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Alice in Borderland (Japanese: 今際の国のアリス, Hepburn: Imawa no Kuni no Arisu) is a 2020 Japanese science fiction thriller drama streaming television series based on the manga of the same name, by Haro Aso. Directed by Shinsuke Sato, the series stars Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya as allies trapped in an abandoned Tokyo, where they are forced to compete in dangerous games, the type and difficulty of which are determined by playing cards. After surviving their first game, players receive "visas", which are extended the more they compete. If the visas expire, the individuals are executed by red lasers being shot from the sky.

Alice in Borderland
Promotional release poster
Japanese	今際の国のアリス
Genre	Drama[1] Science fiction[2] Thriller[3]
Based on	The original graphic novel "Alice in Borderland" by Haro Aso published by Shogakukan Inc.
Written by	Yoshiki Watabe Yasuko Kuramitsu Shinsuke Sato
Directed by	Shinsuke Sato
Starring	Kento Yamazaki Tao Tsuchiya Yūki Morinaga Keita Machida Ayame Misaki Nijirō Murakami Yutaro Watanabe Sho Aoyagi Ayaka Miyoshi Dori Sakurada Aya Asahina Shuntarō Yanagi Mizuki Yoshida Kina Yazaki Tsuyoshi Abe Nobuaki Kaneko Riisa Naka
Composer	Yutaka Yamada
Country of origin	Japan
Original language	Japanese
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Kaata Sakamoto
Producer	Akira Morii
Cinematography	Taro Kawazu
Editors	Tsuyoshi Imai Shoukichi Kaneda
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	41–52 minutes
Production company	Robot Communications Inc.
Distributor	Netflix
Release
Original network	Netflix
Picture format	4K (Ultra HD)
Audio format	Dolby Digital
Original release	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10) – present

First announced in July 2019, each episode of the series was written by Sato, Yoshiki Watabe, and Yasuko Kuramitsu. Filming began in August and concluded that same year in December, with locations including various districts of Shibuya, and a green screen studio serving as a replica of the popular Shibuya Crossing, where a large portion of the series takes place. In an international collaboration, Japan's Digital Frontier worked with teams from Singapore, the United States, and India to add post-credit visual effects, with the music featured in the series being composed by Yutaka Yamada, a frequent collaborator with Sato.

Alice in Borderland premiered on Netflix on December 10, 2020. It received positive reviews for its action, cinematography, and performances and comparisons to the films Battle Royale (2000) and Cube (1997). Two weeks after the first season was released, Netflix renewed the series for a second season, which is set to premiere on December 22, 2022.

Cast and characters

Main

• Kento Yamazaki as Ryōhei Arisu:
  A 24-year-old video game-obsessed man who "doesn't fit in with his family".[4][5]
• Tao Tsuchiya as Yuzuha Usagi:
  A mountain climber who was transported into the empty city of Tokyo shortly after the death of her father, whom she deeply respected. Usagi teams up with Arisu shortly after the deaths of his friends.[4][5]

