Alice in Borderland (Imawa no Kuni no Alice) is the latest Netflix Japan original programming (following Followers and Ju-On: Origins). I’ve been looking forward to it all year. But it’s a live-action, manga adaptation. So you know it might not be pretty 😅.
Ok, what is it really about…
As you can probably guess, Alice in Borderland is inspired by Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Our main character Arisu (a Japanese romanization/homophone of Alice) is not a little girl though. He’s a collage drop-out turned NEET. He refuses to live as responsibility as an adult. Instead, he spends his days playing games and hanging out with his friends. After a mysterious incident, Arisu and his friends were transported into an empty, dystopian Tokyo. Where they must participate in sadistic games to stay alive.
Sounds like Battle Royale?
Actually, no. Why is everybody automatically thinks of Battle Royale everytime there’s a gory, japanese movie? Although it does have elements of death game, it is mixed with Isekai (new world) elements for me. Which made it more similar to Gantz or Kamisama no Iu Toori (As The Gods Will).
If you are looking for gore, you might be disappointed. There are lots of violence and death in the series, but not overtly so. This series had a balanced action sequence, dramatic storyline, wit and well-timed humor.
Then everything’s good right?
Adaptation of books rarely do the source material justice. Now, Japanese Live-Action manga adaptation is even harder to satisfy the fan of the original work. Especially when it is action-based, shonen, and somewhat fantasy/sci-fi. Don’t believe me? Try watching Attack on The Titan or Tokyo Ghoul, and compared it with the anime or manga. No, it’s not the cringe-y CGI sequence. The biggest problems are the problematic writing and pacing. There are some good ones, like Rurouni Kenshin or Gantz, but those are few and rare.
But apparently, netflix got the 💸💸💸 to build the world of Alice. And here’s why you must watch Alice In Borderland: It is not page-to-page adaptation but it brilliantly efficient (esp. after speed reading through the manga last weekend). The series adopt the main storyline, but upgrading some of the details to make them easier to understand (borrowing some details from the latest spin-off manga Imawa no Kuni no Alice RETRY). Some elements were rewritten to optimise the storyline and more dramatic characters’ background stories and arc.
I did found a bit of a pacing problem in the 6th episode. After reading the manga, I learned that it was built to fill the gaps in the story and designed to build a a stronger narrative for one of the character. But it was not 100% airtight, thus felt like a lull amidst the other episodes.
Also this is the first season (so expect unanswered questions!). Hopefully Netflix will announced its renewal soon though.
Okay, let’s talk about the actors.
Awesome, let’s talk about Yamazaki Kento aka the current rising stars amongst Japanese young actors. He is the current go-to guy to act in many, many profilic adaptation (from shojo to shonen) and he is good! But Arisu is actually one of the weakest character in the series. Spoiler alert, we understood him better in later part of the story. But even so, Yamazaki display wonderful nuances of Arisu’s personality. Those around him are more interesting, Tsuchiya Tao showed the quite strength as Usagi Yuzuha, while Murakami Nijiro looks like a spitting image of Chishiya from the manga with a scary calmness that surrounds him. Another stand out was Kaneko Nobuaki as the charismatic, cult-leader-ish Boshiya (Hatter).
Last words?
Alice in Borderland (Season 1) is streaming on Netflix. Watch it if you are looking for something cerebral with a bit of high octane action. ⚠️ Skip it if you are not a fan of violence as it might be a bit distrubing at times.
DID YOU KNOW The name of the characters are also parallel to Alice in Wonderland. Arisu Ryohei is Alice, Usagi Yuzuha is the White Rabbit, Boshiya is (Mad) Hatter, Chishiya (Murakami Nijiro) is Chesire (Cat), and so forth :)
Alice in Borderland (2020) – Season 1
★★★☆
GENRE Thriller, Action, Fantasy
DIRECTOR Sato Shinsuke | WRITER Sato Shinsuke, Kuramitsu Yasuko, Aso Haro | CINEMATOGRAPHER Kawazu Taro | MUSIC Yamada Yutaka | EDITOR Imai Tsuyoshi, Kaneda Shokichi | COUNTRY Japan | RELEASE December 10th 2020 (Netflix)
STARRING Yamazaki Kento, Tsuchiya Tao, Murakami Nijiro, Asahina Aya, Machida Keita, Morinaga Yuki, Naka Riisa, Sakurada Dori, Abe Tsuyoshi, Kaneko Nobuaki.
PLOT KEYWORDS Dystopia, Isekai, Death Game, Manga, Adaptation, Survival, Psychological, Philosophical.
KaramelKinema 