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Almost as good as season 2
I'm sure I'm in the minority on this, but I found season 3 an excellent season. If I rated all three, I would put season 2 the best with 3 coming in a close second. The story was great picking up were season 2 left off and the games were more "squid game like", showing a bit gruesome ... it definitely added a plus to the story.Kento Yamazaki shows a much more mature side this time around, all grown up, trying to save his wife, Tao Tsuchiya. They're a good chemistry couple, unfortunately half of the series they're trying to find each other, so they're not working too much together with the games in play.
The antagonists are another big plus in this final season. They give you several reasons to hate them, and even more reasons to want to see them dead.
I didn't find too many questions left unanswered, as people were complaining about. I mean not everything was explained, and some left to our imagination ... but I think they do a job job at wrapping everything up toward the end of episode 6.
I think it was great how everyone that survived through season 2 makes a cameo toward the end of the series in the last few minutes, just giving us a glimpse into their lives ... showing us they're still around.
"Why is life worth living?" is asked at the very end ... and they pick the perfect character, Chishiya, to respond .."Even if you don't know the answer, it's not so bad, is it?"
Sorry to see it end!!
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Underwhelming finale to a spectacular show
PROS: Good games (especially the last one), very good acting, higher budget, Usagi and Arisu are endgame, small reunion with other beloved characters.CONS: This could've been an email. AIB could have ended in 2 seasons, without the Joker addition, and it would have been excellent. Heartbreaking, yes, but excellent. This unnecessary season undermined the series' legacy as a dystopian masterpiece. The alternative borderline between life and death (not the same level as the original) was not properly explored or explained, due to the pathetically small number of episodes. Usagi and Arisu ending up married with a child is the only positive outcome. It was great to see Ann and a small glimpse of other characters, but they were obviously added to please the audience with nostalgia boosts and not for any plot-significant reason. We didn't need to see Niragi again. The last scene hinting towards an American spinoff is even more unnecessary than the 3rd season altogether.
PLOT COMMENTARY: No sympathy for Ryuji, at least he managed to develop conscience at the end. Not only did he ruin one girl's life but he just had to destroy another woman in his path with no remorse or care for her personal wishes and life. Niragi should've died and I'm still mad he didn't.
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Maintained the standard in many ways
AiB season 1 and 2 has always been my absolute favourite in this genre. Everything about the show was fabulous.Season 2 ending was perfect. And that's why when Netflix announced season 3,I became skeptical, will it be another cash grab nonsense story stretching like Squid Game?? Are they gonna ruin one of the majestic show ever??Well today I got my answer....nope,the thrill is still there,the connection is still there. Arisu and Usagi still fighting strong together and got their very much deserving happy ending!And that surprise at the end.... Gotta give the show 10/10 only for that few minutes!!!!Was it as good as Season 1 and 2? No,definitely not!!! But was it bad.... NOPE!
What bothered me was some of the new characters. That Professor was weird,ngl. He creeped out many times and his character arc was not much convincing.And Banda as citizen wasn’t doing much... Just casually making plots to bring back Arisu. Also the new players... Well I am very much attached to the og's, Chishiya,Kuina,Ann,Aguni,Niragi,Tatta,Chota,Karube.... Cause their stories were told amazingly in the last two seasons,all of them left their marks. Aib is not Aib without them!Who knows,if there were more episodes,I could also connect myself more with the new ones too!!Some characters felt like just wasted potentials.
One thing AiB will always be remembered for is its games... And this season was thrilling too. Every game was mind bending. It was good to see Arisu taking charge in each game... Man was in so much trauma and depression in the last seasons,this time he proved again why he is a pro. But...I must say... I missed Chishiya!!!
Story writing was not as good as the previous ones,there were some hiccups here and there. But one thing really bothered me,is Aib also gonna have an American version like SG?? What was that in the last few minutes??Who asked for that? What is the need??
However,it was a good ending. I was thrilled,emotional,happy. AiB itself created the standard,so happy they remained true to it,didn't fully ruin the magic.This show deserves so much hype,I hope it gets what it deserves.It is probably the last time we're seeing them.... So it was the best farewell indeed!
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good games but nothing make sense
-if you are here for the games you will be happy-if you are here for the plot you might feel pissed
-if you are here for both you might have mixed reactions like me
i enjoyed the games, so Id give it around a 7.5 or 8, but the plot felt messy and a lot of things dont make sense. Banda and Ryuji’s behaviors, for example. The final episode pissed me off, i felt like they could have just won the games and gone home instead of adding so much extra drama which doesnt make sense anyway. they keep hinting at American versions when an Asian show get successful, first in Squid Game S3 and now in Alice in Borderland S3, which felt unnecessary and a turn off. And both even included a baby, which is overused for sympathy. It almost makes me wonder if both teams had a talk or a deal to both include those events
the good point is that at least this s3 is better than squid game s3
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I really enjoyed it!
