The shonen manga Alice in Borderland released 18 volumes between 2010 and 2016, not counting several spin-offs. It also spawned a three-episode OVA series in 2014, which unfortunately is not legally available in English. This series 2020 Netflix Original adapts the story into eight live-action episodes averaging approximately 50 minutes each.
The result is a traditional indoor death game setup that should satisfy fans of the genre, but likely won't have much appeal for those who don't care for death games and/or gore games in general. After all, that's the first and most important thing to understand about this show: it's visibly violent.
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Alice in Borderland!
People die in every episode (usually multiples), whether from gunfire, wild animals, laser beams, multi-story drops, or melee weapons, and the production isn't tame on depicting blood spatter where relevant. The titular character Arisu was also bloodily beaten more than once, and a later episode has a graphic autopsy scene.
Successful suicide attempts or suicides and an attempted rape scene add to the unsettling content. While the series lacks full frontal nudity, it does feature some heavily implied sex scenes and naked bodies lying face down on autopsy tables. In other words, take the TV-MA rating seriously.
The source manga is not yet available in English, but based on synopses I found online, this adaptation makes a big change apparent by the aging of the initial trio of Arisu, Karube, and Segawa, as well as Usagi's later arrival at around 20 years. Functionally, this has little to no impact on the actual story, however.
With a change in the range of companions, Arisu and later Saori spend the first four episodes progressing through a widely varied series of death games. However, along the way, they must deal with the emotional aftermath of friends and allies lost in the game and contemplate what they would or wouldn't do to survive, something that becomes a recurring theme for the series.
"The beach"
The series changes drastically when Arisu and Saori arrive at "The Beach". An organized gathering of those who were transported to the game's setting. For a while, the story becomes at least as much about loose governance and internal tensions within A Praia, though the games aren't entirely left out.
As this is also partially a post-apocalyptic setting, the structure of this “paradise” is fragile and naturally, things fall apart before anything is done. The series also never offers more than a hint of how smartphones, gear and playing cards keep appearing, and even that is overkill.
Death games themselves are interesting and creative, and the mechanics where cards from a standard deck are used to define the type and difficulty level. A club five would be a mid-level team scenario, for example. works, but the story in general is pretty formulaic.
The list of most common characters puts Arisu in the role of the first puzzle solver, while Saori represents the athlete, with the difference, in this case, that she is an expert in mountaineering. Some of the most emotional scenes show her putting her climbing skills to good use.
Also, the wild animals, except for rabbits, that appear on a few occasions are probably CG builds, but they are well done. As well as the effects of blood spatter. The first two and last three episodes progress quickly, but the pacing drags on as efforts to create tension or show the unease that affects a main character derail the story.
Synopsis
Compared to his successful younger brother, player Arisu is a big disappointment, something he regularly remembers. Only when he goes out with friends Karube and Segawa does he find any comfort. One day, when they are playing, they hide in a bathroom when the light suddenly goes out. when leaving,
they discover a suddenly deserted Tokyo, where all the electronics with chips don't work. One night, while investigating a building that is mysteriously lit up, they find themselves with a handful of other people and trapped in a deadly game of escape;
try to leave or open the wrong door and they will get laser shot in the head. Therefore, they soon understand that all the people who are close by are forced to participate in these games. Winning gives them a visa to stay for a few days. Losing or refusing to play after the visa expires means death. Who is controlling this, and why? And how do they get back to their normal lives?
