Alice in Borderland Season 2

Joker

First off the acting was good from both Yamazaki Kento and Tsuchiya Tao. I loved their relationship in the series and it felt natural. Also I loved how creative the games this season were. The first episode starts with a thrilling car chase sequence and I loved it. I also loved the character of Tatta. He dies a very meaningful death. That's the best thing about this series. No character is treated like a cannon fodder. Even characters like Niragi and Aguni. Also we even got to see Chishiya in action more than I thought I would. Loved his backstory. Kuzuryu's backstory and the game he created was very interesting. I would have loved to see an extension to it. But there are few issues I have with this season. We only got to see glimpses of the backstory of some characters. The other issues I have are with the last two episodes. First my thoughts on episode seven :- I loved them but why the hell do many characters besides Arisu gain plot Armor. Also the series expects you to believe that a character which was previously killed can be brought back. They did it once with Niragi and thrice with Aguni. As for episode eight. It was confusing. Apparently in episode 1 of season 1 Tokyo was hit by a meteorite in which Arisu, Chota and Karube were caught up along with other major characters; those who survived till the end in the Borderlands survived in the real world. But all of them forgot about it. So Karube and Chota died but Arisu survived. We also got to see the shot of the Joker card in the end. Don't know what that was about but maybe a tease for a potential season 3. I still loved the second season of Alice in Borderland though. I think it ended on a satisfying note. But if they make a season 3 and make it as good as this season I'll watch it.

Read More

Perfect Adaptation!

starting this series by watching the first season, reading the manga (while waiting for s2 to drop) because i was curious about all the questions regarding borderland, and i would say that everything in s2 is up to my expectation (or better).
i noticed some differences compare to the original story such as;
- jack of hearts; chishiya wasn't on the list of players in the manga but they included him in the live adaptation which is GREAT!! because he is my favorite character and i appreciated the director for giving him more screen time. my man always slayed every game he is in ♡
- queen of hearts; in the manga, mira put some kind of drug in the tea to give a hallucination effect on arisu so that he won't be able to finish the last set of croquet game whereas in the live adaptation, arisu just started hallucinating due to mira's words & psychological attack, which is also GREAT!! because she has the 'queen' role, it would be lame if she was depending on some medicine to beat the challenger.

each game has its own uniqueness, but i personally think these three were the best; jack of hearts, king of diamond, king of spades. especially king of spades, this arc is so intense you could feel how each character desperately trying to survive + nice choreography for these girls fighting scene 👏👏

overall, this is what i called 'perfect adaptation' so i enjoyed every bit of it.

Read More

I don’t want a third season

I just have to say that I hated seeing Chishiya on screen this season. All of his games were stressful to watch and almost always relied on luck at the end of it. I suppose it was only right that he got split from the group, and I can’t see any of the other characters playing the games he was in. I think the Supreme Court game also featured one of the worst ways to die. I wish the character could have developed a bit more, though he did seem ‘mellower’ as Arisu said, and I found his dialogue during the Niragi/Usagi bullet moment amusing.

As for the rest of the characters, I grew very fond of all of them. The stakes very certainly raised this season and I came away from some episodes feeling depressed. I think that’s why I didn’t mind the ending. I felt a great deal of relief. Honestly, I’d love to see the characters work together again and see how their lives have changed, but I also don’t think there needs to be a season 3, despite the Joker at the end.

My favourite moments had to be:
- Arisu/Usagi hunting rabbits and going shopping
- Kuina at the hospital in the last episode
- Ann driving in Ep1

Read More

MORE HARDCORE

Spoiler
-
-

Here’s my review for Season 2, just like I did for Season 1:

We stay in the same vibe with the iconic group that we all know. First of all, let’s talk about the games — just like in Season 1, I loved them. Brutal, intense, gore… everything I like!
Deaths everywhere! Tatta’s death was really sad but logical for his character.

A great ending where we finally discover what happened and why they all ended up there.

The visual effects are still perfect.
The acting is still incredible, just like in Season 1.

