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I actually really liked her throughout the story.

People are too obsessed with characters being smart or realistic or "not stupid". The entire plot from beginning to end, if you haven't notice, is literally calling out people for thinking too much and being too dishonest. Several times throughout the story it's been proven that there are ways to win the game if we work together are stop being disgusting but people don't want to do that. Nao is the epitome of what people should be. That is, if everyone was like Nao, then this world would be a much better place (I honestly argue against that but meh).

However, Akiyama tells Nao that her innocence and honesty isn't a good thing, yes he does say that, but if you read what he said, he didn't say Nao is wrong, but that people are wrong and people are trash and people are dishonest and in this reality you cannot be that honest or innocent. People are bad, and you can't stick a warm face to someone's excrement and expect anything good to come to it. You need to suspect people, not because you are wrong, but because they are hide things.

If we were to talk about people, we SHOULD be like Nao. Do you know why Akiyama likes Nao? It's not just because she's like his mum, it's because she is a good person and Akiyama understands that people like Nao are rare. Nao is an oddity in a world where everyone is so selfish that no one cares about anyone else but themselves. Nao is someone anyone and everyone should want as a friend because she is the one person who will never hurt you will never betray you and will never reject you. She will always accept you for everything you do and that is why Akiyama sticks by her. Because, of everyone in this story, he knows the best how precious people like that can be. He knows that people like that are rare and he knows that he might never meet someone he can trust this much.

And this isn't even trust anymore, he implicitly knows that even if they were to become enemies, she would never do anything back to him.

So he never really tries to make her a bad person. He never tells her to cheat or steal or become selfish. Rather he tells her that she needs to have awareness that people are not like her in perhaps some of the most vague ways possible. She has to have some defensive measure because the world is bad and she can't live in a world like this if she continues.

Somewhere at some point, we've decided people like this are stupid and annoying. This isn't stupidity. It's innocence, a lack of greed, selfless, righteousness, everything we need in a person and we call them stupid because we can't think beyond anything but practicality.

Nao is good because she doesn't consider practicality, she thinks what she should do as a person. She's not realistic, because she's a moralist. She puts her ethics above everything else and it's not realistic, but it's the right thing to do. I can't hate a character for literally being a good person and I don't understand why people can too.

She does make mistakes. She isn't practical. Her innocence leads her to decisions that get her cheated. She causes trouble, she ropes in other people - these are all valid criticisms of her, but they don't stem from her being a good person, but from the world being a bad place.

I agree that a person who is good, but still causes suffering to others is not absolved of all guilt, but I also believe that such people only cause suffering to others because of everyone around them. Being a good person is a crime in a world where most people are bad. That's a big thing in this manga, and if you think this manga is saying that the world should be like this, the entirety of watching liar game competitor fail over and over again to get the best results for everyone, is just proof that's not what they meant.

I don't really know when characters like Nao became annoying and seeing them wise up is considered a good thing, but honestly, if you ask me, I really like these characters as they are. Even if they don't have a lot of agency because it's like a reminder that we still recognise what a good person is. It's a reminder that I want someone like this in my life, even if I have to babysit them, because it's safe around them.

Which seems to be something people don't realise now.

Look you guys can like and dislike whoever you want, I just think it really says something if you are saying you dislike Nao because she is annoying. You are literally saying the epitome of what people should be is annoying. Think about that. You are saying, what people should aim to be is annoying because they are too much of a good person.

what is this world.

good people are bad.

bad people are good.

I thought the first page's guy was Taeha and got so confused lmao help what are we going to do when they're in the same room?

"Hello Taeha."
"Hello not-Taeha"

Are they going to label them 1 and 2 or something