One of the best!
I'm not really a fan of Japanese series, though I've watched a few. I decided to check this one out because of its genre and the strong recommendations I came across. Since I enjoy action, thriller, and sci-fi series like Night Has Come, All of Us Are Dead, and Duty After School, my expectations were pretty high.And I have to say, it did not disappoint. The overall plot was well thought out, from the challenging games to the compelling characters. The tension kept building as the stakes got higher, making everything feel intense and engaging. The twist at the end was a great surprise, and I really liked how the main characters were both intelligent and strong.
That being said, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the origin of the game—like how it all began. But since I heard there are two more seasons coming, I’ll be looking forward to those. The opening theme and soundtrack perfectly matched the mystery-thriller vibe, and the cast delivered great performances, even though I wasn’t familiar with any of them.
I’d be cautious when recommending this, though, since it contains graphic violence, disturbing scenes, and sexual content. Still, overall, it was a solid and enjoyable series.
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best survival and science fiction series ever
this is the best jdrama I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFE I SWEAR IT'S SO FUCKING GOOD YOU NEED TO WATCH I'VE JUST COPLETE THE FIRST SEASON IN 1 DAY AND THE 2ND AS WELLIT'S A MIX survival and action and imagination with OF COURSE INTELLIGENCE AND INTELLIGENCE AND INTELLIGENCE LIKE BRO ALL THOSE GAMES ARE SO GOOD EACH ONE CONTAINS A NEW CHALLENGE AND EVERY CHALLENGE (CARD)REPRESENTS SMTH LIKE ONE FOR INTELIGENCE THE OTHER FOR power....
I LOVED IT
IT CONTAINS SOME +18 scenes just skip it because it's so good and it contains blood so if you have a phobia or smth do not watch it
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A great adventure
Let me tell you something. This series is not for everyone and that's why it doesn't surprise me that many people didn't actually like it. It has blood, violence, murder and sex which I can understand that many will not enjoy. To me though, this is a Netflix gem and you should really watch itThe story is really interesting and cool and the acting was spot on. I was really hanging at the edge of my seat, feeling emotional, angry and satisfied all at the same time. Also another thing that really catches your eye is the cinematography and the production.
For me, it was a great adventure. It was different from what I've watched up until now and that's why I've binged to that series in one day. I have to admit, although I know that many will disagree, that I enjoyed this one more than the squid game and I really can't wait for season 2 to be out.
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The Long Journey In Borderland
A survival, thriller, sci-fi series. A live action of anime with the same title. Following three men that suddenly entering a games world, after they're doing something silly at the shibuya street. Those three men must choose whether join on the game, or got death.The story goes long. Sacrifice that tearjerking. The games that cliff-hanging. The emotional that goes through it, deep and deeper. The friendship that ups and down. Also, the realistic betrayal that somehow feels make so much sense.
The premise was utterly unique. I love how they combine dystopian world with science fiction theme that completely different. The storyline that anti-mainstream but neat yet pack. And they prove it that they craft it really well.
The performance of Kento Yamazaki, Tsuchiya Tao, Nijiro Murakami, and the others were top notch. I love their acting in here. Their emotion, frustration, depressed, even their sorrow were perfectly portrayed. Their mimics and attitude at its finest, detail yet natural.
The gore that brutal after brutal. The action that felt so pack. Mind-game that confusing. But somehow they craft it with seamlessly integrated. Like the explanation has deliver in a simple way. So the audience could understand every game's rules and we're seize into their games.
Not only stunned by their screenplay and actor's acting. They also stunned by visual and sound design. Oh, to see those beautiful scenery with those pretty cinematography, I could randomly pause and capture those aesthetic shot. Also their camera movement was masterpiece.
The world building and their CGI were magnificent. I know they're bragging their self out of that, but they deserve it tho. I love every single set in this series. So detail, realistic, and the dystopian felt alive. Also, those sound design. What do you mean to have those epic scoring? Oh, the best to enhance the story. More thrilling and exciting.
All in all. This series is one of the best series I've ever watched. I love every piece of this craft. Thank you so much for crafting this with well enough. And you guys missed this masterpiece experience? Hell, nah. Just watch it now!
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This review may contain spoilers
..A CARD DECK OF LIFE AND DEATH..
..the players whose just got isolated that time and a power interruption happened. . .then *boom*...
..a desert-like city welcome them..
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..well, as same as the game genre, it measures the body, mind, teamwork, heart - the trust..
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..a betrayal and friendship, to live and to die, the lose and win - that's how the life is for all the players..
