Part of the issue is that I watched the Japanese version back when it was released, and truly adored it. My favourite part of the story was definitely the twists related to the game itself; the snazzy music right before someone claims to have a winning solution. Unfortunately, as a remake, all the games were familiar to me. I vividly recognize Minority Rules and the bank heist especially.
Moreover, as someone who loves the games themselves, I've eaten up the "real" version of this show — i.e. The Genius (so brilliant!). I think the Korean Liar Game adaptation realized they weren't here to boggle our minds with the games, so the writer filled in the script with a rich back story for the characters.
However, all this did was chill me to the bone. And the bigger mystery underlying everything... well, it's not settled, is it? And 6 years removed from the end of this series, it seems like there will be no satisfying conclusion to this story / sequel. Now, I'm creeped out by Kang Do-young (although I guess he explained his motives? And was satisfied?), and even more creeped out at the possibility of something scary like Walden 2.
Like the Joker, I honestly wish I never watched this at all.
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I loved the premise, a reality game show about greed with a psychological twist, which was definitely intriguing. Plus the opening scene is filled with suspense, and made me like Lee Sang Yoon from the start. If you like clever scenarios, and brain teasers, this is the perfect drama for you. In fact, most of the episodes focus on the game, various "what would you do" scenarios, and examines how the contestants play it, but there is also a general plot for those less into the game itself.
The story really revolves around Nam Da Jung, a super gullible girl with a selfless heart. Kim So Eun does a great job of playing her without making her too frustrating to watch (which was hard because I hate doormat characters). She's wide eyed, and trusting to a fault, which is the perfect opposite to Lee Sang Yoon as Ha Woo Jin. Woo jin is more my style, incredibly clever, and not easily fooled. They had a great chemistry as partners, but don't get too excited about any real romance, because it's not that kind of drama.
The supporting cast is filled with memorable characters who you may love one episode and hate the next (then love again lol). All the characters are meant to be archetypal, but some minor characters came across a little too stereotypical, which is why I gave the cast a 9 out of 10.
The star of this show, to me, is definitely Shin Sung Rok. He is a perfect villain, the kind I secretly root for. His expressions creeped me out without being campy. He was realistically diabolical, which made him even scarier. He was my absolute favorite character, and I think he had the best story. Anyone who liked "You Who Came from the Stars" should know that he knows how to play duplicitous bad guys VERY well.
Aside from watching the game progress, which is exciting, there is the story of the characters chosen to participate, and this is where the show lost some points with me. This drama really knew how to build up my interest, but by the end I knew the supposed reason behind the contestants being there, and why the game existed, yet I wasn't too impressed with the answer (all of THAT because of THAT? Really??!). This made me start to lose interest as the show went on, and underwhelming secrets were revealed. If it was the usual 18 episodes I may have even dropped it. Still I liked the characters and the game dynamics enough to keep watching. The length also makes me more likely to rewatch, to see if I'd feel differently the 2nd time, or if I missed something in the first viewing.
Overall, I would recommend "Liar Game" to people like me who may need a break from the heart tugging "feels" type of drama for something a little more "left-brain" friendly. I know I picked apart the plot, but there are more than enough things that worked well to make this show worth watching. The end also seemed to hint at a possible second season, and if I told you I'm not interested at all in watching it (even with Lee Sang Yoon's terrible hair choice), I'd be lying.
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For those worrying about the plot, let me tell you this: you don't need to. This is a very stimulating dorama, quite different from the majority since its focus is not on romance (there's almost none) but on mind games. As the manga already had an incredibly good material to any possible game to be played in the tv show, I can say that you'll rarely get bored. In fact, the only period where the series dragged a bit was in the only original game that the dorama had -- the presidencial game. Other than that, it's nearly perfect.
The music is absolutely amazing, and that's all to say on that matter. The characters are more realistic than their manga counterparts, and are better portrayed as human beings. The lead girl (Da Jung/Nao) is kind and too naive at the beginning but grows wiser as the series go on, and the lead boy (Woo Jin/Akiyama) is very smart and reserved, but also a good person. There are of course many others worth mentioning, and at the end you like a lot at least 5 people in total.
The biggest difference that the korean version provides, and I believe what it sets it apart, is its main antagonist: Kang Do Young. He is the host for the Liar Game, a television show and not an underground event as the original, but he's a big player as well. He has the charisma, he has the looks, he has the intelligence to rivail Woo Jin, and more importantly (for all of the reasons) he has the psycho vibe. This dude is elegant and ruthless but it's his strained laugher that will make you truly uncomfortable (for fangirling reasons or not ;) Still, his true goals and story is like: woah! Did not see this coming, but I loved it! I just can't read the manga and not miss him anymore. Didn't expect this level of competence from the writers, I must say.
