In 2005, Shinobu Kaitani’s manga Liar Game first hit shelves in Japan. Through the plight of Nao Kanzaki, a naive young woman caught up in a manipulative game, Kaitani delivered a compelling exploration of honesty, manipulation, and capitalism. Alongside ingenious con man Shinichi Akiyama, Kanzaki took on the Liar Game, and over the next 10 years of the manga’s release, I was enraptured by the series as they faced increasingly elaborate challenges and opponents.

I long thought the manga would make for an incredible anime, and it already made for one delightful J-Drama. But perhaps it took inspiring one of the most beloved and widely watched K-Dramas of the last decade, Squid Game, for Liar Game to finally get its own anime treatment.

Now that the first season has wrapped up, I can pleasantly say that the anime largely succeeded in bringing the characters and elaborate games to life. Though the budget never seemed to bring the art style much further than what was on the page, the series kept me looking forward week after week to the next episode.

The biggest strain on the series has always been the explanations of the games. Perhaps if I had Akiyama’s intellect, I’d understand each one the first time. However, I always felt a bit like Nao, just trying to follow along. This didn’t entirely deflate the tension once the rounds began, though the explanations themselves could feel like slow moments, even if they were necessary. At least as we get more characters, particularly Yuji Fukunaga, who can deliver these rule explanations with a little more flair.

Speaking of Fukunaga, she’s probably one of the best reasons for the anime to exist. I felt that Fukunaga’s character was handled better in this iteration, perhaps even improving on the J-Drama and manga. I dare not spoil further, but it was ultimately delightful to see this in an anime, which is not always the most progressive of mediums. (Though, which mediums are these days?)

In addition to Fukunaga, we also get other fascinating secondary characters who help enliven the challenges. Though some are fleeting, each plays a part in either ramping up the tension or humanizing the victims of this nefarious game. Much like in the similarly inspired Squid Game, they may not all last long (fret not, Liar Game is not a violent game), but you still miss some of them when they leave.

Since Liar Game Season 1 is clearly just the beginning of the story, we’re left with plenty still to be resolved: the challenges ahead, the questions surrounding the game, and whether Nao can survive in this world (both The World and the world of the game). However, I waited over 20 years for the anime to come out, so surely I can wait for Season 2. I hope others feel likewise.