u/L_is_Lelouche

It's clear that bullying is a prevalent theme in Gantz. Ironically, some of the strongest hunters in the Gantz universe were characters who were bullied. For some, the Gantz missions became an escape that was far more enjoyable than real life. For others, the missions allowed them to make friends in the most surprising place. The Gantz missions caused these characters to grow, and in some cases, they gained a purpose that carried over until the Katastrophe arc, resulting in saving the world. Interestingly, the Gantz sphere chose to copy some of these characters, which makes me think they sensed hidden potential.

Welcome back to another Liar Game Monday, this week's episode covered chapters 10 to 13 still keeping that 2/3 chapters per episode pace. I just want to add that five episodes in and I'm still not skipping the opening lol.

Firstly, I've seen a lot of criticism of Nao's character, mostly from people who haven't read the manga. I understand some of the comments, as people are used to similar series, such as Tomodachi Game etc. However, I've always found Liar Game to be special because characters like Nao don't instantly succumb to the sadistic nature of the games and become consumed by the thought of victory and deceiving others. I assure you that Nao will develop as a character and devise her own impressive strategies. Her appeal lies in her rejection of the cruel nature of these games and her ability to maintain her morals. Would you change who you are for the worse if it meant obtaining large sums of money? I'm surprised that, in the first game, most people didn't find Nao's decision to give her prize money to the teacher more moving than naive. In any case, please keep watching I assure you the story will only get better and you have a balance with Akiyama who remains stoic and comes up with amazing strategies.

Secondly, I thought the episode itself was great, right behind episode 4 if I were to rank them. I think the character designs are looking better, and the animation is getting smoother. I thought Fukunaga was great, and her reveal went well. I always found it funny when Nao revealed her strategy to people, like the lawyer, and when she spectated the game, chatting with Akiyama about their victory( she's unentionally very funny).I liked the montages with Number 15; they really highlighted him as a super mysterious/scheming player. The S&M scene was pretty well done and made me chuckle a little. I loved Akiyama in this episode. You could see how locked in he was, taking a step back to think about strategy after sensing something was wrong.

Finally, my only criticism is the pacing. Condensing three voting rounds, each of which should take six hours, and a night break seemed too quick for an episode. However, I don't think it took too much away from the episode, but I would've liked to see more moments from the other team members and players during the round. For example, now as a new viewer, I would have been wary of Hitomi/Fukunaga because of her dialogue and screen time compared to the others. That aside, we got another Nao running scene, and the anime ended on another cliffhanger with Fukunaga's reveal. I can't wait for next week, as they should wrap up the Minority Rule game and I personally love how it ended!

Curious to hear everyone's opinion ☺️!

These are from a few months ago, while in Japan, bought some volumes with some of my favorite parts and cover art. I really hope we get an English release sometime soon especially now that it received an anime adaptation.