Well, I don't know if it'll have a 2nd season. It's said that they brought the rights but it's already one year and no new rumour so who knows? But I honest to God hope so. I mean. The ending makes you really, really hope so. The biggest wtf, I think, is that it had low audience in Korea...
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For the story, it very much is correlated with the manga called Liar Game but the drama added some new content. I must say that the setting of it being a public game show is rather nice and the occasional opinions of the public being thrown in was refreshing to see.
The music was for the most part suited to the drama. I love the opening introduction to the drama, that is my favorite piece of South Korean instrumental music now. And as for the background music, it did its job of making certain things suspenseful and at other times emotional. Overall in this category, I wasn't too focused on it.
Most of us will agree that the damn good acting is what hooked and kept us hooked to this drama. The casters did a great job picking these performers who carried this drama. I'd like to take the time to complement Kim So Eun and Lee Sang Yoon on their phenomenal acting. I would also like to complement the supporting characters especially Jo Dal Goo. Jo Dal Goo's was so on point, oh the feels. I did not find Kim So Eun's acting to be annoying or stupid. As for Lee Sang Yoon, he played the part very well and looked great playing it. But the one who KILLED his role was Shin Sung Rok. I mean talk about swag in a villain role. He was off the charts psychotic and maddening. I cannot imagine anyone pulling this role off besides him and he deserves every bit of praise for his role as MC Kang.
To end, the re-watch value of 7.5, believe it or not is pretty high. I've re-watched the Japanese version numerous times and the same is happening with this version. There is something about this story that I love to the inner core. So overall, this drama is definitely recommended! Give yourself some thrill and suspense, and enjoy the swag of MC Kang while you are at it.
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Not very faithful to the manga, but great adaptation nonetheless
In a world where Squid Game is comfortably Netflix's most popular show of all-time by far, and everybody in the whole world has seen it or at least heard of it, it's a bit surprising that Liar Game hasn't caught up at least a little bit, especially since Squid Game's creator has openly said that Liar Game was a direct inspiration for it (along with Battle Royale, unsurprisingly).Probably because it's a pain in the ass to find in the West?
Liar Game is basically like a reverse Squid Game. While the latter is filled to the brim with violence used for shock value, in this one, violence is… forbidden!
Where Squid Game is raw and almost animalistic, Liar Game is reflexive, psychological, methodical. Lots of characters thinking, staring. Lots of dialogue. Lots of double-crossing. Suspenseful music everywhere.
And, contrary to Squid Game, Liar Game actually spends a vast majority of its runtime during the actual games, not showing us weird filler for about half the runtime. I think they could have cut even more of the stuff outside of the games, like the Japanese adaptation did. Doesn't mean it's better though, more on that in reviews for the Japanese adaptation coming up soon-ish (still watching)
Anyway, I guess if these things are about anything, then both Liar Game (through greed) and Squid Game (through both greed and survival) aim to show the ugly side of human nature when faced with difficult choices under immense pressure.
Overall I'd say they are roughly the same quality, but I enjoyed this one more because it's thoughtful instead of shocking, and hella entertaining. Definitely one of the most purely entertaining Korean shows I've watched, even though it's not the best (that would be Kingdom... for now). Also the leads were more charismatic here.
The original manga is leagues ahead of both though. It's actually one of my favorite manga ever. Even nonreaders of the manga could tell where they are deviating… rule of thumb: when it's bad and not making any sense (so basically, mostly everything that happens outside of the LIAR GAME tournament), they're probably deviating!
Now, I'm not sure why they had to change some of the actual games, especially the very first one, that was entirely unnecessary and many of those changes (but not all) introduce some logic problems. And by the final episode they changed so much it was basically a shadow of its former self. But the rest was great!
This show promises two things by the name alone and gives them plenty: lies, and high stakes games.
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They had a different concept/version of the drama which made me interest. Making the game as a reality show was good but I felt like the Japanese Version was more intense, scary and more convincing. They just added some mysteries like the connection of the characters to one another.
For the characters, Kim So Eun lacked innocence. She was stupid but not that stupid. Lee Sang Yoon lacked 'witiness' too though he really did great. But most especially, Shin Sung Rok did an amazing job for being the main antagonist in the drama. He was really scary and unpredictable.
For those who haven't watch the Japanese Version, I really recommend it! The characters, setting of all games, the justification of the storyline, the explanation of each detail in the game was on point.
