Forum › Liar Satsuki Can See Death discussion

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Volume 5 has less changes overall than volume 4, but one significant change in chapter 48: the student council's suggestion box has gone online and the messages are more detailed. They mention Seo extorting others into bullying, along with a few more explicit descriptions like "playing darts" by throwing pens at a girl's head. Might be relevant later.

You mean we can read the full messages? Do you have a link? I'm curious now.
Seo might be the "villain" for this next arc. Apparently StuCo arc will stop for a bit after Michi(?)'s death, so I wonder if the antagonist will shift. Seo might be a good option. Out of everyone who was saved by Satsuki, she seems to be the truly explicitly rotten one (if the suggestion box messages are true).

I've said it before, but it's all hinting at Komachi playing a bigger role in the story (true antagonist maybe), but for now she'll probably stay in the background (or just barely show her true colors), even if the Vol.5 cover confirms homegirl is dangerous.

I might do some rewording when I finish the volume version, but here's the final page of ch48 reworked.

While Ryouko said there would be a pause between Satsuki vs the StuCo, this flashback arc could just be that. This is pretty much the first real safe zone in 50 chapters. But things also can't slow down for too long. I'd like if Satsuki had time to make a peaceful recovery but the world's not that kind.

As for Seo, I get the feeling she'll be an ongoing moral dilemma. She's acting a little too genuine for me to think she's completely faking amnesia, and she reacted oddly back when Satsuki accused her of being suicidal. There's a lot of directions she could go, but my impression's leaning towards "Miho but worse but also with a conscience." Maybe she regrets what she did and is happy to find a way out, though she's still not a great person deep down. She's in the best position to expose the student council, but it would also mean exposing her own attempted murder among other things. The question is how well Satsuki can tolerate that.

Seo running a bullying ring is also an interesting parallel to Kai and Sayoko's past; she's primed to be both their perfect target and their undoing. And in that sense I think it's more likely she'll be redeemed than go full psycho. Most of the abusive characters we've seen so far have been victimized to some extent themselves and were just finding an outlet. They aren't completely unsalvageable.

But Komachi's totally the last boss.

Can someone please tell me what's the color of Satsuki's eyes? on some art it's red and on other art it's green

The canon color is probably a dull red similar to the volume 1 and 3 covers, but I've seen anything from bright blue to lime green. I think Ryouko learned from the Jojo school of color consistency.

Illustration2
joined Sep 25, 2021

The composition of this cover's amazing, though I'm surprised Ryouko's so openly playing around with evil Komachi. The phrasing on the back of the book, "You want to die? I think that's nice/死にたいの?いいと思うよ," is the same as back in chapter 22, when Komachi was giving the OK to everything.

This is such an awesome detail. Ryouko confirming our suspicions in a playful way is so exciting to me. Missing insane girl Komachi and this vol feels like Komachi’s time to shine so wahoooo

Internet_lied
joined Jul 15, 2016

So I've binged the whole series in two days, and I don't like what it does to my emotional state. :-/ I normally don't let fictional stories get to me like that, but Liar Satsuki seems to be on an entirely different level. I cannot stop reading and just hope that the payoff will be worth the suffering... .__.

I have many thoughts about this series, but Michinaga's death in particular won't let me go. I cannot stop comparing my reaction to it and to the recent plot turns in I Favor the Villainess (specifically, Rei's beatdown by Manaria). Both feel extremely unfair and hurtful and written specifically to anger the readers, but I let LSCSD get to me and actually make me angry, while mostly ignoring IFTV's attempts to push my buttons. I wonder why that is? My working hypothesis is that Michinaga's death has been slowly built-up to for 50 chapters, as Satsuki has been pushed more and more to her limits until she finally went past them and now has to deal with her failure (and hopefully grow as a result), while IFTV moment came out of the left field because the manga cannot decide what it wants to be and oscillates unpredictably between schoolgirl romcom and serious social critique.

While Ryouko said there would be a pause between Satsuki vs the StuCo, this flashback arc could just be that. This is pretty much the first real safe zone in 50 chapters. But things also can't slow down for too long. I'd like if Satsuki had time to make a peaceful recovery but the world's not that kind.

Do you think she will at least be treated for PTSD? Or is that not a real sickness in Japan?

03fca6214046e15b1cbd7ed7cd767b1a
joined May 26, 2020

Was that thing with Komachi just now a massive foreshadowing or what????

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

So I've binged the whole series in two days, and I don't like what it does to my emotional state. :-/ I normally don't let fictional stories get to me like that, but Liar Satsuki seems to be on an entirely different level. I cannot stop reading and just hope that the payoff will be worth the suffering... .__.

