 1 billion yen. Even if you return the 100 million that you were granted for this game and pay 50 million to withdraw from the game, you’ll be left with 850 million. With that money, withdraw from the game this time.

Nao: Hold on. If I withdraw, what about the others?
Aki: They all will be in debt.
Nao: No.
Aki: Don’t worry about it. They tried to make you lose.
Nao: There’s no need to go that far.
Aki: They deserve to be punished. People with no problem deceiving others deserve to be punished. Don’t worry about me anymore. I won’t withdraw from the third round. So don’t do anything else you shouldn’t do.

Notice the editing here: his eye and lips were deliberated added. Why? I think it’s to indicate how strongly he felt about this.

This conversation reveals a lot about his outlook. He hates lies, liars and lying. He has a rigid, black-or-white sense of justice. He advocates retribution or punishment. He doesn’t temper his justice with mercy. Unlike Nao, he isn’t forgiving.

Note his outfit in the opening credit? Black and white. In contrast, Nao is in red. The color in Japanese culture is an auspicious color. It means happiness, joy, strength.

To continue…

Later, after Nao thwarts his plan for her, the game representative Eri approaches him.

Eri: Are you displeased with these results?
Aki: I wanted to make her withdraw. (looks back at Nao) Saving the others instead.

Eri: That is her decision.
Aki: You’re part of the organization aren’t you? Why did you make her participate in this game?

He’s trying to protect her. If he understands the motives of the organization for including Nao in the games, he can anticipate their moves. He’s being a “catcher in the rye.”

b. Episode 13 when he becomes furious with himself and kicks the trashcan.

He says, “I let my guard down completely. We lose.”

Obviously, he’s angry for failing to anticipate the betrayal of the Mushroom Man. But I think what pushes him over the top is Mushroom Man jeering at Nao.

Mushroom Man taunts her, “Nao-chan. You never learn, do you? You’ve been deceived the same way over and over. You’re so stupid. Hilarious.” That’s when Akiyama furiously kicks the can.

c. At the end of Episode 18 when he witnesses Nao being fooled by a kid

Aki: Sheesh. Even kids make fun of you? Sheesh. You were tricked because you’re stupidly honest.
Nao: Is it so wrong to be stupidly honest?
Aki: Seems fine to me.

This is a cute moment because

a) they’ve come full circle,
b) he accepts her for who she is,
c) he knows that he can handle anything bad scrapes she gets herself into,
d) he knows that she isn’t such a bad partner anyway.

3. Cain and Abel

Did Feifei ask what the significance of this biblical story was? It’s my belief that the story of Cain and Abel is the central message of this drama.

From Episode 11.

Eri: I am here to report on the game’s progress.
Hasegawa: After killing his brother Abel, when Good asked where Abel was, Cain answered, “I know not. Am I my brother’s keeper?” That was the first lie told by humankind.

Ugh. No. If we’re going to consult the Christian bible for stories like then no. The first lie was told by the serpent to Eve in the Garden of Eden. The serpent sneakily asked Eve if God really did tell them not to each from any of the tree in the garden. Eve corrected him, saying that she and Adam could eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden EXCEPT for fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. God had told them, “You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.” That’s when the snake fed her the lie. It said, “You certainly will not die.” And Eve believed the snake.

Hasegawa: Thousands of years later, human nature has remained unchanged. Don’t you agree?
Eri: How surprising. I had no idea you believed in god.
Hasegawa: It’s just an example. Your report…
Eri: (proceeds to update her boss/father)

Stop here for a moment, and think why I say this is the key to the dorama.

Ready?

It’s because Hasegawa expects Nao to turn into a Cain.

Cain was the older of the two brothers. He was a farmer while his younger brother Abel was a shepherd. One day, they made a sacrifice to God, using the things they were growing. Cain offered the produce of his land and Abel offered the firstborn of his sheep. God preferred Abel’s sacrifice better and Cain became jealous. He lured Abel to his land and killed. Then, he lied when God asked where Abel was.

If you’re a parent, you’re sure to notice the insolence in that retort, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” I have an image of Cain shrugging his shoulders and lifting his hands, like this.

Hasegawa fully expects Nao to “kill” or eliminate people like

-her former teacher Mr. Fujisawa in the first round of the Liar Game

-her 21 opponents in the Minority Rule in the second round

-her 8 opponents in the Downsizing game for the revival round

-and the five-member Fire team in the Contraband game in the third round.

But rather than eliminate people who stand in her way, she steps in as her “brother’s keeper”. What Cain didn’t want to do, i.e., to assume responsibility for someone else, Nao does. She

Nao: Why are you making us play this game? What’s the point of crowning the true Liar King? Making people steal from each other and ostracize someone. Why would you do something so cruel?

