LIAR GAME

Contraband game is here! I don't think I'm breaking spoiler rules here, but just want to reassure anime-onlys, the rules for this game are complicated even for a source-reader! Even as someone who's read it all, I had to rewatch segments of this episode to fully understand the rules again (it's been a while). I hope the anime does the reveals later well by explaining the context with in regards to the rules so people don't get confused.

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That's Case #4. If the inspector lowballs saying "doubt $400" and the smuggler has $20000, then the smuggler gets to keep the $20000 and also gets $200 or 50% of the doubted amount. The worst case for doubting with a lowball seems to be if the smuggler has $100, and the inspector says doubt $99. Then the smuggler gets their $100 + $49.5 penalty = $149.5 Also you can only lowball a limited amount of times. If they are playing 50 rounds, and you lowball $1 then you only risk $25 but also lose the opportunity to win much more by doubting more.

That's another thing I'm a bit confused by. There's no benefit in doubting low because if you doubt higher than the actual amount in the briefcase there's no penalty for the doubter unlike doubting low. If doubt 100 and there's 50 then I get 50 with no penalty. But if doubt 40 and there's 50 then I lose 20. So why would anyone doubt low? The only thing that matters at that point is knowing whether or not the briefcase is empty. I could doubt 100 million and get everything in the briefcase if I knew it wasn't empty.

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Loved Akiyama's speech to Nao near the beginning of the episode. It really reframes the common notion of trusting = good and doubting = bad. It's true that trust is needed for relationships and social harmony, but if the trust is blindly offered then you're not even really getting to know the other person, and it's vulnerable to get taken advantage of. That approach is the same as indifference/apathy. Trust should be based on truth, and to know the truth there needs to be some testing, inquiry and doubt. Since Nao is approaching the Liar Game with the ideals of trust, it'll be interesting to see how she can achieve that by learning to doubt. We have a bunch of new characters in this game that she knows nothing about, who have gotten that far because they have some skill in deception. Also, the graphics in the rules explanation was great! The game is much more complex than the other games so far where we need almost a whole episode just to explain the rules (but the essence is simple. smuggler vs inspector bluffing game for 50 rounds). We're in for a wild ride.

Akiyama's speech made such an impact on me when I read the manga more than a decade ago, it's definitely one of my personal top 3 dialogue scenes in anime/manga. He argues that what most people consider as "trust" is actually apathy, because you're not really getting to know the other person on a deeper level when you choose to blindly believe them. This is why Nao does not have any close friends, as she accepts everything that everyone says at face value, and in doing so, she gave up trying to truly understand their motives and perspectives. As Akiyama said, people should be doubted, because by doubting others you can learn and understand where they're coming from. If blind trust is apathy, then doubt may be empathy.

It is more that doubt is something of a precursor to empathy. Taking things blindly is not trust and is actually not looking at the other person at all; it is assuming the intentions of the image that you have projected onto someone that actually does not have anything to do with the person. Trust is distinct from knowledge and assumptions; the former is certain and there is no actual trust involved and the latter is taking it for granted. Trust is given specifically for things that we do not know and choose to entrust to them in understanding that we do not have that guarantee or certainty. Empathy comes from looking at and considering someone honestly. While people can project their fears onto someone out of doubt rather than assess them honestly, it at least means you consider them worth considering rather than assuming and dismissing or taking for granted. The indifference he speaks of is dehumanizing-regarding people as platitudes and dismissing the full human capacity which includes the ugly (and beautiful) things that is part of the totality of being human. Recognizing and respecting people as people also requires honestly recognizing when they are being monstrous.

It is a particularly big topic for me, so I am decently well-versed in articulating it. If you want a few other series that includes the topic, Youjo Senki/Saga of Tanya the Evil, Magi, Kiseijuu Sei no Kakuritsu/Parasyte: The Maxim, and Shoukoku no Altair/Altair: A Record of Battles all directly address the broader topic. Notes and caveats, the anime adaptation of Magi is incomplete (and will probably not be completed), but I think it actually improves upon the source material in the specific scenes in question. I unambiguously recommend the manga over the anime for Altair, although I think the anime was actually significantly better for one of my favorite scenes of the entire series. Darwin's Game has some relevance, too, although I am an anime-only there, so I can only speak to the single season.

