How many years has it been that fans have been waiting for a sequel to No Game No Life? Well, keep waiting because it isn’t going to come anyway! HAHAHA!!! Oh well, if you really can’t stomach that fact, then here, have this anime that is somewhat similar to it, Liar Liar. In fact, it would be wrong to compare how similar this anime is to No Game No Life except for the fact that the players here (high school students) battle for supremacy and settle their differences via games. And no, this series is not an anime version of that 1997 Hollywood comedy movie of the same name that starred Jim Carrey! Just that our main character isn’t actually the strongest player on the island but one of the weakest. Hence the need to use lies, mind games and cover ups if he is going to survive the rest of his school life. Uhm, isn’t that cheating? Well, not if you don’t get caught!
Episode 1
Hiroto Shinohara makes a daring and bold declaration to everyone who wishes to challenge him in any game: Be prepared to be humiliated and lose! Once that is over, he panics because it was all a lie! Now, flashback a few hours ago when Hiroto just arrived on this Academy Island with the latest technology. Yup, everyone here is free to challenge each other to games and earn stars to become one of the strongest known as Seven Stars. As he was lost, he bumped into Sarasa Saionji who then took the liberty to explain all those stuffs he wasn’t well aware of. From the Device he is holding and one can only see stats who are ranked lower than you, I guess Hiroto must have skipped all that tutorial, huh? So as she brings him to where he is supposed to go, suddenly the sprinkler splashes water on her. Now, she thought this was all part of his ploy to trick her so she got mad and challenged him to a game. Something he too isn’t aware of because a lower ranked person can only send a challenge and set the rules of the game. Hiroto was just simply pressing so he sends a blank request, forcing Sarasa to think he can beat her in any game! And so she decides a hard version of a staring contest in which if you show any sort of facial expression, you lose. They take turns and the one who is in turn can do any facial expression. Of course she is further appalled he thinks he can further beat her without using any abilities! Regret you skipped all that tutorial to explain stuffs, eh? So as she summons a sword trying to make him show an exhausted face, the crowd starts building up. Then the sprinkler splashes her again. She thinks this is all part of his plan as she realizes he might want to get her all embarrassed. And screaming in embarrassment she did. She lost.
Hiroto is now summoned by the headmistress of Eimei Academy, Natsume Ichinose. What he did was pretty normal but he also committed the biggest taboo. You see, Sarasa from Ouka Academy held the top spot and is the only Seven Star on the island. Zero losses to boot. Flawless victory. Until now. Furthermore, her family are the founders of this island. That’s right, she is Masamune’s granddaughter. You bet grandpa is going to do everything he can to protect the family name. While being expelled is the next logical step, however there is still for him. You see, when he defeated Sarasa, he obtained her very rare Red Star. Only 10-15 of these are available on the island. This special star allows him to lie. That’s right. He is going to lie and pretend to be a Seven Star despite being just a single star. Natsume knows this as she was a previous Red Star holder. Not many students know this effect too. As Natsume has her ulterior motive, Hiroto too has his reasons for coming to this island (to look for someone). And hence he agrees to cooperate with her and play this lying game. So after that bluff speech, Natsume is laughing her ass off about all that boldness. Keep up the good work. As he goes back to his dorm, Sarasa pulls him over. She is still puzzled why he did not expose her. Uhm, what again? You see, Sarasa is not the real daughter of Masamune. In fact, she is Rina Akabane and was just pretending to be that. Yup, she used that Red Star to that effect. Hiroto then explains he didn’t know anything and all that happened was just coincidence. That’s right, girl. You brought this all on yourself. And this means if Sarasa isn’t the real granddaughter, Masamune wouldn’t go after him and hence there was no reason of him being a Seven Star in the first place! Hiroto returns to his dorm. My, whose palace is this! And this comes with a cute maid! HIROTO, YOU LUCKY BASTARD I’M SO JEALOUS OF YOU!!!
Episode 2
Shirayuki Himeji looks like a shy girl but she doesn’t like all this setup either. Made by Natsume to do all this, it is valid she has a grudge against the headmistress. With that, the duo think they can get along. Himeji then starts to explain all the basics since she will be serving him. As one who also knows about his lies, she explains now that he has beaten Sarasa, he will garner a lot of attention and challenges. However because he is only a single star, this means he will have low level abilities associated with it. Meaning, every fight is a like boss fight to him especially those who have 6 stars and only need a win to take that final star. But don’t worry, Himeji and her group of Company will assist in that and play along with his lies. Not sure if this hacking is legal but yeah, they claim they’re going to cheat by that. Ami Kagaya introduces herself as the Company’s electronics expert and they’re going to show their great service and skills to him as Himeji has Hiroto accept this particular challenge. We don’t see how it went but Hiroto won big time and he is freaking impressed with Company and will totally rely on them from now on. Hiroto then heads to Eimei and is shown around by classmates, Fuuka Tatara and Yuuki Tsuji. They won the right to do so after holding a class battle royale!