See that? She’s nothing like Cain.

Eri: You dislike fighting.
Nao: Of course, I do. No one likes it.
Eri: You say no one likes fighting. If that’s true, then why do people hurt and deceive each other. Play the game as you see fit.

So she finds a way for everyone to be happy playing the Liar Game.

Nao: No matter how many games you win, everyone just has to work together…. As long as we don’t deceive or hurt each other, no one will get ahead, but no one will lose, either.

She figures out that when they treat each other as kindred souls then not only can they survive the challenges, but they can coexist happily.

4. Last but not the least, the four games

I like that all four games aren’t just random.

From the first Liar Game, we learn that good nature of Nao and Akiyama. Nao gave her winnings to her middle school teacher. Despite him stealing her money, she felt compassion for his circumstances.

When she gave him her share, she told him, “So promise me one thing, never say something as sad as that you’ll never trust people again.” She wanted to renew his faith in people.

If you notice, she does the same thing for the Eri and the Gold Tooth policeman at the end of Episode 1. She renews their faith in humanity.

I also like that Akiyama donated his money to her teacher. He’s an honorable man.

From the Minority Rules, we see how a minority can have power to determine outcomes if they group together. They aren’t impotent nor are their efforts futile. Who knew that the Mushroom Man could disrupt Akayami’s careful planning?

From the Downsizing game, we learn that to be downsized isn’t such a bad idea. The Leopard Man actually wanted out of the game if there had been a way to withdraw without paying the penalty. Akiyama also wanted Nao out of the game too for her own good, but she refused. He thought she was staying to save others, when the truth was, she was moving on with him to the next round to save him.

But the third game, Contraband game, is the most interesting.

It had the most creative use of symbolism. I’ll mention three.

Do you see the symbolisms?

a. The “contraband” refers to Akiyama’s desire for revenge.

He became a con artist to crush the organization that drove his mother suicide. He succeeded in taking down the pyramid company but he’s still carrying an emotional baggage – the contraband – from that unhappy time of his life. His unresolved issue was excess baggage preventing him from flying.

b. The founder of the pyramid company, Yokoya, was the leader of the Fire Team. I thought it was appropriate because Yokona had bedeviled Akiyama all his life. Every time, Akiyama and Yokoya met in the interrogation room, it looked like Akiyama was in “hell.” Even the monitors in the interrogation room had displays of a roaring fire.

c. the Mushroom Man’s red neckerchief.

I mentioned that red was lucky color, a happy color in Japanese culture. Nao was in a red sweater in these last episodes but for this last smuggler interview, Mushroom man wore this flamboyant neckerchief as if to indicate that he was expecting to come out of the room happier and richer after betraying his team.

But at the last moment, he had a change of heart. He was reminded of true happiness. Nao had told the group that they shouldn’t deceive or hurt each other, and she sacrificed her ticket for him with a smile. In the end then, he became a mini-Nao…or a convert to Temple of St. Nao. lol.

I like the Contraband game because it showed Akiyama in fine fighting form. Take for instance when Nao wanted the bad guy Yokoya to apologize to Akiyama. She thought the apology would begin “healing” for Akiyama. But it backfired on her because Yokoya faked his apology and stole her bank card.

When she came out of the room, she had to apologize to Akiyama.

Nao: I’m sorry. Because of me…I…I…
Akiyama: That’s enough.

He didn’t have time for apologies because he was focused on getting them out of the setback. He had to correct her mistake again.

But most of all I like the Contraband game because it ultimately showed that forgiveness is the best way to reclaim control over one’s life and emotions. That’s why Nao reminded Akiyama. She told him, “You have my card. There’s still 100 million on that card. It’s up to you whether or not you’ll forgive and make the game a draw. But understand this. If we don’t deceive or hurt each other, then we can be happy. I believe in you.”

Then after that, Akiyama faced Yokoya one last time.

Akiyama: Yokoya. Go to hell.
Yokoya: Help me. Forgive me. Please
Akiyama: You said people have no problems lying to acquire large amounts of money. Doesn’t that mean… those words now are a lie, too? (pause) There’s 100 million in there. I don’t believe anything you say. Whether or not you believe me is up to you.
Yokoya: (choosing to believe him) Doubt. 100 million.

It’s funny that to show that he believed in Akiyama, Yokoya had to say that he doubted him, as per rule of the Contraband game.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

This is becoming too long so I’ll end here.

Thank you, @GB, @WEnchanteur, and @Feifei for your rewatches. I was finally convinced to give this dorama a try.