Akiyama's speech made such an impact on me when I read the manga more than a decade ago, it's definitely one of my personal top 3 dialogue scenes in anime/manga. Ditto! I'm so glad it's finally adapted somewhere! To doubt and suspect, to take a deep long look into their hearts is to seek the truth. And in the words of the manga scans, humans are creatures who can't put their pain into words, such that even the truth may elude the subject themselves. It is through the cycle of doubting and believing that we build healthy trusts, founded on understanding and facts.

This speech stuck with me as a kid until later in life as well, but I think not in the right way. I like his point that blind trust is lazy and apathetic--it's actually more selfish than it appears because then you don't have to do any hard work of getting to know someone. You just pretend you know someone. Thinking about it, I wonder how much of this a reflection on Japanese culture (and other similar ones), where I hear that relationships are often surface level rather than understanding each other deeply. But as a kid, I think I took "you should doubt people" to mean "you should assume bad intentions" (at least some of the time). I think I would rephrase it for myself that you should ask questions of others and be inquisitive to know who they are and whether they're really trustworthy (whether in intention or skill). And perhaps always assuming bad intentions is the "flip side of the coin" for Nao--still not getting to know people, but assuming bad of people instead of good.

In which Liar Game starts to get so complicated you realize why Hwang Dong-hyuk (lead creator of Squid Games) cited Liar Game as an influence, but in one interview mentioned how damn complicated it got and went with dead-simple childrens' games instead. (Which, I'm not saying is better or worse! Liar Game's anti-capitalist themes come from being yanked around in a complicated system you can barely understand, whereas Squid Games drives home the banality of suffering under poverty by saying it's a system we've been raised in since childhood - both interesting takes in their own right).

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It also came out in 2007 to be fair. Korean drama were still a high seas niche for the most part too back then. Right now the reason japanese drama is not as popular is definitely in a big part because they aren't trying to market them outside of Japan as much but I am not sure there was an audience in 2007. I believe crunchyroll did eventually get the streaming rights for Liar Game but it was 10 year old or something already by then.

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The rules seem simple to me, but what I'm curious about, is that the strategies also seem too simple... If all your cases have either 0 or 100 million, then the inspectors can ONLY guess 100 million (or 'pass')... Because if they guess any amount between 1 and 99,999,999, they either falsely accuse an innocent (and thus have to pay them), OR they lowballed the smuggling amount, and have to pay again... So 100m is the only amount they're allowed to guess. But if the smugglers bring in 100 million 3 times out of 50 cases, it would be near impossible to catch them unless they 'doubt' a bunch of cases and thus will have to pay a 50m a lot of times... I'm not sure how reliable listening to the cases/observing if the person seems to be carrying something heavy either, I mean Nao got caught but now that they know.. So the only other option is the discussion, but I'm also wondering how this helps; Are they forced to answer questions (in which cases they could detect tells and all)? But even if that's the case, they can just let the good players carry the money; It lowers the # off potential cases, but it's still enough. So I'm intrigued about watching the game in action because so far I'm not seeing the potential scheming/complexity! (The ONLY thing I could think of, was... Scheming with the inspectors; "I'll give you X amount of money if you let me pass". Or "I'll let you pass your next case if you let me pass this one". (And of course they could play that false too, like making a deal but not respecting it; "I'll let your next case pass", so the guy brings 100m and they call it 100m! Though if the guy sees it coming, he could bring an empty case the first time; If they call him out he makes 50m, if they don't he knows they're legit. Though they may also read into that, and be legit once to ensure future loyalty, and THEN scam him!)

Doubt 100mil at a glance is low-risk, high-reward but it's for the predictable inept. Even though the only thing that can counter a doubt 100mil within the game is an empty case, the smuggler can just do that very thing every time because of that high probability of them calling doubt. The hard part is convincing the inspector that the smuggler has the money in the case while not making it obvious they don't. Regardless, knowing the inspector has a high chance of calling doubt is a strategy.