Soon, Hiroto gets another challenge request by Haru Urasaka. This game is big enough to warrant some live broadcast organized by the media group known as Libra. Commentators will be Suzuran Kazami and Sarasa the special guest. In this game, whoever races to the finish line in whatever transport, wins. Urasaka thinks she is confident in her speed but Hiroto is confident in not losing. So as she revs up her bike and starts accelerating, after halfway, suddenly her bike stops dead in its tracks and she is thrown off the course. Hiroto makes his slow walk to the finish. Flashback shows Himeji briefing him about the nullifying abilities Urasaka would be using against his. To counter that, Hiroto was to use up all his ability slots using Complete Disable. For his level, he needs to use it all. Of course as Hiroto piles on the lies of the abilities he used to win (including an ability to secure Urasaka’s safety), it was Kagaya’s hacking that stopped the bike. Later Sarasa meets with him to talk. She reveals the truth that the real Sarasa got kidnapped about a year ago when she just arrived on the island. However the kidnappers did not make any demands. Because the Saionji family never have their kids out in public before high school, it was convenient for them to get Rina to play as Sarasa since nobody knows how she looks like. There is no telling when the real Sarasa will return, until then, she must protect her reputation. What will happen if people know she is a fake? When the truth is out, they too will realize Hiroto is a fake and he won’t be able to stay on this island. Not even Natsume can do anything to help him. That’s why she will help him play along with those lies. As long as he keeps winning, their lies will be protected. Hiroto also reveals his reason to come here. He is looking for a childhood friend whom he has never seen for years and is believed to be on this island. They exchange contacts to stay in touch.
Episode 3
So uhm, who this weirdo now? Apparently Seiran Kugasaki thinks Hiroto’s win over Sarasa was a fluke and hence wants to challenge him to a game. Of course Hiroto agrees but the loser will never challenge Sarasa again. So you agree to this or would rather chicken out? Obviously challenge accepted and see you in 2 days. Sarasa goes to Hiroto’s place to discuss about the strategy. She is shocked to see Himeji here. They know each other since Himeji used to serve her family. This means she is the other person who knows her secret. Though, it has been a year since they have met in person. Discussing about the game. Apparently they have to collect cards around the district and choose 5 of the cards and win 3 rounds. The highest card number wins. Hence the winning strategy all boils down during the card collection phase. They discuss about Kugasaki’s abilities and one of them being able to mobilize his men to collect the cards (there are total 20 cards). Yes, this guy has a 300 strong force of his own. Then they discuss the abilities that Hiroto can use but due to his low level, his options are limited. For example, make the opponent’s screen glitch out. After the meeting is over, Himeji talks to Hiroto about Rina since they used to be close. The way she is acting now hints she is hiding something and hopes he can protect her as she is a fragile girl. As the game begins, Kugasaki is quick to collect the cards. Hiroto runs into various problem. I don’t really get it since it is pertaining to the new info display which he isn’t getting. At this rate, Kugasaki will get all the cards and Hiroto will not have any in his hand to play and will lose.
Hiroto manages to get 2 cards so far but falls off and got himself a little injured. Sarasa is concerned about his health so she reveals the biggest secret ever: Sarasa’s kidnapping was a lie. She wanted a normal school life so she helped snuck her out of the island. This deception will on be revealed when Sarasa graduates in 2 years. That is why she cannot tell Himeji about this and cannot risk dragging others. So, giving up? Not for Hiroto. He thinks her actions are pretty relatable since she wants to make her friend’s dream come true that she fooled the academy and the Saionji family. So girls like her are his type? Hiroto gets an idea when he notices this Rule Breaker ability. Although rewriting rules can only be used with those having 6 stars and above, he also needs some bug display ability to get it to work. So as the card game begins, obviously Hiroto has only 2 cards compared to Kugasaki’s 18. He cannot win based on the rules. Then it seems Hiroto gives up but is only stalling for time as he talks about the conditions to end the game but not to win it. So when everything is in set, he has Kugasaki take a look at the rules again which reveals both side runs out of cards, this card revealing phase ends. Kugasaki believes he used Rule Breaker for this trick because now the game ends in a draw. Hence the battle starts afresh. Kugasaki still has the advantage as he can mobilize his men but that is when Hiroto reveals his card. It seems Hiroto only made to look like he used Rule Breaker but he didn’t. He just changed the text on the screen and hence this phase is not over yet. But because Kugasaki already discarded his, it means he has no cards left and so it is Hiroto’s win. In the aftermath, Sarasa thanks him for this comeback because seriously she didn’t know if she could’ve won if she was in his shoes. Then she tries to ask him about that type of girl he likes but he got distracted with a phone call. Did you say something? Nothing.
