Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie!

Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie!
First tankōbon volume cover
現実（リアル）もたまには嘘をつく
(Riaru mo Tama ni wa Uso wo Tsuku)
GenreRomantic comedy
Manga
Written byNiichi
Published byChukei Publishing
English publisher
ImprintKitora
Original runAugust 6, 2018 – present
Volumes8

Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie! (現実（リアル）もたまには嘘をつく, Riaru mo Tama ni wa Uso wo Tsuku; lit. "Sometimes Reality Lies") is a Japanese manga series written an illustrated by Niichi. It has been serialized on Niichi's Twitter account since August 2018. Chukei Publishing (under Kadokawa) has compiled its chapters into eight volumes under their Kitora comic label as of February 2026.

Plot

The series follows Kaoru Terazaki, a video gamer who befriends another gamer named Nami. He is excited to meet up with Nami in real-life, but feels conscious as he plays as a female character in the game, going as far as to practice an apology for not meeting Nami's expectations. During their first meet-up, he discovers that Nami is actually a woman named Nanami Osaka. Nanami wants to introduce Kaoru to her parents, except her parents are overprotective of her and do not want to see her with men. To solve this, Kaoru decides to cross-dress as a girl during the visit.

Characters

Kaoru Terazaki (寺崎 薫, Terazaki Kaoru)
Voiced by: Shun Horie (voice comic)[1]
A 16-year-old high school student. He is a fan of MMORPGs and plays with a female character online. He usually lives alone at home as his mother died when he was young and his father is often overseas for work. Because of Nanami's parents' overprotectiveness, he crossdresses as a girl when he goes out with Nanami.
Nanami Ōsaka (逢坂 七海, Ōsaka Nanami)
Voiced by: Nanami Yamashita (voice comic)[1]
A 17-year-old gamer who befriends Kaoru. Because she plays as a male character and goes by the name Nami online, Kaoru initially thought she was a man, only to find out her true identity after they first met in real life. She lives a recluse life due to various circumstances and does not go to school, but upon Kaoru's encouragement, she later transfers to his school.
Toshio Ōsaka (逢坂 俊雄, Ōsaka Toshio)
Nanami's father, who is skilled in martial arts such as judo and kendo. He is highly overprotective of Nanami, to the point that he does not want her to have any male friends.
Shōko Ōsaka (逢坂 祥子, Ōsaka Shōko)
Nanami's mother and a housewife.

Development

Niichi originally created Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie! after being unable to finish a doujin work that he was working on, with it being intended as a replacement work for an event he was attending. Originally, it was only intended to be a one-off story, but the work's positive reception led to it being fleshed out as a full series.[2] Although stories where people who first meet online then meet in real-life, only to find out that they are of the opposite sex, are common, Niichi wanted to put his own twist on the theme by including crossdressing elements.[2][3] As he originally only did the series during his free time as he had a full-time job, he did not imagine that the series would get a full serialization.[2] The series' video game themes were inspired by his own love for video games. In contrast to other romantic comedy works where the parents play a supporting role, he also wanted Nanami's parents to play a more active role, their characters developing along with Nanami herself.[3]

Media

Manga

Niichi began posting the series on his Twitter account on August 6, 2018,[3] with chapters also being posted to his Pixiv account.[4] Chukei Publishing (under Kadokawa) began collecting its chapters into tankōbon volumes under their Kitora comic label. The first volume was released on July 31, 2020;[5] eight volumes have been published as of February 27, 2026.[6] In June 2024, Niichi revealed that the series was coming to an end soon.[3] The series is licensed in English by J-Novel Club.[7]

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1July 31, 2020[5]978-4-04-604812-7June 22, 2022[8]978-1-71-831363-7
2April 21, 2021[9]978-4-04-605135-6September 1, 2022[8]978-1-71-831364-4
3June 15, 2022[10]978-4-04-605852-2June 21, 2023[8]978-1-71-831365-1
4June 28, 2023[11]978-4-04-606433-2June 26, 2024[8]978-1-71-831366-8
5June 24, 2024[12]978-4-04-606922-1June 11, 2025[8]978-1-71-831367-5
6December 24, 2024[13]978-4-04-607343-3November 19, 2025[8]978-1-71-831368-2
7August 6, 2025[14]978-4-04-607634-2——
8February 27, 2026[6]978-4-04-607981-7——

Other

Kadokawa uploaded voiced comic videos of the series on YouTube in 2021, featuring the voices of Shun Horie as Kaoru and Nanami Yamashita as Nanami.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "現実もたまには嘘をつく" (in Japanese). YouTube. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "友達以上、恋人未満のふたりが繰り広げるハイテンションラブコメ漫画『現実もたまには嘘をつく』最新2巻発売記念！原作者・にいち先生インタビュー｜続きを望む多くの読者の声が背中を押してくれた" (in Japanese). Animate (retailer). May 13, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "【漫画】ネトゲの友達と実際会うことに…女性キャラを使ってた男性の元に現れたのはまさかの…リアルな友情物語に「全人類見てほしい」「ネト充のススメや」の声". Web The Television. Kadokawa Corporation. June 24, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  4. ^ "「現実もたまには嘘をつく」/「にいち」のシリーズ [pixiv]" (in Japanese). Pixiv. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "現実もたまには嘘をつく" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "現実もたまには嘘をつく8" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  7. ^ Mateo, Alex (March 18, 2022). "J-Novel Club Licenses 6 Manga, 3 Light Novel Series". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie!". J-Novel Club. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  9. ^ "現実もたまには嘘をつく2" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  10. ^ "現実もたまには嘘をつく3" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  11. ^ "現実もたまには嘘をつく4" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  12. ^ "現実もたまには嘘をつく5" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  13. ^ "現実もたまには嘘をつく6" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  14. ^ "現実もたまには嘘をつく7" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
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