I have many thoughts about this series, but Michinaga's death in particular won't let me go. I cannot stop comparing my reaction to it and to the recent plot turns in I Favor the Villainess (specifically, Rei's beatdown by Manaria). Both feel extremely unfair and hurtful and written specifically to anger the readers, but I let LSCSD get to me and actually make me angry, while mostly ignoring IFTV's attempts to push my buttons. I wonder why that is? My working hypothesis is that Michinaga's death has been slowly built-up to for 50 chapters, as Satsuki has been pushed more and more to her limits until she finally went past them and now has to deal with her failure (and hopefully grow as a result), while IFTV moment came out of the left field because the manga cannot decide what it wants to be and oscillates unpredictably between schoolgirl romcom and serious social critique.

While Ryouko said there would be a pause between Satsuki vs the StuCo, this flashback arc could just be that. This is pretty much the first real safe zone in 50 chapters. But things also can't slow down for too long. I'd like if Satsuki had time to make a peaceful recovery but the world's not that kind.

Do you think she will at least be treated for PTSD? Or is that not a real sickness in Japan?

Japan has struggled with addressing mental health issues, though they're getting better. I still wouldn't expect Satsuki to find help from anyone outside her circle. Akira seems like the ideal choice (definitely not my bias talking) since she's come closest to recognizing the heart of Satsuki's issues. Everyone else seems to think she's acting purely out of kindness or aren't really great at helping to begin with. Looking at you Miho.

Anyway, the manga's done an outstanding job balancing tension like a roller-coaster. We're told right from the start people will die, but it feels increasingly unlikely as Satsuki racks up her successes. Despite the steady intensity of the stakes the overall tone remains hopeful. Comedy starts sneaking into serious moments and hardly feels out of place, with the yuri level subtly rising too. The biggest threats drift in and out of frame as more immediate issues take priority. The focus is always squarely on challenging Satsuki's strength and views, each new arc adding something to the relationships or mechanics of death, and she's rewarded with people who trust and care deeply about her. Everything seems to be steadily getting better.

But it really isn't. Satsuki's broken inside and destroying herself fighting the inevitable. We've always been one step away from this, and any healing she's managed might have just gotten undone. The pain of Michiru's death is knowing how badly this is going to hurt Satsuki. The shock of it is 50 chapters of tension cashing in as the false sense of security crashes down.

Personally, I wasn't expecting deaths until right near the end because of how much it would cripple Satsuki. But I also thought this would be a much shorter manga. Maybe there'll be a lengthy period of Satsuki hurting and recovering. The tension needs to be reset; it can't just jump back to 100 after this intermission. And Satsuki needs to rationalize this. But in the short term it could look a lot uglier with her doubling down on her worst habits. Since Michiru's death was a freak accident (with some manipulation), we can test Prez's theory that accidental deaths are only common because no one's being allowed to die. That doesn't mean there won't be other kinds of deaths though.

Screenshot%202024-01-18%20181127
joined Jun 21, 2021

Not like I hate Prez any less now that I know how he got there but still, that teacher had it coming, I get it. If that was all he ever did, i'd applaud him.

Also, YES! BEST GIRL AKIRA TO THE RESCUE! :sob:

Midnightgunner
Gt00pn-odpc
joined Sep 30, 2017

Anticlimatic. That bitch teacher deserved to suffer way more than that.

joined May 29, 2021

Honestly, I'm fine with this flashback. People need to realize that Prez and Vice Prez are still very much villains. This isn't supposed to justify them. It's supposed to explain how they came by this warped mentality. The Prez having the same ability and instead using it to create "accidents" that kill people is an excellent ideological foil to Satsuki and if he didn't have a grounding for WHY he did this his character would be pointless. This is basic villain stuff, guys. I know you want the story to just be happy gays all the time but this isn't that kind of manga.

Speaking of happy gays, though, I'm glad Akira is back.

Mitsuki_25_1_40
joined May 7, 2022

imma be honest here: I didn't get this chapter at all, it felt too... meh (and somehow shorter than usual)

last edited at Oct 5, 2022 5:55PM

joined Feb 27, 2018

I'm not too sure what the point of the backstory is, since it sure doesn't make them sympathetic. I wouldn't reject a plot where traumatized kids with superpowers have decided to take revenge through violence and we're expected to empathize with them, but after showing that they actually find killing people fun in chapter 51, I don't think that was the purpose.

Maybe it's just to show that even though they like killing, this didn't come out of nowhere and they had reasons to turn out like this? That addition would make sense, I guess.

I just hope I'm not wrong. If this all turn out into a "they were victims first, let's support them and just forget about how happy they were about killing before", I'd find this pretty annoying.