Episode 4
Himeji sees Natsume who asks about the number of stars Hiroto has. As a holder of a coloured star, he cannot further take normal stars. However he can still take those who hold Unique Stars. Kugasaki held the Indigo Star and since Hiroto won, he took that star as compensation. Hence he has now 2 stars. This means if he battles and defeats those with Unique Stars, he is going to get all 7 coloured stars. Yeah, like the rainbow! Natsume doesn’t bat an eyelid to admit that she is using Hiroto for her own gains but likewise, he too is using her for his. The question is, as Hiroto battles more people, he will be facing more dangers. What will Himeji do? She asserts she will be by his side. And soon Himeji is transferred into Hiroto’s class just in time before the announcement of this trial game. Basically, this mock game held around the district, students can challenge each other. Although they won’t lose stars, they will fail to enter the next round. The winner will be the one who survives the longest and the top 5 will be able to enter the inter-academy contest next month. Later Himeji and Hiroto discuss about this and this trial game is also dangerous because all one need to do is to get close enough to initiate the battle. When that happens a state of conflict happens and others cannot send invitations to interrupt or join the battle. This state will be in operation for 24 hours and if no winner comes out from it, both will lose. The best strategy for Hiroto to be to best is to run away. Soon, Noa Akizuki pops up before them and asks if the duo are dating. Obviously not. Then she flirts with him just to get to know him before leaving. Yeah, she’s cute and all but your guts must be ringing that this cutie pie is one helluva dangerous girl so beware. Later Hiroto goes to see Natsume. The latter explains she has pulled strings to make Himeji in the same class as him. This guilt trip is to have him do some tasks for her. Firstly, there have been outside forces trying to interfere with the upcoming event. He is to investigate it. Next, somebody has stolen a Unique Star, the Green Star in particular. Since Hiroto is a Unique Star wielder, he is most likely be targeted. Thus his job is to uncover the culprit. Not only that, his third mission is to be the strongest and that he must win the Green Star from the thief. A tall order? He has to do it anyway…
Hiroto employs the running away strategy as well as using some jamming device to prevent other students in nearby proximity to challenge him. Back home, Kagaya appears in the flesh to help out further with the plan. Something about overlapping Hiroto and Himeji’s data so any requests he receives will go to Himeji and turn her into the scapegoat. So as Himeji fights on his behalf, he continues running. However with approximately 200 survivors gunning for Hiroto’s ass, can he outrun them all? He could have with all the data but somehow Noa’s data didn’t pop up on screen and thus he bumps into her. Then she has him locked in a stranglehold position. With time running out and other students approaching fast, Hiroto is forced to enter a state of conflict with Himeji. Sly Noa then gets up and leaves, claiming she has already achieved her goal. That night when Himeji goes out to do some errands, Hiroto receives a call from her but it is Noa who answers instead. Putting his maid on, she apologizes that she is no longer able to lose their game tomorrow.
Episode 5
With Kagaya, Hiroto and Sarasa discuss the game they’re playing. Basically, it’s a ranking card game something like I’ve seen in Kaiji. The card with higher ranking wins and at the end, the one with the most cards wins. They also discuss about Himeji going to use Forced Control ability in which Himeji will move 3 turns at first. At this rate, she will already have a huge lead. More strategy discussion because some of the cards have their own unique abilities, blah, blah, blah. Not that I understand. Once discussion is over, a short distraction because Sarasa sleeps with Hiroto. In the same room but different beds. Yeah. Can’t send a girl home alone late at night, right? For her safety, right? Next day, Hiroto and Himeji meet for their game as Noa watches. As it begins, it all goes as planned. Himeji using Forced Control to take the lead. Hiroto then starts thinking about this whole thing and what Himeji said. Then he realizes that if he wins, he will lose. Hence this whole trial is just a trap. He has Kagaya cancel their strategy. Hiroto makes his moves but all his hands, he loses to Himeji. This makes Noa irked. When they have to play the final card in their hand, it seems Hiroto activates some Trojan Horse card to take half of Himeji’s cards. Because of that, both sides have the same number of cards and it ends in a draw. With the state of conflict ended and neither has lost, both are still in the running of the trial. They force Noa to reveal the truth as Himeji notes about knowing her handphone was bugged by Noa and that’s why she couldn’t contact Hiroto. Noa starts to break down that she worked so hard for this and can’t believe this is happening. Long story short, she is jealous that when Hiroto was the new transfer student, he became the most popular student on the island. Before that it was Noa. She believes he cheated unlike her who worked hard and that’s why she plotted this revenge. However she almost revealed she had a mastermind collaborator behind this. But Noa isn’t going to give up yet. She hints that she has also installed a programme inside Himeji’s phone that will destroy all her data which means expelling her from the island. This is an illegal move that will have everyone hate her but crazy Noa has gone too far to back down. She then takes Himeji hostage. Again? She wants Hiroto to play a real game where they bet their real stars. He must lose to her in front of everyone if he wants his maid back. No draws too. Hiroto believes she is the one who stole the Green Star as she knows too much info.
Episode 6
The game begins. Basically Hiroto and Noa have to find their opponent’s partner (Sarasa and Himeji respectively) in this building. Yeah, this treasure hunting game has some rules and the likes that it’s bloody confusing! Because you can also move your partner to avoid your opponent from reaching it as well as posting questions to answers you can’t lie. And with their abilities in place, oh yeah, they turned something simple into a whole lot complicating! With the help of Sarasa’s deduction, Hiroto manages to guess where Himeji is located. Not that I understand this part too. This makes Noa even more desperate as she even resorts to placing Himeji in some random space. But that too is defeated because of our combo’s reasoning and deduction. Yeah. Whatever. So when Hiroto finds Himeji and wins the game, Noa has another trick up her sleeve. This time using the ability of Alter Fate to erase Hiroto’s answer. Meaning, nulling his win. And just when Noa thought she has found Sarasa and won the game, right back at her because Hiroto also pulled off another tricky ability. This Pinch Hitter allows him to trade places with the target. He does so with Himeji and this means Sarasa won against Himeji and not Hiroto. And whatever traps she placed in Himeji’s phone prior to the game has been transferred to her phone so this means she can’t hold Himeji hostage anymore and her plan has all backfired. DID YOU GET ALL THAT?! I SURE DIDN’T! Noa’s loss means she must reveal the truth. She claims she is a smart girl and there is proof. However such intelligence cannot guarantee her in the elite as the school also placed importance on family lineage. She felt all her effort were useless so she thought of stopped being normal just to fit in. She did really well for her first year and perhaps if she wins the inter-academy battle, she would become famous. Rather, it was like a reward for all the effort she put in. Of course Hiroto ruined all that with his appearance. Desperate, she made a deal with the mastermind, Mikado Kurahashi who is the headmaster for district 12. He told her to cheat and do whatever it takes to steal Hiroto’s stars. Do that and he’ll grant her wish. Since she was also scared, she wouldn’t want to go against him. Obviously, Hiroto is going to help her get justice and bring this guy down. He is the strongest player on this island.
