Reality can never be measured; it can differ according to a person’s perception of certain things. “Alice in Borderland” will take you through an ultimate reality that will question one’s sanity and patience. In this series, humans are a part of a different dimension that differs from our reality, and it is controlled by “Game Masters” that create fatal games to determine who will return to the normal world. Every person has to play these games and win accordingly to gain visas and extend their lives. These visas will be eligible for use for some time until they expire. Then, these players will have to look for more games to extend their time limit in the gaming dimension. If the person fails to win the game or doesn’t appear for one, they will be killed. Players have to deal with brutal challenges that involve bloodshed and the loss of loved ones. In both seasons, viewers will grow attached to many characters whose death might be too much to take in. Even though these characters were an essential part of the whole series, some games left them with no choice but to surrender and accept their deaths. Well, some deaths are unexplainable, whereas others are clear. Every character in this series had a painful backstory to portray; even if these games were deadly, they shaped the whole well-being and nature of these people. For some, these games provided an opportunity to steal and murder people to their liking. Eventually, it all came down to one possible outcome: going back home.
All the characters played a very important role in this show, and they shaped the formation of these episodes and also the way these games moved. Some characters returned in the next series, while some chose to die. “Alice in Borderland” is a compilation of various lessons that revolve around humans as they destroy the land and nature for their own benefit. People had a purpose to fulfill in this dimension, and all they had to do was survive. Everything is connected in a cycle. The world has turned into a slaughterhouse since humans can’t differentiate between right and wrong anymore. In the first season, the players managed to survive the card games and expected to return to the normal world; soon, it was revealed that the game masters had planned a new section of face card games with blood-curdling challenges, yet many players survived these challenges, while some lost their lives in the hope to survive. In the second season, the players died in unexpected and painful ways, but all the main characters and players were alive in the end.
Spoilers Ahead
1. Saori Shibuki
Shibuki met Arisu, Chota, and Karube at the Shibuya crossing and appeared in all the games with them. Shibuki failed to survive the seven-of-hearts game. Throughout her life, she had claimed success through wrongful methods and slept with her boss to get a higher position in her company. Shibuki desperately wanted to get back to the normal world. According to Shibuki, she worked very hard to get a promotion, and dying in this dimension would hamper all her efforts. Chota and Karube didn’t let her win the match and chose Arisu to be the winner. The Seven of Hearts game was called hide and seek, in which one player becomes the wolf, and the others become lambs. Shibuki managed to become the wolf; she just had to hide until the match ended. Karube and Shibuki got into a huge fight, causing her to give up the wolf title to Arisu.
2. Chota Segawa
Chota, Karube, and Arisu have been best friends for a very long time. The trio entered this dimension together, and Chota lost his life in the Seven of Hearts game. Chota worked in an IT company, and it was pretty clear that he missed out on his workdays and didn’t attend the office much. From the very beginning, Chota was scared of these games, and the first level caused him a great deal of injury, burning his leg. The heart games are some of the toughest games, and it always involves sacrifice. Chota sacrificed his life to save his friend Arisu because he believed in him throughout the whole journey. Chota and Shibuki shared a good bond, and they shared everything that happened in their lives. In the end, Chota pinned her down and hid in the playing area until the game ended.
3. Daikichi Karube
Karube is very carefree and spends his entire time with his friends Arisu and Chota. Karube worked in a pub as a bartender, but he was caught flirting with a woman in the pub, and his boss fired him. On the same day, Chota, Arisu, and Karube spent their time at the Shibuya crossing thinking about life. The trio had a great relationship with each other; their lives changed when they reached the gaming dimension. The games began, and they were able to clear the levels with Arisu’s help. The hide-and-seek game left no option for them; they always believed that Arisu could compete in this world. Before Arisu could approach and save him, the collar around his neck exploded, and Karube lost his life.
4. Takeru Danma (Hatter)
Hatter was introduced in the fifth episode of “Alice in Borderland” Season 1. He created his community for people who wanted to return to the normal world. He named it “The Beach.” People joined his community from everywhere and hoped to return if things worked out. His main purpose was to collect all the cards once every game and battle was accomplished. Hatter became a part of a huge conspiracy and was killed by his best friend Aguni after he turned his back on him. Hatter chose to kill Aguni to win the game, but Aguni shot him back to save himself. Later, the Beach turned out to be a place that attracted alcoholics and drug addicts. People partied around the place and had no control over their actions. Toward the end, Hatter changed his entire motive and chose to kill people to win.
