# LIAR GAME (2026)

> A naive young woman and a former con artist must outwit rivals in a high-stakes game of lies where every alliance could be a betrayal.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1105065

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 26
- Episode runtime: 24 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: animation, drama, thriller
- Network: TV Tokyo, TV Aichi, TVQ, TV Osaka, TVh, TSC
- Cast: Saya Hitomi, Takeo Otsuka, Kazuhiro Nakaya, Nobuo Tobita, Yoji Ueda, Yasutaka Tomioka, Shoya Ishige, Ryosuke Asano
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39229633/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, cynical, paranoid, relentless

## What critics say

Reception is largely unknown, with a single viewer finding the series heavier and more cynical than expected and its constant tension frustrating.

## Synopsis

Liar Game (2026-present) is a Japanese animated psychological thriller series created for TV Tokyo and its partner stations, adapted from the seinen manga of the same name. When naive, honest Nao Kanzaki (voice by Saya Hitomi) receives a mysterious letter and a suitcase holding 100 million yen, she is drawn into a rigged contest of deception where lies are the currency of play. Her wary ally is the brilliant former con artist Shinichi Akiyama (voice by Takeo Otsuka), who must teach her to survive while navigating rivals whose loyalties shift without warning. The engine of the series is the tension between Nao's refusal to lie and the brutal logic of a game that rewards betrayal, with each episode built around a fresh scheme, a bargaining table and a debt that grows heavier. The single season of twenty-six episodes is one continuing story rather than isolated cases. Set in contemporary Japan, the atmosphere is cold, cynical and relentlessly tense, with an emphasis on paranoia and the cost of trust. Fans of Liar Game's original manga, Kaiji and Death Note will find resonance in its psychological warfare and moral squeeze.

## Shows like LIAR GAME

- [Kakegurui (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/63052)
- [Kaiji (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/39198)
- [Btooom! (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/40992)
- [Tokyo Swindlers (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/165243)
- [LIAR GAME (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/13009)
- [Darwin's Game (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/72990)
- [One Outs (2008)](https://ember.film/tv/20613)
- [KAKEGURUI TWIN (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/114159)
- [Great Pretender (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/79349)
- [Tomodachi Game (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/113760)

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