Treasures in the Darkness

Episode 6 of Liar Liar starts with the game between Hiroto and Akizuki. The selected game is Tabletop Treasure Hunt inside an empty school building. Hiroto realizes that this game cannot result in a win or loss; the possibility of a draw is eliminated.

Hiroto receives a call from Akizuki. She uses the command to ask if his partner is hiding on or below the third floor. Akizuki also explains the move command, which allows the player to move up by 3 rooms peruse.

Hiroto and Akizuki have concealed their partners in 2 different rooms across the 6-floor building, with 8 classrooms on each floor. The objective is to locate the opponent’s partner. Hiroto seeks Yuki, while Akizuki seeks Sarasa. Akizuki reveals that she is using the double action ability, which grants her two consecutive turns.

Hiroto contacts Rina to better understand the game and strategize. She explains the retreat button, which lets them move their partners at the cost of one answer point. Akizuki’s strategy is to use the double action to corner Hiroto by forcing him to deplete all his answer points.

Despite understanding the rules and abilities, Hiroto is still in a difficult situation. If Yuki wins, he would have to leave the island, and if he loses, his journey ends. Hiroto assures Sarasa that he has a plan. He claims he’ll make Akizuki regret attempting to defeat them through cheating.

Using the command he learned from Akizuki, Hiroto discovers that Yuki is on the third floor or below. He moves 3 spaces and ends his turn. Akizuki uses the double action to narrow down Sarasa’s possible location to 2 spots.

For the next turn, Hiroto hopes to rely on Kagaya’s hacking to pinpoint Yuki’s location. However, Akizuki employs the Area Barrier Ability, which prevents external server communication. Hiroto realizes he must rely on Sarasa’s expertise for his moves.

Hiroto utilizes Sarasa’s expert advice to deduce that Yuki’s location is classroom 1-K. Akizuki also manages to narrow down Sarasa’s location to classroom 2-I.

With accurate predictions on both sides, Akizuki uses her retreat option to move Yuki to another classroom, losing 1 answer point. Hiroto does the same, shifting Sarasa to another classroom while sacrificing an answer point.

Due to the change in classrooms, Yuki has to move on foot and crosses paths with Hiroto. Concerned, Hiroto advises her that it gets quite cold after 10pm and suggests that she warm up the room to avoid catching a cold.

Hiroto realizes that Akizuki has been anticipating his moves due to the Green Star’s effect throughout the all-campus elimination battle. However, she cannot predict moves devised by Sarasa. Hiroto decides to exploit this to his advantage.

He concludes that Akizuki has hidden Yuki in places he wouldn’t consider. So, he decides to have Sarasa guide him at every step. Sarasa uses the information about their current location and easily accessible places to narrow down Yuki’s potential locations to 3 rooms: 3-E, 3-J, or 3-L. Akizuki is infuriated and puzzled by how Hiroto narrowed it down.

To avoid defeat, Akizuki uses another answer point to retreat and relocate Yuki randomly. Sarasa becomes anxious about this unpredictable change, but Hiroto reassures her that he has a plan in place.

By the fifth turn, both players have uses their second retreat option. Hiroto prolongs the game by engaging in small talk until 10 PM. Just before the time hits 10 PM, Hiroto confidently names classroom 3-G as Yuki’s location.

Akizuki is shocked at how quickly he pinpoints the location. Hiroto reminds her of the advice he gave Yuki during the first retreat—asking her to stay warm once it’s 10. Yuki picks up on this clue and turns on the air conditioning in her classroom, which reflects on the staffroom monitor. Hiroto had secretly placed Yuki in the staffroom to convey the monitor reading.

Akizuki then reveals her final ability, Alter Fate, which alters Hiroto’s answer to never occur. She rushes to the staffroom, where she finds Hiroto’s partner. She’s stunned to discover that Sarasa was Hiroto’s partner all along.

Hiroto unveils his “Pinch Hitter ability card. This ability can be used from outside an active game. Yuki employed the card to swap places with Hiroto. This means Akizuki defeated Yuki and not Hiroto, thwarting her plan.

The abilities transferred by Akizuki to Yuki’s device automatically revert to Akizuki’s due to the swap, rendering them useless. Without these abilities, Akizuki can no longer hold Yuki hostage.

Hiroto has a conversation with Akizuki, and she explains the motives for her actions. She wanted to be part of the island’s grade schools, but they only accepted elite candidates. As a result, she worked hard to become the top student at Eimei Academy, and Hiroto ruined it all for her.

She confesses that the headmaster of Seijo Academy in District 12 offered to fulfill her dreams if she defeated Hiroto and took his stars. She apologizes for trying to harm Yuki and expresses her sadness, acknowledging that this might be her final day on the Island.

The Episode Review

With a buildup spanning 2 episodes, the game between Hiroto and Akizuki is highly anticipated. To the extent that, for the second time this season, the anime’s opening song was skipped to fit the entire episode into the time available. This seems to be a trend with every episode trying to accommodate the amount of minor details

The episode’s goal is to both showcase and explain a game with an intricately designed rulebook, placing significant importance on minute details. However, the climax is taken over by an unexpected ability, rather than a cleverly exploited loophole in the rules. It’s as though the ability was tailored to conclude the game, given the circumstances, leaving no room for negotiation.