You get hooked on Season 2 very quickly if you liked Season 1. Very well done, bravo!

I also recommend Season 2!!

Read More

There are spoiler warnings for when i give spoilers so dont be afraid to read the rest.

Before i start complaining i have to say that it was beautiful. All the gamemasters were a nice part of the story. The cinematography is amazinggg. Special effects really pulled through. I loved all the characters. Especially the complicated ones.

Im gonna keep it short and simple and give a list of things that could´ve been different in my opinion:

-Plot armor was too much during the king of spades and ESPECIALLY on episode 7. I was convinced things wouldnt end well for a lot of them and started laughing out of trauma response since it was all so shocking.

-My girls Kuina and Ann deserved a longer scene during the games. Cheshiya, love him, but he got two whole games worth of screentime. Kuina and Ann were cut short which was dissapointing. I wouldve especially loved to see Kuina's game of queen of spades. Woulda been a sickass fighting scene

-*spoiler skip forward* I was relieved when my girl Ann suddenly woke up. Who knows how? Was she somehow still alive? Or did Kuina's will to bring her back to the real world save Ann? Either way im still upset that they lost all of those momories.

-Started getting funny when the game masters started giving long dialogues after the game was over. *skip to next point if u dont want to know how players die after u losing a game. minor'?' spoiler* The lasers rly waited on them to finish their story lmao. Some would take long to die and others short. The laser was also perfectly timed for the queen of clubs which was funny considering how she decided to go out cuz that couldve gone wrong if it wasnt for the timing of the laser.

-NIRAGI GOT ON MY NEEERVES simple as that altho a part of me still liked him. Would've liked him a lot more if it wasn't for the king of clubs. He scratched out his redemption arc real fast lmao.

-*huge spoiler not recommended to read* The one time i sobbed was at the end. Nobody remembered eachother. All they had left of eachother was a feeling of recognition and a connection which they didnt understand why. After all of that. The risks they took for eachother. The battles they fought together. After all of that we swap back to our real world. The plot twist starts making sense. And you realise no memories are left of the borderlands. That broke my heart. I couldnt stand the scene of Arisu and Usagi at the vending machine. Altho at the same time it doesn't feel right for the borderlands to be remembered. But i still like to imagine a world where they do remember eachother and get to be friends.

Read More

Second part

Let's continue our journey with this second part... Yeah this part a lot more dark, gore & sadistic than the first part. In this part we meet all the face card in their own game. And turn out some of them we actually already met in the first part. Yeah so just like Risa that we found out at the end of part one is someone that have important role, in here we also meet some hidden characters in the first part that turn out also has more important role...

In this part we also learn that almost every game play big physiological & mental more than just physical. And that's in my opinion that make this part more interesting than the first part. Especially the last game with Risa that we finally known her as the "Queen of Spades". That's really one big mental game that we really can't think lightly...

In this part we also learn many of the main cast past life or their life outside this world. And that's quite interesting to watch. Although yeah this part also much more talking than the first part where action in most of the time...

Aside from all the good thing this series can offer us, like ApolloDipity I also have 1 problem with the whole series. Quote ApolloDipity write: "The characters were beaten, stabbed, shot and even burned alive and still got the chance to look at the beautiful sky full of fireworks." Why it's always like this in most of superheros series, where all the main cast seem like immortal... And until the end the writer just don't ever kill the main cast... Haha...

Overall this just another drama to watch. Good enough, but still like i wrote in first part. Not too memorable for it's genre....

Read More

Alice in Borderland — Season 2: Goes for the Jugular (And Honestly? It Works)

📝 Review (WARNING: Potential Spoilers — I’m Not Saving You from Emotional Damage)

Oh. My. God. Season 2 started and I barely even had time to breathe. The first game? Heart in my throat, screaming at the screen, “NO! DON’T DO THAT!” I swear, I was gripping my snacks like they were life rafts. This is exactly that “I can’t stop, what have I done to myself” feeling I got with Tokyo Ghoul. Borderland just drags you in and doesn’t let go.

