Maybe it’s the slightly old-fashioned character designs that are not stereotypically kawaii, or the slightly plain production; or maybe it’s the protagonist, Nao, who dithers about rather fretfully through the first few episodes. Whatever the reason, Madhouse’s high-stakes strategy game series, Liar Game, is flying under the radar this season with anime fans. But sometimes, it’s the seemingly unremarkable series that hide the greatest treasures, and that is the case, I would argue, with Liar Game. Who would have guessed that a series about deception would contain so much of the gospel? In fact, there is so much treasure here that it will take a few posts to unpack it all! So let’s get started—and where better to begin than with a closer look at the wide-eyed protagonist, Nao Kanzaki, and what she shows us about growing in faith and in relationship with the Savior.
Nao is honest to a fault. In fact, she’s “stupidly honest,” as everyone around her keeps saying, with pity and sometimes scorn in their voices. Nao’s honesty means that she also believes the best in people, but this only seems to draw out the worst in them as they see her as an easy mark. So when Nao is tricked into joining the mysterious and rather shady Liar Game, it’s no surprise that she is immediately manipulated out of the 100 million yen entrusted to her by the organizers for use in playing the game, and that it is, in fact, someone she knows and trusts who exploits her innocence. Needless to say, eighteen-year-old Nao does not have the money to repay the game organizers, thanks to her dying father’s medical bills. But she does have thirty days in which to try to get the money back before the game ends and she’s saddled with the monstrous debt for good. And so it is that Nao finds herself in need of a savior.
She finds him pretty quickly, in the form of Shinichi Akiyama, who is equal parts Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood. He’s an absolute whiz at strategy games, and he also happens to be at a bit of a loose end right now, having just been released from prison after serving time for conning a major MLM. He agrees to help Nao get the money back before her time is up.
Nao doesn’t know it, but her life has just changed—forever and for the better. Over the coming days and weeks, she will change, too, just by knowing and following him. Let’s track her journey over the episodes that have aired so far, as she stumbles into faith (round one) and gradually learns what it means to have a savior in her life (rounds two and three). (Note: I have avoided spoiling details about the actual games, but the general trajectory of the plot is spoiled below.)
Round One: The 100 Million Yen Battle (episodes 1-3)
Nao’s fate may have changed the moment she put her trust in Akiyama, but none of this is apparent at first. After all, Akiyama is a stranger to her. So the first arc of the series is about confirming that Akiyama is indeed trustworthy and able to save. And to be honest, it doesn’t always look like he is. Akiyama is certainly clever and can outwit their opponent in verbal sparring, but the opponent seems to have the upper hand: he’s literally sitting on the money; there’s no way it can be snatched from his grip. He has a hold over Nao that cannot be loosened. What’s more, Akiyama doesn’t really seem to be doing anything; he simply waits patiently as the final day approaches, keeping watch over the enemy, and instructing Nao to do the same.
Nao follows Akiyama’s lead and gradually sees some of the fruit of their efforts: Akiyama’s strategy is definitely unsettling her betrayer. But it doesn’t actually unseat him. And so, in the final hour, Nao becomes frantic with worry and tries to fix things herself, pleading desperately with her enemy to have mercy while he only mocks her, jeering triumphantly over what he has stolen from her. And in that crucial moment, Akiyama is seemingly nowhere to be found. Apparently, he’s given up the fight.
The dynamic between Nao and Akiyama in these first three episodes reminds me of the disciples and Jesus. They don’t really know him at first, but they do follow him. And as he teaches and commissions them, they begin to do the things that he does, and even get to see the fruit of it as the enemy’s demons flee! In time, the disciples begin to believe this rabbi from Nazareth could truly be the Savior that Israel has been waiting for, and Peter is even quite sure of it, at least in a few instances. Yet, Jesus doesn’t act the way the Savior was expected to: he’s neither a bold military leader nor a grassroots revolutionary; he disappears quietly from the crowds when they would make him king. So the disciples aren’t quite sure of him.
As the conflict between the religious authorities and Jesus comes to a head, he doesn’t seem to be fighting back or outwitting them; he simply waits for them in the Garden of Gethsemane as they bring their false accusations and punishments against him. And so that dark night, as the game seems to be up, the disciples scatter, and even Peter loses his certainty. All but one go their own way, trying to save themselves and maybe even regretting that they chose to follow the wrong man. Rather like Nao.
