Alice In Borderland is a 2020 Japanese sci-fi thriller having two seasons. The movie shows Arisu, a guy who’s kind of aimless and addicted to video games. One moment he was just hanging out in Tokyo with his two friends…. the next, everyone in the city has disappeared and they’re forced to participate in a series of brutal life or death games.
Each game is tied to a playing card, such as hearts, spades, diamonds or clubs. A higher number makes the game harder. The twist? If you lose, you die. If you won’t play and try to escape, you die too. But when you win, you gain additional days to live and perhaps discover what the heck this weird world is all about. At first, it starts off like your typical thriller but it’s not long before the emotional impact comes on. it’s not just the fight against death; it’s what to fight for in life: You think about friends you lose, the strangers with whom you connect and the kind of person you become when everything else is taken away.
I thought season 1 was intense. Season 2? That’s where it got personal. I don’t know if it was just me but I reached a point where I felt like I was part of the game, I started catching on to patterns. I could almost tell who the “citizens” of the Borderland were before it was revealed. Like, my brain was I full survival mode, I was guessing motives with Arisu, looking for clues, bracing for betrayals. At first, I didn’t think I’d get this into it, by the time we got to the Queen of Hearts, I already feeling like I was part of the game, I started calling it before the show revealed things, like “This one’s definitely a citizen” or “Nah, this is still part of the game” I was that deep into it.
And the characters, Arisu (played by Kento Yamazaki) goes through it. He starts off broken and confused, but the growth is so real. He doesn’t suddenly become a here, he just keeps choosing to get back up, no matter how hard he’s hit. Then there’s Usagi (played by Tao Tsuchiya), who kind of stole my heart, she’s athletic, quiet, resilient and honestly very good at what she does.
The show was really intense, people died. A lot, and it wasn’t just for shock value. Even characters I didn’t care much for at first, like Chishiya or Niragi, ended up surprising me. Everyone had a back story, something that happened before they came into that country (Borderland), everyone was carrying something.
Visually, the series is wild. Abandoned Tokyo, massive game arenas, firework, gunshots, neon lights, deaths, and the emotional parts, it’s chaotic and cinematic in the best way. The games itself was wilddd, like I enjoyed every single one of it
By the time I got to the final episodes, I was second guessing everything. Was this all real? A simulation? Were they dead the whole time? The show plays with your mind, and honestly, even now, I’m still processing the ending. It didn’t give every answer but I kinda liked that.
I’d rate this movie a 9/10. Alice in Borderland isn’t just about action and thrill