I don’t think Kai actually enjoys it, he just gets a rush from being in the “right”, and the vice-prez acts as a source of positive reinforcement. The vice-prez does seem to genuinely like to see people she doesn’t like be hurt or worse, at the start of the flashback it’s even shown she would like to murder and dismember her bullies (which is NOT to say thoughts of revenge or fantasies of turning the situation around on your abuser are unhealthy, cause they’re not, it’s a coping mechanism. However it seems as though the Vice President finds genuine pleasure in that fantasy rather than a release.)

joined Feb 27, 2018

I'm not too sure what the point of the backstory is, since it sure doesn't make them sympathetic. I wouldn't reject a plot where traumatized kids with superpowers have decided to take revenge through violence and we're expected to empathize with them, but after showing that they actually find killing people fun in chapter 51, I don't think that was the purpose.

Maybe it's just to show that even though they like killing, this didn't come out of nowhere and they had reasons to turn out like this? That addition would make sense, I guess.

I just hope I'm not wrong. If this all turn out into a "they were victims first, let's support them and just forget about how happy they were about killing before", I'd find this pretty annoying.

I don’t think Kai actually enjoys it, he just gets a rush from being in the “right”, and the vice-prez acts as a source of positive reinforcement. The vice-prez does seem to genuinely like to see people she doesn’t like be hurt or worse, at the start of the flashback it’s even shown she would like to murder and dismember her bullies (which is NOT to say thoughts of revenge or fantasies of turning the situation around on your abuser are unhealthy, cause they’re not, it’s a coping mechanism. However it seems as though the Vice President finds genuine pleasure in that fantasy rather than a release.)

20220308_002456
joined Mar 8, 2022

Akira: "Yodayo."

C0947de7-7a05-45f6-b936-7324bb0fa409
joined May 18, 2019

Akira gracing us from all the trauma and suffering with just one ':)'

Fb_img_1685314561718
joined Mar 16, 2022

Nice chapter.
Finally the KaiSayo flashback ends.
And it ends with the bestie.
Nice.

joined Apr 29, 2019

This really fell off in a handful of chapters :(

BeanBeanKingdom
Ms_icon
joined Nov 3, 2018

Akira seems like the ideal choice (definitely not my bias talking)

I can't believe the scanlator is secretly the author.

Jesus
joined Sep 3, 2022

Oh there was a scar, I thought the acid coverd her eye a bit. Glad it is over, couldn't care less about those two.

Tag%20rock%20snake
joined Aug 16, 2014

I was hoping for a bit more focus on Satsuki's mental state on her own, might still get some of that but I was hoping for at least a chapter of Satuki's inner turmoil before bringing her friend group in, even if I do love Akira's character.

Pfp6
joined Jun 8, 2022

Finally... That was waaaaayyy too long. Their backstories should've been 1 or 2 chapters at most. It completely ruined the pacing for me.

Fb_img_1636852439556
joined Oct 30, 2021

Now that the backstory of the villains has ended i now expect a backstory for Satsuki, we already know how the Prez and Vice Prez are like that we now need to know why Satsuki is like that, is her mothers death her whole reason? Or it was just a part of it

20220125_003513
joined Jan 30, 2013

At th is point I'm kind of over this story

Onee2
joined Apr 28, 2022

This entire section to me was blah blah nothing will make me feel bad for these two... ooo Akira is finally back!

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Akira's back and surely all will be right in the world.

It's interesting seeing Kai so reluctant to kill. It probably takes a heavy degree of dehumanizing to convince himself his targets deserve nothing but death, and Sayoko gives the validation he needs to keep running from addressing his guilt. Once again there's a strong parallel between him and Satsuki: if it wasn't for her trauma with her mother, it's possible Satsuki could have ended up using her vision the same way. She came close to wishing Miho died a couple times.

With the flashback arc over, I am glad to have a better grasp on the StuCo. Some of it felt rushed, but it's a tough balance trying to fit such a complicated issue into only 3 chapters. I think it made its point, of how it can be easy to rationalize taking justice into your own hands—and setting up a hefty amount of foreshadowing—while serving the larger narrative purpose of isolating us from Satsuki and resetting the tension. I'm excited to see how this pans out between both sides. Neither's going to be willing to compromise.

And of course there's further parallels between Kai+Sayoko and Satsuki+Akira, with the latters being right there to comfort the formers when they're feeling vulnerable. Akira likely doesn't know what happened yet, but what better way to cheer Satsuki up than her partner literally beaming at the door? In a manga full of cliffhangers, this is the rare positive one. This arc was never going to be a fan-favorite, but Ryouko does know what the audience wants and what to tease. Which can be a double-edged sword.

Tumblr_inline_o3faqeqbgs1s9j5kz_400
joined Mar 10, 2018

Still expecting the reaction that they killed an innocent girl as Michinaga was probably tricked into the attempted murder by that other girl

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joined Sep 28, 2021

Yikes that guy for sure posts on r/iamveryedgy frequently

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