Alice in Borderland (2020)

Watchseries; The people in this show act like manga characters, it doesn't work with real people. Too many clichés, one example is games being solved at the last possible second. A guy punches a tiger and somehow is the winner in that exchange.

The people in this show act like manga characters, it doesn't work with real people. Too many clichés, one example is games being solved at the last possible second. A guy punches a tiger and somehow is the winner in that exchange.

Alice in Borderland watchseries. I liked the glimpses into normal Japanese life it gives, and somehow the regular scenes of empty Tokyo were also cool. However, the acting (please close your mouth Asugi?), and the complete lack of consistency later on (once at the 'Beach') just get annoying, ruining any sense of mystery.

Such as -- why doesn't anyone use the resources of an abandoned city? Canned food, comfortable houses, generators. Or weapons, which might occasionally come in handy. There's one 'game' where they manage to beat someone with a gun -- but they don't take the gun after they beat them, which might simplify things for the next fight.

They also seem to have painted themselves into too much of a corner with power of the gamemasters. Lasers from the sky, phones in the lobby, essentially god-like abilities with no apparent limits or explanation. At the start it's okay as part of the mystery, but later it becomes too much. (Did someone take that tiger out of a cage? Bring it to that place, and then carefully let it go, after goading it to be hungry enough to attack? And then come collect it later).

And it tries to be gritty and real, but then mixes in people punching out tigers and bopping about in bikinis in an apocalypse. Nice to look at, but made no sense. If you don't feel there's actually an interesting solution to the mystery, you lose interest in resolving it.

I would have liked a bit more of an exploration. How can you maintain any power structure when you need to go randomly fight for your life every few days? Can those laser punch into the earth? If I'm in the basement underneath you, do you just get killed too? Instead you just get a bunch of over-dramatized yelling at each other. I guess it's supposed to be anime/manga, but it didn't work for me.

The first few episodes felt fresh and exciting, but dipped in the middle and I kept hoping for the latter episodes to reach a climax and in parts it seemed like it was on the way there, but then kind of fell flat in the end.

The plot itself isn't bad at all and definitely binge worthy, but can't rate higher than 6 because of terrible acting. Cringey and awkward all round. I've seen some of the actors in other films/dramas and I know they can do much better, so I assume the fault lies with the director himself.

This show has a fun premise with great production. Some episodes are very strong and worth watching, but otherwise, the show is littered with poorly written characters that at times are acted out very stiffly. You can feel the actors going overboard or are poorly acting out a few too many scenes. The plot manages to hold interest but messes up small details that would often leave you face-palming or shaking your head.

Overall, the show is a far cry from the 10/10 rating many reviews seem to be giving it... Think of it like a good way to mindlessly pass the time.

As someone who's a big fan of the manga, I think the Netflix adaptation does a decent job for anyone trying to find more Alice in Borderland content. However, the devil is in the details, and except for the main story arcs, it's quite different from the original story.

Many characters are introduced earlier than expected, and some games have changed concepts entirely. Certain story beats are shuffled around or erased. In addition, Arisu participates in several games that he wasn't part of originally. I would have to say to avid fans of the manga to watch this series pretending you have no prior knowledge unless you like to be disappointed. But by itself, it was spectacular to watch this interpretation of Alice in Borderland.

Beautifully crafted series. Never read the manga, so I can't comment on how faithful it is. But it has good acting and character development. The cinematography and set designs are beautiful. Good plot that kept me goed al the way through. If you like movies such as Battle Royale, you'll love this show.