But if the smugglers bring in 100 million 3 times out of 50 cases, it would be near impossible to catch them That's assuming they are confident they can keep a poker face at all time. I think this is a lot harder than you seem to think. Someone like Nao would be probably spotted immediately if she had 100 millions in the case. Most of the other guys would probably fare better, but against an attentive person like Akiyama or Fukunaga they would probably still become tense enough to slip. Of course there's probably a few people that have the nerves and confidence to remain calm or to playact nervousness when they have nothing, but that's another problem. The geniuses from each side will probably be able to tell apart the guys that have that kind of talent from the rest, so if it's only those talented persons that will ever even try to bring 100 millions, it would become a lot more likely to catch them.

Rule 4.2 sounds wrong no ? In this episode they said they will take back the entire 400 million yen they lent which makes sense meanwhile in this one they only say the 100 million in the third country will be taken back. If they were to only take back 100 million this game would be utter stupid because regardless of personal greed both teams can just allow the opposing teams to smuggle everything and EVERYONE would end the game with +300 million plus in money which sounds infinitely better than trying to risk going in debt for more than 300

I am curious why Akiyama only met Nao literally 1 day before the 3rd game was to take place. Was he avoiding her hundreds of calls for 2 weeks up until the last day? lol Contraband game sounds really interesting. I think people are going to come up with ways to hold the briefcase or maybe stuff it with, I don't know, clothes? to prevent excessive rattling, as Akiyama pointed out in the practice round. But....he knew that as they were all walking together from the ATM to the soundproof room. Normally, the inspector would only meet the transporter just outside the room. How can anyone reasonably deduce how much someone is carrying in such a short time, with very little observation? Also, the soundproof room is observable from the outside. I might have missed it, but who gets to observe while the inspection is taking place? Regardless, it's information one or both teams can use to up the ante in future rounds, or to counter what is lost, or to run away with a lead, depending on which players are taking up which roles. I suppose 50 rounds might seem like it will take a long time, but I think it's good to have many rounds because players like Akiyama and keen observers like Fukunaga can observe and discover patterns of their opponents' actions and demeanors. I would hazard to say that maybe 100 rounds would be better, but these two are sharp players so maybe 50 rounds is good enough. "Evil" chibi Nao totally caught me off guard. Her character doesn't have it in her to have that devil's side sitting on her shoulder, but they animated it and I was pleasantly perplexed. I can't unsee it now! Seems like most people tend to wear the same clothes, but Nao and the very prominently busty Fukunaga always have different outfits. At least that's refreshing to see. Lastly, when they introduced the other team, I got Blue Lock vibes!

Congratulations! You made it past the losers revival game! Which now means you get to all participate in the Third Round of Liar Game! And Nao is now being poised as the "Goddess of Victory" for the group...which is a LOT of pressure. Maybe to truly understand and become closer to someone means doubting them instead of blindly trusting them. I mean, look where Nao blindly trusting and believing in the good of people has gotten her. Even she has to face the fact that as friendly as she is, she's never truly understood or gotten close to anyone before this point. And Akiyama, for his part, knows that just blind trust is nothing more than indifference...probably speaking from experience as to what happened to his mom. Fukunaga's outfit is definitely very...flashy. I feel like she just REALLY wants people to know those boobs are real. Also, I love Nao's green dress! Welcome to the Third Round of Liar Game! Contraband! Taking place in an abandoned airport wing! But you won't be smuggling yourselves or anything llegal, but you WILL be playing the part of a smuggler trying to smuggle money out of two Countries...Day and Night. Honestly, props to Nao for putting herself out there as the test case for the smuggler! It's her first smuggling job and she's going to do her best! There's 400 million yen on the line in this game, 300 in an ATM and 100 in the third country you're meant to smuggle money too, and you have to take money out, smuggle it past inspection, and get that money through. But the inspection is the tricky part for both sides...you have to get questioned in a practical interrogation room and have your money passed or doubted like it's a game show, only it's money for yourself and possibly from a payout by the one inspecting you on the line in case they get it right or wrong. Although no surprise Akiyama was able to see through Nao. Good news! Everyone there is on the same team! I mean, they never said that they would be splitting them up into separate teams, did they? Just look at Nao launching herself into some handholding in glee over getting to team-up with Akiyama! Bad news? You're dealing with the Night team, who all seem like tough customers. They even have their own dealer, Nearco (Jun Fukuyama!). Fukunaga and Akiyama are obviously players to watch out for, but stupid as Nao is, Leronira still has his eye on her and what she can achieve in this game...but does anyone on the Day team stand a chance against Yokoya in the "night" team?

