I’ve now read chapter 2 and 3 of Liar! Gokuoh-kun and they were actually quite exciting.
第２話
Chapter 2 is about poor little Tenko’s attempts to jump the vaulting box at height 5. Doya teases her and says that he could jump over it at height 10 – if he only hadn’t hurt himself and walked on crutches. In the end it turns out that he has just made up the crutch thing because he was too afraid of jumping the box. He admits it all after Gokuoh has summoned the Lord of Hell to grab Doya’s lying tongue.
- 放課後 = after school
- 球技 = ball game (compare 競技)
- 跳び箱 = vaulting box (sv. bock)
- 跳ぶ = to jump
- 距離（きょり） = distance
- 松葉杖（まつばづえ）= crutch
第３話
In chapter 3, all the children look forward to curry-rice for school lunch. They get very disappointed when they find all the curry and the school cook spread out on the floor of the school corridor. Well the cook wasn’t spread out, he just stood there and everyone thought it was his fault, despite he said he was at the toilet when it happened.
Gokuoh-kun solves the mystery in a thriller-like tour de force – and it turns out that nothing was what it seemed! For example, the incriminating curry stain on Banzaki’s t-shirt actually came from Omusubi’s mouth which he happened to press against Banzaki’s fat stomach when Banzaki tripped over him. Who would have known. And yes, the Lord of Hell appears here as well with his terrifying tongue-gripping metal claw.
- 容赦（ようしゃ）する = to pardon, to forgive, to condone
- 反応（はんのう）= reaction
- 習字（しゅうじ）= shuji/Japanese calligraphy (which is “a required subject in elementary and junior high school in Japan”)
- 染み（しみ）= stain
- 修業（しゅぎょう）= studying, learning, the pursuit of knowledge
- 飛び散る = to scatter, to fly around
- 逆（ぎゃく）= reverse (adj.)
- 悪気（わるぎ）= malice
- つまみ食いする = to snitch food
We’ll end with these words of wisdom by Gokuoh-kun:
風と同じで嘘はうつるんだよ！
Just like the wind, a lie will turn around!