Post by 10k on Jan 31, 2015 11:35:25 GMT
Since the manga has ended on a strange note, and I only noticed this drama recently (although it's only been out for a few months so far as I can tell), I decided to marathon the series and review it. And I'm gonna give this its own thread since I don't want this lost in the sea of posts.
Because you guys MUST get around to watching it. If you're introducing someone new to Liar Game, show them this drama first. I daresay it's better than the source!
Plot Description: LGT the game show! Instead of a clandestine tournament of deception, each round is now broadcast live to the public for entertainment.
So let's go with my immediate non-spoiler impressions.
1) The characters aren't flat. Korean Nao is best Nao!
2) There is a great b-plot in the background. No longer is it mere "Beat tourney, save everyone"
3) K-Drama ending is way awesome (esp. compared to manga). At last, Liar Game has a worthy final boss!
4) Enough new content that it's worth the trip even if you've already seen the series. Seriously.
Below are spoiler impressions if you can't be bothered to watch the drama. I'd rather you watch it, though.
Looks like Nao (Nam Da-Jung, or "Da-Jung" for short) has debt problems. As for the father, he's not in a wheelchair. Nope! This one ran away to let Da-Jung take care of herself. At least, until he takes care of theor debt problems. He serves as a valuable lesson for what happens when buying on margin goes horribly wrong. At least Da-Jung She's got a nice place...so that the very generous loan sharks she's indebted to can keep an eye. Jo Dal-Goo (Dal-Goo) in particular seems to enjoy her cooking. Heck, I'd nearly call them roommates. Instead of college, her life is busy working a McJob to pay debt.
Anyway, I like this Nao better, even if still naive and a bit trusting. The moment I saw her decline to help a lost old woman, take a few steps, and then remember that the right thing would be to help, that's when I realized that this series had what it took to be a good adaption. But the point is that she acts closer to a normal human being instead of a brain-dead trust machine. In fact, if memory serves, it takes until the end of Minority Game for her to decide that she wants to help everyone.
So if not a package, how did this Nao join? Why, that old lady I mentioned earlier was an actor! Turns out she had a bag of money, and the (eventual) decision to turn over to the police (instead of paying off a loan shark) was one of those "Smile! Candid Camera!" things. Also turns out the R1 Teacher was invited. After an agreement to split the winnings by tricking the broadcasters. Well, you can guess how that goes. Of note was that this Teacher was willing to be a monster to help his son and eventually move with his family.
By the way, this game show appears to handle losers a bit differently. Instead of being forced to pay your loan into a pot, you just have to not lose your game money; monetary prizes were budgeted, much like a salary. So that losing still has meaning, you eventually learn that most of the people coming to the show happen to have decent amount of pre-game debt, they pay it off, and find themselves stuck on a game show. They're also dead serious about collection: creditors nearly forced R1 Teacher to sign away his body parts, and one of the players goes missing, never seen again.
So who's the Akiyama? Ha Woo-Jin (Woo-Jin) is a former psychology professor at Seoul University. He gets in pretty much the same way as before. Of note is that this Akiyama happens to be a genius lie detector, an expert at reading body language, just getting out of jail for stock price manipulation. He gets the b-plot of investigating the mysteries in this shady game and the man behind it all: Liar Game MC host, Kang Do-Young (Do-Young).
We need more villains like Do-Young. In this K-Drama, Do-Young is a charismatic talker. Yokoya, squeeze your mice dead! This guy is responsible for creating the Liar Game and manipulating the broadcasting executives to air it. He also serves as the game dealers (of course, being MC), and dealing with meddling requests/disputes that the higher-up (Jang Chul Soo) keeps making. He also manipulates the Akiyama into continuing the tournament with a whole bunch of hints along the lines of, "hey, remember how your mother died? lol good times." Nothing like a good b-plot, right?
Oh, and he plays a tight game after the plot twist where the Fukunaga forces Do-Young to battle as a participant midway into the tournament due to a quirk with one of the game's rules. Approved by the higher-up, of course...and just as planned by Do-Young.
That's right, Fukunaga! Instead of a transvestite, we're getting a prostitute (I think...this part wasn't the center of attention). The name is unisex, at least. This one literally scammed her way into becoming a tournament participant. Think of how Akiyama started as a helper, but with an evil twist.
And what's Liar GAME without the games? Your favorite tricks are back, but due to the public nature, small participant pool (you're already battling everyone by Minority Rule), and prolific use of iPhones, the execution changes. Of note is that they changed the game order (e.g., Contraband is now the semi-final), and that there are also a couple new games. That includes the finale, of course. I love guns and Mexican standoffs. Although I'm a bit surprised by a luck factor. But hey, Do-Young was literally outnumbered like 1v4 at that point, plot needs something to help him catch up and claim his destiny as final boss.
There was also an entirely new game called the President Game, where you bring in a non-player to become a player, who spends that game as a "candidate". The elected gets to make promises (and/or break them), move game money, and eliminate players. That would've been an excellent game to somehow include in the manga if Kaitani wanted to introduce new people.
