Liar x Liar

Liar x Liar is about a girl who ends up sort of by accident dating her step brother while in disguise, so he had no idea its actually her. I'm sure you can already tell from the premise that it's one of THOSE rom-coms, the type with utterly ridiculous comedic situations, that many will find off putting for secondhand embarrassment, or because they find the main couple unlikable because they're always lying to each other. The thing is, I usually dislike that type of rom-com also, but I actually really liked Liar x Liar. I'm sure there are plenty of readers that will not be ableto get over that premise and the fact that she is lying to her step brother, but I personally thought the author was deftly able to handle the tone of it that it never quite got to the point where I would normally think it distasteful. I think it really helped that the protagonist is constantly giving her best friend updates to seek her advice in this ridiculous situation, meanwhile you can practically see her friend kicking back and getting out the popcorn. It helps to reinforce the idea that this is all very ridiculous, and not to be taken seriously. But then, in the last third or so, Liar x Liar really surprised me. The protagonist had to finally face realistic consequences for her actions. It really made Liar x Liar go from a ridiculous kind of trashy diversion, to legitimately really good. This isn't a manga for everyone. As I said, many will be too turned off by the initial premise to want to read it. But if you can accept it for what it is, I think it's a very well done rom com of its type.

It's just like others have said. It starts off really well, unbelievably believable. It's about a girl who ends up fooling her younger step brother by wearing a high school uniform. It's actually ridiculous. Her brother falls for her trick and even goes through crazy lengths in order to date her. He doesn't realize it's actually his sister, whom you suspect has feelings for her. This is "Life With Derek" if it actually went the step-sibling route. But alas, apart from the first couple of volumes that I thought were ridiculous, Ecuador, of all places for example, it morphs into a lackluster shoujo but notquite shoujo as the characters are all in college. When you get to the ending, my god. Incredible beginning. But loses its threads. Girl of course ends up in some weird ass love square. How's that believable. Don't get me started on their parents. For fans of Marmalade Boy. I did think the romance was pretty cute but it lacked believability.

Liar x Liar starts off as a romantic comedy, the main character accidentally meets her step-brother while wearing a high-school cosplay and they start dating. He doesn't know that she's actually his step-sister and the whole story goes from there. It's a mess but you can't stop reading because the whole situation gets more and more complicated and you're dying to know how it ends. This is where it fell off for me, in a slow pace the story builds this castle full of lies but the way everything was resolved, was unsatisfying for me. It was too easy, too happy. The first 2/3 of thestory was filled with drama and incredible tension and it just disappeared in the last third. The art is nice and the characters feel realistic and well-written but the story is okay. You don't really read this manga for the story but for the characters. For the most part Liar x Liar was an enjoyable read.