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James Marsh

3/5 stars
The deadly games continue apace in season 2 of hit Netflix series Alice in Borderland, adapted by writer-director Shinsuke Sato (I Am a Hero) from Haro Aso’s manga.
Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya reprise their roles as unwitting participants in a series of violent contests after they are transported into a bizarre parallel dimension.
Along the way, they are reunited with many familiar faces from the first season, as well as a number of new characters, as they struggle to stay alive long enough to find a way home.


Blending elements of horror, action and science fiction, Aso’s story is loosely inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Yamazaki’s protagonist is named Arisu (pronounced the same as Alice in Japanese), while other characters also resemble those encountered by Carroll’s young heroine after she ventures down the rabbit hole.
There is also the playing card motif that runs through the story. In season one, each challenge is represented by a playing card, with the suit denoting a different type of game and the number its level of difficulty.
If a character completes the game, their “visa” is extended, allowing them to remain in the game world unharmed. If they lose the game, or their visa expires, they are executed by a laser beam emitted from the sky.
Why they are here, who is doing this to them, and how they can escape inevitably become the major themes of the show.

Arisu, Usagi (Tsuchiya) and the other survivors surmise that they must complete all 52 challenges to survive and, as season two opens, only the 12 face cards remain. These do not represent the new challenges, however, but rather formidable “citizens” of the game world whom they must defeat.
These include King of Clubs Kyuma (Tomohisa Yamashita), a proud nudist who engages the group in a glorified version of flags at a vast container port – all the while strutting around completely naked.
This inspires some entertainingly inventive framing and blocking from director Sato in order to protect Kyuma’s modesty.
Elsewhere, reluctant participants Chishiya (Nijiro Murakami) and Ann (Ayaka Miyoshi) find themselves in a prison set-up, wearing explosive neck collars. Their challenge becomes a game of trust between the inmates, as they must deduce who among them is really the King of Hearts. An incorrect guess results in their collar being detonated.

Adding to the simmering sense of distrust is the reappearance of characters presumed to have died in the first season. The duplicitous Niragi (Dori Sakurada), thought to have expired during the fiery collapse of survivors’ enclave “The Beach”, emerges, hideously scarred, to join Arisu’s team.
The Beach’s second-in-command Aguni (Sho Aoyagi) also returns, forming an alliance with Heiya (Yuri Tsunematsu), one of this season’s new characters, a bow- and arrow- wielding high-school girl who walks with an artificial leg.
Although the first season of Alice in Borderland was released almost a year before Squid Game, and its source material dates back more than a decade, parallels will inevitably be drawn between it and the Korean hit series from Hwang Dong-hyuk.
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Beyond their central premise, of characters being forced to compete in deadly contests, however, the shows share precious little common ground. A better comparison would be to Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale, and its source novel by Koushun Takami.
In that film, a class of high-schoolers are abducted by a dystopian government eager to curb social unrest among the young generation, and dumped on a deserted island. Fitted with exploding collars, the classmates are then forced to fight each other to the death until only one remains.
The heightened circumstances reveal each character’s true nature, leading to as much introspection and romantic confession as sadistic bloodletting.

Alice in Borderland makes similar demands of its characters, forcing them to engage in society – or this bizarre, stripped down construct of one, at least – at a visceral level they shied away from back in the real world.
They must collaborate and trust one another, and show compassion and empathy, in addition to employing their intelligence and skills of deduction; and, when necessary, fight it out physically.
Interestingly, it is often the female characters – Usagi, Heiya, Ann and Kuina (Aya Asahina) – who are given the more elaborate fight sequences, while the men are left to ponder life’s bigger questions.
Unfortunately, this is where Alice in Borderland ultimately comes unstuck. As is too often the case with Japanese science fiction which is sold on being action-packed and high concept, the action fizzles out as the angry young protagonists learn the importance of engaging with society.
A perspective to be encouraged, of course, but a letdown for viewers who have come this far.

Those looking for a definitive explanation will also be disappointed, as the season’s feature-length conclusion presents Arisu – and the audience – with a suspiciously flimsy set of answers. Whether that means a third season is in the offing remains to be seen.
Alice in Borderland season 2 will start streaming on Netflix on December 22.


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Netflix drama review: Alice in Borderland season 2 – Japanese sci-fi horror series’ deadly games continue to a tantalising conclusion

Tao Tsuchiya as Usagi in a still from Alice in Borderland season 2. Photo: Kumiko Tsuchiya/Netflix

Kento Yamazaki as Arisu in a still from Alice in Borderland season 2. Photo: Kumiko Tsuchiya/Netflix

Tao Tsuchiya as Usagi in a still from Alice in Borderland season 2. Photo: Kumiko Tsuchiya/Netflix.

Tomohisa Yamashita as Kyuma in a still from Alice in Borderland season 2. Photo: Kumiko Tsuchiya/Netflix.

Yuri Tsunematsu as Heiya in a still from Alice in Borderland season 2. Photo: Netflix.

Tao Tsuchiya (left) as Usagi and Kento Yamazaki as Arisu in a still from Alice in Borderland season 2. Photo: Kumiko Tsuchiya/Netflix.

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Kang Hae-lim in a still from serial killer romance K-drama Somebody.

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Kim Young-kwang as Yun-o in a still from Somebody.

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Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in a still from Wednesday. Photo: Netflix

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in a still from Netflix drama series Wednesday. Photo: Netflix

(From left) Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe and Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay in a still from Wednesday. Photo: Netflix

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(Front row, from left) Jonas Bloquet, Mathilde Ollivier, Rosalie Craig, José Pimentão, Miguel Bernardeau, Gabby Wong and Isabella Wei in a still from 1899. Photo: Netflix

(From left) Emily Beecham, Isaak Dentler, Andreas Pietschmann, Niklas Maienschein and Tino Mewes in a still from 1899. Photo: Netflix

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The second season of the Japanese manga adaptation features more deadly games, the return of the lead characters - and some presumed dead - along with new ones
Arisu, Usagi and the others must once again show trust, empathy and intelligence to defeat their enemies. Those hoping for a big reveal will be disappointed



The second season of the series adapted from a Japanese manga sees the return of Arisu and Usagi, who are joined by some new characters for more deadly games.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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Review | Netflix drama review: Alice in Borderland season 2 – Japanese sci-fi horror series’ deadly games continue to a tantalising conclusion