5. Momoka Inoue
The seventh episode of “Alice in Borderland,” season 1, captured Momoka’s death. The Beach became the next level in the “ten of hearts” witch hunt game, and Momoka was stabbed by the witch. By the end of this game, players had to find the person who was responsible for her murder and burn them in the fire of judgment. In the end, it was revealed that Momoka was the witch instead. She chose to stab herself, as she was one of the game dealers. Along with her friend, Asahi, Momoka had designed many games and made sure that several people were killed. She chose to sacrifice herself so that Asahi could return to the normal world. A part of her also wanted to prove that humanity still existed in the Borderland. She believed that people would understand the game and help each other instead of killing each other to find the witch.
6. Takatora Samura – The Last Boss
Samura was a part of Aguni’s group at the Beach. Life at Borderland was completely changed since he started killing anyone to win and survive. Before all this, Samura was interested in exploring the lives of hikers who represented themselves on different expeditions. His life was very monotonous; he believed that death was a way to feel alive, and now he was facing the same situation in Borderland, which made him feel that his life had a purpose. He wanted to escape his life in the normal world, and Borderland gave him a chance to live the way he wanted. The first game was enough for him to understand that life had a different meaning in Borderland. So, he changed his entire lifestyle, shaved his head, and got tattoos all over his body. He chose to make these tattoos look different from others because he never wanted to fit in with normal society. When Momoka was burned in the fire judgment, the whole place burned down, and Samura chose to die in the fire.
7. Asahi Kujo
Asahi was Momoka’s best friend in this series. During the witch hunt game, she assisted Momoka in being the witch and made sure that many people died in their attempt to return to the normal world. Asahi and Momoka were assigned as the game dealers, and toward the end of episode 8 of season 1, Asahi revealed her true purpose. To stop the whole fight, she accepted that she is the dealer of this game. Asahi was a part of this game, and she had to sacrifice everything to kill people around her. Moreover, Arisu found a video on their smartphone where they recorded the whole area of the game masters. Asahi and Momoka had to confuse the players into taking drastic steps, and their deaths brought in several benefits for them. Asahi and Momoka were promised that they would be sent back to Earth if they successfully managed to kill a lot of players.
8. Kyuma
Kyuma was the King of Clubs. With his friend Shitara, he created a game that is known as Osmosis. Previously, Kyuma was the leader of a band, and all his friends were a part of it too. Kyuma chose to be naked the whole time, and he believed in nudism and followed this social movement. According to him, it was not necessary to dress up completely. Kyuma was very friendly, and he maintained a good rapport with Arisu. Both of them believed that they would have been good friends in the real world. To win this game, the player team had to defeat the clubs team. Arisu managed to trick Kyuma in the end; he didn’t regret his death and accepted it peacefully. Kyuma’s friends were supportive, and they respected his decisions. Throughout their whole journey, Kyuma was the main reason for their survival.
9. Shitara, Uta, Goken, and Maki
Shitara was a part of the team of clubs; he created the game of Osmosis, and the whole thing was very confusing at first. Moreover, Shitara is supposed to be one of the smartest members of the clubs team. Even though Kyuma was the leader, Shitara was the main creator of this game. The clubs team lost its points to the player team, and they planned to attack the player team to regain all the points. In this process, Shitara broke the rules of the game, and he was killed instantly. Kyuma wanted to win this game to fulfill Shitara’s promise. Still, Kyuma knew that Shitara would never blame him for anything that happened at the game. Meanwhile, Uta, Goken, and Maki were also a part of Kyuma’s team; they were always together, and even death didn’t scare them.
10. Enji Matsushita
Matsushita pretends to be supportive and understanding, and at the same time, he controls people to work according to his plan. From the very beginning, they tried to lure a serial killer named Sunato Banda into winning the Jack of Hearts game. Soon it was revealed that he was the Jack of Hearts; Banda and another player named Yaba chose to kill him brutally to retrieve information about this world. Chishiya, Banda, and Yaba cornered him in the end; to finish the Jack of Hearts game, it was necessary to find the Jack and kill him. Moreover, after Matsushita manipulates Yaba’s partner Kotoko into killing him, Banda and Yaba team up with each other and decide to kill Kotoko instead. Chishiya tried to talk him out; Matsushita tried to kill him, but he was unaware of the conspiracy between Banda, and Yaba had planned for him.
