Imawa no Kuni no Arisu (2020)

Adrenaline Rush!

The drama begins with a glimpse into the normal life of Alice, homebody and gamer, from a rich family but regarded as "parasite" by his family, who finds solace with his good-for-nothing friends. (Everybody is kinda trashy and loser, I thought) Troubled by their life, they escape the reality, by running wildly in the busy streets of Tokyo. That's the only moment to see so much liveliness and happiness in Tokyo. Because one thing leads to another, they land in this new Tokyo, completely empty. (Man, hats off to the production team for the amazing visuals of empty Tokyo!), where 'play or die' is the only rule to survive.

The survival games are very interesting and logical too. Pro-tip, you could pause and think for the answer, if you like. With games, comes new characters and things get bloody and gore. (Boy, I was so wrong for thinking the original trio to be trashy but almost every character we meet is a lot more trashy.) Cynicism, betrayal, and mind games become the new norm.

Soon, Alice seems like the most decent person besides Rabbit (giving an unthinkable reunion of Naho and Kakeru) but of course, not without undergoing a 'do or die' situation himself, which was quite an emotional ride. Another pro-tip, don't get attached to any character, or pay for the consequences. As the story moves, new games and new friends, so many die but got to keep going. That's just the first half of the episodes. Now the big question is, "If there is a game, then there must be a gamemaster right?" which leads to another killer thriller ride for the second half of episodes.

Once again, new games and new characters. If there is a dystopian world, there must be a utopia and if there is no authority, then someone assumes authority. With authority, comes the division of two groups "US" &"THEM" and their own power struggle. This all infused with the madness to survive, back-stabbing pushes everyone to the edge. More blood, bodies and betrayals. The ending, like with usual Netflix shows, it was only a teaser for a much, much bigger thing.

What was Good? And Bad?
The entire series was so well produced. Everything top-notch. The games were superb and mind-blowing. The story was tightly packed. It felt like a blend of game movies like Jumanji, Zathura and English drama, Black Mirror. It starts out as an adventure fantasy developing into a dystopian thriller.
Themes: This drama touches so many themes like how the idea of death can bring out a new side of people, a new faith, manipulating others, seduction, and worst of all, fake hope. It also shows the narrow gap between sanity and insanity, friendship and enmity. Sometimes, the drama tries to give humanity messages like altruism but which soon fades away as the story moves forward. Oh, on the sexual content and violence: for starters, there is too much blood splattering and bodies. There is definitely sexual content. (I'm not going to word it but I almost thought I was watching an American show, they don't substantially add much to the plot so skip it if you don't like, there are only placed to understand the intensity of their newfound freedom and reality)
Although almost all characters have some sort of backstory to understand them better, only a few make it to the end, of which, Alice undergoes the best character growth and Rabbit is such a powerful and admirable character capable of rescuing herself.
Acting: Like always Yamazaki Kento excels in portraying as Alice. The agony, the anger, the happiness, every emotion was so perfect. Tsuchiya Tao, as Rabbit, no doubt she must have undergone rigorous training for her role, exudes the strength of her character. It was surprising to find Machida Keita in a new role and thug-like look. But the biggest surprise was Sakurada Dori. He was almost unrecognizable in his character. (It was the most unlikely Orange squad mini-reunion) Asahina Aya's character had such an amazing fight scene.
Music was apt and lifted the suspense to a higher level.
It is definitely worth the rewatch for its plot but would be a hassle to undergo the same emotional turmoil once again.

Final note, adrenaline rush inducing drama which can sometimes make you think and sometimes anxious and disturbed, all the while keeping you entertained.

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Survival of the fittest

Imawa no Kuni no Alice shows the various challenges towards human survival.
The 8 episode series manages to include backstories for not only the main but also the side characters—which gives us an understanding of the characters motives and motivations. It brought dimensionality at least towards the characters that played a key role in the story. Also, the characters showed many points of ups and downs that made the story consistent. The acting was not your typical Jmovie style; instead, it was very suitable for the story’s tone and setting. The soundtrack, especially the opening credits conveyed an eerie tone for each episode, therefore, building the suspenseful tension.

Usually, in this given genre of survival game I have a hard time getting invested in the characters, however, this series managed to show the bonds of the characters in a heartfelt and somewhat realistic light. It also takes a lot for me to become emotional for a film or drama. However, the series framework and acting succeeded in making me feel what the main protagonist’s felt during tragic scenes.

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It Must Have a Season 2!

Wow! This drama was a master work of manipulation! I throughly enjoyed watching this! I do t see how anyone can watch this fully and give it a mediocre review, seriously! There is no other show like it! The creativity of the writers and production of this drama was captivating and left me needing more. I don’t like dropping to much info on how it went because everyone deserves to see this for themselves and understand why it’s that good! I seriously hate when a great drama doesn’t get a second half! This jdrama is fitting for 2020. If you watch it, you will most likely feel the same!