Recurring

• Yūki Morinaga as Chōta Segawa:
  A highly-religious IT technician and friend of Arisu and Karube. Chōta severely burns his leg while participating in a game titled "Dead or Alive," and as a result, slows down his friends while recovering.[4][5][6]
• Keita Machida as Daikichi Karube:
  A bartender and friend of Arisu and Chōta. Before being transported into the empty city, Karube was preparing to propose to a woman he worked with at a bar, who happened to be the lover of his boss.[4][5][6]
• Nijirō Murakami as Shuntarō Chishiya:
  A mysterious, quiet, and sly player who teams up with Kuina to steal Hatter's deck of cards, the leader and founder of "the Beach," believing that a full deck would transport them out of the empty city. He later becomes interested in Arisu and Usagi after helping them escape a game of "Tag."[5][7]
• Sho Aoyagi as Morizono Aguni:
  A strong fighter and Hatter's best friend, Aguni is first introduced as an important member of "the Beach." He is in charge of a violent group at the beach titled "The Militants".[4][5]
• Ayaka Miyoshi as Ann Rizuna:
  An executive member of "the Beach" who attempts to win difficult games through rational thinking. Ann is one of the key players in the final game of the first season.[4][5]
• Dori Sakurada as Suguru Niragi:
  A young yet dangerous member of "the Beach." He is described as being "aggressive due to his complicated past" and is part of "the Militants"[4][5]
• Aya Asahina as Hikari Kuina:
  A close friend of Chishiya, whom she helps steal Hatter's deck of cards. A former clothing shop clerk, Kuina is revealed to be transgender in a flashback in episode 7, in which she was disowned by her father.[4][5]
• Shuntarō Yanagi as Takatora Samura / The Last Boss:
  A strange man and dangerous member of "the Beach," the Last Boss has his face covered in tattoos and carries around a katana on a daily basis. He is also part of "the Militants"[4][5]
• Nobuaki Kaneko as Takeru Danma / Hatter:
  The leader and founder of "the Beach," a hotel inhabited by dozens of players. His main goal is to collect all the playing cards given to players for winning games.[4][5]
• Riisa Naka as Mira Kano:
  A mysterious woman with an "elegant presence" and an executive member of "the Beach".[4][5][6]
• Ayame Misaki as Saori Shibuki:
  The first person Arisu and his friends encounter while in the deserted city. At first, Shibuki is presented as a smart and skilled player, who helps the group get past their first game. However, she is later revealed to be manipulative to get what she wants.[4]
• Yutaro Watanabe as Kōdai Tatta:
  A young man who is saved by Arisu during a game and later becomes a member of "the Beach."[4]
• Mizuki Yoshida as Asahi Kujō:
  A member of "the Beach" and Momoka's best friend.[4]
• Kina Yazaki as Momoka Inoue:
  A member of "the Beach" and Asahi's best friend.[8]
• Tsuyoshi Abe as Keiichi Kuzuryū:
  An executive member of "the Beach."[4]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Episode 1"	Shinsuke Sato	Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, & Shinsuke Sato	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)
In Tokyo, video-game-obsessed Arisu hangs out with his friends Chōta and Karube. After causing an altercation in Shibuya Crossing, the trio hide from police in the station bathroom but reemerge to find the city empty. At night, they follow a billboard's instructions to a "game arena." They find a stack of phones, which display the game's difficulty level, illustrated by a playing card. The group is joined by a high school girl and another woman named Shibuki who informs them that once a player enters an arena they cannot leave, as a laser will shoot them dead if they try. In this game, a "Three of Clubs" difficulty-level titled "Dead or Alive," the group is forced to pick between two doors under a certain time limit, one containing an entrance to another room with the same choice, and the other, certain death. The original trio and Shibuki make it out alive, with Chōta badly injured. Outside, the group is given individual "visas," which are extended the more they play and result in execution once expired.
2	2	"Episode 2"	Shinsuke Sato	Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, & Shinsuke Sato	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)
With no way of escaping the abandoned city, Arisu and Karube decide to play another game to extend their visas, leaving Shibuki to tend to an injured Chōta. Arisu and Karube find another game arena in an apartment complex and encounter several new players, such as the mysterious Usagi, the strong Aguni, and the sly, quiet Chishiya. Arisu also learns the meaning of each card; Spades correlate to games of strength, Clubs are team battles, Diamonds are a battle of wits, and Hearts correlate to games of betrayal. This game, a "Five of Spades" difficulty-level titled "Tag," force the players to hide in the building from two armed murderers while also looking for a room containing two buttons that must be pressed at the same time to stop a bomb from killing them all. Arisu, Chishiya, and Usagi work together to find the room and win, though Arisu later feels guilty when he sees the murderers executed. Karube finds a radio telling them to "Return to the Beach."
3	3	"Episode 3"	Shinsuke Sato	Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, & Shinsuke Sato	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)