Episode 7
Kurahashi berates Noa for being useless. With her failure, she is going to pay back all that he has given her. This means becoming her slave and do as he wishes. However she is not afraid because she has Hiroto and his crew. They waltz in and have recorded all the threats he have said. With that, Kurahashi has been relieved from his duties. As Hiroto and Noa are the top 2 of Eimei in this trial game, a final battle will determine who is top. However Noa claims she doesn’t have the right as she reveals all the dirty tricks she has done and wants to withdraw. Hiroto then shows the polls that 99% forgive her for what she has done and hence this means people do pay attention to her and is special because of the efforts she puts in. As such, Hiroto will be the one to withdraw and has already sent his application. This is not for free as in exchange Noa will give her Green Star. With Noa as Eimei’s top and Hiroto as the runner’s up, the others who will join them in the inter-academy game are Himeji, Nanase Asamiya and the student council president himself, Shinji Enomoto. Later Hiroto meets up with Sarasa as she brings him to an ability shop where she got the rare Pinch Hitter card. The condition is that the owner will have the buyer do weird stuffs and this time they have to enter as a couple. It must be tough just holding hands but the owner takes a liking for them and allows it even though they’re just shaking hands. Back home, a little fanservice shenanigans before sh*t hits the fan as Himeji and Sarasa bath together with Hiroto In their swimsuits of course! Hiroto passes out. I bet this is a game he cannot win!
Then the Eimei quintet meet to discuss strategy for the inter-academy contest. It’s going to be hard since Shinji and Nanase don’t get along. In this game called ASTRAL (Area Steal To Reconquer All Lost – WTF?!), basically it is to conquer as many polygon spots in the centre district 0 (F*cking hell, should’ve called this game All Your Bases Are Belong To Us then!). Of course players are divided into roles and can use spells. Using the latter renders that player unable to make any movements. You win by dominating all areas or destroying all other teams. If that cannot be met, the team with the biggest area at the end of the play wins. There is also some movement value in which the lower your number, the more spaces you can move. Obviously Hiroto lies he has a low number when his is high. They discuss about their positions and obviously Hiroto has to be the commander in order for his lie to be safe. However Shinji wants to be the commander and this sparks a debate why they are better. Because a commander can swap roles with others, Hiroto suggests he will take on the role first and if he isn’t up to Shinji’s expectations, he will let him have that role. Shinji’s condition is for him to take down 3 commanders on the 3rd day. With no other options, Hiroto agrees. Late that night, Hiroto receives a distress call from Sarasa. There is trouble brewing. Because a third Sarasa has popped up!
Episode 8
Imposter Sarasa makes contact. She throws down a challenge for either one of them to defeat Hiroto in ASTRAL. The winner will get to take over this Sarasa’s identity. In the case if Hiroto wins, he can choose which Sarasa to be with and also he can do whatever he pleases with the imposter. And if Sarasa doesn’t agree to play, the imposter will strip naked and let horny guys jerk off to her!!! OMFG!!! Hiroto then goes to beg Kagaya for help as they talk about how ASTRAL also allows voting from other students to predict the event’s winners although that only comes into effect in the second half. Then they discuss about the abilities that they want to use. Oh, you mean cheat moves, right? Himeji plans to use a rare ability called Replacement but since it is very expensive, she’ll have Company buy it for her. First day of ASTRAL is here. Each team is placed on the board. Eimei tests out certain skills and moves and the highlight is this Freeze Time action that renders all actions unavailable for certain amount of time (depending on your movement value) when one occupies a space. This leaves them vulnerable in case the enemy attacks. At the end of the first day, Ouka occupies top spot with the most areas held while Eimei has the most votes.
During dinner, Kugasaki makes known his challenge to Eimei’s side. But Eimei talks about the other potential threats like Touya Kirigaya from Shinra High School as this dude is known to use violent methods to get what he wants. Then there is also Senri Kururugi from Tsuyuri Girls’ Academy and she has a dangerous ability in which if all conditions are met, her One Shot Kill will take you down in a single move. Then Eimei argues on who is to sleep in which room. Noa and Himeji tussle over Hiroto while Shinji and Nanase don’t want each other. Well, until Sarasa drops in to stop this farce and lays down the obvious rules that boys and girls sleep separately. Late that night as Hiroto can’t sleep, he takes a walk and finds loli Tsumugi Shiina having trouble getting some stuffs. He helps her get it and now she’s interested in him? Kindness does goes a long way… Anyway, she claims she has a sister in Libra and is currently in a game that runs concurrently with ASTRAL, MTCG. Hiroto then hangs out with this chuunibyou loli and this makes her happy. Yeah, she just drops asleep when she feels sleepy. Hiroto brings her back to her room but thankfully nothing untoward happens. Next day, Kanade Yuikawa of Ibara Academy wants to make a temporary alliance with Eimei. However Nanase suddenly starts attacking them. This forces Eimei to also follow her move. In the end, Eimei manages to win as Shinji chews out Nanase for this reckless move that she also did last year that cost them. It’s like Nanase can’t explain herself so she keeps mum but blames him whatsoever. At the end of the second day, Ouka is still tops in occupied spots while Eimei is still popular with the votes.