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When Nao prayed for her to be put in the same team as Akiyama, she’s pretty much begging to be jinxed. It was a surprise that her prayers were answered but I never would thought of the twist where all nine players would be in the same team, and that the other team would consist of faces we’ve never seen before. Interested to see this Yokoya who’d been hyped by even Leronira. There’s an incentive for the inspector to declare a high amount. The worst possible case scenario for the inspector would be to declare an amount just below the actual one. They had to pay maximum reparation to the smuggler. It’s in fact worse than merely falsely accusing the suspect because in that case the suspect’s only source of money was the reparation.

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Not so long ago, no one would've been thrilled about that! But having someone you KNOW will not betray you (and a genius partner) puts you at ease! Imagine if she WAS devious hah; Playing the long game, earning their trust before betraying them for a bigger score! This would be a risk too, other people playing her false/abusing her kindness... Not in this game given they're all in this together, but in future games! Pierced your heart romantically? Is he asking her to doubt him and look into his heart, as well? We got the general idea of his backstory, but if it had been left a bit more mysterious I probably would've assumed he was keeping a dark, ugly secret! Bit sad that Mohawk guy won't be there anymore! I'm guessing Fukunaga is there for the long run though, and not always in a good way! Oh damn. The game is now "Shipping the players to a foreign nation to get their organs harvested for money"! Oh okay, making them smuggle large quantities of drugs. That works too! Volunteered quite quickly! If they had been on different teams I would've assumed that was to plant ideas in their mind (so he can do the opposite in the real game)! Hah, that's 100% what I would've guessed! Didn't need to hear the bills rattle inside the case, it 100% fits Nao's personality! She wouldn't pick "0" (it would feel like going against the rule, even if it's allowed), and she wouldn't pick a huge amount either because she's always nervous about everything. 1m fits her perfect! FIFTY rounds? The # of rounds alone completely change the game; So, game theory time? My first thought was to withdraw 100m 3 times... So, 47 empty cases, and 3 random cases with 100m. They are unlikely to be able to guess which cases have the 100m, and if they try to doubt it, well they need to doubt 100m otherwise they lose even more... But if they guess 100m to find 3 cases out of 50, they'll fail a bunch of times, and will have to pay a lot more than the mere value of these 3 cases. So what's the counterplay here? I'm not sure! Just trying to judge by the movement/sound as they bring in the case? It's probably not that hard to carefully bring in the case without making a sound, and pretend they're ALL heavy. I'm also not sure what the 10 minutes discussion will be about; Is the person forced to answer the questions (honestly or not) to give the inspector something to work with? Because if they can just keep silent... Please point the dum dum one at a time! "Guys, your mic is open and I'm hearing all this!" I mean, if violence isn't an option it doesn't really matter! In fact - and not to be judgmental - but I'd wager than on average, people who look tough aren't as smart as people who don't! Well, can't wait to see what the game looks like/what strategies they use! I'm guessing the "most cases empty" is definitely part of it, and that's why the game admins said the game would go rather quickly... But will it be as simple as 3 empty 47 full? This seems like the ideal strategy to me, but if they go with this there's not much thinking/deception involved, I mean it would be 100% about the inspector trying to make the person spill the truth... But 50 rounds, means everyone plays like 5 rounds, so 10 rounds for Akiyama and Fukunaga, means that even if they pinpoint the 2 good schemers on the team it's still 3 full cases and 7 empty ones... (Plus there might be at least 1 other good player on the team... and they also can't just dismiss all the bad ones otherwise they could try to slip one by!)