But of course that’s not the end of the story—not for the disciples, and not for Nao! As it turns out, there is still one act remaining, and it is in this final hour that the Savior (in both stories) clinches the victory! When the dust settles, the disciples unexpectedly find themselves not only forgiven and restored—from all their sins, not just their faithlessness that night—but also heirs of a Heavenly Kingdom, a boon won for them by Jesus. So, too, for Nao! When the game officials arrive, she finds herself, much to her surprise, holding not only the money that she owes them, but an extra 100 million yen as well! Akiyama won it, but it is credited to Nao. And it’s the same for us, too! This very day, we can be credited with all that Jesus won in his high-stakes victory against sin and death.
Round Two: The Minority Game (episodes 3-7)
So, now that Nao is certain of her savior, it’s all just smooth sailing, right? Unfortunately not. She’s almost immediately tricked again and ends up back in the Liar Game that very same episode! Sigh.
It’s easy to criticize Nao for her wide-eyed gullibility. But I daresay we are a lot more like Nao than we’d care to admit. We, too, can fall for the same deceptions over and over again. (That’s what sin is at its very core, after all.) This is particularly true of the specific kind of deception that’s hidden beneath the surface here in Nao’s case.
Let me explain. Yes, the surface-level deception here comes in the form of a sketchy lawyer who gives Nao some highly suspicious advice, manipulating her back into the throes of the Liar Game, and who ultimately proves to be in the pay of said game. But the deeper deception comes before that, when Nao believes that she needs to sort out the mess she’s in by herself, and more so, when she even believes that she can fix it herself. Don’t get me wrong, her maturity in owning her mistakes and seeking to rectify them is commendable. But at the end of the day, she can’t save herself. She needs her savior.
And he comes! Akiyama doesn’t abandon Nao to her fate. What’s more, when he shows up to rescue her, he doesn’t call her a fool. Instead, he enrols himself in the second round of the game so that he might be by her side every step of the way, choreographing her rescue.
It’s the same for us as believers. Speaking for myself, when I was a younger Christian, I often found myself trying to fix things or deal with challenges and tricky situations by my own strength and wisdom. I could be so focused on finding a solution that I would forget to seek my Savior or lean on him for guidance and grace. I even forgot that I could. Fortunately, as I’ve matured and seen Jesus show up time and time again amid “my” messes, as Akiyama does for Nao, this has become less of a problem. But I do still occasionally realize that I’ve fallen for that same old deception again, acting like I need to be the savior in this or that situation.
Scripture itself, in both the Old and New Testaments, also assumes that we will be a little like Nao. So while the world says, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me,” scripture offers us no shame for such failure. Instead, it puts the focus on what we do once we realize we’ve been deceived and acted foolishly. For instance, Proverbs repeatedly defines the wise, righteous person as someone who receives correction willingly and responds humbly to admonishment, both from God and from (qualified) others. This implies that these model people make mistakes and are sometimes deceived. What makes them wise and righteous is not their ability to avoid such failures, but their readiness to welcome godly reproof when they do, and to grow in discernment through the experience of being deceived. New Testament scripture—the Epistles and Revelation—adopt the same emphasis when addressing those who have been deceived by false teachers, while also adding the exhortation to remember Christ and return to the gospel they had first received.
This is really key: Being deceived doesn’t erase the work of the cross in our lives! It doesn’t send us back to square one, redefining us with failure and shame. Instead, it sends us back to the cross, where we find once again that our Savior is with us. Just like Akiyama is with Nao.
The best part of this second round arc, though, is what happens next! Once Akiyama is there, Nao doesn’t hide in a corner, avoiding him until she can (im)prove herself to him and win back his regard (i.e., “fixing it” herself). No! She goes to him and entrusts herself fully to his leadership. And when his plan requires winning more players to their side and forming a team, Nao sets aside her natural timidity and, with confidence and joy, steps out to share with folks the good news of Akiyama’s plan to save them all.
Nao does what Paul, John, Peter, Jude, and Christ himself exhort us to do when we’ve been deceived: remember our Savior and the good news of the gospel, and go forward from there! No regrets. Only Jesus. She’s beginning to mature in faith!
Round Three: The Downsizing Game (episodes 7-10)
And then she does it again. Oh my! But this time it’s a little different. Unlike the first two rounds, where Nao found herself embroiled in the game at first unintentionally, and then against her will, this time, she chooses to enter, albeit under false pretenses (the shady lawyer guy brings his manipulation A-game along with the invitation to the new round!)
Here’s the thing: Nao does it for Akiyama. She wants to pay him back.
I mean, bless her heart, but NOOOOOO!!!!! Does she not understand that the best way to return the favor Akiyama has extended to her (twice!) is to walk safely in the freedom that he’s won for her for the rest of her days and never go near that godforsaken Liar Game again?!?
