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As you can probably tell by Satanophany's average rating on here, it isn't a manga for everyone. But it's a manga for me, dammit, and I made the mistake of becoming obsessed with it. I really hope someone continues the translation in the future.

Everything about the manga is silly and over the top. It features female protagonists killing freely, and lots of fanservice and sex. There aren't a ton of action manga out there with women as the main combatants, so I loved to see this one. It really gives you everything you'd want. The art is great, the artist is well-suited both to fanservice ... and fight scenes. There is a lot of gore and the girls are beautiful and form a good ensemble cast of unique and memorable personalities.

When the manga begins, it has kind of a Battle Royale premise, but as it goes on its cast begins to function as more of some kind of ridiculous special ops team. Once they start working together (and venture beyond the walls of the prison) the manga really gets good and its possibilities open up. This is why I'm dying to read more, the last translated arc, as of this writing, just expanded the scope of this manga so much.

Everything about the manga is silly and that's why it's good. It is trashy and exploitative, but it's fun. Like a great B movie it entertains with its rawness and its willingness to hold nothing back. If you like female protagonists/female killers and can appreciate a pulpy and tasteless horror movie I strongly recommend this manga.

Liar Game is the story of the ultimate battle of wits, a game of deception and cunning which a naive young girl and a con man find themselves roped into. Sounds pretty good, right? For the most part, it is.

Despite it's cerebral subject matter, Liar Game feels like a typical battle manga at times, primarily with its tendency to spread one battle out over a ridiculous number of chapters. Sometimes 10, sometimes 20. Most manga would stretch out a battle by adding in huge panels, flashy two-page spreads and so on. But since Liar Game's wars are fought with words, the method Shinobu Kaitani ... uses is... words. Characters, particularly the 'dealers' of each round redundantly explain and re-explain things the reader already knows.

Also, many pointless attacks and counterattacks are incorporated for seemingly no other reason than to extend an arc's lifespan. At first, these lengthy battles of the mind are interesting, but eventually you get that feeling of forcing yourself to read on in the hopes that something will happen to move Nao and Akiyama closer to destroying the game.

Spoiler alert: nothing does. Sure, they slowly move up the Liar Game's bracket, but that's the only sense of plot progression you'll get here. And who knows how big this tournament is, anyway? They could be at it forever.

Now that the negatives are out of the way, there are many more positive things I like about this manga. It's very intelligently written. The competitions themselves are very clever and interesting, even if they can feel a bit dragged out. The way psychology and human manipulation are used as weapons is a great idea and is explored in depth. This manga is obviously very passionately researched.

The characters participating are all likable if they're a protagonist, and quite dastardly if they're an antagonist. Nao initially starts out seeming weak and clueless, but her strengths are revealed in time. Maybe the characters are TOO good, it can get frustrating when a character you've grown attached to leaves the game. I should also note that this manga has one of the best portrayals of a transgender character in anime/manga ever. Fukunaga is smart, competent, and very likable, and I don't believe one gay joke is ever cracked at her expense.

All in all, Liar Game is an interesting and fun read. If you don't mind that it's obviously being dragged out as far as it will go with no ending in mind or in sight, and just want to read a cool and smart 'head games' manga, definitely check it out.

I've finished reading this manga up to volume 21 (as of this writing, the most recent english-translated volume), and I'm ready to write a review of it.

Like most people, my first exposure to the world of Excel Saga came with the wacky 26-episode anime from 1999. You should know before you begin the manga that the anime and the manga are completely different monsters. While the anime revels in over-the-top insanity, the manga is a lot more down-to-earth. Characters and situations are presented in a much more realistic fashion. Rather than parody of anime tropes, the primary comedic focus here is social and political satire. ... It gives a skewed look at what an actual attempt to take over a modern Japanese city would look like.

The basics of the anime are present, of course. Il Palazzo is still the leader of the secret organization of ACROSS. Excel and Hyatt are still his (enthusiastically hyper and dangerously ill, respectively) trusted female agents who carry out missions to hopefully bring about the conquest of F City. Opposing them are Kabapu and his handful of disinterested average joes (and one jane). The brilliant Dr. Shioji's Ropponmatsus generally do most of the fighting. Like the anime, Excel and Hyatt do live poor for most of the series, and most of the humor in the early volumes comes from them being forced to take part-time jobs to sustain themselves (during which they typically observe some form of corruption or general economic debauchery). Things you won't see in the manga that you'll remember from the anime include Pedro, Nabeshin, That Man, the Puchuus, and more.

