Liar Game: Reborn

Shinomiya, a recent graduate, is handed 100 million yen and an invitation to join a restarted Liar Game. She resolves to recruit the series’ last winner, Akiyama, for guidance, aware that the stakes are high. This opening sets the tone for a battle of psychology and debt.

Shinomiya is escorted to the competition site by the organizers, while the stakes are spelled out. Fukunaga informs about the brutal chair-elimination variant and the broader purpose of the game, and he urges Akiyama to return to the fold. The mood is tense as past loyalties are tested on the threshold of the game.

The edition introduces twenty players with only fifteen chairs; after each round, a representative must eliminate a chair, shrinking the board and intensifying choices. Each player starts with twenty tokens, which translate into prize money for the winner; losers must pay 200 million to organizers. Observers Fukunaga and Tanimura watch as the pressure mounts.

In the early rounds, eight players are eliminated from the game. Shinomiya is deceived by Norihiko Yasukawa but is saved by Mai Sakamaki and other former players Emi and Akagi, who bring a mix of loyalties and hidden agendas. The floor buzzes with shifting loyalties as alliances begin to form.

The board becomes a chessboard of factions: Harimoto leads a five-person team, Kiryū forges a pact with Eiko Inuzuka and Kenji Sarukawa, and Shinomiya aligns with Akiyama, Mai Sakamaki, Norihiko Yasukawa, Emi, and Akagi. The eliminated players form their own bloc on the sidelines, attempting to influence votes from the shadows. Loyalties shift as tokens and votes become currency.

When Yasukawa threatens to betray his group, Akiyama acts decisively, eliminating Yasukawa and absorbing him into Kiryu's camp. This move reconfigures loyalties and deepens the strategic tension as possible betrayals loom. The balance of power tilts toward Kiryu's camp, triggering new calculations.

Akiyama instructs his group not to vote, a bold ploy that collapses the rival blocs. Harimoto and Kiryu turn on one another as the remaining votes become harder to secure. The room tightens as power moves toward whoever can outmaneuver the dwindling electorate.

Desperate, Akiyama leans on eliminated players, but Emi—loyal to Harimoto—betrays Shinomiya's faction and reveals she has been playing both sides. The revelation shakes the remaining loyalty networks and forces Shinomiya's group to reassess its strategy. The dynamics of trust crack under pressure.

With Mai Sakamaki eliminated, Akiyama dumps his remaining tokens to reinforce the illusion that Shinomiya is the best chance to win. Shinomiya begins a controversial, philanthropic gambit, gifting tokens to other players to ease debts and gain support. The mood grows wary as not everyone accepts a charity gesture, and Kiryu taunts her.

Shinomiya's generosity backfires as the other players refuse to be bought, and Kiryu taunts her with pointed remarks. A misstep leads to a slap that costs her a place in the game. The tension peaks as the narrative shifts toward a harsher, more ruthless endgame.

The showdown between Kiryu and Harimoto intensifies as Kiryu exposes Harimoto's plan to push a teammate, Sakai, toward victory. Harimoto's tokens become effectively useless as the scheme collapses under scrutiny. The room tightens around the remaining four contenders.

As the numbers dwindle to four—Akiyama, Kiryu, Sakai, and Sarukawa—Sakai betrays Kiryu by manipulating other players' moves. Kiryu and Sakai's fortunes swing with a calculated double-cross, intensifying the endgame's paranoia. The dynamics pivot on who can outsmart whom in the closing rounds.

In a shocking turn, Akiyama sacrifices himself in the face of the endgame, clearing the path for Sarukawa to emerge as the last man standing. The twist reveals Akiyama had engineered betrayals, using Inuzuka and others with Sarukawa's tokens. The revelation reframes the whole game as a meticulous calculation rather than pure luck.

Earlier, Shinomiya disposes of herself in a dramatic move to earn the trust that Akiyama's team was aiming for Sarukawa's victory. The move underscores the moral ambiguities at the heart of Liar Game, where debt and loyalty are weaponized. The audience is left to digest the shifting loyalties and redirections.

In the aftermath, all money recipients pledge to fully pay off former allies’ debts, achieving a rare balance where no one gains or loses in the final tally. Fukunaga, Tanimura, and the remaining players celebrate a carefully calibrated equilibrium. Akiyama insists his participation wasn't to help Shinomiya, while she cheekily calls him a poor liar.