Jmovie review: Liar Game - The Final Stage

 
So the time has finally come for me to say goodbye to Liar Game, the midnight dorama series that surprised everyone with its ratings and sparking a second season and movie. As much as Kanzaki Nao can get on my nerves, I will miss that character. She is the heart and soul of Liar Game, the baka shoujiki who continues in her blind faith to believe even people who are expert swindlers. Even after playing two seasons of Liar Game, she still has not progressed from her simple convictions.

The scenes where Nao tries to get everyone to cooperate only to of course get lied to gets old quickly after 2 seasons. Yet because of her simple mindedness, the writers have something to play off and Akiyama has someone he can rely. In other words, Kanzaki Nao is Liar Game's greatest strength and weakness.

There was never really any need to do the Final Stage as a movie except to milk the cow. They didn't really do anything that could not have been done on tv. Its just another warehouse dressed in lights and funny colours. The movie is basically a three episode stage put together. However, the one difference is that there are plenty of twists and turns in the movie and the writers did not need to worry about spacing them into 3 episodes.

The second season was fun to watch but the concept was getting a bit repetitive. Liar Game was all about the competitions and how Akiyama and Nao would manipulate the games. The main story of who was behind Liar Game was never really cooked well during the series so don't expect anything from the final revelation.

However, Nao and Akiyama have become two characters I have a great liking to after two seasons of trickery, deception and rule manipulation, however undeveloped they may be. That's because unlike the rest of the guest cast who overact all the time, Nao and Akiyama are two characters who complement each other and it is fitting that they be given a proper send off.

Do watch the end of the credits. There is a short scene that made me smile because it's what Kanzaki Nao is about. So sayonara to Liar Game and Fukunaga who always betrays Nao and Akiyama but always joins htme in the end. There better not be a third season.