"Netflix live action" is a phrase that strikes fear into the hearts of many. Countless fans of manga and anime have had to put up with their favorite series getting ruined or disrespected by being poorly translated into a different medium, so needless to say I was anxious when I heard they decided to adapt one of the best manga series I've read. There's already an OVA that adapted the first few games, but can the rest of the story be told in live action? Or is it game over for Netflix once more?
Haro Aso's Alice in Borderland is an isekai thriller manga that got me, admittedly not a fan of the isekai genre, firmly invested in its plot, world and characters, reading page after page at the edge of my seat. It's about a slacker named Ryohei Arisu, who's sick of constantly being compared to his overachieving brother by his dad. He goes out to vent his frustrations with his friends, the pervy Chota and tough bartender Karube. After a long walk late at night, the trio come across a blinding display of fireworks and pass out soon after. When they come to, they find Tokyo has been abandoned, with everything ruined and covered in dust. As they go to investigate, they find a woman named Saori who introduces them to the Borderland, the land between life and death where they're forced to compete in deadly games, or die anyway from lasers that rain down from the sky. So Arisu and co need to learn how to adapt to this dangerous new life, finding allies along the way, uncovering secrets behind the games, and figuring out how to get back to the real world.
In the live action they just hide in a bathroom stall
Off the bat, the show begins to veneer from its source material. For example, the main trio have been aged up to adults instead of high schoolers, and Chota isn't characterised as the horny one here, instead being written as an office worker whose religious upbringing throttled his worldview. The way they enter the Borderland is much less trippy, the visa system is now communicated through phones given out at each game, and even the entire first game is different. But once it reaches the second game, a deathly game of tag in an apartment block, in Episode 2 things start to get closer to the manga, meaning shit starts to get good.
The many characters found in the Borderland are one of the series' strongest points, yet it never feels like there are yoo many to keep track off because they're so distinct. Like the manga, the show gives us a look at their lives before they ended up here, and how their skills or their past affects their outlook or performance on the games plus their relationships with others. Arisu, for example, is a hardcore gamer with plenty of experience in solving puzzles and finding exploits, and there's another guy who got bullied relentlessly and now acts out his violent impulses on others without consequence in the Borderland, as well as someone who couldn't live up to the life their father set out for them as and, even after transitioning into a woman, is still stuck in his shadow (N.B I know a lot of people are weird about Netflix and trans representation but this is all in the manga and Kuina is best girl regardless of gender). Performances and character designs are great all around, with some like Last Boss (yes, there's seriously a guy so badass they call him Last Boss) looking like they've come straight off the page.
Second best girl Usagi looks just as cute as she does in the manga
The games are varied enough to keep you watching just to see what the next will be, with four different types each represented by a different suite of cards, while between each one it can be just as nerve-wracking watching how Arisu and his friends will make it to the next one, especially once he reaches the beach. The cinematography is awesome with loads of sweeping shots of ruined buildings and sky lasers painting the sky with red streaks, or quick, frantic cuts during a game that serve to ramp up the tension. Oh yes, that edge-of-your-seat feel I got from the manga is also present here, complimented by a score that heightens the mood appropriately.
The show looks like it has a pretty high budget but I feel it's let down a little in the CGI department. One game has a couple of tigers that look like something from a video game and a few of the action scenes near the end have notably weak CG, but that's honestly my biggest criticism. The rest of the show is tight and definitely worth a watch if you ask me, whether or not you've read the manga already. The good news is it's already been renewed for a second season! The next arc that's set up at the end of season one is awesome, hopefully it has better CG by then. But the appearance of a certain character on a screen during the finale gives away a certain reveal much earlier than the manga does, so it'll be interesting to see how else they change things up from here on out.
Have you guys seen Alice in Borderland? What did you think? Have you read the manga? Let us know below!
