Alice in Borderland has just wrapped up it’s second season on Netflix, and my wife and I are still bouncing theories off each other.
For those who’ve come late to the show, Alice in Borderland is a sci-fi thriller adapted from the manga of the same name. To keep things as spoiler-free as possible, I’m just going to cover the basics here. The story revolves around Arisu, an aimless shut-in obsessed with videogames who only leaves the house to hang out with his two friends. However after a strange light envelops Tokyo, the group finds themselves among the thousands now living in a strange parallel version of the city, where a count-down timer will kill them all unless they take part in increasingly elaborate death games. As the group fights to stay alive they must also explore this strange parallel world to try and find a way home.
So, what does this series get right? (Or write, one might say? Don’t hate me, I’m a Dad and bad jokes are expected). The stakes and urgency of each episode are clearly laid out in the rules of each death game, and this is where the writing shines. My wife and I were holding our breath at the end of nearly every episode, and excitedly trying to figure out how the rules could be used to pluck victory from the jaws of defeat. This form Arisu’s main character arc, the videogames addict utilising his natural intelligence and knowledge of game design to face the seemingly unbeatable challenges.
Arisu’s journey was well written by Haro Aso, and well presented by Japanese actor Kento Yamazaki. While the obvious route would simply be to make the shy and aimless Arisu a confident, capable survivor, Alice in Border takes things a step deeper to explore the layers of guilt and depression that have stunted the main character’s early life. The death games of the Borderlands come across as much as emotional challenges for Arisu as they do physical.
However, while Arisu’s story will well crafted, the supporting characters are not. While there’s a cast of disposable one-offs who you can generally guess are only there to fill out the role of “dead body #3,” the recurring companions on Arisu’s quest for survival are pretty one-note. Several of these characters get extended screen time in season 2, including flashbacks, action scenes and conversations that don’t revolve around Arisu, but a lot of it seems like decoration. Very little of it seems to actually grow and develop each character. However, as Season 2 finishes, there are hints at a Season 3, so who knows what the future may hold?
In the meantime, if you are looking for a great sci fi series with some truly nail-biting scenes, please give Alice in Borderland a try!
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