And the chaos… oh the chaos. None of these people are traditionally “hot” or whatever, and I don’t even care. It’s the quirks that get you. Arisu trying to be clever while panicking, Usagi silently killing everyone with her brain, Chishiya being smug and chaotic… I laughed, I cried, I yelled at the screen, sometimes all at once. That naked man moment? Iconic. Legendary. My neighbors might have heard me.

The games keep getting nastier, the alliances keep breaking, and I swear my snack pile kept disappearing in real life while all this was happening. I think I blinked and ten minutes were gone, heart thumping like a bass drum. The tension never lets up. One second I’m cheering for Arisu, the next I’m clutching my chest because someone definitely just died in a way that feels personal.

And the finale… oh boy. Brain fried, heart shredded, snacks obliterated. Every cliffhanger, every tiny betrayal, every little moment that should’ve been calm? Nope. Not calm. Not even a little. I might have thrown my hands up at the screen like three times. I loved it. I hate that I loved it.

💭 Final Mood
Emotionally shredded, heart racing, snacks gone, brain fried. Can’t stop thinking about every twist, betrayal, and chaotic move. Totally unhinged, totally addicted.

🏷️ #JustOneMoreEpisode #EmotionalDamageApproved #AliceInBorderland

Read More

Charm of Season 1 with Added Complexity

TL;DR: Riveting plot with a satisfying conclusion and an overall good message? Damn, what a great show.

The games were just as interesting as the previous season but this time with even more complexity since we got to learn more about the psychology of the game makers.

Every character has fairly fleshed out motives or views. These played directly into their actions during the games. Even antagonists are multi-layered.

The treatment of women in this show is once again questionable. The male gaze is definitely present and there is more than one panty shot lol. I guess you just have to roll your eyes and ignore it. Also, a seriously questionable relationship between a high schooler and a much older man. A little less ignorable…

Regardless, the characters were interesting.

That ending was crazy and I’m about to get into major spoilers, so be warned.

They fake you out like 5 times with what the true essence of what the games are. For a minute they really did nearly trick me with the psych ward thing and I was so annoyed because it was so cliched lol. Clearly, they knew that and the aha moment when you recall that this was the Queen of Hearts game was pretty solid.

The true reason behind the games has been done before, but honestly it was probably the most satisfying conclusion they could make with the circumstances. Any other ending would have made the decisions throughout the entirety of the show feel pointless. This made sense, while also proving that their choices had consequences.

Anyway, would I recommend? Yes, it was super entertaining and somehow also managed to be a little thoughtful along the way

Read More

Unforgettable masterpiece!

I loved loved loved the first season and was so excited for the second. It did not disappoint! The games were as fun as the ones in the first season. They are one of the best games I have seen in a survival show.

Things I love:
-face cards characters. They all were interesting.
-Chishiya and Ann. They were my favorite characters last season and tis season too Chishiya stole the show.
-All the girls' fight scene in the 7th episode. Hands down my favorite fight scene ever. I can watch it non stop many times.
-Last episode. The number of times they fooled us! Each time I was like so yeah this is it. Text my friend who already watched it only to delete if after a minute when it was revealed to be a bluff haha.
-Ending! First I was like really? this is pretty meh but as they kept showing us the hospital scenes and Arisu's brother dropping the word "borderland". It was pretty smart how they all were fighting the for life because at the end of the day life's a game. That ending left an even bolder imprint on me.
-The whole talk about whats the meaning of my life? I ask this question to myself a lot and whenever I see a show or movie discussing about it, I find it interesting as how they answer these questions.
-The games.

Things I wish were better:
- Niragi. After finding out he was alive, I was wishing for his redemption arc but he became even worse.
-Arisu's flashbacks with his friends. They were just too many. I started finding them boring after an extent and skipped them.

Overall, I love this show. It took some time to get used to watching Japanese acting. I watch anime a lot and it's reare for them to have good live actions but this one was certainly amazing.

Read More