Episode 9
A teammate betrays his group members and eliminates them all. This traitor turns out to be the Sarasa imposter. It seems she can disguise herself as other members and many teams have already fallen to this tactic. Of course Eimei’s side needs to do something. Hiroto later goes to see Sarasa to talk about this and this imposter thingy has turned the whole game upside down. It is no surprise that many teams will self-destruct over such suspicions. But don’t worry, Hiroto has a plan. This trend continues on the third day. So when a black mist descends upon Eimei, this worries Hiroto because now that their visions are impaired, he is unsure if anyone is replaced by the imposter. When the mist is lifted, Shinji and Nanase start accusing each other as the imposter. Luckily it is time for the afternoon break. But unluckily, both suspect each other so much that they don’t want to participate in the afternoon match. So it’s up to Hiroto, Himeji and Noa. Soon they are flanked by 2 schools. One of them being Tsuyuri. Hiroto has the girls go after the other weaker school while he alone faces Tsuyuri. Kururugi thinks he is making a mistake but soon Hiroto unleashes several blasts to take out 1 of them. This is because Himeji pretended to go with Noa but actually masked herself to support Hiroto. Kururugi unleashes a devastating attack that drains a lot of Himeji’s health. Eimei starts running and when Tsuyuri attacks, Himeji uses some calculated ability to return the offensive back, taking out another Tsuyuri member. More running around until Tsuyuri steps on traps laid by Noa. Another 1 down.
At this point, Kururugi has counted all the spells Hiroto has used and believes he has none. So she sacrifices her only member left to gain strength to gain her One Shot Kill. Surprisingly Hiroto can still avoid. Apparently Hiroto still has some spells left and it only looked like he has none because his ability changed her control visuals so she saw and misjudged everything. Suddenly Freeze Time activates for Hiroto. Tsuyuri activates her Electronic Interference trump card but then leaves. This leaves Hiroto puzzled because why did she not finish him off? Noa returns after wiping out the other weaker team. But she notes after doing so, their territory did not increase. Hiroto fears Kurahashi might be behind this. He has a suggestion and needs Himeji and Noa to fully trust him. Later, Shinji apologizes to Hiroto for being a dick. After watching their match, he realizes his arrogance got his team into a lot of trouble. Hiroto asks if he really suspected Nanase as the imposter. Actually no. He just did it to smite her because if she did stay in the game, she would’ve fallen apart. They catch Nanase eavesdropping the whole thing so they start arguing. Hiroto shows them a hidden footage on Nanase’s sudden attack on Ibara was because she noticed the enemy was preparing a sneak attack. But soon after they made up, Hiroto drops the bombshell that he is eliminated from the game. Flashback shows he shot himself for that self-elimination. This is not only to win his bet with Shinji but rather to counter the imposter. Because now she has groups working under her, Eimei is at the bottom of her hit list. They cannot win if they play by the book. That’s right and don’t worry. Hiroto has got a plan. At the end of the day, Seijo Academy (the school the imposter is affiliated with) has the most votes.
Episode 10
Hiroto and Sarasa talk to Kazami about the imposter. At first she was unwilling to talk in fear she would land them in trouble. But she can’t bear the burden alone so she lets it all slip. Apparently this imposter is not affiliated with any academy and has no right to play. She even has an ally on the ASTRAL committee (Kurahashi perhaps). Now that she has all sorts of cheating advantage, if she wins, she can cause the biggest disaster and the worst part is Libra will take the fall for everything. Obviously Hiroto has a plan. Along with Himeji, the trio cramp themselves in a box as Kazami pushes them through the security into her Libra command centre. Our short distraction of too close a proximity… It is deduced that when the imposter is in top spot, everyone else will be tied for second. This explains Kururugi’s actions to escape as it would be better if their team ties in second place. The main plan for now is for the academies to join forces. But since Hiroto is out, he can actually get back into the game via another event called MTCG. The winner of this tough game will earn the right to return as the wild card. Hiroto soon realizes the big boss of MTCG is no other than Tsumugi. The girls are not impressed if he is turning into a lolicon but they put their trust in him to get back into ASTRAL quickly. Hiroto enters MTCG as Kazami explains the rules. Confusing as hell and as I understand, raise your familiar’s level to match your opponent to beat it. And there are of course other abilities like exchanging of cards with coins, etc. Basically, a confusing version of Pokemon? I don’t know! As Hiroto came into the game late, he needs to rush as there is not enough time. A girl from Tsuyuri agrees to exchange her card with his for a reasonable price. This is because she wants Hiroto’s help to free Kururugi from the imposter’s clutches. She blames herself and the others for being too weak to help her. Hiroto won’t be doing it for Kururugi but will definitely defeat the imposter.
