DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

ONA DramaTomodachi Game

REVIEWS

• 

  afwcal

  83/100
  Layers of depth in the games and characters quickly develops the manga into a compelling and addicting story.

  -- Story --

  (Mild plot structure spoilers.)

  First 5 chapters set up a really basic "friends get kidnapped and have to play through games designed to test their friendship" scenario. The scope of the story opens up a lot more in chapter 6, and this is when the manga starts showcasing its strengths.

  Bulk of the manga involves watching the characters challenge these "Tomodachi Games". The games are very well thought out, and seeing the characters' unique approach to each of these games ensure there's never a dull moment.

  -- Characters --

  Like the story, the initial introduction of the main characters was very weak; they came off as very basic interpretations of their respective character types. They didn't even look or feel like a group of friends, which is pretty bad considering the premise of the series. Thankfully, the character development significantly picks up from chapter 6 onwards, and damn is the development good.

  Due to their bonds constantly being tested, it's natural for the nature of their relationship to continually change. We can see exactly how the changes affect their interactions with one another, and how each successive Tomodachi Game builds upon those changes. Layers of depth are constantly being added to their relationship, and seeing the meaning and weight behind all of their interactions adds to the manga's rewarding reading experience.

  Main characters aside, we also get a colourful cast of side characters. What they lack in character development is made up aplenty with strong characterisation and seamless integration into the story and setting. Whether it's for hating on an antagonist, comedy, fanservice, empathising with a character or whatever, Tomodachi Game has it all (maybe) and it does it all well (definitely). Without a doubt, the side characters also greatly contribute to the enjoyment of the manga.

  (P.S. Marie is best girl.)

  -- Other --

  Art:

  I wasn't paying much attention. Can't think of anything bad off the top of my head. Facial expressions and emotions are portrayed really well. The "sakuga" shots are great.

  Enjoyment:

  I read chapters 15 to 66 continually over 13 hours. This is a monthly manga.

  
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• 

  Nagumo

  100/100
  Psychology at its best, with marvelous art and a superb plot

  Tomodachi Game is a psychological drama that sets up a great mystery from the start and greatly uses the aspect of POV. You never know what is true or untrue. As the reader, you’re constantly left in the unknown, making it highly unpredictable and leaving you baffled whenever there’s a plot twist. I watched episode one of Tomodachi Game and instantly began reading the manga, even though the plot was rather generic with entering a “debt game.” as the story progresses the story, it gets deeper and deeper, so I am glad I decided to read the manga. The story sets you into the action right from the beginning and starts exploring how everything happened. From the very beginning, we’re introduced to a group of friends that seems to have a good bond, but that is constantly being put to test throughout the story. They're forced to enter the game called Tomodachi Game, which is basically Friend’s Game. Here they need to play various games, where they’ll repay their debt if they win and if they lose, they’ll gain additional debt and get a game over. If they win, they'll move on to the next game of the Tomodachi Game.

  Here’s where the psychology part comes in and it sets a mystery up right from the beginning. Someone stole the 2 million yen, that the class collected for the class trip and used it to enter the game, and apparently they have a debt of 20 million yen, but who's the one with debt, and who’s the one that paid the fee for entering the game? Instantly, doubt surfaces in everyone's head. Is there a traitor? A game of trust and doubt begins. Setting you in for a great ride. It works fantastic, as an underlying plot, where information gets revealed slowly but surely, while you have the main plot of them trying to clear the game. The games in Tomodachi Game keep getting refreshed, with new and more dire games, where there are higher stakes and side characters get introduced, where a battle of wits begins and the plot twists keep delivering.

  What caught my interest during the first episode was its main character and his personality. It seemed somewhat split, yet he was not the one who paid the entrance fee, and a split personality is often caused by something, like a dark past and there was the entire thing about them suspecting a traitor, which was quite intriguing from the get-go. It sat it up rather well, right from the beginning. And that’s exactly what I got; A great interesting main character, whose actions you don’t understand until he explains everything, a great underlying plot, and splendid games, where it’s possible to deceive others. I love the psychology aspect of this manga, and I’d heavily recommend it if you do as well.

  CHARACTERS
  It is rather seemingly generic characters on a surface level, but through the games, their true selves and pasts are revealed, which always connects somehow, making for an interesting story. The actions of the characters are slowly explained as the story progresses, making for exceptional moments, where previous events are placed into a bigger perspective, which makes the plot twists a lot better.

  It dives deeper into the mind of the characters in these games, and if they’d betray the others. Nobody would think the others in their group would betray each other, as their relationship is great on a surface level, but slowly things ‌crackle, and the continuing act of doubting each other make for an exceptional story, where the characters are given more and more depth, as the game progresses.

  The character development is really great and subtle, without getting into spoilers. Through the games and doubting their friends, or losing to their opponents. They develop as characters and start thinking differently, so they’ll be able to win the games.

  Their relationship as friends is constantly being tested through these games. Can they accept the past of the others? Will they trust their friends, or will they doubt them for being the traitor? Or will they choose money over friends? Their bonds are constantly tested, given the names of the game, and it is rather interesting to see it play out, as they’re put in rather dire situations. Sometimes the one they’re saving in exchange for a rather enormous debt might be the traitor, and how far would they go to save them? It sets all these things up right from the start, and with the constantly changing POV. It sets up a great mystery.

  ART
  I’d say this is really where it shines. The art is absolutely astonishing and some of the best I’ve ever seen and it works so well with its crazy plot twists. It has a monthly release schedule, which gives enough time for such incredible art. The art shows the expression of all the characters perfectly and makes for great psychological battles. Psychology mangas need great art in order to execute great plot twists, when someone, for example, is deceiving the others or whenever someone is executing a malicious scheme, and that’s where Tomodachi Game excels. It perfectly expresses the emotions of the characters and the deceptive parts, whenever those panels are present, and it really makes the dialogue and monologues a lot better.