I was scared about season 3. I thought season 2 had a pretty clear ending and we didn’t need more, but obviously I wanted more. Season 3 was unnecessary but not bad at all.Ok Yall big spoiler, but Wdym Usagi is pregnant and they’re married??? Like I was shocked.
Anyway, I never felt bored apart from maybe the first few minutes of the first episode, but we need those boring moments to understand new characters. The games were very good and I didn’t except to get attached to new characters so quickly.
I loved the siblings bond and I was devastated when sota died. I was also so sad when Tetsu died.
I don’t wanna say too much, but yeah I really enjoyed it!!!!!!! Oh and I love how it’s a good ending. I see lots of people don’t like the third season, and honestly I can kind of see why, but I loved it cuz I’m a little obsessed with Alice in borderland.
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BREH Y DO WE NEED AN AMERICAN VERSION OF EVERY FREAKING THING
omg firstly I was truly excited for S3 cause i geniunely thought the joker card being left will give some amazing tricky used, like them never leaving or idk. But then sure, now you back to borderland again n all, and now they just wanna get out of it but. And yea whatever whatever still ok but then THAT USELESS ENDING OF A FREAKING AMERICAN VERSION OMG Y!? CANT WE JUST END IT? It's such a squid game move with that, we don't need an American version of everything 😭🙏Everything that they did ended up to basically nothing.
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do the writers not know the lore to their own show?
i have mixed feelings regarding how netflix decided to end it but im going to ignore that for the most part because aib deserves to be remembered for more than that. this season's focus on usagi was beautiful and while i was at some points lost in like… why… just in general for everything… my confusion is with so many things.- why usagi wanted to go back to borderland (i know it had to do with her dad but that reasoning still doesn't make sense to me)
- what ryuji's deal was with usagi i couldn't tell if he was interested in her or what he just was a such a complicated character that they didn't really delve into enough in my opinion
- what the point of the joker guy wanting to bring arisu back was (wanted smarter players, but his goal was to make arisu a citizen???
it just felt like the writers themselves forgot the lore of the show and was just writing whatever they felt like to create some sort of plot
all of that aside……i really enjoyed seeing usagi and arisu as the doting couple they deserve to be. and somehow we got a happy ending?????????????? in 2025??????? that's insane to me because them surviving borderland TWICE would've been unthinkable in s1 lmfao.
this season was really short and i think that's why it felt so empty at some points. and i agree w the person that said the scene where they were like swimming at the end felt dragged out cuz they were kinda losing me there. this season doesn't beat s1 or s2 in any means but i think they should be given credit for at least being able to maintain and deliver their point they were making unlike a certain similar show… aib at least gave us a solid conclusion and reason for what borderland is and what the message of the show is…
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enter the real thing (short season no much event's but we had visual upgrade and Rei is amazing and the games were good )
overall it was good for me even thought it's short and i mostly think that this season was just the intro of a new big arc
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Fitting End to the Saga (Hopefully Netflix won't ruin it with more seasons)
AIB is my all time favorite show. I gave this season 9 only because S1 and S2 was that good. In S3 you get to witness how goated the gamer Arisu is. He went back to Borderlands without old memories(initially) and served everything I hoped he would - strategy, charisma and staying true to his personality (and fixed his posture too :) ). Showered Arisu aura farming left -right lol.For 6 episodes, the show delivered what you would expect - they focused on the games ( AIB was always about the games) and the games were interesting with more mind twisters (they are joker games so definitely a combination of all suits in terms of difficulty). The last episode dealt more with the philosophical aspect of life vs death vs limbo (and I liked they kept the conversations moderate and not overly dramatic).
Initially I felt a bit let down with Usagi's portrayal but when I rewatched S2, it hit me - Usagi never got over her father's death and the stigma that came with it. In S2 beginning she wanted to stay back in Borderland and changed her mind in Queen of Spade game (after all the struggles they went through) - that character growth was lost when they went back to real world, thanks to the memory loss. Perhaps she felt uncomfortable in expressing those deeper, darker emotions to Arisu, who was literal sunshine bf/husband. She is also kind of closed off when it comes to emotions and grew up independent. Arisu might also have given her space and not pushed her (though that's still kind of a plothole). Thus when Ryuji offered her a chance to find answers, she took it (and Ryuji himself is a Joker level manipulator).
