Liar, Liar

Attachment 2033

"The Academy—a school the size of an island where students compete for ranks. Not only did Shinohara Hiroto pass the most rigorous exam in the country with top marks to transfer there, but he defeated last year's reigning champ on his very first day, catapulting him to the rank of Seven Star in record time. ...Except he didn't. The truth is, he screwed up big time, and now he has to maintain his position there no matter what. It's a liar's world, after all!

Source: Yen Press"

Genre(s): Comedy, High School, Psychological(?)

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1-2

The first dud of the season. I was hoping to rub this against the "No Game No Life" shaped hole in my heart, but it cannot compare. The entire premise is built on the kind of serendipity and contrivance that puts this squarely in the comedy/power fantasy realm.

One could hope that the protagonist might defend his lie with guile or insight or something that sets him apart, but not even those typical tropes could be mustered. Instead, he is propped up by an outside organization including maids (of course), hackers, and other unearned 'cheats' designed to drain any possible tension out of these 'high stakes' games while he fakes it till he makes it... boring. Yawn.

3-5

Easily the silliest thing I've watched this season. The same season with the housekeeping cat and the vending machine iseaki. Seriously, rules, stipulations, and stakes are added so willy nilly that this feels like it was serialized to the great surprise to the author who had no time, resources, or skill to plan out a story proper. Characters almost entirely shift personalities one episode to the next. Conflicts stipulate rules, break them, and forget about them as quickly as possible. Train wreck. Can you look away?