That Guy is an Addict: Liar! Uncover the Truth- 7th Liar

Voltage is really pulling out the big guns with these last few Liars! We’ve had an adulterer, a gambler, a gangster, and now a drug addict?!  I’m actually afraid to see what Liars 8 and 9 have in store for us… This time around there were four potential Liars to choose from, Sotaro Shiga, Kazumi Kagami, Itaru Yuikawa and Azusa Kurono; and I can honestly say that I thought it was another guy… If you want a spoiler free review click, HERE, if not keep reading! So without further ado, the 7th Liar, Kazumi Kagami.

Play the Game:  App Store | Google Play

Getting to Know the Liar…

So if I’m being honest, before his big reveal in the 7th Liar arc, I wasn’t a huge fan of Kazumi Kagami as a character. Voltage has him billed as an enigmatic mystery novelist, but really he’s just a flirty ojisan… He never actually felt like a love interest, he always felt like more of a confidant or a friend… definitely not a marrying kind of man.

I just don’t care much for the smooth talking ladies man types, they just rub me the wrong way. However, despite my existing bias I had to admit that Kazumi really isn’t a bad guy when compared to some of the other Liars. In fact, dude was probably one of the best guys for the MC, because he’s a mature down to Earth kind of guy; he really grounds her. Sure he jokes way too much and sure the way he talks to the MC made me want to roll my eyes, but at the end of the day Kazumi is a sophisticated gentleman… that just so happens to look like a scruffy slacker. When dealing with liars gets to be too much Kazumi is always there to lend an ear or offer some of his sage wisdom…

Falling for the Lie…

So, I knew Kazumi was one of the nine liars from the first time I laid eyes on him… he just seemed to be so full of BS. But for once, I didn’t peg him for the 8th Liar.  In fact, I really thought this would be the route Itaru would get the boot, he was just so suspicious… So when all of the evidence started pointing towards Kazumi, I was genuinely  thrown for a loop. On top of that this was the third time in a row that Kazumi was on the Liar chopping block, the THIRD TIME!

Now, I should probably clarify that unlike the other Liars that just had one lie, there are two layers to Kazumi’s deception; a lie within a lie. On paper, Kazumi’s lie is that he is a drug addict. After gathering all of the evidence, there was no room for doubt… There were fresh needle marks in his arm, he’s associated with a known drug dealer, he hardly sleeps or eats, and lets not forget the tiny baggie full of magic white powder. I really believed that Kazumi was a dirty rotten liar like the rest, but there was more to the story… it  was almost too perfect! It was as if Voltage was trying too hard to convince me that Kazumi was on drugs. I dunno, that just didn’t gel with his lovable rogue persona…

That’s when Voltage decides to hit us with the truth… Kazumi isn’t a drug addict, he has a terminal heart condition. Yes, you read that right, Kazumi is not a drug addict, he’s actually dying from a mysterious heart condition. Ya’ll when he took her to that beach and revealed the truth, I started tearing up! I would have preferred him being a drug addict… hell, anything but a terminal illness!

His lie isn’t a character flaw or the product of poor decision making, it’s not something that he can just will away. And that’s what makes this whole situation that much more tragic, outside of getting a heart transplant, there is nothing Kazumi can do to change his circumstances. So, he might as well live it up while he can… I honestly couldn’t be mad at him for hiding his illness, it’s a heavy topic that not many people would be willing to accept. Women would either treat him like an invalid or shut him down because of it, so I completely understand why he wasn’t up front with the MC. But, damn Voltage, when Kazumi put the MC’s happiness over his own… he earned all of my respect! Kazumi is the real MVP, a true gentlemen among men!

The Endings…

So in Liar! Uncover the Truth eliminating one of the Liars unlocks five alternate endings (Bad End, Secret End, True End, Love End, and Scumbag End) that either continue the story after the MC kicks the Liar to the curb or explain the origins of each guy’s lie. In order to unlock all of the endings in one fell swoop, the player must achieve S rank by the end of the Liar arc. However, the Bad End is unlocked when the player fails to answer the final question correctly and usually depicts the MC’s unhappy marriage with her Liar.

In Kazumi’s Bad End, the MC has been engaged to Kazumi for over a year, but he has fallen back into his bad habits. Of course the MC stands by her man, but when his hard partying life starts to spiral out of control, the MC finds herself getting pulled down with him.

The “A Wish” Secret End, is a POV story that gives a bit of insight into Kazumi’s thoughts about his illness and what it means for his relationship with the MC. The break up scene was 100x more heartbreaking from his prospective!!

In the “Out of My Hands” True End, we take a peek at Kazumi’s childhood memories. Back then his parents shared their love of reading with their young son, sparking his life long love affair with books. Soon his life is altered forever by a tragic turn of fate and Kazumi is forced to create a new dream…

In the “Sentimental Love Story” Love End, after confronting Kazumi the MC can’t help but regret her actions. So, in a fit of passion she rushes back to his side, unable to let Kazumi just slip away…

Finally, in the “As If in an Dream” Scumbag End, after calling things off Kazumi heads out for a night on the town with a sleazy producer friend of his. But, the drinks and the women don’t seem to be healing his broken heart…

My Reaction…

Is it me or is Voltage actually attempting to make these last four liars more sympathetic than the first five? Because between the 6th Liar and Kazumi, I am really starting to think that Voltage is trying to make me question my previous actions with the previous set…For the first time since I started this game I actually felt bad for calling out a Liar! Ya’ll I almost cried… this Liar nearly broke me! There is a line between things that are acceptable and things that aren’t… and Voltage smashed that line to bits along with my poor heart.

In the end I really liked Kazumi as a character. I’m curious to see how Voltage expands his story in the Lovers Route, but I don’t know if I’ll be playing it anytime soon…

 8th Liar→

← 6th Liar  

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