Karube tells his group about the radio. To extend the visas of Shibuki and Chōta, they go together to a game arena in a botanical garden. There, they enter a "Seven of Hearts" difficulty-level titled "Hide-and-seek" as the only participants, but soon learn only one of them will survive. They are given facial recognition headsets and assigned animals, with three of them being "sheep" and the fourth being a "wolf." To play, a player switches animals every time they lock eyes with another, with the wolf at the end winning the game and the sheep dying. Arisu becomes the wolf and spends the rest of the game looking for his friends, who have decided to sacrifice themselves for him. They communicate via the headsets and spend their last minutes together saying goodbye; Arisu screams in pain as he is covered in Karube's blood.
4	4	"Episode 4"	Shinsuke Sato	Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, & Shinsuke Sato	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)
Usagi finds a despondent Arisu and decides to help him. They visit a game arena inside a bus, located inside an underpass, and enter the game with three other players. In a "Four of Clubs" difficulty-level titled "Distance," they are told to "reach the goal." Deducing that the goal must be at the end of the tunnel, Arisu, Usagi, and two other players run to it, leaving behind another player with a sprained leg. Halfway there, the four players are attacked by a panther, who kills one. At the end of the tunnel, Arisu finds diesel fuel in a motorbike and decides to go back for the other player. Once he returns, however, he learns the bus has the word "goal" written on it, and they were running away from the target. Water spurts from the end of the tunnel, and while the other player is killed, Usagi manages to make it back to the bus, and win alongside Arisu and the injured player.
5	5	"Episode 5"	Shinsuke Sato	Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, & Shinsuke Sato	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)
Arisu and Usagi, looking for "the Beach," secretly follow a group of players with similar wrist tags to a hotel housing many players. They, however, are found and taken to the place's leader, Hatter, who confirms they have made it. Hatter says the Beach's mission is to collect all the cards, which they believe will allow them to leave the city, but that the face cards have yet to appear. Arisu and Usagi are tasked with joining groups of players to collect the remaining cards. Later, Hatter reveals to a group of "executive members," including Arisu, who participated in a game as a "test" from Ann, that the only remaining number card to collect is the "Ten of Hearts."
6	6	"Episode 6"	Shinsuke Sato	Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, & Shinsuke Sato	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)
Needing to extend his visa, Hatter goes off to participate in a game, but his henchmen bring him back to the Beach dead, stating that he was shot during the game. Aguni is voted in as the new leader of the Beach, and given Hatter's deck of cards. Arisu teams up with Chishiya and Kuina to steal the deck, unaware that he had been double-crossed by them. Arisu is tied-up, aware that his visa expires at midnight, and Chishiya and Kuina prepare to leave with the stolen deck, only for a wall of lasers to stop them in their tracks. The Beach is revealed to be an arena for a game titled "Witch Hunt," with a difficulty-level illustrated by the "Ten of Hearts."
7	7	"Episode 7"	Shinsuke Sato	Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, & Shinsuke Sato	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)
A girl named Momoka is found stabbed to death, and the game's rules are stated; the players must work together to find the "witch" who murdered Momoka, throwing the suspect into a bonfire to win. With only two hours to search for the killer, Aguni and his militants decide to throw everyone into the fire to collect the final card. As dozens are murdered, Usagi teams up with a group of players and rescues Arisu. The building is lit on fire, Kuina kills a dangerous militant known as the Last Boss, and Chishiya injures Niragi. After thinking about the logistics of the game, Arisu tells the group that he knows the identity of the hidden witch. Ann figures out that Hatter was murdered and searches for fingerprints on Momoka's body. Ann learns the murderer's identity and is knocked unconscious.
8	8	"Episode 8"	Shinsuke Sato	Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, & Shinsuke Sato	December 10, 2020 (2020-12-10)
In a flashback, Momoka wanders through the empty city with her friend Asahi, recording videos with a working phone. In the present, Arisu confronts Aguni who, believing he is the "witch," confesses to shooting his best friend Hatter in self-defense. The real witch is Momoka, who killed herself. As Aguni attempts to kill Niragi,[6] who is still intent on murdering everyone present, the remaining players throw Momoka into the bonfire and win the game. Chishiya collects the final card. The next day, Arisu and Usagi watch the videos recorded by Asahi, who had committed suicide during the game. In them, Asahi and Momoka reveal they are "dealers," players who organize games to extend their visas.[8] In one video, the pair visit an underground lair filled with "gamemasters." Arisu and Usagi manage to locate the lair but find the "gamemasters" dead. Chishiya and Kuina appear and learn the "gamemasters" were actually players. A woman named Mira appears, who introduces a new set of games to collect face cards.