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a brilliant psychological and dystopian thriller

this was a ride!! imawa no kuni no alice's dystopian game universe setting was fascinating, the games gruesomely captivating, and the characters so intriguing. this show will play with your heart, your senses and your logic in the most perfect way!

this is a must watch if you don't mind graphic deaths, and love mind games. the way the episodes are tangled with each other and make up the entire universe the players are stuck in is really mesmerizing. the twists and tangles will keep you on the edge of your seat. the production was fantastic too, some of the shots are out of this world. the sets are stunning in each episode.

the cast is undoubtedly one of the best parts of this show as well. the acting is excellent, and each character's personality traits are superbly portrayed, from madness to vulnerability. i can't wait for season 2 !

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WOW.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but anything I was thinking did not give the appropriate amount of credit that was due for this masterpiece. It had everything I enjoyed as a viewer, as I am a huge fan of intense, life-or-death decision making shows and movies.

And I believe anything I write in this review will not give the drama any justice. I know Japan goes hard with their dramas, but this was something completely different and probably one of my all-time TOP dramas of 2020.

If you haven't watched it yet - DO IT.

I think this was perfect and super intense, BUT around the time when the characters arrived at The Beach, and the different groups were introduced, we are introduced to Niragi Suguru. I thought who is the wild character. Oh...wait...is that my Jdrama husband, Sakurada Dori? Yep. And I knew that I would not only love this drama, but it added a level of comedy, which is oddly bizarre to say, but once I knew Dori was this psychopath, I kept thinking about all his other roles and the contrast. Other than that, all characters had this likeability as well as this humanity in them that made them not perfect. I did appreciate that both "Alice" & "Rabbit" (cause apparently Arisu & Yuzuha had nicknames) were badass characters.

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Allowing you to think while watching

Alice in Borderland is a manga-adaptation and they did well.

Though I want to give it a perfect score, but I find it too much for the overall rating of the show.

First, the concept is so typical, a survival game which I've watch several same kind is story. Good thing is, the series manage to pull out and gives plenty of newly & fresh life-dependent games.

Great Acting! specially the main lead. The poster and cinematography of the show is so lit. I was so amaze how wonderful their production is.

My fave thing about Alice in Borderland is the CHARACTER DESIGN of the cast. It was well suited and fit for a live-adaptation.

Out of 8 episodes, the third one is what I love the most. The bond of their friendship is so strong. I love how the story lead us in crying the way they let the two friends sacrifice for their friend. I really cried during that scene. "Thank You" and "Live on for us" - These lines huhuhu

Still glad they announce season 2 fast because I want to know what's going to happen next.


Cons of the show:
• Some episodes are not really impactful
• predictable outcome (is it just me or nah?)

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Please watch.

I don’t usually watch Japanese dramas so me giving the story 5 stars is saying something. It follows the type plot line: main character is happy, people die for the main character to have character development, main character matured to take in the world.

STORY:
Great! No complaints

ACTING:
It was amazing. Some of the characters had very different personalities from the real world and the game world. To be able to mix those personalities into one person without it feeling forced is a feat all in its own.

MUSIC:
Nothing memorable

REWATCH:
Yes I would definitely watch this again! They need to hurry up and make a season 2.

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A good drama adaptation to a manga atlast.

Alice in borderland is now among the few adapted from manga (or anime) which was fucking decent. Once again Netflix does a fucking great job, like it did with the movie Bleach.

The drama itself was quite engaging from the very first episode till the last one. It is a plot driven story, and the twist and turns, the ticking clock, action and thriller gives us a nail biting & head scratching experience. (That's the shit I liked about it the most).

The life-at-stake games are the fire of the story; fueled by it's compelling characters and the action+mystery combination. This drama will surely keep you on the edge of your seats, keep you guessing and when you will think you fucking know where it's going, it will punch you in the gut & leave you there to witness it's unpredictablity.

The first season just felt like the introduction chapter to me. You will get know the ropes of the story, how the games are played and what type of them are. But still we have yet to know how the duck they got into the game? & who are the almighty cocks who runs these games? Aliens? God?
That's why I am waiting for the 2nd season, and hope we will get some of the answers.

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Such a good series with so many questions?

im so sorry this is a long read but i PROMISE you it is worth reading...

im going to start off with my theories because that is what i want people to see first...

THEORIES?---major spoilers---
when Karube and Choto died I was so mad with the writers but then I was thinking.... why would they make such a good bond... such a cute, tight friendship with the three of them.. and then just *snap* kill them off? there has to be something else to it.. Because once Arisu became the wolf Karube was so angry and was trying to kill to be the wolf but then just stopped..? "Hide well sheep". Or maybe it was just to show how cruel and cold this "game" is.. but maybe... JUST MAYBE... when the people in the game "die" they are sent somewhere else?? I know its a stretch but the hide and seek episode just rubbed me he wrong way.. i would love to see that they are sent somewhere else to redeem themselves.. cause as you know,(if you've watched), we don't know if they're in a simulation or not... like the game master made everyone in Tokyo DISAPPEAR for Christ's sake.. what else are they capable of?

