Mikoto Yamaguchi and Yuuki Satou’s manga *Tomodachi Game* (Friends Games) concluded in the September issue of *Bessatsu Shounen Magazine* on Thursday. The issue, which marks the end of the manga’s over ten-and-a-half-year serialization, featured it on the opening color page (pictured above).

Yamaguchi and Satou began serializing the psychological survival manga *Tomodachi Game* in *Bessatsu Shounen Magazine* in December 2013. Kodansha published the 25th volume on May 9, with the 26th and final volume set for release on October 8. The manga has over 6 million copies in circulation.

A 12-episode television anime, produced by Okuruto Noboru, aired in NTV’s AnichU programming block in Spring 2022. Crunchyroll streamed the anime with subtitles, followed by an English dub.

*Tomodachi Game* was also adapted into a four-episode drama series in April 2017, an eight-episode series in July 2022, and a two-part live-action movie that premiered in Japan in June and September 2017.

Kodansha’s K Manga platform simul-publishes the series in English, and it has been translated into multiple languages, including Spanish and Polish.

Synopsis

Yuuichi Katagiri has faced financial hardships his entire life but remains content and positive, thanks to his close circle of friends. Determined to keep a promise, he saves up enough money to join them on a school trip. However, when the collected money mysteriously disappears, suspicion falls on two of Yuuichi’s friends, Shiho Sawaragi and Makoto Shibe, who were responsible for safeguarding the funds. Despite their innocence, they take the blame when no one else steps forward.

A few days later, Yuuichi and his friends receive mysterious letters that lure them into a trap. They are ambushed, knocked unconscious, and wake up in a strange room, where they are confronted by “Manabu-kun,” a character from a controversial children’s show that was canceled due to its disturbing content. Manabu-kun reveals that one of them has orchestrated this meeting to settle a large debt, and they must participate in a “friendship game”—a series of challenges designed to test their bond and trust in each other. As secrets and betrayals come to light, Yuuichi must determine who among his “friends” he can truly trust and uncover the identity of the traitor.

Source: Comic Natalie