"Kamisama ga Uso wo Tsuku.": Thoughts on "God tells lies."

This is the most recent piece presented by Ozaki Kaori. People will mostly know her as the mangaka of Immortal Rain aka Meteor Methuselah which ran from 1999 to 2011. Her art style hasn't changed much over the last 15 years and Immortal Rain was one of my favourites during my early teenage years. I was a bit too young to have known about Yuu Watase and I worshipped Ozaki's headstrong and street-smart heroine Machika Balfaltin.

God tells lies is similar in it's dealing with death, loss and love. It is only five chapters long and the story is immediately fascinating. I would say it is darker than Immortal Rain (not so that IR was not dark, it was was!) and despite the ages of the protagonists being younger, it reminded me of Ozaki's earliest work Knife. Rereading it also reveals that Ozaki has thought about how every panel should tell and there are small clues (a little more attention) which will enhance the reading experience.

I won't babble much longer. I loved Immortal Rain  though would never think it was without flaws, given that it spanned 66 chapters and over a decade but seemed to lack a certain amount of detail, relying heavily on the fast-paced plot.  

God tells lies is in my opinion far more polished. It's slow and a bit heavy but very rewarding. It might be that I've gotten older and that a reader's taste will change. This small series is firmly within the realms of "slice of life" and "seinen", with a great deal of cynicism on Ozaki's part about adults and adult responsibilities/roles.

I wonder if there is a difference to those who receive such tough lessons when they're younger? Will they break or grow stronger? It's something that this series handles very well.

Read on for spoilers.


The dead body was something straight out of of Stephen King / remember that movie "Stand By Me"?? ! I absolutely loved it.

From my MAL account review (http://myanimelist.net/profile/mozzarella/reviews)

"God Lies" easily ranks amongst my favourite short series. Overall, the story was reminiscent of the movie "Stand by me". Life goes on even if the world is painted bright blue from afar and cynical and more than a little screwed up on on closer inspection, even for grader schoolers. The two main characters Natsuru and Rio seem to fill the adult role better than their own parents. The outcome of the story is deeply satisfying to see and because of it's length/timespan in the manga, it is perhaps more poignant than "Immortal Rain".

Nothing is farfetched in "God Lies" and it portrays a realistic albeit highly cynical "life experience" for its protagonists with clean, beautiful panels and good dialogue. I would say that this piece is a lot more polished than her previous works (though it's all good so check out her stuff!!) and therefore highly recommended!