Chaser Game (チェイサーゲーム) is a Japanese manga series written by Hiroshi Matsuyama and illustrated by Matsushima Yukitaro. It began serialization online via Famitsu on December 18, 2018. The series draws from Matsuyama's own experience working at CyberConnect2 as the story follows its protagonist Tatsuya Shindo, a game designer who is promoted to a senior position at CyberConnect2 and learns to deal with his new responsibilities.[1]
Media
Manga
Written by Hiroshi Matsuyama and illustrated by Matsushima Yukitaro, Chaser Game was released online via Famitsu from December 18, 2018, to November 1, 2021. The first seven volumes are considered the "first season", with volume eight containing a short manga that Matsuyama drew during the airing of the first season of the live-action adaptation. A "second season" of the manga began after this and is collected from volume nine onward. The series has been collected into eleven tankōbon volumes.
A live-action television drama adaptation was introduced in August, 2022.[13] The series was produced by TV Tokyo and directed by Isamu Ohta, Masayuki Yamaguchi and Katsuya Mitsuoka, with Atsushi Asada and Isamu Ota writing the scripts. The series starred Keisuke Watanabe in the lead role. It premiered on TV Tokyo's Thursday Drama 24 slot from September 9, 2022, to October 28, 2022. The opening theme, Chaser Game, featured Maaya Uchida.[14][15]
Chaser Game W
A second series titled Chaser Game W Pawahara Jōshi wa Watashi no Moto-Kano (Chaser Game W: My Evil Boss is My Ex-Girlfriend) was announced on November 15, 2023.[16] Unlike the previous series, which adapted the original manga, Chaser Game W featured an original story that centered around two lesbians working in the game industry. The series was produced by TV Tokyo and directed by Yū Ohta, Masayuki Yamaguchi, and Yoshikazu Igi, with Ohta and Atsushi Asada writing the scripts. The series starred Yūka Sugai and Yurika Nakamura in the lead roles. It premiered on TV Tokyo from January 9, 2024, to February 27, 2024. A second season was announced in July 2024, with the cast and staff reprising their roles from the first season.[17] The second season aired from September 20 to November 8, 2024.
Reception
Chaser Game W
Frank Hecker, a staff writer at Okazu, gave the series an overall 7 out of 10, praising the performances of its lead actors, "Nakamura Yurika does an excellent job portraying Fuyu’s transition from office terror to a woman approaching her breaking point, while former idol Sugai Yūka acquits herself well in the less demanding role of Itsuki", while finding the show's epilogue "a bit rushed and hand-wavy".[18]