By Skyler Gourley, Staff Writer
Alice in Borderland is a live-action show on Netflix based on a manga. The show follows the characters of Arisu and Usagi as they play through deadly games. We get to see the mental toll that these games have on them both and everyone around them. I really enjoy seeing the different thought processes that it takes to get through each game.
In season one, the main character of the show, Arisu, and his two friends get transported to a separate world, where time moves twice as fast, but aging doesn’t. At the beginning of each game, you get told a card number and its suit, and at the end of the game, you receive that card. The number on the card tells you the difficulty of the game that you will be playing, and the suit on the card tells you what the game is about. A game of Clubs requires teamwork, a game of Diamonds is a test of intelligence and strategy, a game of Spades focuses on physical strength and endurance, and a game of Hearts involves cruel psychological manipulation and emotional games. In my opinion, having each suit mean something in each game adds to the cruelty of each game and makes each more interesting. It forces each player to work together and use their heads, which I enjoy seeing.
As the show progresses, we get to learn more about Arisu and how close he and his two friends are/where. In the first season, Arisu makes a promise to his friends to find a place called the beach. In my opinion, this was a good idea because it encouraged Arisu to keep going on. We later get introduced to a character named Usagi, who continues on with Arisu. I really love the character, and I really enjoy seeing how she and Arisu interact with each other and watching her character develop.
A few quotes from the show are: “Everyone is trying to find a reason to live. But maybe the point is just to keep going – even without one,” from Arisu. This quote, in my opinion, shows that Arisu has a mentality to persist no matter what, and even in rough games, he will keep pushing. Another is from Usagi, “Justice, morality, kindness… they’re luxuries you can’t afford when your life’s on the line.” I think that this tells viewers that we shouldn’t take things, like kindness, for granted, and we should be more grateful for things like kindness.
In season two, the games are much harder than the ones in the first season and require much more endurance. As the season goes on, Arisu is more motivated to go on by a character named Ginji Kyuma. He tells Arisu, “You are playing your own game. You are the master of your own fate.”
In season three of the show, we’re back in the real world, but Arisu and Usagi have very little memory of the Borderland and games. Arisu and Usagi, at this point in the show, are also happily married. Usagi is pregnant but doesn’t know it, and Usagi is having nightmares about her father’s suicide.
I really enjoyed season three of the show, and I think that it was a good ending to the show. There are parts of the season that I think could have been different that may have made the finale season even better. I loved seeing many new characters in this season, and I was really happy to see characters from seasons one and two in the ending of the show. Some of these characters are Shuntrao and Kuni, who are both characters that I love.
Overall, I really enjoyed and loved this show, and I would highly suggest it. One of my favorite characters is Shuntaro Chishiya. There are also many amazing side characters like Morizono Aguni, Hatter, and many more. I would recommend this show to anyone who has watched Squid Game or is a fan of high-stakes games, shows, and movies.
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