  POV
  Here’s a thing I found interesting about Tomodachi Game and that’s its POV. It switches POV constantly from character to character, setting up a great atmosphere of mysteriousness and uncertainty and. It works great for making plot twists more baffling and putting the reader in the unknown. For example, it switches to a third POV or a side character, who’s the enemy, making you uncertain of where the story is heading or who’s going to win.

  It makes for interesting side characters, rather than just an interesting main character, and makes the hunt for the traitor a lot more intriguing, as you get the perspective of more characters and their thoughts about a possible traitor. It works really well and keeps you intrigued.

  Enjoyment
  I enjoyed it a lot and the plot twists were superb. The main character reminded me a bit of Ayanokouji with how devious his plans were from time to time and that he’d do anything to win. It drew me in and did not disappoint the slightest. Honestly, nearly everything was perfect in my opinion and I do not really have any particular dislikes of the series. If I’d mention one, then it is the repetitive dialogue that is present sometimes. Like; Because I’m a genius or As expected of. It is just somewhat annoying and feels wrong, but it happens rarely. All in all, I’d actually say the dialogue is rather strong, same with its monologues. It gives great insight into the characters, and their actions.

  Of course, there are differences between Ayanokouji and Yuuchi, but those things I stated are why I like those two characters so much. They are both unpredictable, want to win at any cost, and care little if they have to cut someone off. I felt overall like it was really unpredictable. I never knew where it’d be progressing, and it made it really intriguing. Maybe it's just me, who tends to not try to predict/overthink things and believe the things I see in the panels. For example, sometimes, I really thought Yuuichi was defeated by his enemies, and it made the revelations/plot twists incredible to me and by adding new side characters and making the game more twisted, kept refreshing itself, so it always felt like there were stakes present at play. I’ll give it 10/10. It was really fantastic, and I had a great time reading it.

  Now I’ll need to wait a month for each chapter, which is a long waiting time, but everything from the backstories and every game is slowly connecting and it seems like it is in its end-game, and this “last game” is really interesting so far, and I expect it to keep continuing and ending with a proper great conclusion.

  I’d recommend giving it a read or watching the anime. The first episode seemed great to me. There was some CG, but I think it was great overall, but I still think the manga is vastly superior with how great its art is, and also that the anime likely won’t be able to adapt all the monologues/dialogue. Also, the manga just kept getting better and better. Especially halfway, the stakes started getting bigger and bigger, new side characters were introduced more often, and overall the story just took a step up.

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• 

  Dan1

  100/100
  I truly believe that nothing can ever surpass this masterpiece...

  SO IF YOU'RE NOT A FAN OF THE WORDS PEAK FICTION, GOAT, RAW, FIRE, CLICK OFF OF THE VIDEO CAUSE THOSE ARE GONNA COME UP LIKE 50 TIMES IN HERE MAN. I CAN'T HELP IT, THE WEIGHTS ARE OFF, ON SOME ROCK LEE STUFF THE WEIGHTS ARE OFF, I TOOK EM O- I THREW EM INTO INTO THE.

  Okay having said that let's get into the Tomodachi Game review. I will review each piece of the manga separately so here we go.

  1. Characters - 10/10
     Listen bro, if the cast was only Yuuichi Katagiri and the rest were all stinkers I would STILL GIVE IT A 10 BECAUSE HE IS THAT GOOD because of his incredibly complex and interesting character that is quite like a coin in that it has 2 sides. But no, we also have many other greats and goats even like Shinomiya Kei and Tenji Mikasa who are so incredibly layered and have some of the most interesting motives and personalities in the ENTIRE MEDIUM. Man, the entire cast is so well put together that you might actually start to mistake this manga for real life if you read too much at once.

  2. Plot - 10/10
     Not only are all of the games very creative and give an amazing insight on the characters, the plot twists in this series are absolutely UNMATCHED, I genuinely cannot think of anything that comes anywhere near Tomodachi Game levels.Like, bruh, my face when Shiba Taizen was the boss of Tomodachi Game was like WTF or when Shiba's son was the dude on Kamishiro's team Like, you can tell all the plot strings were planned from chapter 1 and it makes it so satisfying and well written. Besides that, some individual character moments and scenes are absolutely kino goat. Take for example, Kei Shinomiya's middle finger to Yutori before jumping off the cliff. It's just too raw

  3. Setting - 10/10
     As I said in the Plot section, all of the Games are very well done and have complex rules that are conveyed to the audience thoroughly. That's not all though, the actual visual parts of these Games are also very unique and paired with the lovely art goes extremely well with the setting. Take the courtroom aesthetic of Game 4 or the classroom aesthetic with the whole giant coin in the Kokkuri-san Game. The whole idea of "Friends or Money" is way more interesting than any other Death Game in my opinion.

  Extra Section - Adaptations
  Okay so, the adaptations of this manga are actually really good, the anime covers on average 2 chapters per episode and has really good voice acting and Yuuichi moments. I have only seen the live action series up to the end of Game 1 but it is surprisingly like a lot slower than the manga, it has 3 episodes cover the first game which honestly does wonders for the overall atmosphere of that Game, thought it was pretty COOL you know.

  Overall, this series is honestly bordering on TOO GOOD. It goes leaps and bounds beyond most other media and is my favourite manga of all time and I doubt that to EVER change. I recommend this to every and anyone.

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