Liar x Liar

This manga somehow surprised me. During the beginning, I was annoyed that the stepbrother Tooru wasn't able to recognize his own sister. This is something you have to live with if you want to read it - there are additional encounters were Tooru or other characters fail to recognize the protagonist Minato. Therefore this secret identity plot lasts over most of the available chapters (58).

As other people have already written the main good point of this Manga is the protagonist Minato. She is completely aware of what she is doing and that she is walking on thin ice. She knows in which situations there is a high risk of discovery (but usually decides to go along with them for her brother). Her motivations, actions and feelings are also consistent.
In short: I never had a typical facepalm situation in which I was angry about some stupid actions of Minato, in most situations I think I would have been more stupid myself.
(Things which are NOT a thing in this manga: wearing the same jewelry/clothes for both identities, messing up while handling two phones, using some information she shouldn't have ...).
In addition, Minato's appearance and nature are also very likable. It's just easy to root for her.

On the other hand, it took me some more time to like Tooru, who, in the beginning, just looks like a silent womanizing A-hole. But this definitely changes afters getting additional information about the siblings' backstory.

At last, I'd like to mention that it seems that the Manga is about to end soon (if the Mangaka doesn't decide to introduce some new arc with additional problems), so it may be a good time to start reading this.

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 able to 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.

I personally started this manga because I was tired of drama, this manga made me literally fall on the floor.

Plot: A 20 years-old girl goes in town dressed with her best friend's high school uniform and accidentally bumps into her step-brother. He doesn't recognize her and the two of them started talking, the girl pretending to be someone else.

Characters: The main character is the best. She is hilarious, seriously, you'll love her.

The plot may not be too original, but the main character makes it very good. The manga may look stupid for some of you but I personally enjoyed it. You should totally give it a try.

This manga was great until it metamorphosed into your average shoujo midway... So, the first two volumes are a 9, for me... but then it started melting into nothing.

So, this is one of those stories I would recommend start to read, but the moment you get annoy with it, stop and pretend that it finished right there as an open ending, where you can choose what happens next.

The last chapter is one of the most cringe situations I have ever read... it wasted the whole story away. Read it at your own risk.

This manga I read it along it was being published, so it took a lot of time. The first few chapters I read them many times, because the story was very believable... the characters were very human and that is so difficult to find in manga/anime that whenever I find those gems, I cling to them. But I don't know if it was the editorial or the author lost it along the way... because it became a plane boring cliché shoujo little by little.

If you like deep psychology stories that take their time to show the characters' deeper layers, read this one. Kind of like Cheese in the Trap, at least one character is an intriguing mystery to you and you struggle to guess what that person will do next---All that on top of the standard step sibling forbidden love plus love triangles. Romance with deep characters and plot!!! yeah!

The downside is that the art is unique----not the standard pretty boy art that seem to be standard for shoujo's. The Mangaka is mostly a shounen artist, so the same characters who normally would be shirt-tearingly hot in the regular shoujo mangaka's work, umm, need some getting used to. But don't let the art stop you from reading this awesome story.

This Manga kinda Annoyed me. It's about a girl who has a step brother and she fools him into thinking she is a look alike of his sister and starts dating him. If you're thinking "how stupid would you have to be to believe that?" Well in this manga there is a lot of lack in common sense. The main character's are too hard to relate to. They are in their 20's but yet don't seem to have the experience and common knowledge of a 20 something.The main girl doesn't get into funny predicaments or thinks up crazy schemes. She just continues to lead on her brother despite how much feelings he has for her "other" self. She never fesses up to him about who she is. By the 15th Chapter I couldn't read anymore. I felt like "why is she even doing this in the first place?" It just seemed cruel and selfish to me with no resolution or turn of events in site.

Some may like this, it's not terrible, it did perk my interest but in the end I just felt lead on like the brother in the story...

Let me be clear with you: This is my favorite ongoing romance manga and possibly my favorite romance manga ever - I'd be giving it a ten (it definitely has that on my list) if I didn't have to acknowledge objective flaws - so I'm probably going to be biased as hell writing this, but let me at least try to explain to you why I love it so much.

Tooru and Minato are the sweetest couple ever. They made me believe in love. At first this is hard to tell; all the shenanigans in the beginning are kind of distracting, but honestly, that's worth it, too. I started reading this because its premise is so absolutely ridiculous that my mind went "I have to see this trainwreck," and let me tell you: It was worth it.