Production

Development

On July 16, 2019, Netflix announced that they were creating a live-action adaptation of the manga Alice in Borderland, with Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu, and Shinsuke Sato writing the scripts for each episode, and Sato directing in an attempt of making the show appear as "one very, very long film."[2][9][10] A few months later, on August 4, Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya were cast as the main characters of the series, with the pair appearing as Ryōhei Arisu and Yuzuha Usagi, respectively.[11]

Filming

Filming for the series began as early as August 2019, when Yamazaki was spotted during filming in Dōgenzaka, a district of Shibuya on August 8.[12] The following day, crew members were spotted near a store in Fukutomi-cho, located in the city of Yokohama.[12] From September 17 to September 20, Yamazaki and Tsuchiya were seen filming in an apartment complex in front of Kita-Suzurandai Station, on the Shintetsu Arima Line, in the city of Kobe.[12] According to the production company Robot Communications, the show's script was revised to "match the building layout."[5] A scene from the premiere episode featuring Yamazaki's character, Arisu, meeting his friends Chōta and Karube near Tokyo's busy Shibuya Crossing, was originally supposed to be filmed inside a Starbucks. However, due to the complexity of a glass-covered set, the scene took place in front of a sign outside Shibuya Station.[13] Furthermore, a scene taking place inside the Shibuya Station, in which the main characters enter a bathroom and reemerge to an empty Tokyo, was shot in a four-minute continuous take.[13][14] Extras were recruited for the series from August 9 to December 11, in various cities.[12][15][16] The creator of the original manga the series is based on, Haro Aso, was also allowed to visit various sets.[17] Filming took place in several cities and concluded in December 2019.[12]

Filming for the second season wrapped in March 2022.[18][19]

Visual effects

During filming, scenes focusing on the empty city of Tokyo were primarily shot using special effects and extensive uses of green screens, with Sato explaining that with the help of his assistant director, he would run into the middle of the intersection of Shibuya Crossing with a small camera "to figure out which parts to actually build and which parts to CGI."[10][20] Using the Ashikaga Scramble City Studio,[20] a large set 100 kilometers from Tokyo constructed for the series and the film Detective Chinatown 3 (which was filmed during the same period),[21][22] scenes featuring Shibuya Crossing were filmed using mainly green screens, with "everything but the road and the ticket gate at the east entrance [being] produced with computer graphics."[5][23] To keep the scenes "authentic," visual effects director Atsushi Doi recreated the shadows of the Tokyu Building where they would normally fall.[14] A scene in episode 4, which showed an underpass being flooded with water, was created with the help of previsualizations, which allowed the show's crew to "experiment with different elements before the actual shoot."[5] The panther that appears in that same episode was created using visual effects developed after the crew visited multiple zoos.[20] Additionally, Academy Award winner Erik-Jan de Boer supervised the production of the tiger featured in episode 5, which was created by Anibrain, an animation studio in India.[13] Post-credit visual effects were added in with the help of Japan's Digital Frontier, who worked alongside teams from Singapore, the United States, and India in an international collaboration.[24]

Music

The score for Alice in Borderland was composed entirely by Yutaka Yamada, who had previously worked with Sato on Bleach (2018) and Kingdom (2019). Produced by Kohei Chida, the music was performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra of Prague. The song "Good Times" by Jan Erik Nilsson, was featured various times throughout the show.[5]

