Alice in Borderland

For this weeks watching/learning activity I dove into the world of JDrama with the consumption of Alice in Borderland on Netflix. The premise itself is quite interesting with the the protagonist having to undergo different challenges to stay alive or be killed by the unseen moderators. The protagonist, Arisu, a gaming neat, is transported into the world with his only two friends Karube and Chota, forcing them to adapt to the games and the new rule structure or perish as those around them have.

                                                     

The challenges themselves take an interesting spin, often with a violent/horror twist on popular children's games. The show itself is based on manga written by Haro Aso back in 2010, with its ultimate completion in 2015.

                                                                    

I find myself pleasantly surprised by my understanding of various events with the show, as well as the dialogue used by the characters. Due to the game like structure of the challenges and the use of decreasing time to increase suspense, much of the dialogue comes in the form of counting, the changing of locations and location verbs and even life and death. I do, however, find myself relying on the subtitles to understand some of the heavier nuance of the show, including ideas of relationships, dreams, and desires.

All in all, the world of Alice in Borderland is interesting and I recommend giving it a try, reminding me of the horror aspects of shows like American Horror Story and the competition structure of shows like the Korean Squid Game.