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..almost the games ended just a second of time and nothing to expect, the longer the time to end the more extreme scenes can be added..
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..punch and kick, blood and sweat, bond and sex. . .nothing to be surprise yet a good scenes can be watch..
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..some of the games are well explained and easy to understand and follow, some are not - every minute is something to focus on and to go with the flow of the game..
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..in the end, only a few cards left and the second season is coming. . .are those the last games left?..
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..the casts are amazing, the acting are superb, the story is so cool, a mixed emotion, mind blowing - this is an art..
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..so better watch this guys and join the game..
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CAPTIVATING!
Alice in Borderland Season 1Right off the bat, this is just reminding me of a Japanese version of Squid game. It’s super captivating though, like I just want to keep on watching and the episodes are a perfect length.
When Arisu figured out the first game, I could already tell he would be like a wizard. Really good at puzzles.
Bro, at the end of Episode 3 when Karube and Chota sacrificed themselves in order to save Arisu. I can’t. Why the heck did they die so early? Chota hugging the person he ended up loving and experiencing life with. Karube holding onto the ring of his loved one and reflecting. Them both not letting Arisu find them in order to keep him alive. Then, Karube at the last 5 seconds letting Arisu know where he was but not looking at him to make sure that Ariso is the one that survives. Man. That was a lot in like 5 minutes for episode 3 out of 8 for just the first season. I did love how Chota and Karube decided to accept that there is no way out and the only person who would survive is the wolf. They reflected on all their good times together. “When I’m with you two, my worries wash away.” Even if on surface level, their friendship seems shallow, in fact, it means more to all of them than they would ever admit.
Aguni dying in the last episode got me choked up for some reason. All he wanted was the pureness and genuine freedom in the world that he is living in, so he stopped what he thought was the craze of killing from his best friend who’s been with him since day 1. And then when he found out that the gun had no bullets in the chamber and Aguni shot him for nothing, that I think is the moment when he replayed that that he decided to sacrifice himself for the greater good. He withstood idek how many bullets, but a lot, just to make sure that the game is able to be complete and no more innocent people die than they already have. Not to mention, he saved Arisu. Wow, the plot twist at the end got me so like…I was hanging off my seat.
Also, the last boss’s story also got me pretty emotional. He wanted to redefine his world and this world of games was the only one where he finally felt free and able to be himself. Him sitting in the fire at the end knowing that he is going to die and accepting it just shows you how much he’s come to terms with the life he lived. He got so much out of this land of games that he’s ready for it all to come to an end.
Chishiya also has so much aura, omg. He is insane. His intelligence is just on another level, I’ve never seen him actually like panic over anything. Wow. Captivating is the best word to describe this season.
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*If you are looking for something new to watch this might be the one!*
Alice in borderland (S1) is one of those dramas that i started on a whim without even knowing anything about the plot or actors...but it was unexpected in all the good ways!!To someone like me who watches survival dramas very rarely this was a fresh watch and a time well invested.
Generally dramas like these are expected to give more of an adrenaline rush and therefore they are a fun watch because of the thrill they give.
but i think this is what makes this drama a little different than others because it had more of using your brain and intellect to surivive , and the games were so interesting that it made this drama an intriguing watch for me.
Also i have realised now that when it comes to japanese dramas they don't spare nobody, at one point i felt like no-one would be left alive by the end of season 1, lol.
I hope season 2&3 are as good as this one.
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This review may contain spoilers
Well, that was quite brutal. But it gave me a similar vibe to The Maze Runner which is always a plus, so there's that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯My favorite games were those where Arisu got to show his smarts. Brutality doesn't really do it for me, I don't play any of those shooting games, whatever they might be called. But give me a game based on puzzle solving and I'm there with my bells on. So those games where the players had to actually use their heads as something more than a battering ram, those I loved.
But because of how brutal this drama was, I didn't actually feel sorry for any of the dead characters - besides Arisu's friends because that was at the beginning, when it was all fresh and new. But the longer it went, all the killing and murders, the more desensitized I was? Well, I mean, when there's too much of something - be it death or, I don't know, bad language - it stops hitting true. By the end, I was more shocked that any of them actually survived.
Overall, an interesting "dystopian" story. But I really had to be in the mood for it. The music, though, the music was absolutely amazing. I didn't skip the credits once!