Now we see Hiroto battling and defeating opponents. Even doing the unthinkable by selling his precious card to earn lots of coins but manages to get it back via many wins. WTF I don’t understand! Even Tatara and Tsuji purposely power up their own cards so they could give it to him for free because they trust he can bring up Eimei’s name. Now we see Yuikawa bragging and boasting as he prepares to face off Tsumugi. But as he powers up his familiar, all that is for naught because Tsumugi easily defeats him. How could this be?! Eat humble pie now! Tsumugi then calls Hiroto to face her. He then realizes if you get a higher number than her, you lose because her numbers are inverted and in negative. Hiroto then powers up his familiar. Did he not learn? Well, with Kagaya’s hacking, he brings Tsumugi’s familiar back into positive territory to tie with his. With that, he wins. Hiroto then accuses as the imposter and she doesn’t bat an eyelid to admit that. She is so happy and hopes to finish things off in ASTRAL. Realizing that Kurahashi is definitely behind this, Hiroto rushes back to ASTRAL as he makes a stunning announcement of his return. This includes revealing the imposter as a wild card thrown in by the enemy just for fun. So to avoid further humiliation, he suggests the academies team up with him to stand a chance against her. Everyone takes this chance to form a truce agreement with Eimei. With 5 academies now aligned, Hiroto as their leader announces to go on the offensive.
Episode 11
With Hiroto back in the game, he mentions the only way to beat the imposter is to use Kururugi’s One Shot Kill. But she is on the enemy’s side so they need to defeat her and make her listen. Speaking of which, Hiroto’s side known as Allied Army include schools such as Suisei, Ouka, Oumi, Murakumo, Souken and of course Eimei. On the imposter’s side known as United Army, they have Seijo, Tsuyuri Shinra, Otowa and Saint Rosalia. So we see both sides having skirmishes. The main bulk is Hiroto’s team facing off against Tsuyuri’s side. Not going to bother explaining what’s happening because clearly I don’t. Eventually with all the tricks, Tsuyuri is the last one left and is also defeated. Some guilt trip by Hiroto that she gave in to the imposter before the fight was over and that made her girls sad. I guess that’s enough for her to join his side. Meanwhile Sarasa is having a hard time. Everyone on her side has been wiped out. Only she is left. The enemy side also now consists of Kirigaya, Kugasaki and Shizuku Minami of Rosalia. The trio are hunting for Sarasa but stumble into our Eimei quintet. Another round of fighting. Kirigaya puts up a tough fight and manages to kill off both Shinji and Nanase. Then it’s like Noa has a death wish and goes to let herself be killed by him. Yeah, this is to activate some trap to bind him but do you think that can hold him down? Nope. Sacrifice wasted. Although Hiroto has his tricks, the ultimate one is Kugasaki betraying Kirigaya. Yup, Hiroto made a pact with him before the games. He agreed because of his loyalty to Sarasa. Whatever. However Kirigaya won’t go out quietly and tries to take Hiroto with him. Only, Himeji blocks and bears the brunt of it. Wow. A goodbye speech like as though it’s the end of the world. Now that Kugasaki’s betrayal is known, he is forced to take himself out to protect his position. Hence, leaving Sarasa’s care in Hiroto’s hands. Back to Sarasa, she is having a hard time fighting the imposter. When the conditions are right, Kururugi unleashes her One Shot Kill. Failed! And just like that, their trump card gets taken out. The shock on Sarasa’s face like as though the end of the world. Ran out of options, eh? Of course saved by the bell. Today’s game has ended. Sarasa continues to be in shock and despair on how she survived. Yeah. Beats me. 3 survivors left…
Episode 12
Hiroto sees Sarasa to tell her something. Sorry, it’s not a confession. It’s about the final game. Later he does the same to his Eimei comrades. Put your trust in him! As he returns, he bumps into a chirpy Tsumugi who drags him to her room to play. Don’t worry, no fishy business from her. It’s a chance for him to ask why she ended up doing all this. She explains she hates studying and prefers to play games. Thankfully as a genius, she finished all her mandatory education at an early age. But then she realized she can’t start playing games until she get into high school. Not wanting to miss out, she modified her device to fake an account on this island. IT WAS THAT EASY?! Then she got a call from Kurahashi to join ASTRAL and to make a war declaration on Hiroto. Next day is the final ASTRAL game. As Tsumugi has captured the most areas and the highest support, all she needs to do is wait out and win. But that is when Hiroto reminds her of the promise she made before ASTRAL start. Remember, either Tsumugi or Sarasa must beat Hiroto to win. This means their position in ASTRAL doesn’t matter. But if neither wins, obviously Hiroto wins. This means Hiroto can just run away and lose the game but in that sense he wins against their bet. Of course Sarasa won’t have it that way since Ouka will lose. Hence it is a lose-lose situation for everyone and that’s why Hiroto suggests a game inside ASTRAL known as Crossboard, a turn based game. Tsumugi is confused and unsure at first but seeing she can’t pass a chance to beat him, she happily accepts. More weird rules and as I understand, the whole board of ASTRAL is condensed and they have to mark and pinpoint the enemy base to win. Tsumugi goes first but fails to nail it. From here on, Hiroto’s occupied spaces are now reduced to 2 spots. This is checkmate for Sarasa and Tsumugi. Because unless they can pinpoint which is his real base, if they choose the wrong one, it will give the other the advantage. And hence both are force to ‘protect’ him.