Oh man, the climax definitely veered towards grimdark. So all-in-all, worth the trip.
Because you guys MUST get around to watching it. If you're introducing someone new to Liar Game, show them this drama first. I daresay it's better than the source!
Plot Description: LGT the game show! Instead of a clandestine tournament of deception, each round is now broadcast live to the public for entertainment.
So let's go with my immediate non-spoiler impressions.
1) The characters aren't flat. Korean Nao is best Nao!
2) There is a great b-plot in the background. No longer is it mere "Beat tourney, save everyone"
3) K-Drama ending is way awesome (esp. compared to manga). At last, Liar Game has a worthy final boss!
4) Enough new content that it's worth the trip even if you've already seen the series. Seriously.
Below are spoiler impressions if you can't be bothered to watch the drama. I'd rather you watch it, though.
Looks like Nao (Nam Da-Jung, or "Da-Jung" for short) has debt problems. As for the father, he's not in a wheelchair. Nope! This one ran away to let Da-Jung take care of herself. At least, until he takes care of theor debt problems. He serves as a valuable lesson for what happens when buying on margin goes horribly wrong. At least Da-Jung She's got a nice place...so that the very generous loan sharks she's indebted to can keep an eye. Jo Dal-Goo (Dal-Goo) in particular seems to enjoy her cooking. Heck, I'd nearly call them roommates. Instead of college, her life is busy working a McJob to pay debt.
Anyway, I like this Nao better, even if still naive and a bit trusting. The moment I saw her decline to help a lost old woman, take a few steps, and then remember that the right thing would be to help, that's when I realized that this series had what it took to be a good adaption. But the point is that she acts closer to a normal human being instead of a brain-dead trust machine. In fact, if memory serves, it takes until the end of Minority Game for her to decide that she wants to help everyone.
So if not a package, how did this Nao join? Why, that old lady I mentioned earlier was an actor! Turns out she had a bag of money, and the (eventual) decision to turn over to the police (instead of paying off a loan shark) was one of those "Smile! Candid Camera!" things. Also turns out the R1 Teacher was invited. After an agreement to split the winnings by tricking the broadcasters. Well, you can guess how that goes. Of note was that this Teacher was willing to be a monster to help his son and eventually move with his family.
By the way, this game show appears to handle losers a bit differently. Instead of being forced to pay your loan into a pot, you just have to not lose your game money; monetary prizes were budgeted, much like a salary. So that losing still has meaning, you eventually learn that most of the people coming to the show happen to have decent amount of pre-game debt, they pay it off, and find themselves stuck on a game show. They're also dead serious about collection: creditors nearly forced R1 Teacher to sign away his body parts, and one of the players goes missing, never seen again.
So who's the Akiyama? Ha Woo-Jin (Woo-Jin) is a former psychology professor at Seoul University. He gets in pretty much the same way as before. Of note is that this Akiyama happens to be a genius lie detector, an expert at reading body language, just getting out of jail for stock price manipulation. He gets the b-plot of investigating the mysteries in this shady game and the man behind it all: Liar Game MC host, Kang Do-Young (Do-Young).
We need more villains like Do-Young. In this K-Drama, Do-Young is a charismatic talker. Yokoya, squeeze your mice dead! This guy is responsible for creating the Liar Game and manipulating the broadcasting executives to air it. He also serves as the game dealers (of course, being MC), and dealing with meddling requests/disputes that the higher-up (Jang Chul Soo) keeps making. He also manipulates the Akiyama into continuing the tournament with a whole bunch of hints along the lines of, "hey, remember how your mother died? lol good times." Nothing like a good b-plot, right?
Oh, and he plays a tight game after the plot twist where the Fukunaga forces Do-Young to battle as a participant midway into the tournament due to a quirk with one of the game's rules. Approved by the higher-up, of course...and just as planned by Do-Young.
That's right, Fukunaga! Instead of a transvestite, we're getting a prostitute (I think...this part wasn't the center of attention). The name is unisex, at least. This one literally scammed her way into becoming a tournament participant. Think of how Akiyama started as a helper, but with an evil twist.
And what's Liar GAME without the games? Your favorite tricks are back, but due to the public nature, small participant pool (you're already battling everyone by Minority Rule), and prolific use of iPhones, the execution changes. Of note is that they changed the game order (e.g., Contraband is now the semi-final), and that there are also a couple new games. That includes the finale, of course. I love guns and Mexican standoffs. Although I'm a bit surprised by a luck factor. But hey, Do-Young was literally outnumbered like 1v4 at that point, plot needs something to help him catch up and claim his destiny as final boss.
There was also an entirely new game called the President Game, where you bring in a non-player to become a player, who spends that game as a "candidate". The elected gets to make promises (and/or break them), move game money, and eliminate players. That would've been an excellent game to somehow include in the manga if Kaitani wanted to introduce new people.
Oh man, the climax definitely veered towards grimdark. So all-in-all, worth the trip.