"God Lies" easily ranks amongst my favourite short series. Overall, the story was reminiscent of the movie "Stand by me". Life goes on even if the world is painted bright blue from afar and cynical and more than a little screwed up on on closer inspection, even for grader schoolers. The two main characters Natsuru and Rio seem to fill the adult role better than their own parents. The outcome of the story is deeply satisfying to see and because of it's length/timespan in the manga, it is perhaps more poignant than "Immortal Rain".

Nothing is farfetched in "God Lies" and it portrays a realistic albeit highly cynical "life experience" for its protagonists with clean, beautiful panels and good dialogue. I would say that this piece is a lot more polished than her previous works (though it's all good so check out her stuff!!) and therefore highly recommended!

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Sometimes the cover really doesn't convey the story in a book and sometimes short things can really have a long story to tell, this is really one of those occasions. When I first started this manga I thought it will be short and sweet (or was hoping) romantic story, but now I can gladly say it was so much more. I am really amazed at how much the writer really was able to convey in just 5 chapters. While there is a bit unrealistic nature in some aspects of the slice of life it is without a doubt a unique manga and definitely one of the best of 2013 with its completeness. Now a days in the age of shameless fan-service & seinen's only really being good when they have lots of action and really not new stuff to look forward to this was a breath of fresh air indeed.

"Kamisama ga Uso wo Tsuko" or "God lies" is a story of a boy and girl, story of their families, but also story of so much more. The writer really did try to pack a lot of punch in this short story, with every issue the plot seemingly got more complicated with more background and details of these two, and eventually one summer of their life ends and a vision of their future emerges. This manga tries hard to convey some of the harsh reality's of modern life, tries to sympathize with a lot of the problems children face and also cruelties of the society. It tries to convey the struggles to survive in a dysfunctional family, the burden when you are forced to grow up too fast, children facing the truth of mortality of humans and also the will to still carry on despite all the obstacles.

Nanao meats Rio at a sudden turn of events, then gets to spend a few days with her and her little brother (who is very loveable by the way). This story is about how Nanao gets to share the joys with them, how he tries to help them overcome their difficulties, how he falls in love and how all this brings to light some parts of his own life that he was running away from. Rio on the other hand really experiences compassion after a long time from Nanao; she tries desperately to raise her brother and deal with the difficult situation of leaving on their own, and as Nanao comes into her life with a helping hand she really sees some hope after a long while; the betrayal and abandonment that she has faced so much in her so short life gets out of focus for her for the first time, and she falls in love too. These is a story of their love, their past, their sadness and finally their struggle for a better future.
As a whole this manga might not be the best short Seinen out there or may pale in comparision to some of the classic slice of life seinens but this definitely is one of the must read mangas of 2013. It would have gotten 8 from me on any other time but due to it releasing this year I am gonna give it a 8.5. I really look forward to reading more mangas by this author.

Overall Score -
8.5 out of 10.

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