Liar Game

Title: ライアーゲーム
Title (English): LIAR GAME
Genre: Psychological thriller
Broadcast network: Fuji TV

Episodes: 11
Broadcast period: Apr 14 to Jun 23 2007

Kanzaki Nao is an honest college student who receives a hundred million yen one day, along with a card saying she has been chosen to take part in the "Liar Game". The aim of the game is to trick the other players out of their hundred million dollars. At the end, the winner gets the hundred million and the loser is a hundred million yen in debt. The next day, she receives notification that her opponent is her former teacher, Fujisawa Kazuo. She goes to him, seeking help, but ends up getting tricked into handing her money over. Desperate, she approaches the police for help, but they are unable to do anything. However, she is told of a mastermind swindler, Akiyama Shinichi, who is to be released from jail the next day. Desperate, she goes to him for help. -- DramaWiki

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend!! I spent mine finishing up Liar Game which is awesomely awesome!! It had me guessing and thinking all throughout, wondering when the next twist would come and let me tell you, the 3 hour finale is awesome! Ok, the reason for the lengthiness is really because they do a recap of what has happened so far. But it's not just a recap so you can't just skip down to the end cos they also add new scenes which explains the motive of the organiser of the Liar Game.

I also really want to commend the soundtrack! The music really got me in the mood and really sucked me into the show. I really felt like I was "inside" instead of just watching it. It got my heart beating faster at the climaxes and i was literally holding my breath waiting for the next move each time!

Matusda Shota is brilliant as the cold, calculating and geniously smart psychology graduate, Akiyama. His whole look fits into it as well - the knitted eyebrows, the slitted eyes, the skinny drawn out face. And he just always looks like he's thinking up some new strategy. Even when he's observing the other players in the game, you can see that he's not just observing but really studying them and reading into their character. And everything Akiyama does, it's done for a purpose and nothing is left to chance.

Kanzaki Nao really annoyed me at first, she's like one of those airheads with no personality. But as the show goes on, you really start to sympathise with her and even though she is still so annoyingly naive at times, you can't help but want to reach out a helping hand to her. I really wanted her and Akiyama to end up together but I'm glad they don't because it really solidifies this dorama as a psychological thriller and there are no romantic side stories that digress from the main storyline.

Other notables: When Fukunaga aka "mushroom head" appears in the second round of the game and takes the role of the bad guy, you really don't expect there to be a bigger baddie. But when Yokoya (Suzuki Kazuma) enters in the third round, you just know that he is the ultimate bad guy that Akiyama and Nao-chan need to defeat in this whole game. Suzuki Kazuma really portrays the sinister characters really well and is as brilliant as Matsuda Shota as Akiyama. I first saw him in Tantei Gakuen Q and he really scared me to the bone and sends chill down my spine and it's no exception for his role in Liar Game.

This is a must-see and I'm constantly raving about it to all my friends to watch it :) 5/5!!!