Alice in Borderland (今際の国のアリス) is among one of the most watched series on Netflix, it had 95% approval. The series was based on a 2014 Japanese thriller manga, it officially ended in 2016. The manga has 18 tankōbon volumes and 87 chapters, and is illustrated by Haro Aso. In late 2020, the series directed by Shinsuke Satō had its debut on Netflix.
The series has so far 1 season with 8 episodes. The main cast includes: Kento Yamazaki, Tao Tsuchiya and Nijiro Murakami. Alice in Borderland tells of a group of friends living in a parallel reality in which they are forced to participate in several games, whoever loses the game loses his life.
Table of Content
Plot
A gamer and two friends are transported to a parallel version of Tokyo, where they must participate in various deadly games if they want to survive. The gamer is Arisu, he is considered a failure and a bum by his parents. He spends most of his time playing either on the video game or on his phone. Arisu has two friends who are not much different from him. When they are chased by the police, they run to hide in a bathroom, but when they come out, they realize that everything has disappeared. Only they remain.
The trio is transported to a parallel world, where they and their friends receive a mission to be completed. Unfortunately, they end up losing one of their friends in the first game. The games are logic-based. On their cell phones, they receive the mission and the time they have to execute it. The person dies if they lose the game or if they don't finish it on time; giving up is not an option. No information is given on how the game should proceed, so it's more about deduction.
As Arisu is well used to the game world, he manages to unravel most of them. In each phase of the game, new players appear and some have more experiences than others and sometimes participate to help in some way the execution. As the games get more and more difficult and with more painful deaths, the number of players is also increasing and dying simultaneously.
More survivors are found in a place called "Beach", there is a society with other players and they wear beach clothes all the time. But the struggle for survival speaks louder and at a certain point they start killing each other. At no point in the series appears a justification for the existence of the game.
The history of each of the characters in Alice in Borderland is not very well known, but as the story develops, some moments in the past appear. Each game is in a different setting, so they feel like they're in the game itself. Players also have a very similar clothing and hair style when choosing avatar in games.
5 facts about Alice in Borderland
1 – The Alice in Broderland reference is in Alice in Wonderland. During the games it is common to use cards to determine the degree of difficulty of the game;
2 – The term “border” from Borderland, which English means border, refers to the games being happening, apparently, only in Tokyo, and their objective is to get out of there;
3 - Before becoming a series. Alice in Borderland became anime;
4 - Three OVA’s (Original Video Animation) were produced that present the story and the characters;
5 – The protagonist is called Ryouhei Arisu and the surname is a translation for Alice;
Can we wait for season 2?
Alice in Borderland premiered on Netflix in late 2020 and so far there has been no comment about a sequel. But a Season 2 update was released during Netflix Festival Japan 2021.
A preview was shown with an interview of the protagonists of what can be expected from the series for 2022, still without a release date. Actors Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya, who play Arisu and Usagi respectively, spoke about their characters and the long-awaited escape. They claim to be working hard to maintain the show's standard. The video shows all the releases of Japanese Netflix series. Alice in Borderland's starts at 8 min 15. See:
Protagonists
Kento Yamazaki
He is a Japanese actor and model, is 27 years old and is from Itabashi in Tokyo. His career began in 2010. He has participated in 13 dramas, including Death Note, and 17 more films. Kento is represented by Stardust Promotion.
Tao Tsuchiya
She is an actress and model, 26 years old, originally from Tóquio. Her career began when she was cast for the lead role in the asadora Mare, aired by NHK, on March 30, 2015, after an audition with over 2,020 women. She has already collected 16 film appearances and 17 on television. Tao has two awards, both for the rising star category, from the Japan Academy Prize and Elan d'or Awards. The actress has also participated in the music video of singer Sia, Alive (2016).
What did you think of the series? Have you managed to deduce the reason for the game's existence?