As a comedy, this series is fantastic, from the incredibly oblivious but lovesick Tooru and his misunderstandings to Minato who, goddamn, is trying her fucking best. Of course there are points where you'll have to suspend your disbelief - like when Minato, who has never had a boyfriend in her life, only meets a boy who's into her right when she's stuck in the most complicated pseudo-relationship with her stepbrother - but it's comedy; we suspend our disbelief for the joke. And because it's comedy, that means that all the stupid drama that happens is exactly that: stupid drama. Most of every crazy situation is tongue-in-cheek, and almost dramatic situation that has to potential to become annoying ends up quitting while it's ahead, making it a really funny, enjoyable ride.

Somewhere along the way, though, the comedy stops being the main focus (though it never leaves, so don't worry about that) and gives way to completely unexpected emotional depth. Tooru really loves her, and while that leads to a lot of funny, ridiculous things, like Tooru forcing his family to eat donuts for a week straight so he can give her a punchcard prize, Tooru /really loves her/. And that gets to you just as bad as it gets to Minato, and it gets even worse when Mina and Tooru starts becoming less a crazy, hilarious hole and more two stepsiblings who used be close really talking to each other for the first time in years.

Re: the stepsibling thing, take it or leave it. This is something with the potential for squick, because they've been living together since they were kids, but because of the way they stop talking really early on, it can kind of be argued they don't really have a stepsibling relationship. But again, they have been living in the same house. Do with their situation what you will.

Back on topic, the emotional depth really does get worse as you find out their backstory, which I'd love to talk about because it is a huge part of the reason I love the series so much but will refrain from doing in the interest of letting you find out on your own. But all the pain turns out to be worth it as the plot progresses and lies give way to truth. Honestly, this series is nothing like what I expected, and it's absolutely worth the journey.

Tooru and Minato's relationship is one of the purest and cutest I've read; it's so sweet, to see two people love each other this much, and that is what sold me completely on this. That's not it, though; this kind of sweetness pervades throughout the manga, for all its stupid drama. It's got a wealth of dumb, endearing side characters with their own quirks, an optimistic take on everything, and a cute, simple art style.

So, if you ever get tired of crazy drama or every girl character in romance manga being a hidden bitch, read Liar x Liar. If you ever get tired of good-for-nothing guys or girls think they can't do better than assholes, read Liar x Liar. If you're person, read Liar x Liar. I love this manga so much, and I'm also crying as I type this.

(Note: For the first ten or so chapters, the Liar x Liar scanlations are not ideal. No disrespect to the scanlators, by the way, because they're reason I can cry about this series, but please get past this. I promise you this series is worth it.)

Liar x Liar starts off with the hook that the main character Minato accidentally ends up dating her step-brother under the persona of Mina. The step-brother Tooru doesn't realise that Mina is actually Minato and the tangle of lies and double-lives begins from there.

The first third of Liar x Liar could best be described as waiting for a trainwreck to occur. Very little actually happens but there is an anticipation building that all the lies and cover-ups will eventually unravel. This is the only good reason that Liar x Liar gives you for reading it and the pacing of it is very slow, so if you don't have the patience for this kind of thing then it's likely you'll drop it before any payoff arrives.

However, once you get past this slow start, the rest of Liar x Liar does deliver on all the tension that it's been building up. Events that shake the status quo of the story finally start forcing the characters to make decisions and we get a pay off for the character development that's been the focus so far. At this point, the pacing gets much better and it's quite easy to be invested in the story without feeling like it's wasting your time.

No spoilers here but I can guarantee that all the things that were built up over the first two thirds of Liar x Liar are delivered in the final third. There isn't any huge jump in drama but rather there is a satisfaction to seeing a tangled plot get unraveled. The ending is certainly worth forcing yourself through the slow opening chapters and it's extremely refreshing to have a conclusion which is natural without being too predictable.


Art: Somewhat cute but not too flashy, this shouldn't affect the enjoyment of the series but will naturally grow on you as you read more and more.
Characters: The characters in Liar x Liar are quite realistic but with just enough spice to their actions and personalities that the drama of the story never feels contrived.
Story: Not much of a story, this is a manga to be read for the characters. There is some plot progression but that's still in service of the characters so don't hold your breath.
Pacing: Very slow to start but it picks up towards the middle and by the end it's a very easy read.

TLDR: I would recommend this people who enjoy seeing the nuance of characters and have the patience to accept that there is a build up required to set the stage for all those character interactions to make sense and feel deserved. However, if the phrase "it gets good after 20 chapters" is a turn off then this is one to skip.