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This review may contain spoilers
A solid series, but it didn't connect the best with S1 and S2
[spoiler warning]
In my opinion, I loved AiB 3. I feel like the games were more nerve-wracking, the characters felt less manga-like (although this was never an issue for me in the first two seasons), and I liked how the series still focused on the survival aspect while still centering it around the concept of "love being a reason to live." I also felt like Yamazaki Kento and Tsuchiya Tao leveled up their game performance-wise, since they did SO WELL in acting out emotionally-charged scenes. It would have been a solid 10 for me if it weren't the third season of AiB.
Personally, what I loved about the concept of AiB is that the Borderlands literally represent the "border" between life and death. It's the place where people--who are in the brink of death--participate in the games to determine their path: either they live, or they proceed to the afterlife. So in a way, it is connected to the afterlife where there are beings that govern it. The air of mystery surrounding the borderlands is what made it so intriguing. In the first two seasons, I actually liked that they never fully revealed everything about it and that it remained relatively mysterious until the very end.
But S3 somehow made the borderlands more confusing, because how come Banda is coming in and out of the borderlands? Even taking frequent trips in the world of the living? That contradicts what happened in S2, because it has shown that the citizens are still bound to the rules of the borderlands. They could still get lasered off if they disobey the rules. But Banda is able to go in and out of it simply because he wanted to lure Arisu in to live as a citizen. Although the full benefits of being a citizen were never fully elaborated, I don't think they are powerful enough to do that.
I feel like that specific event didn't tie very well with the first two seasons, and it's actually the only reason why I ever deducted points. But otherwise, I still enjoyed it very well. If I would be honest, I enjoyed it most out of all the seasons.
In my opinion, I loved AiB 3. I feel like the games were more nerve-wracking, the characters felt less manga-like (although this was never an issue for me in the first two seasons), and I liked how the series still focused on the survival aspect while still centering it around the concept of "love being a reason to live." I also felt like Yamazaki Kento and Tsuchiya Tao leveled up their game performance-wise, since they did SO WELL in acting out emotionally-charged scenes. It would have been a solid 10 for me if it weren't the third season of AiB.
Personally, what I loved about the concept of AiB is that the Borderlands literally represent the "border" between life and death. It's the place where people--who are in the brink of death--participate in the games to determine their path: either they live, or they proceed to the afterlife. So in a way, it is connected to the afterlife where there are beings that govern it. The air of mystery surrounding the borderlands is what made it so intriguing. In the first two seasons, I actually liked that they never fully revealed everything about it and that it remained relatively mysterious until the very end.
But S3 somehow made the borderlands more confusing, because how come Banda is coming in and out of the borderlands? Even taking frequent trips in the world of the living? That contradicts what happened in S2, because it has shown that the citizens are still bound to the rules of the borderlands. They could still get lasered off if they disobey the rules. But Banda is able to go in and out of it simply because he wanted to lure Arisu in to live as a citizen. Although the full benefits of being a citizen were never fully elaborated, I don't think they are powerful enough to do that.
I feel like that specific event didn't tie very well with the first two seasons, and it's actually the only reason why I ever deducted points. But otherwise, I still enjoyed it very well. If I would be honest, I enjoyed it most out of all the seasons.
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