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This review may contain spoilers
Overall, this was a pretty entertaining watch. I thought it would be just another Squid Game or Battle Royal knock off, but it wasn't. What I found interesting was that even if there were many similarities between these shows, Alice in Borderland was definitely its own thing. I loved the puzzle games and the variety of challenges; I am not a gamer and I don’t play cards but they explained the rules in a way that could be understood by anyone. The show also used different areas of an abandoned cityscape very effectively for its background. It was refreshing how the game backgrounds would switch from an abandoned building to a hotel to even a beach resort.
The male lead was pretty smart and capable; it was a lot of fun watching him come up with last minute solutions when it seemed that he would lose. Despite being a very good and pure character, he also knew how to trick people, which came as a surprise but very handy for survival. At first, I didn’t like how he seemed to be the only smart character but it turned out that there were other characters (like the mysterious Chisaya) who were just as intelligent and could come up with their own ways to win.
I heard somewhere that the female characters were shallow in comparison but I didn’t think so. All FLs here were very strong, likable and had different capabilities. The parallels between the main FL Usagi and the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland was represented well, in that they made her a mountain climber who was very good at parkour; she also provided a very good motivation for the ML. Kuina, who gave the initial impression of being a beach bum, turned out to be a very capable fighter while Ann was not just the Mad Hatter's henchman but an intelligent forensic researcher.
One of the things I didn’t like is how the characters would sometimes have these overly long, philosophical discussions which really didn’t serve any purpose, It made some of the episodes (and the game that was ongoing) boring. I liked the challenge with the King of Clubs for example, but it could have been more exciting if they trimmed down these overly long conversations between ML Arisu and the king. I am not sure why they did it, it was as if they were trying to make the plot deeper than it had to be and I felt it was unnecessary.
Another thing is that, while I don’t mind the violence, the level of injuries the characters got (particularly in the last episode) was too much that I really could not understand how they survived. While I am happy that they did make it, it seemed impossible, given how brutal the fight scene was.
I am also not sure about the final challenge with the Queen of Hearts and how she was able to make the ML lose hope at first. Even at the very end, I wasn’t sure what the whole point of Borderland was…was it created to punish people who did wrong things in the real world? Two seasons have already passed but many important points weren't cleared yet. I heard there was going to be a third season but to be honest, I kind of worry that they will stretch the plot out too much and ruin it. It was exciting to see the joker card at the very end but there is a danger of ruining a good thing when it takes too long to come up with a proper conclusion.
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Entertaining
I enjoyed Imawa no Kuni no Alice aka Alice in Borderland and looking forward to the next seasons. This really kept my attention throughout as I was intrigued to see what sort of games they would come up with. I’m more interesting to know more about the games and why things are happening this way.What I don’t like is some of the characters aren’t memorable and there are so many people that they just become fillers. I wish it would focus more on just a couple of main characters and I also wish it was a little longer to give more character development.
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“We are still alive! We’re all in this together… and we have to fight to end it all!”
the BEST death game drama ever. if you can handle gore/death/blood/all the fucked up shit that comes with these types of shows, i strongly recommend this to you. every character is so carefully crafted and despite the little time we spend on their backstories and motivations, their personalities shine through with every second of screen time they have. from chishiya’s nonchalant demeanor to aguni’s stone face you can tell what kinds of people they are and yet they’ll still manage to surprise you with the depth they hold as we learn what kind of people they truly are in a series of life or death games that determine their fate. every character (save for niragi…) is very near and dear to my heart and i truly believe there’s somebody for everyone in this show because they have such a wide range of personalities that make them really stand out, and as we watch their development we learn to love them. seeing how these characters change from the beginning of the show to the end is honestly essay worthy, especially with how intertwined our cast is.the very first game will have you invested in the world that’s slowly introduced as we follow arisu and those who reside in the mysterious borderlands through their new daily lives as they struggle to find purpose. each card suit offers a new and unique challenge that they must overcome in order to see another day and each game will leave you at the edge of your seat up until the very last moment. in particular the final game of the season always leaves me impressed no matter how many times i watch it and i cry over different parts each time. each scenario is so well written and it keeps you locked in from the very beginning, with the music amplifying the experience tenfold as it works to try and push you over the edge in terms of stress and immersion. while i personally prefer the games in the second season this doesn't mean i think the games in this season are boring, on the contrary i think they work perfectly as introductory games that are still very high-stakes as we're still easing into the world this show has to offer. the actors also work their asses off to deliver believable performances as the lines between the seemingly sci-fi world of the borderlands and the harsh reality of the real world blend into one. its nearly impossible to predict what the truth of the game is and what will happen next because before you know it there’s a panther trying to attack our main characters.
all in all i think this show is definitely worthwhile, especially with s3 right around the corner and god knows what in store for the returning characters!
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