Over time, the series begins to shy away from comedy, and the development of an ongoing plot takes first priority. Many characters are introduced who never appeared in the anime, such as Umi, Miwa, and the spoiled, beautiful Elgala, a third ACROSS agent frequently foiled by Excel's thrifty lifestyle. Fanservice is kept to a minimum until somewhere around her introduction (although it never reaches the heights of what the anime achieved in that regard).

Rikdo Koshi's art is really nice, with lots of fine details. I wish I could see it larger than in the usual manga size, I feel like a lot of subtleties are lost on Viz's tiny pages. The characters are Excel Saga's high point. The cast is really diverse and well-written. None of them are quite normal, but their personalities are so well-rounded that they feel like someone you could actually meet anyway.

Some people won't like Excel Saga because it's so downplayed and subtle compared to the anime, which I guess is understandable. I can't really recommend this to everyone; even without factoring in the differences from anime it's still very different from any other manga I've read, comedy or otherwise. There's no romantic subplot, and there aren't any schoolgirls doing random/cute things. It's just an irreverent and really likable story about conquest, power, and the people who seek it. If you're looking for a humor manga that's a little different from the usual stuff, check this out.

Okay, I'm going to repeat what many others have said and state that Texhnolyze is NOT a series for everyone. The pace is slow and punishing, and if your main squeeze is the straightforward action side of anime you will probably hate this.

However rather than bore me, I personally found the pace to be a breath of fresh air. This slow and steady treatment of the story is more realistic and true-to-life for me, and while it might not be as instantly gratifying as some other series it's truly enveloping and convincing. The plot itself is highly complex, and as with Lain, Texhnolyze's spiritual predecessor, ... you probably won't be able to take it all in with one viewing.

The art is beautiful and highly atmospheric. The world of Lux springs to life with many lush, yet dark and gloomy settings. The characters are soft spoken but oddly compelling, especially in the case of Ichise. They're also weirdly real. The cast of Texhnolyze is one of the more believably human ensembles I've ever seen in an anime, and it's difficult not to become attached to them.

Another point I'd like to bring up is the weird disconnect it establishes between the events that happen on screen and the viewer. Right from the getgo the perspective seems grimly neutral. Texhnolyze isn't telling you how to feel about what's happening, just presenting what happens and letting you make the call. The realistic presentation and attention to detail add to this sensation. It's almost as if the story was told from the point of view of the mysterious city itself.

Between the realistic pacing, heady plot, and gorgeous settings, Texhnolyze was one of those rare anime that, for me, made everything else seem not quite as good. I don't give out 10s easily but if that doesn't earn one I don't know what does. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a contemplative, challenging series.

Outlaw Star was the show that got me into anime. Sure, I liked Pokemon, but it wasn't until I caught Outlaw Star on Toonami one day that I thought 'Wow, there could be something TO this anime stuff!' It had everything... a ninja, and alien catgirl, guns that shot magic, a spaceship controlled by a naked woman... my teenage mind exploded. Where had these things been my entire life?! XD I bought the DVD immediately.

Both the plot and setting are complex and interesting, with lots of neat ideas, such as the casters, grappler ships, etc. The cast of heroes is diverse and likeable, a bizarro ... grab bag of least-likely-heroes that mostly avoid falling into cliche archetypical roles. The cast of villains is diverse, at least, but few of them are ever really developed enough for my liking. Visually, the designs are overall fresh and stylish with good attention to detail. My main complaint with Outlaw Star's story is that while it's ambitious, it might have a little TOO much going on. I would have liked to see better development of the villains and other minor characters, as well as some greatest insight into the pasts of main characters such as Suzuka and Jim. Plus, the series teases us with some ideas that are never fully fleshed out, such as in one episode where a number of different alien races are introduced and then just as quickly forgotten about.

While there is an overaching plot, Outlaw Star is still a mostly episodic series. These types of shows are made and broken by their level of ingenuity, and whether or not they manage to keep things fresh. OS succeeds here. Like Cowboy Bebop, every episode features a different scenario, and the show never feels repetitive or short on ideas.

The animation and art are both excellent for their time. The plot's pacing can be a little clunky at times but once the fireworks begin these concerns are quickly forgotten. The music is great, the first season has my favorite closing theme ever and the rest of the series' music is very fitting and enjoyable.

Overall, I give it an 8. Outlaw Star is an action packed space adventure series with a very high fun factor and more than enough fresh material to help it stand out from the pack.