Marketing and release

On September 18, 2020, Netflix released a teaser video revealing that Alice in Borderland would debut in 190 countries on the platform on December 10, 2020.[25] On October 24, 2020, six set images were released to promote the series.[26] Four days later, an official trailer was released, along with a poster and a list of the main cast.[4] According to various critics, the first season of Alice in Borderland covered 31 chapters of the original manga, leaving 33 untouched.[7] The first season was released on December 10,[21] and in its first few weeks, the series "ranked in the top ten most-watched shows" on the platform in nearly 40 territories, including in Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.[21] Overall, the series did better in countries located in Asia and Europe, rather than in countries located in North America.[21] On December 24, 2020, Netflix renewed the series for a second season, two weeks after the first season had been released.[21][27]

On October 7, 2020, Haro Aso, the creator of the original manga the series is based on, announced plans to "celebrate" and promote the Netflix series by introducing a new manga titled Alice in Borderland Retry on Weekly Shōnen Sunday.[28] Launched on October 14 (#46, 2020 of Weekly Shōnen Sunday), the first volume of the manga tankobon was shipped out on December 11, one day after Alice in Borderland premiered. The manga series ended on January 20, 2021 (#8, 2021 of the magazine). The second and final volume of tankobon was released on February 18, 2021.[29][30] The second season is set to premiere on December 22, 2022.[31]

Reception

Following its release, Alice in Borderland received mostly positive reviews from critics, who applauded its cinematography, editing, use of graphic violence, visuals, and the performances of Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya,[32][33] but left mixed opinions on its advancement without special focus on character development and its story in general, particularly in the second half.[34][35] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Alice in Borderland holds an approval rating of 75% based on eight reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[36] A month after the first season had been released, Variety revealed that the series had been viewed in 18 million households.[37]

From The Japan Times, James Hadfield gave praise to Sato's directing but criticized the characters, stating that "few of the cast leave much impression, though Tsuchiya makes for an effective action heroine, and Nijirô Murakami has some fun as a smirking loner."[34] Writing for Ready Steady Cut, Jonathon Wilson gave a generally positive review, lauding the series for skipping over "exposition and careful backstory-building," and "just getting straight to it." Wilson also compared the series positively to the Japanese film Battle Royale, and the American horror film Saw.[38] Ars Technica journalist Jennifer Ouellette called the show "emotionally intense," and compared the show's games to those found in the books Ready Player One and Lord of the Flies, and in the 1997 film Cube.[7] Salon's Melanie McFarland compared the series to the CBS All Access miniseries The Stand, stating that Alice in Borderland "handles the mechanics of introducing its characters more effectively and it doesn't throw off the audience by leaning heavily on flashbacks [...] but unlike "The Stand," the "before" profiles aren't extensive to the point of dragging on the story's progress."[3] From Yahoo! News, Lim Yian Lu highly praised the series for its "suspenseful plot," stating that it "will keep you entertained and yearning for more despite its grisly and gory scenes."[39] Writing for the Anime News Network, Theron Martin gave the series a C+ and mixed feedback to the show's production, score, general storyline and acting, while stating that it gives a "modest amount of entertainment" for its runtime.[35] After watching the first episode of the series, and praising it for its tone, soundtrack, and ability to "shift gears so fast," the crew at Decider recommended viewers to stream the show.[40]

References

External links

• Alice in Borderland on Netflix
• Alice in Borderland at IMDb

На других языках

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- [en] Alice in Borderland (TV series)

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[ru] Алиса в Пограничье

«Алиса в Пограничье» (яп. 今際の国のアリス) — японский сериал в жанре научной фантастики и триллера, основанный на одноимённой манге Харо Асо. Режиссёром сериала является Синсукэ Сато[en], который также стал одним из сценаристов вместе с Ёсики Ватабэ и Ясуко Курамицу.

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