Copyright Screen Rant
Media featuring dangerous games are seeing a bit of a resurgence in the wake of Squid Game's unprecedented success. In an era defined by economic and social inequality, there is something cathartic about watching a protagonist beat a system that is so thoroughly stacked against them. Anime is no stranger to the death game genre, though the results have often been mixed. Series that actually helped inspire Squid Game like Kaiji offer a unique perspective on the genre and maintain a cult following, while anime like King's Game have earned scorn for failing to bring anything new into the genre. A new death game anime, however, could be the Squid Game successor fans have been waiting for, and based on the manga's success, it has the potential to be huge. Liar Game Is Coming For Squid Game's Crown Created by Shinobu Kaitani and beginning publication in 2005, Liar Game is a manga about an honest young man named Nao who becomes involved in the titular Liar Game Tournament, a game that encourages deception in order to obtain large amounts of money. While the rewards are high, so are the risks. Any money lost as a result of the Liar Game is translated into debt, potentially casting contestants into financial ruin. While the series is not a traditional death game in the same way that Squid Game is, the consequences for a loss in Liar Game can sometimes be worse than death, as the heavy financial burden of such a large debt ruins lives. The manga series earned critical acclaim throughout its decade of publication, and even earned itself three live-action TV series and two movie adaptations. More recently, however, hype has been building over the announcement of a Liar Game anime produced by the makers of Frieren over at Madhouse. How Liar Game Could Match Squid Game Though the stakes of Squid Game are obviously higher than those of Liar Game, both series deal with economically desperate individuals who feel they have no choice but to gamble on a slim chance at a better life. At a time when many feel like the path to economic betterment is murky at best, these series can prove both cathartic and tragically relatable. There is something exhilarating about watching a protagonist claw their way out of a system designed to exploit and use them for the entertainment of others.
