Liar Game Episode 1: Release date and everything we need to know

Liar Game Episode 1 is the first episode of a highly anticipated psychological thriller manga that has been highly regarded by many readers. Shinobu Kaitani's manga series was published by Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump for ten years (2005-2015) before concluding its original run in 2015. This anime is finally being produced after twenty years since the first chapter's release in 2005 by an anime studio (Madhouse)

Liar Game Episode 1 releases on April 7, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. JST on TV Tokyo. Episode 1 will show the key premise of Liar Game, which is about an innocent college student who has been taken into a harsh psychological game, and also introduce the two main characters, who have to figure out how to survive in a world that is based on lying and deceit.

Below is the full international release schedule of Liar Game Episode 1:

Liar Game Episode 1 is gonna stream worldwide on Crunchyroll (everywhere except Japan/China). Also, Crunchyroll had a world-premiere screening of Episodes 1 and 2 at the Sakura-Con convention in Seattle on April 5 at 1 p.m. PDT.

What to Expect from Liar Game Episode 1?

The anime launches directly into the games with key introductory features to set up the Liar Game (the games themselves), including characters and some brief setup for how the first episode starts.

Liar Game Episode 1 will largely focus on Nao's (Nao Kanzaki) first loss of trust in someone (betrayal). It will show her in her qualifying (initial) game of the Liar Game tournament against Kazuo Fujisawa, and will introduce Akiyama after Nao has been deceived by Fujisawa.

At this point, Nao is faced with her former teacher, who was once her most trusted individual, and this shows how the Liar Game (the games themselves) establishes the moral attitude of the series.

Staff and Cast of Liar Game

Yuzo Sato, who has worked on shows like Kaiji Ultimate Survivor and Akagi, will be the chief director at Madhouse for this new series, with Asami Kawano directing. Tatsuhiko Urahata, who has previously worked on shows like Baki, Monster, and Muv-Luv Alternatives, will write/oversee the series scripts. Kei Tsuchiya will be the Character Designer.

Here is the confirmed voice cast for Liar Game:

• Takeo Otsuka (Golden Kamuy, Oshi no Ko, Medalist) — Shinichi Akiyama
• Saya Hitomi (Anne Shirley, To Be Hero X, Shangri-La Frontier) — Nao Kanzaki
• Kazuhiro Nakaya (Oshi no Ko, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Golden Kamuy) — Leronira
• Yoji Ueda (Sword of the Demon Hunter, Sentenced to Be a Hero, Frieren) — Mitsuo Tanimura
• Shoya Ishige (Wind Breaker Season 2, Kinnikuman, My Dress-Up Darling) — Takahiro Kikuzawa

About the Manga

The manga by Shinobu Kaitani, titled 'Liar Game,' has been published weekly in Weekly Young Jump between 2005 and 2015. There have already been live-action dramas (2007) and films (2010), as well as some stage plays (2023). This is the first time anyone has fully animated the source material of Liar Game.

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Nao Kanzaki is a college student who gets a package with 100 million yen and a note telling her she is competing in the Liar Game Tournament. The Liar Game Tournament is a fictional contest where the players are allowed to cheat and lie to one another to try to get money from each other. If you lose in this tournament, you will owe as much money as you lose.

Madhouse (who are famous for making the international smash hits like Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and Chi: On the Movements of the Earth) is producing this show, and with their reputation for being able to tell stories that are smart and thought-provoking, Liar Game Episode 1 is gonna set itself up to be one of the biggest anime openings for Spring 2026.

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