And yet, I think this is the way in which Nao is most like us as we are learning and growing in our relationship with Jesus. Very often, especially as young believers—but even as older, supposedly wiser ones!—we want to do something for God, to show our appreciation and devotion, and that sincerity can wind up twisting into legalism, sidetracking us with works, or even leading us into making sacrifices or other performative acts that he isn’t asking of us. A bit like the church at Ephesus in Revelation. They’re doing good things, laudable things, all in Jesus’s name, but he admonishes them for missing the point: their hearts have become distracted from their first love. It happens all too easily, right? Instead of living from our love for Jesus, we live from our own strength and the strength of our doctrine, good habits, and church programs. How easily we can stray when we just want to do something good and we make that the goal.
That’s precisely what happens to Nao, as her attempt to do something good for Akiyama lands her in very hot water indeed, and with no way of reaching out to him for help. But, in a move that reminds me of the Holy Spirit, Akiyama realizes that she is in peril and breaks into the game venue in order to counsel Nao. He even declares himself to belong to her, to be her mochimono (or “thing [mono] one is carrying”, but mono can also mean “person”), so as to get around the rules of the game. In other words, he responds to her misguided efforts by drawing even nearer to her, searching her out and declaring his commitment to her. Reminds me of Someone who once said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
In response, Nao steps out in faith on a whole new level, in a way that shows us that she has become a new creation. I’ll avoid spoiling plot details here, but suffice it to say that it’s from this point on that Nao begins to walk in step with Akiyama, moment by moment, sharing his yoke instead of stumbling off in her own direction.
Epilogue: Round Four: The Contraband Game (episodes 11-19)
Nao’s faith throughout this round is unshakeable, and the fruit of that faith is twofold. First, she herself is a changed young woman. She’s gotten to know Akiyama better by now, carefully reflecting on his words and his ways. Doing so has helped her to grow in discernment, enabling her to ponder the rules and implications of the game, gain insights, and suggest strategies, whereas before she failed to engage in any meaningful way, just panicking faintly instead out of overwhelm (bless). She has become confident and reliable, so much so that Akiyama actually entrusts significant parts of the plan to her alone, including the task of facing down the leader of the opposing team—a rather devilish character. And she does it all perfectly!
Second, Nao’s faith in Akiyama is contagious: she wins many others to his cause, just by her demeanor! It reminds me of the verse where Jesus encourages us to let our light shine so that others may see by that light the good that we are doing and give God the glory! It may seem like there’s a logical step missing there—how is it that our goodness being spotlighted causes others to praise God?—yet, that’s precisely what happens here with Nao. Others recognize her genuine sweetness, and it moves them to put their trust in Akiyama! And it’s not just Nao and Akiyama’s own team members who do so, but several from the opposing side, too.
In both ways, it is clear that Nao has matured in her faith to the point where Akiyama can work through her, and not only for her. What a beautiful picture! This is our desire as followers of Christ, too, right?
Nao’s Arc; Our Arc
Nao’s transformation across these 19 episodes so far is inspirational! None of us is immune to deception, and despite our best efforts, there are some ditches we just keep falling into and need repeated rescuing from. But there’s hope for rescue—every single time—and there’s hope for growth too, so that we may fall less and less often for the traps that once caught us every time. And Nao shows us how: We find our Savior, and we keep on running to him, listening to his counsel, following his lead, even when it means stepping out in new ways, and always letting our faith in him bubble over into our words and deeds so that others too might come to know him and be saved.
Always and forever!
Even as we seek to learn from Nao’s journey, though, let us keep in mind this one beautiful thing: Nao was already saved from the moment she first met and put her trust in Akiyama. She didn’t need to earn her salvation or pay him back for it, and, as we’ve seen, there was nothing she could do to lose it! Since that first moment when she invited him into her life, her fate was sealed. All that remains is for her to see it, and to understand—with growing joy, confidence, and wisdom—what it means to walk by the side of the Savior through this game called life.
Liar Game isn’t finished yet, so why not catch up and join me in waiting, with great anticipation, for the glorious ending and what is sure to be Nao and Akiyama’s final victory? (Liar Game is currently streaming on Crunchyroll)
And here’s an Easter egg for those who read all the way to the end! Liar Game is based on the manga by Shinobu Kaitani, and the cover of the first tankoban volume shows Nao wearing a large cross necklace, as well as a silver rosary-like bracelet with a second, smaller cross. Interesting, right?
