The very first Japanese drama I ever watched on the Netflix platform was "Alice in Borderland." Of course, I had been watching Japanese dramas for a long time through unofficial channels, and among them, the genre that particularly captured my interest was the "death game." The extreme psychological warfare for survival and the unpredictable developments condensed the unique charm of Japanese dramas, leaving a deep impression on me. "Alice in Borderland" stands at the pinnacle of this very death game genre.
For a long time, the death game genre has established itself as one of the unique strengths of the Japanese content market. That's why when "Squid Game," which created a worldwide syndrome, first appeared, many fans of the Japanese death game genre, including myself, had a relatively muted reaction. While "Squid Game" is undoubtedly a brilliant work, I couldn't shake the impression that its structure and setting followed a familiar formula seen in many Japanese death game stories. Against this backdrop, "Alice in Borderland," presented by Japan—the home of the death game—through the massive platform of Netflix, was more than enough to capture the full expectation of the genre's fans.
For that reason, among the countless Japanese dramas available on Netflix at the time, my first choice was, without hesitation, "Alice in Borderland." In fact, the lingering impact of the show was so strong and intense that for a while after watching it, I didn't find myself drawn to any other Japanese dramas. Although I've recently been enjoying a variety of Japanese dramas on Netflix, the initial shock and immersion that "Alice in Borderland" gave me remain a uniquely powerful memory. As such, "Alice in Borderland" is a work with a powerful allure that is impossible for viewers who enjoy the provocative theme of a death game to ignore.
As Season 1 opens, we meet the protagonist, Arisu (Kento Yamazaki), who is living a listless and unmotivated life. His only pleasure and specialty is locking himself in his room and mastering all sorts of video games. Then one day, while wasting time with his friends at Tokyo's Shibuya Scramble Crossing, they experience a bizarre phenomenon where a massive firework display is followed by the disappearance of all sound from the world. When they come to their senses, the Shibuya they face has transformed into a ghost town, devoid of all human presence. This was the signal that marked the beginning of a cruel, life-or-death game. Thrown into this extreme situation without any warning or explanation, I initially imagined it might be an alien invasion or an experiment on humanity by some unknown entity.
The game begins without providing any reason or purpose. The task given to the participants is simple: clear a life-threatening mission within a set time limit. Failure results in immediate death, and there are no second chances. Using his innate gaming skills, brilliant mind, and sharp observational abilities as weapons, protagonist Arisu navigates through life-and-death crises, meeting and parting with numerous people along the way. In this process, he has a fateful encounter with the person who becomes the other pillar of this story: the heroine, Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya).
Arisu, a genius game player skilled in intellectual battles, and Usagi, who possesses a strong physique and quick judgment honed by rock climbing with her professional mountaineer father, become perfect partners who complement each other's weaknesses. The bond they formed while crossing the threshold of death together countless times blossomed from simple camaraderie into love. At the end of Season 2, they finally clear all the games and earn the chance to escape the "Borderland." It seemed like a perfect happy ending as they chose to return to the real world, but as if to reward the long wait of the fans, the unexpected news of a Season 3 production was announced, heralding a new chapter.
Surprisingly, Season 3 is set a full four years after the ending of Season 2. Even more shocking is that Arisu and Usagi are now a married couple, living an ordinary life. At first, I speculated that they were trying to suppress and hide the horrific memories of their time in the Borderland. However, the truth was far stranger than that. They were in a state of complete amnesia, unable to remember a single thing that had happened there.
This strange amnesia was not limited to just Arisu and Usagi. All the survivors who had returned from the Borderland were experiencing the same symptoms. The only common fragment of memory left to them was a vague statement about witnessing an intense flash of light, like a massive fireworks festival, just before they lost consciousness. Investigating authorities, faced with the same testimony from numerous people, tentatively concluded it was a form of mass hypnosis or hysteria and sought to close the case. However, one man took a keen interest in this mysterious incident: a researcher named Ryuji, who specializes in the afterlife and near-death experiences.
Meanwhile, even in her ordinary life, Usagi cannot shake the subconscious longing to reunite with her deceased father. It is this inner vulnerability that Ryuji exploits. While it's not clearly shown what he said to persuade her, Usagi is eventually convinced by Ryuji and opens the door to the Borderland once more. It appears Ryuji discovered a method to access the Borderland through specific mediums, like a card game found in ancient relics or texts. And just like that, Usagi vanishes without a trace from Arisu's side.
As Arisu stands dumbfounded by his wife's disappearance, with all his memories lost, an unexpected figure appears before him. It is none other than Banda (Hayato Isomura), the character who can be described as evil incarnate, who had chosen to become a citizen of the Borderland in Season 2. It is unclear how he appeared in the real world, but he hands Arisu a mysterious Joker card and leaves him with a chilling message: "Remember everything." Initially dismissing it as nonsense, Arisu, now faced with the disappearance of his beloved wife, intuits that Banda's words are the only clue to finding Usagi.
Though he has not yet fully recovered his memories of the Borderland, Arisu resolves to return to that hell for the sole purpose of saving Usagi. He is administered an unknown drug that forcibly puts his mind into a near-death state, allowing him to log into the Borderland. Based on this development, it seems highly likely that the true nature of the Borderland, to be revealed in Season 3, is not a physical alternate dimension but a kind of psychological world created by the human mind and subconscious. Returning as a six-episode series, "Alice in Borderland Season 3" will once again guide viewers into a world of breathtaking suspense through Arisu's new struggle to piece together the fragments of his memory and the final game signified by the Joker card.
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