Alice in Borderland

If you get tired of OP characters in non-existent peril with Netflix's US productions, this one will fix that for you. After we watched several episodes my son walked away shaking his head and said, "I'm going to go read All Quiet on the Western Front" to cheer myself up.

It's pretty darn good. A couple of the games had some holes in them, and some of the character behaviors didn't make sense outside of it's what the writers wanted them to do at that moment. But really watching this is more about feeling like the last year wasn't so bad compared to what these characters are going through. Hoping Season 2 can keep pace.

Honestly, the first two seasons of Alice in Borderland were incredible. They were so smart, so intense-easily an 8/10. The games were genius, and I was completely invested in the characters. It was a benchmark for the whole survival thriller genre.

But Season 3? It's baffling. It feels like whoever took over the writing just didn't know where to go with the story. The plot feels forcefully pushed and completely directionless, as if they desperately needed a reason to drag the characters back into the Borderland.

It's a chaotic mess that's unsatisfying from start to finish. I'm shocked by the massive drop in quality; it's a complete disaster compared to the brilliance that came before it. This season barely deserves a 2/10. It's a real shame to see a great show end up like this.

Season 1 started off as a pleasant surprise-casual viewing that quickly became engaging. Season 2 maintained that momentum, delivering a solid continuation that kept me invested. However, Season 3 was a significant letdown. The narrative felt aimless, dragging on for six episodes without meaningful progression. It seemed as though the creators were stretching for content rather than crafting a compelling story.

It's disheartening when a series with potential falters so dramatically. The lack of direction in Season 3 was evident, and it raises the question: why announce a new season if the story isn't there?

Given the disappointing turn in Season 3, I sincerely hope there won't be a Season 4 or a U. S. adaptation. Sometimes, it's best to cherish the quality of the earlier seasons and leave it at that.

To be fair, it's not that big of a feat, especially considering Netflix produced Death Note and Cowboy Bebop, iconic stories in their own right, and failed miserably with them.

But boy, they hit a home run with Alice in Borderland. The post-apocalyptic landscape of Japan looks incredible, the design and stage of each games are fantastic, and for the most part, the characters aren't all weirdos, *cough*, well a lot of them are but that's the charm, right?

Now you can probably find a ton of plot holes with how some of the games went, and you will totally see this in many other reviews. But, just the sheer volume of so many types of survival games to be adapted was a delight to see.

Not all games are equal in quality, but some really stands out, like most games that involves Chishiya and most of the games in season 1. All the games are absolutely brutal, whether it is a physical challenge, a mental challenge, or both. I was very surprised to see how some of the action scenes are done so well, like Usagi's parkour scenes, and probably the most memorable one that involves a katana.

As far as the story goes, you're watching this and reading this review because you have some interest at least with the survival games genre like Saw and Battle Royale. Alice in Borderland mixes Battle Royale with a decent amount of wit and a bit more set of relatable characters. I even thought some character progression to be delightfully done even if they're simple and straight-forward.

Alice in Borderland has gotten a lot of things right, and is probably the best anime/manga live adaptation right now. It certainly makes someone like me who has seen way too many terrible live adaptations of anime/manga interested to see if Netflix can hit another home run next time.

* I would love to talk about the ending but this will not be a spoiler review. But I do appreciate the adaptation for faithfully adapting the ending (which I enjoyed, but it's certainly not everyone's cup of tea). *

What the hell were the directors thinking? How can you give an amazing adaptation with Cast and roles like that in S1 and S2 and completely dropped the literal Hat, when it came to S3 ?

I legit could not feel the magic, the effort that was put into constructing the games, or even the main protagonists' acting skills. It felt like everything from CGI, to creativity of the crew, to the sets, to downright acting skills dropped several pars to give us a half-baked, goo product that fails to pique the enthusiasm.

I was anticipating episode after episode for atleast 30% of the old charm but even Arisu's acting kind of landed like a Potato. The sole purpose of this season seemed to be just that - to create another season.

I don't want more of this nonsene. Please stop guys.