"Tomodachi Game" is famous for its many unpredictable plot twists and the deeply dark secrets of its characters. Many readers may have given up on the series after initially reading it, shocked by its brutality. However, you won't truly understand its appeal until you've read through the story from the middle onward. Because the story unfolds in a way that gradually reveals the characters' pasts and true intentions, at first, the characters may seem somewhat shallow in their emotional expression. Therefore, to understand the depth of the characters, you'll need to be patient and read on. So, for readers who have given up on reading this series, I'd like to briefly introduce some of the interesting parts of this work! For readers who previously gave up on reading it for some reason, I urge you to give it a read!
All the characters are ultimate scum!
First of all, one of the greatest attractions of this work is that all of the main characters are human scum! While there are many works featuring characters whose behavior and personalities could be described as human scum, in this work, the protagonist and even the heroine often behave in ways that call their character into question.
The protagonist is a murderer?!
The protagonist, Yuuichi, is perhaps the character with the most mysterious true nature in this work. While he appears to treat his friends with respect, it's revealed that he has committed several murders in the past.
Although the details of the murder have not been revealed,...
Although the details of the murder have not been revealed, murder is murder no matter what the reason, so there's no doubt that he is a terrifying person.
The heroine's best friend is a stalker!?
Furthermore, Tenchi, who was also part of the same group of five close friends as Yuuichi, is revealed to have been stalking the heroine, Shiho. His stalking was due to the fact that his own father had been murdered, and he was stalking Shiho, who was involved in the murder, in order to find out the cause. One can't help but wonder if there wasn't a better way than stalking.
A rich character's father gets arrested midway through the story!?
Furthermore, Makoto is a wealthy member of any group, but during the story, a scandal involving his father, a politician, is discovered and he is arrested.
He was arrested on false charges, too...
On top of that, while he was out of prison, his father was murdered and he was falsely accused of the crime. While he wasn't guilty, it's hard to overlook the fact that he was living off dirty money.
The heroine's true nature is unclear...
Shiho, the heroine of this work, is also a character whose true nature is unknown. Given that Tenchi stalks her in an attempt to discover the truth behind her father's death, there's no doubt that some kind of darkness is swirling around her, but it's unclear how she is actually involved.
It's true that she was on the enemy side
However, in the story, she is also depicted as monitoring the Tomodachi Game as part of the management team, which Yuichi views as his enemy. This gives her a mysterious quality that could even lead to her being on the enemy side.
The Ultimate Sly Woman
While many readers may have a fondness for Yutori, who remained on Yuichi's side until the very end, she was actually one of the most sly characters in the series.
Even murder!?
To avoid spoilers, I won't go into detail about the scene where she reveals her true nature, but she does deceive her friends and commit murder-like acts, so it's safe to say she's a pretty despicable character.
The Interesting Character Portrayals of "Tomodachi Game"
So far, I've introduced the dark side of the characters in this work, but the appeal of this work isn't just that the characters are all jerks. It's the way these characters are portrayed so well within the story that makes it so interesting. From here, I'd like to introduce the ingenious ways the characters' emotions are expressed, which makes this work so interesting.
Characters and Growth
First, let's keep in mind the basic premise: manga typically depicts characters' regrets and failures, then depicts their efforts and friendships to help them grow and develop the story. This is the "friendship, effort, victory" formula often used in Jump manga. However, the characters in this work are following a path that transcends this "norm" of manga.
Carving the characters backwards, not forwards
While most works progress by depicting the characters' positive growth, there is almost no character growth in this work. Instead, the characters' pasts and traumas are depicted at every opportunity, gradually revealing their true natures. Rather than this positive character growth, this work expresses the characters' emotions in a reversed way, changing them through negative digging into their pasts.
This method of expression also has its weaknesses
This work uses a method of gradually revealing details of the character's past and digging deeper into them. However, of course, the more you dig into a character's past, the better. If you try to reveal too much of their past, the character's background will become congested.
There's still so much more to be said about Yuichi!!
As a result, the past setting has to be revealed bit by bit, but so far, there's been very little detailed description of the protagonist Yuichi's past. As a result, there haven't been many scenes in which Yuichi changes as the story progresses. I'm already looking forward to seeing how Yuichi's character will be explored in depth.
A fun parody of gambling manga
Even more interesting is not just the story progression and character development. There are many scenes in this work that clearly show the influence of numerous gambling manga, and one of its greatest charms is being able to reflect on the works that influenced them.
Overwhelming! Kaiji Respect!
Among the many imaginable works that have influenced him, one that deserves special attention is the wildly popular gambling manga "Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji." There are many scenes in this work that evoke an overwhelming amount of passionate respect for Kaiji.
The High-Quality of the Limited Rock-Paper-Scissors Game
So, why are there so many Kaiji homages in this film? The first reason is the high level of perfection of the limited rock-paper-scissors gambling game that appears in Kaiji.
Many games with similar rules also appear in this film!
Unlike regular gambling, Limited Rock-Paper-Scissors has an unusual setting in which the options that can be played are limited. This makes it an excellent game for portraying the inner thoughts of characters in gambling works, and this work also features many gambling games with restrictions similar to Limited Rock-Paper-Scissors.
Do the characters also share similarities with Kaiji?
Furthermore, the rules of the numerous games featured in this work are not the only thing that this work shares with Kaiji. Each character has a dark past, and the dark side of their hearts makes gambling and games more interesting, which is why the characters in Kaiji are so suspicious and distrustful. This stance is also very similar to that of the characters in Kaiji.
It's all thoroughly researched and entertaining!!
This time, I've been keeping Kaiji in mind as I've introduced the many games and character designs used in this work. However, there are many other works that could have influenced this work. This shows that this work was created after studying numerous works!
Summary
What did you think? This time, I've introduced the interesting aspects of this work, hoping that even readers who gave up on the original work midway through can rediscover its appeal. There are many other elements that make this work so fascinating, so if you're interested in revisiting it after seeing the anime adaptation, I encourage you to take another look at this work.