Things start to change as corrupted data of past players start invading the board. This is obviously Kurahashi desperately trying to cheat. However those imposters are defeated as Shinji is giving Nanase orders on how to defeat them. Kurahashi is shocked to see this. Aren’t those players out of the game? Then he realizes Libra is in cohorts to falsify the data. No worries. He has a trump card. He calls Kirigaya to do his stuff but surprisingly Kirigaya refuses. Despite all the threats Kurahashi throws, Kirigaya won’t give in. He isn’t worth it and has lost. Kurahashi’s next cheating move is to hack into Tsumugi and forcefully move her body to his wishes. But this hacking allows Hiroto to trace where he is as he makes a courtesy call to tell him he has lost. Because now that his whereabouts are found, Himeji and the other players head over there. So does he dare fight all of them? Loser gives up. Himeji hacks the data back and reverts the game back to normal, allowing Hiroto to win as Tsumugi gets eliminated. Tsumugi is fine with losing but is sad thinking what she did was wrong. Hiroto has no right to answer that and before the loli starts crying, Kazami is here to ask if she had fun. Of course. Then it is all okay because everybody is happy. So just like that, her sins are all absolved. Eimei wins ASTRAL as Hiroto narrates about how everything starts with a lie. But it is that lie that saved other and gained him many friends. Now it is a lie that just doesn’t belong to him anymore. For the sake of his friends, he will continue to lie.
Cheating Craft: Delightfully Deceitful
Uhm… Folks, please do not take it literally on what Hiroto said about lying! Please do not tell lies because it is not that simple in saving others or gaining friends! It is not the lie, people! It is how you interact and treat others! NOT THE LIE! Oh well Hiroto, better phrasing next time before you led on others. But then again, he is the island’s greatest liar and nobody can dispute that.
Honestly, I had some high hopes for this series because of my initial preconception how this would be close to No Game No Life. And then all that hope suddenly start to crumble quickly as the season continues. In short, the series became a huge disappointment as it reaches its end. You see, just like other anime series that focus on the strange games that the characters play (like Kakegurui and Tomodachi Game), my biggest challenge-cum-problem is always the mechanics of the game. That’s right. Once again, I am unable to fully comprehend how the game is played and that greatly contributes to my confusion and thus my lack of enjoyment of the whole game and ultimately the series itself. Yes, I have to admit once more that I could be a dumb person. Heh. But that’s not the biggest problem of the series itself.
Firstly, with an anime like this having its theme focused on weird games the characters play, it is obvious such games cannot be your ordinary games that we often play in the real world. Like Twister or even poker. I’m sure we all know the basic rules to that, right? I understand that in order to spice things up and not make the so called game look boring, hence additional and strange or different rules are added. This is fine if done correctly to keep the interest and intrigue of the viewers. Unfortunately this series does not. The rules here are so strange that not only it is incomprehensible to viewers like me, but it also serves some sort of a plot convenience. In other words, some sort of cheating mechanism.
Picture this. Enemy going to do some sort of move that would seal his/her win. Hero in shock and in a pinch. Oh my. What can he do? When enemy executes that move, intended effect and result did not happen. Aha! Gotcha! Because hero has some super secret move to counter that and uses it to defeat a shocked opponent. Uh huh. It is always like that. I see you are going to lose soon. Get a taste of your own defeat. HAHAHA~ Oh wait. What just happened?! HAHAHA, you fool! You did not see this coming because you have just fallen into my trap as I pull off a superior move to defeat yours. Now you taste your defeat! HAHAHA!!! Heh… Yeah… Every game that Hiroto plays feels something like that!
Therefore I surmise that these special rules did not do well in making the game more interesting. They are only there as plot conveniences for our hero to make a comeback. As such, these mechanisms are what breaks the game and ultimately the entire series. I get it that students here may want to have the upper hand by having different kinds of abilities when they go into such battles. But therein lies the problem. Each one is tailored so differently that it breaks the rules of the normal game. So might as well not even follow the rules of the game in the first place! Do you see what I am trying to say here?! This is why whenever Hiroto and his team are in danger of losing, I have come to not even worry the slightest bit because I know there will be some sort of cheating going on in the background. If that cheating move cannot be sufficiently explained, just pin it on the Company doing some hacking in the background for Hiroto to pull off that miracle. So f*cking convenient! Now I am wondering if there is a super ultra rare ability that automatically vetoes the holder to automatically win the game no matter the circumstances!
The characters themselves are unmemorable and they feel more annoying as each episode passes. Like Hiroto who is the main character, I get it that he has to win games in order to keep his biggest lie a secret. Sometimes I feel like he has some sort of dual personality. One second he could be the cool and suave heroic guy. The next he could be this panicky normie. Like, I thought confidence or lying was his best trait?! Maybe I am missing something here. It all boils down to Hiroto being the greatest pretender of all time. Luckily he manages to pull off the seemingly impossible when it matters most. Thus giving him more ‘credibility’ as he piles on the lies as the island’s greatest player. And to think he came to this island looking for someone. Couldn’t he just find that person’s name in the database, assuming that person is another student on this island? Or is it not? Just some excuse to usher him into this island and carry out whatever the plot this series intended him to do.
No man is an island (despite the academy technically is one) and because to make Hiroto feel a lot more human, he is imperfect. This is also the perfect excuse and ingredient for him to have friends and those working with him behind the scenes so that he can emerge victorious when the time calls for it. Hiroto is one lucky guy to have things go his way in the end. Because without the timely backing of the Company, he would have lost very early. Otherwise, these characters in Hiroto’s group also feel as forgettable. Possibly to troll us for a possible harem because why not? He’s got his own personal maid Himeji, then the cutie pie whom he defeated Noa (yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend trope) and of course the empress herself Sarasa because can I consider her as tsundere too? I figure that she having her own dark secrets to keep isn’t the main reason why she is staying close to Hiroto, right?