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The differences between the Korean and Japanse are the japanese was more suspenseful. Because the winners were declaring their strategy AFTER the game so you can really feel the suspese and you'll say "oh that's how it happend". Unlike in the korean version they're already telling their moves while they're playing. So there was no suspense at all.
In the japanse version it was full of games and suspense no anything else. While in korean has a lot of additional and unecessary padding stories. I just don't feel like watching it and I just want to skip that part but I didn't because I was expecting that something different will happend. Unfortunately there was not.
The characters in Japanese are so appealing! From naive Nao, genius Akiyama, Tricky Fukunaga and terrifying Katsuragi (from season 2) In Korean the characters didn't give justice on their particular characters. Their acting was just so plane except from Kang Do Yeong. He looks so evil!
One thing also I like in Japanese version was their background music. It makes the scene more suspenseful and thrilling! In korean, the background music was ok but not as good as on the japanese.
I was so disappointed on this. I thought they will make a new a unique concept from the first one but I was wrong. Very wrong!. :(
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To begin with, it’s a really intriguing premise that’s really different from your usual Korean drama. So that drew me in almost right away. The show is also peppered with interesting characters who each seem to have a story of their own to tell.
The three lead characters naturally captured my attention the most, especially Kang Do Young, the character played skilfully by Shin Sung Rok. Lee Sang Yoon is smouldering in this show as the grumpy but secretly caring Ha Woo Jin. Kim So Eun puts in a decent performance as the innocent and trusting Nam Da Jung.
I enjoyed the mental gymnastics required of the viewer to figure out what is going on. Although at times I got slightly confused at some of the games and their convoluted rules, the human relationships and betrayals make for great drama and twists and turns in the story. I also liked that romance really wasn’t an important aspect of this show.
At times the story may have edged dangerously close to being a sentimental cry-show as many Korean dramas tend to, but thankfully it did not go there. The story is tightly written, with no huge loopholes, and every story is wrapped and tied up nicely.
On the whole, you can expect a drama full of intrigue, betrayal and excitement, and I am certainly looking forward to a Season 2!
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However, for a drama premised on betrayal, it was surprisingly uncynical. I wish Da Jung had been less saintly and a bit faster on the uptake (or that the gender roles had been reversed – does the sweet, naïve character always have to be female?), but I appreciated how her worldview was handled in the greater context of the story. The fall from grace is an easy tale to tell, but the show suggests that if we all hold on, even the deserving don't have to tumble into the dark.
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Didn’t Fulfil It’s Own Potential But It’s Still A Decent Series
The first four or five episodes were well paced, intriguing and had strong storytelling. The plot and the explanations were believable and exciting. I really thought it was going to be a 9 or a 9.5 drama. Unfortunately, after episode 5, what I can only describe as plot-holes everywhere, brought the story and execution down to an 8.5 and at times an 8. The intrigue was still there but if you have to dumb down your smartest character just for the plot; then you are doing something wrong. This pretty much remains the issue for the rest of the series. Although the intrigue remains and the premise continues to be smart-ish with a few twists and turns; it gets harder and harder to overlook the things that don’t make sense or that are allowed to be sloppy for the sake of moving the plot forward.Though I will still rate this an 8.5, I’m disappointed that the creators fumbled this one when it could have been a 9.5 or even a 10/10 show.
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Story: The story is well developed, and though I found it a bit slow in the beginning it picks up quite quickly. It keeps you wondering what these characters all have in common and how it all fits together. The games are well thought out and the twists and turns of this drama are very clever. This helps keeping the suspense up as the drama goes on. The villain is complex and intriguing and the male protagonist is very interesting and clever. The conflict between the male leads is by far the best thing about this drama. The female lead didn't really appeal to me. She was naive to the point of stupidity and even though it gets better as the time goes on, she's still a bit dumb for my taste. She is definitely a damsel in distress. In summary the plot is well written and exciting. This drama does have an open ending though so if you really don't like those, you might want to skip this one.
Acting: The acting in this drama is quite good. Shin Sung Rok and Lee Sang Yoon both did and outstanding job as the two male leads. Shin Sung Rok really do nail those villain roles. I was not as happy with Kim So Euns' preformance. Her acting felt a bit too over-the-top for my taste, but this might be due to bad directing or the fact that she didn't have all that much to work with. I have not seen any of her other performances so its hard for me to judge. The other actors did a very good job as well. Not much lacking in that department.
Music: The music works quite well with the mood of the drama. It adds to the suspense and generally does what its supposed to. Well done.
In summary, this is a very well done drama with complex and interesting characters and quite a unique concept. If you like dramas with clever characters and suspense you will probably like this. And if you like dramas where the female lead is a damsel in distress, even better. And if you don't, just try to pretend she's not there. That's what I did.
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