Liar Liar
“The impostor of 2023”
Summer 2023 was all about new titles making their debut, with some being more well-known than others. Among big titles like ‘Jobless Reincarnation,’ ‘Zom 100', and ‘Bungo Stray Dogs,’ some newer shows aimed to claim that number-one spot.
Another show of that season, ‘Liar Liar,’ was a name not many of us knew about beforehand. While on paper, a setting like ‘Classroom of the Elite,’ ‘No Game, No Life’ with a bit of ‘Assassination Classroom’ here and there sounds like the ultimate crossover we'll never get, even if we’re to let our imagination run wild in our heads.
However, the reality is entirely different. To surpass all previous anime and manga titles, Liar Liar attempts to incorporate every element that made those shows so great. However, it ultimately becomes too much to handle.
It soon becomes clear that the title is genuinely biting more than it can chew, with everything slipping out of its reach. With that being said, sit back and relax since we’re about to tell you what the anime is all about while highlighting why it went downhill after a relatively strong start. Let's dive right in!
Bringing it all together
Over the past few years, Classroom of the Elite has become one of the biggest modern anime shows. It’s funny how the show debuted back in 2017 and was able to amass such a massive audience in no time. Something about that fierce competition mixed with politics on top of the show's main attraction—Ayanokoji just hogged away the glory instantly.
Now take yourself back to 2014, a year that gave us the best show of our teenage years, ‘No Game, No Life.’ Well, ‘Liar Liar’ is as if both of these titles came together, did that fusion dance after some training thanks to Piccolo, and jumped into the picture out of nowhere.
Our protagonist, Hiroto Shinohara, isn't someone who stands out immediately. But to survive at Academy Island, a place where these different games determine the ranking of the students, he must have a few aces up his sleeve. That's because the number of stars you've gathered by defeating others in these games determines your worth and status on this island.
However, on the first day, our rather lucky protagonist gets caught in a peculiar and unexpected, 'watery' situation with Sarasa Saionji, the empress granddaughter of the island's head director. The girl's embarrassment and anger know no bounds, and it's only natural that she immediately challenges our protagonist to a duel. At least, unlike other shows, we did not begin with the boy on top of the girl, right? That’s the first day of accidental encounters right there!
Hiroto Shinohara wins that duel, taking away the ranking the empress boasted of all around the island. But the reality of it all is something different. Hiroto Shinohara has to either fake being a seven-star student while taking down every student coming after his ranking or kiss being on this island goodbye because the island doesn't want to let anyone know the secrets it hides.
Thus began Hiroto's career as a liar, with the help of a group of people known as "the company," to lie his way through every game he was challenged to! Okay, I have everyone's attention now. But do not leave the article just yet; we are only getting started!
Bland games, blander characters
As I mentioned earlier, while a lot of anime fans crave a setting similar to ‘Classroom of the Elite’ and ‘No Game, No Life,’ they tend to forget the fact that it's the execution of the setting that makes these titles stand out from the rest of the lot. When it comes to these 'games,' they're either too complicated, with the rules being all over the place, or just too bland to keep up with them. Now, if you look back at ‘No Game, No Life,’ that show was able to make the most out of the simplest of games out there, and that's one of the most vital points of the show, in my opinion.
Additionally, no "brainstorming" is going on; no one is trying to outsmart the other, and other factors besides IQ, wit, and ability largely determine the outcome of the games. The characters aren't unique, either. None of them has a personality that sets them apart compared to the rest, and even at the end of the series, it's hard to remember most of them, given that some just serve no purpose whatsoever.
On top of that, the title loves to make the characters thicc for some reason, and that might attract a lot of fans, but that fan service element wouldn't take our attention away from the fact that the Battle of Wits isn't delivering how it's supposed to. The show initially seems to pack a punch but loses that potential soon enough, not satisfying your craving for more ‘Classroom of the Elite.’
I can't lie about the animation and sound….
Our protagonist, Hiroto Shinohara, can lie through the island, pulling a fast one on every other character thanks to a bunch of faces backing him up, sure. But the studio can't fool the viewers worldwide with the animation and everything else. The studio behind the series ‘Geek Toys’ doesn't have a lot of titles to speak for themselves. But the studio picked ‘Dead Mount Death Play’ earlier this year, and with that series having the same problem with the quality, the studio needs to step up its game.
Animation is critical when discussing suspense/thriller genre combos, and ‘Geek Toys’ doesn't deliver. In addition to the anime's numerous flaws, it only succeeds in convincing those who picked it up out of pure curiosity or interest in search of the next "Classroom of the Elite" to drop it. Don’t worry; we’re all disappointed here.
The same holds for the sound. Aside from the opening theme, which is a banger, the rest of the show doesn’t have much to say for itself when it comes to the Ost’s. The beautiful voice from shows like 'Accel World,' 'Blood Lad,' and 'Mahoutsukai no Yome' delivered another excellent opening theme, a great starting point for every other episode in the series. Props to the singer, as that becomes one of the most memorable aspects of the show by the end!
While trying to deliver what fans have desperately wanted for quite some time, Liar Liar takes hold of much more than it can handle. Shortly after the start, it feels like the show is all over the place and doesn’t know what it’s doing. That makes it hard for the story to give viewers any direction or idea regarding how the show would progress. This is more noticeable during the middle half of the series, and by the time you’re done with the 12-episode mark, it’s hard to remember much from what you’ve just watched, to be honest.
I’d give it a 6/10. It could have been a lot better if the show had taken on a more straightforward approach when it came to the games since, while having a bunch of characters backing you up and giving that unfair advantage does seem like something not used that often, it does require everyone to come together and build strategies that leave the viewers scratching their heads.
Sadly, this never happens in this universe, and for the most part, it’s either lady luck or these Espers pulling the strings and making Hiroto Shinohara come out on top. I don’t like his character design either; it doesn’t suit that ‘liar’ concept very well.
The series is based on a light novel that’s still ongoing, and honestly, some of the cover art makes you think that you’ve accidentally bumped into the wrong title. But that is how the creators prefer to do things. If you are looking for more 'Classroom of the Elite,' even if it is from Walmart, this show may be able to satisfy you, albeit not completely. You can even start reading the light novel from the beginning, which I am sure will give you a better experience with this title. So, take your pick and see for yourself.
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https://pinnedupink.com/blogs/random-thoughts-because-mondays-suck
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