Shinji and Nanase both feel like ad hoc characters. So as not to have Hiroto and his harem get 100% of the screen time. Heh. Anyway, it feels like the need to give them some character because they’re always disagreeing with each other for the most part on whatever. So, they like each other, huh? Not like they would admit but it’s the general vibes that I get from them. Yeah, better probability of them being a couple than Hiroto x Sarasa! I mean, they’re trying to throw obvious hints to us that Sarasa has feelings for this big liar, right?! Kazami from Libra feels like a convenient character. Supposedly from an organization that is supposed to be neutral, because of the recent events, she finds herself depending on Hiroto because who else is going to be the hero and cling onto justice and integrity? Even if Hiroto is a big liar himself? After all, this series lacks any pet mascot so why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone and have both a cat and a cute girl together! ~Nya!
And the so called villains are just paltry and one dimensional. The supposed big baddie of the season, Kurahashi, not sure what his goals are for doing this. Why hasn’t the island’s admin or the big family of Masamune find out about this atrocity is anybody’s guess. Where’s the f*cking security?! If Tsumugi can hack into it, imagine what pro hackers can do. Oh right. Company already does it. The games on the island are so important and how can Kurahashi continue to operate in such a blatant way by even bringing in an unauthorized player without any penalties? Is everybody afraid of him? Even the higher authorities? Well, so I guess he is the scapegoat to become the bad guy so that people like innocent cute girls such as Noa and Tsumugi can’t be labelled as pure evil. They were under his orders, I swear! Yeah. That. Whatever. It goes against an unwritten law to cast innocent lolis as villains. So is Tsumugi part of the harem now? To make him look like a further scumbag with no redeeming value, that is why guys like Kirigaya and Kugasaki are made to have some sort of honour in the end even if they were casted as ‘enemies’. Natsume is equally bad too but because she is aligned with our heroes (despite having her own ulterior motives), we give her a pass. And she is also so that Hiroto won’t have the freedom to do as he wishes because he is under her thumb and is forced to play dumb games as he needs all the help he can to get through the lies.
Art and animation just feel mediocre. While the 2D visuals and the character designs are just passable (doesn’t Sarasa look like a discount Shakugan No Shana?), sometimes the animation especially during the games can feel a bit wonky and jerky. And in some scenes, lack of animation. Maybe this is also why the games don’t really look interesting. Apart from the confusing rules, then this mediocre animation quality exacerbates it all. I want to note that I find it strange that the characters have this faint red outline on their eyes. Not sure if this is their trademark because it reminds me of Saenai Heroine No Sodatekata. I thought it was from the same author or the animation studio but all not related. This series was done by Geek Toys who did Plunderer, Date A Live IV, Ningen Fushin No Boukensha-tachi Ga Sekai Wo Sukuu You Desu and Kawaikereba Hentai Demo Suki Ni Natte Kuremasu Ka.
Voice acting is also passable and nothing extraordinary. I only recognized Jun Fukuyama as Kugasaki. I thought Rina Hidaka or Yui Ogura would be perfect as Tsumugi but Yurika Moriyama (Otori in Komi-san wa Comyushou Desu) helmed that loli role instead. The other casts include Genta Nakamura as Hiroto, Wakana Kuramochi as Sarasa (Cuff in Shinigami Bocchan To Kuro Maid), Yukina Shutou as Himeji (Mahiru in Shuumatsu No Harem), Rika Tachibana as Noa (Karyl in Princess Connect! Re:Dive), Junya Enoki as Shinji (Nasa in Tonikaku Kawaii), Saori Oonishi as Nanase (Kaori in Arifureta), Sora Tokui as Kazami (Nero in Tantei Opera Milky Holmes), Hibiku Yamamura as Kagaya (Lisa in Peter Grill To Kenja No Jikan), Houko Kuwashima as Natsume (Sango in Inu Yasha), Ai Fairouz as Kururugi and Kazuyuki Okitsu as Kurahasi (Ouka in DanMachi).
If you’re a fan of May’n, be delighted that she sings the opening theme, Lies Goes On. Quite an energetic piece to fit her powerful vocals. Very much like many of the other similar anime songs I often hear her sing. Though, the opening credits animation has lots of strange colours that is close to being psychedelic so I’m not sure if this could trigger some sort of photosensitive epilepsy. The ending theme, Fakey Merry Game by Smile Princess feels more like a denpa song with some special effects imbued. The amusing part is the ending animation credits whereby the characters are in Roblox form and all the girls just want to own a piece of Hiroto. Poor guy. Can’t catch a break.
Overall, this anime is a huge let-down. It was far from what I expected and what I thought was interesting and had potential soon descended into a draggy fest of mind games that weren’t even interesting to begin with. Even more so, the confusing rules of the game and whatever abilities these characters have to spice up the game only felt like infuriating cheating mechanisms. Thus the only thing that the series done right was in its title because it really deceived the hell out of us! Imagine this series would’ve been more interesting if the battles were all life and death like Squid Game. Oh yeah. See the characters actually fight desperately to survive as their life is on the line! Now we’re just playing games for whatever supremacy and our Hiroto is going to eventually collect all the 7 colours of the rainbow (I won’t be surprised if they pull off a twist of a hidden 8th star, the Gold Star whatsoever!). Yeah. What the heck. Excuse me if I am going to give up on such complicated games of today and go back to games of yesteryears where it is much simpler and much more fun. Hopscotch, anybody? Okay I lied. I don’t actually know how to play hopscotch, seriously…
Chua Tek Ming~*Anime Power*~ !LiVe FoR AnImE, aNiMe FoR LiFe! 