Alice In Borderland Season 1 Review
On paper, this feels like a recipe for disaster, as various influences are pulled in all directions and threaten to rip at the seams. In fact, Alice In Borderland is a solid, well-written, surprisingly decent piece of sci-fi that's worth its weight in gold.
The premise is simple and revolves around the hooks of a group of kids stuck in a strange alternate reality world. Deadly games of life and death are played in exchange for playing cards called visas in this twisted dystopian world.
The numbers on each card correspond to the number of days left to live. The more cards you collect, the more days you can survive. With a would-be game master pulling the strings, kids are either quickly killed due to expired visas or die inside the games. And the kill count is pretty high.
Stepping into this unforgiving world are three lifelong friends, the computer kid Arisu, his lady-boy friend Karube, and tag-along Chota. They step into this world together and immediately realize that their lives are in danger. The first episode gets off to a delightful start; a palette cleanser for getting used to games and the world in general.
Another Heroine
In the rest of the season, we are introduced to another heroine, Usagi. A skilled climber and clearly intelligent, he eventually teams up with Arisu and the others to escape this nightmare world. Each episode essentially works to showcase a different game, with a structured episodic feel coalescing around a serialized story about the world and the mysteries hidden within it.
Towards the middle of the episodes, the series picks up on 28 Days Later and sees us survivors band together to face a greater threat than they ever imagined. I won't spoil what's going on here, but suffice it to say that the second half slows down a bit to show that the real horror is humanity itself when faced with these desperate choices.
Everything comes crashing down in a spectacular, bloody penultimate episode before a very dramatic climax, ending on a season two-ready cliffhanger.
Brutal Show
What's particularly cool about Alice In Borderland is how brutal the show actually is. Main characters are killed off, numerous supporting players come and go, all games become more and more intense and deadly. This combination leads to some serious dramatic moments, including Arisu and the others having to overcome danger to get him on the bus.
Another time, the kids get stuck in a deadly game of tag in an apartment complex with a safe room hidden somewhere on multiple floors. Unfortunately, taggers are armed with machine guns and hunt down their prey mercilessly. All of these games feel unique and take on video game-inspired challenges that feel very real and very dangerous.
Part of the reason Alice In Borderland works so well comes from the sound design. Pockets of silence blend perfectly with more pulsating, adrenaline-soaked anthems, and that balance feeds into the larger story and world-building in a big way.
This continues throughout the show and hats off to the audio team, they really did a fantastic job with it. For obvious reasons, it is recommended not to watch the dubbed version of this, as the original Japanese is more authentic.
If there's one part of the show that slips, it's the characterization of the supporting characters. Because of how quickly players come and go in this series, it's very difficult to get attached to anyone but a few main characters. The creators of the show seem to understand this, and in various episodes, numerous flashbacks show us the difficult pasts these men and women have faced. It's a nice idea in theory, but the execution is a bit disappointing because we never really get locked into anyone.
What stands out from the hype comes from Kunai, who has an absolutely fascinating past and a really solid redemption arc throughout the episodes he's been in. I won't spoil the hype surrounding his character, but suffice it to say. a great point towards inclusivity and a great example of how to properly portray strong characters.
Overall
The 8 episodes are incredibly addictive and you'll definitely find yourself blasting through it after a few evenings. The action is fast-paced and the various influences behind this creation bleed through with an air of nostalgia. The cliffhanger ending is a little disappointing, and we hope we don't have to wait too long to find out if it's been updated.
All in all, Alice In Borderland is a pleasant surprise to end the year on and is definitely one of the best sci-fi series of 2020.
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