Ryuji falling for Usagi was both frustrating and interesting. Usagi does have that endearing tenacity which drives people to her. But I would have wanted him to remain true to his OG self and goal (there by making Banda's plans more meaningful).
Perhaps an additional episode could have covered certain questions - why Banda was so fascinated with Arisu when they never had any direct interactions in prior seasons. It could be that he heard about Arisu from other players who stayed and being the psycho he is, got obsessed with him. Banda had some wicked games but overall his presence was underwhelming compared to Mira (Queen of Hearts). My girl Ann deserved more screen time, tracing her journey discovering the secrets. My guess on why she could see Banda in real world is that she was in a limbo state even in Borderland when they finished all the games and hence she retained the memories.
Overall this season was a thrilling watch and a fitting end to the saga. I am so happy they ended the show with the OG crew showing up and talking about how they are living life to the fullest on their own terms and it's a full circle moment for each of their character arcs. I teared up when I saw Aguni with the hat (his ode to Hatter). While I am torn about none of them showing up in Joker games, I am happy that they are thriving in their own ways. (I did miss Chishiya's cool vibes and aura farming).
In. a nutshell, AIB asks and tries to answer the question "What makes your life worth living" - you may or may not find that answer and that's totally fine. Sometimes living just because you are living is what makes it worth it. Highly recommend this season and AIB as a whole.
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Not so needed season
As some reviews said, there was no need to drag this for S3. S2 has the perfect ending. And even if they did, if only they had the perfect premise or the story, then maybe I could have forgiven them for dragging this out, but nope. The story is basically so simple and plain. I tried. I honestly tried. Usagi came back because her father called her in his dreams? That's so a silly reason, and also the person inside the borderland wanted Arisu because he was bored? He wanted to see the games, and I mean, what kind of reasons are those to bring someone into the borderland. And the worst of all, what is the reason for Ryuji being there? Like his obsession with the afterlife is kinda, how do I say it's weird, honestly, it didn't seem that possible at all. I mean, he killed someone he didn't even have that awareness, and he was obsessed with the afterlife, and he used Usagi to go into the game just so he could experience what's on the other side. I mean, I guess they gave him a perfect ending. I wanted that to happen, but he still was about to kill Usagi, and at the last second, he changed his mind and pushed Usagi to Arisu, and then went to die in the black vortex or something. It's just so unsatisfying watching Alice in Borderland season three because I expected a lot. After all, Alice in Borderland was one of the best series I've ever watched.Was this review helpful to you?
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It's about the third season!
this show was literally the best one ever. honestly, i can say this japanese drama is one of the greatest of all time 🫶. and season 3 has to be my absolute favourite — not just because it was the last, but because the ending made it one of the best seasons ever 😭😭. especially when everything was over in borderland and arisu returned to the real world… his very first thought was usagi 🥹. the way he cared for her was just so pure and heartwarming, that’s what made him the best “husband of the year” 😤. he’s always been the best one for usagi 😭. the devotion arisu showed for her was just too sweet, and i loved him so much for that 🫶.and yes, the fact that we also got a proper ending for our old cast members made me so happy. watching them talk so comfortably with arisu again was so good. tbh i just want to say thank you to @shin_sato_angle, the director of this incredible show, for giving us the best season ever. alice in borderland isn’t just about the amazing story — it’s also about the stunning cinematography, the scenes, the fight sequences, and most importantly, the bonds between the characters that words can’t even describe.
i honestly felt so empty after finishing season 3, maybe because i knew i was going to miss them. i kept thinking about the whole show even after completing it 😭. i’m sure i’ll rewatch it sometime this year for sure. this show feels like home to me, and i know i can always find comfort in it whenever life hits me hard.
thank you to all the actors, the crew, and every single person behind making this masterpiece. 🫶
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better than i expected!!
ngl I was really worried that this will become another boring extended series as the other dramas where they focus more on the emotional background of the origin of the games. BUT in this season once again the games have began and Arisu once again fights for his life.There were a few new characters introduced but their role wasnt really big. Especially the professor, i thought he was gonna be a key player but in the end he was just a random person wanting to know more about "death"
So borderland is the time between life and death where we get the chance to fight for our lives and live again in the real world. These games are just challenges in the mind to test the will of each person to survive until the end. Those that choose to be "citizens" of this place are just consistently in a coma stage.
They definitely did not reduce the production budget for this cause the CGI was really good. Especially the first game omg...the arrows of fire wow...
But definitely cause in this season there are lesser important characters you will feel the main character syndrome aka no matter what the issue is you kinda already know Arisu is never gonna die. So in that sense it was quite predictable. The production and games still made it interesting to watch. Since its only 6eps it ends quickly~
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