CHARACTERS---big spoilers don't read if you haven't watched---
although im not supposed to contain major spoilers i think i need to say this to get my point across.. ---spoilers--- i think arisu, karube, and choto were such a cute friend group and im so sad with what happened in the hide and seek episode.. it absolutely broke me.. and also i know some people hate nijirô murakami's character for what he did to arisu in the beginning but arisu is so forgiving that i think he was happy to help him.. also nijirô murakami is friggin hot WATTTT.. anyways... the cast is FANTASTIC and everyone is beautiful..


PLOT---
when everyone in Tokyo disappeared is when the drama really started.. How did they vanish? So quickly? Karube and Choto were so lucky to be with Arisu throughout their journey together.. And if youve watched, you know that in the other games he is so clever and smart like THE ONE WITH THE LIGHTBULB??? my god that was so smart of him.

MY QUESTIONS---spoilers i think---
These are my questions that may or may not be answered in season two...

1) When everyone from Tokyo disappears, are the people in the game missing in the "original world" or could the game time be different than "OW time"? (imma say OW cus writing out original world is annoying lmao..)

2) When Choto, Karube and Arisu were hiding in the bathroom stall, who knocked on the stall door? Because when the people are transferred to the GW (game world) all the people disappear when all the electricity goes out.. but someone knocked on the stall door AFTER the power went out.. I though that was really really weird

3) If these people in the GW are being watched by people (for example, when Arisu watched the video on the girls phone there were the people watching a bunch of screens) are the real game masters controlling the game from the OW? Because unless since they are the game creators, they could have unlimited visas, but if they don't,, anyone could be playing with the game master.. because if they need to earn visas just like everyone else, they need to play games to earn days... just like the two girls who setup the games got killed because she revealed she was the dealer..

4) this may be a stupid analogy but, in the final episode with the witch hunt,, how was nobody around when the fire of judgment was being set up? or how did the two little girls set that up all by themselves? Because the fire was massive and those were HUGE logs.. so i think maybe there are more "game masters" upon the people who were at The Beach.. unless that was a stupid analogy because they could have built it themselves..

ANYWAYS THAT WAS THE END OF MY REVIEW i could go on for paragraphs of my questions but they're all stupid haha.. if you read this far great.. follow my insta if u want >>>> @/ floodhill

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aaaaaa, I loved it! I've always been a fan of these kinds of series, but this one really stood out for me.
The story was very well thought out and in some places I could've cried my heart out, in others I didn't even know who the good guys even are anymore. The quality of all the scenes was also great, there wasn't any akwardness.
The actors were great too. Their acting was really good and of course Keita Machida was there, although only for three full episodes. II also must confess, i have been terribly simping for Chishiya, Kuina, Usagi and Niragi.
Man, this series was just great.

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Excellent.....!

Oh my gosh that was really a wonderful experience. First of all i don't exactly know there was this particular NF Orginal released. I haven't heard anything about this at all before it's release. So actually i didn't push myself into more about to the plot or trailers. i just heard some good opinions and went through it. The genres were really weird, as i already told that i haven't watched any of the trailers before but after the completion of the whole Season, i just saw the trailers and i mean iam really glad that i skipped those and for this reason got a really different experience till the end.

So just quick look to the plot. Alice in borderland is a fantasy supernatural psychological may be parallel world kind of story line, infact it's all about the game in a do or die situation. I don't want to explain further i think you should watch and see yourself. Its an 8 Episode Netflix Orginal series and definitely 18+. It starts normally and slowly move into the real actions which was way more gripping with some outstanding making and performance from the cast

Its very brutal in some point as well which was hard to watch also the emotional scenes were superb. You will surely wonder to see the way the story moves and for a Netflix Orginal series, the duration of Episodes is always a biggest point, it contain a minimum number to 45min which actually including big end credits with 3 or 4 min.. So its quite feel free to watch all at once.

The better you watch without looking anything further.. superb experience... Worthy binge..

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Beast Mode

Looking for a mind f*** with suspense for days? Look no further! I've had this on my PTWL and I'm disappointed I didn't watch it sooner. It reminds me of some anime with the same concept and OMG I'm obsessed! There's AH-HA moments, you'll be in your feels hardcore, might even make you cherish your friends more. No for the faint heart and if you love bomb dot com plot twists this is right up your alley. I highly recommend to anyone who likes games, violence, suspense, gore and wow moments. You'll find that all here (and more). The ONLY reason I didn't give it a even higher rating, despite all my praise, is cause I feel the graphics could've/should've been better for the theme it has. But don't worry....you might end up happy they aren't more realistic. Stoked af about a 2nd season! And if you need more of a reason to watch just know that this show is popular enough to have a S 2 in works so soon after original release. It's a roller coaster ride you won't wanna get off and you're gonna love the ending.
Enjoy...

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