11. Kodai Tatta
Tatta worked as a car mechanic before entering this world. Throughout his whole journey, Tatta was belittled by his co-workers since he didn’t carry out his jobs properly. He would often mess up the vehicle lift, and because of this mistake, his boss lost his hand to a severe injury. Tatta was fired from his job, and he later lost his life by sacrificing it to save Arisu and the player team from defeat at the hands of Kyuma’s team. Tatta was assigned to protect the base of the team, and his job was to prevent the opponent team from touching the player’s base. Tatta couldn’t stop them since Kyuma’s team attacked him together, which helped them to lead the match. With no hope left, Tatta decided to mutilate his hand and give the bracelet to Arisu so that he could get more points from the Kyuma team. Tatta lost his life from excessive blood loss, but he thanked Arisu for believing in him. Usagi, Kuina, and Arisu gave him a proper burial near the arena itself.
12. Shiga Kotoko
Kotoko played alongside Yaba in the Jack of Hearts game. She greeted him as his master and followed his words. From the very beginning, Yaba and Kotoko teamed up and communicated their signs to each other. In the end, she betrays Yaba and chooses to trust Matsushita. Even though Matsushita and Kotoko never had any conversations, they used cookie packets to communicate. There were four different colors, and they used these to find out each other’s symbols in the game. In the end, Matsushita wants Kotoko to kill Yaba; he has predicted Kotoko’s move since Banda joined him. In the confinement room, Kotoko gave the wrong answer and ended up killing herself. Yaba trusted her. This time, Kotoko was easily controlled by Matsushita, and they tricked him too.
13. Ippei Oki
Ippei Oki was a very kind-hearted man who participated in the Jack of Hearts game and decided to team up with Chishiya. The duo shared their symbols and managed to clear every round. One by one, many participants lost their lives, and Ippei couldn’t bear the pain and chose to commit suicide despite knowing the right symbol. Chishiya was upset at first since he was left alone, and the others didn’t trust him enough to inform him of the right symbol. For the next round, Chishiya guessed the sign himself and managed to pass it. Until then, Ippei never lied to him and maintained his loyalty to Chishiya as a teammate.
14. Kaito Kameyama
Kaito was a photographer in the series; he documented the lives of all the people after they were transferred to the Borderlands. According to him, Earth has become an unsafe place to live. Only addicts and thieves found joy in this life since they had no limit on food. They could kill anyone they wanted to. Moreover, Kaito was killed by Shirabi, the King of Spades, because he visited the Setagaya, where he found a woman who knew the identities of these game masters. Before she could share any other information, the whole community was killed by Shirabi. Kaito left his film reels inside his vanity van, and Arisu managed to find the reels, but Shirabi was only trying to save the identity of the person who started the whole process. Even though it is not revealed, there is a strong connection between the identity of the creator and the game masters.
15. Shirabi
Shirabi was the King of Spades, and he was physically strong and defeated everyone who stood in his path. Well, Aguni had wanted to kill him from the very beginning, so he teamed up with Arisu, Usagi, Kuina, Ann, and Akane to kill him. Shirabi injured them. Aguni managed to lure him into a drugstore and explode the whole place with Chishiya’s bomb. In the end, Arisu and Aguni were saved from the blast; Shirabi was injured, but even the heavy impact didn’t kill him. He handed over his gun to Aguni, and his entire life flashed in front of his eyes. Previously, Shirabi had to make a tough choice: he had to kill his friend Apache since he was dying from an injury. Shirabi always regretted his actions, and he apologized to Apache as killing him was the only way to save him.
16. Lisa
Lisa was the Queen of Spades. She controlled the Queen team and controlled the game of checkmate. She is extremely strong. The Queen team had to tag the members of the player team to make them part of their group. The team which consisted of more players would win the game. She managed to tag everyone, with only Usagi and Arisu left on the other team. The members of the player team refused to leave the Queen team since Lisa guaranteed them a safe stay in the arena. Usagi and Arisu managed to convince them and brought all the participants back to the player team. In the end, Lisa was the only member left, and she lost the game. The laser stuck through her head, killing her on the spot.
17. Kuzuryu
Kuzuryu was the King of Diamonds. He worked as a lawyer and later became one of the game masters. Chishiya and Kuzuryu met each other in the game “Beauty Contest.” Each person had to choose a number between 0 and 100, and the number would be multiplied by 0.8. Well, the person with the closest number will be the winner. Kuzuryu and Chishiya were the only participants left in the final round, and he chose to save Chishiya, who had similar thoughts about humanity, and Kuzuryu accepted his death. All the rich people in society caused problems for the poor ones, and he was strictly against this. He wanted to create this game to create a balance between irrational humans and those who were in need. Chishiya was impressed by his qualities and decided to lose the match to save him; Kuzuryu did the opposite.
18. Mira Kano
Mira Kano is the main antagonist of “Alice in Borderland.” She is the Queen of Hearts. Arisu and Usagi met her at The Beach alongside Hatter; little did they know that she was the mastermind. Arisu and Usagi were the survivors, and they managed to reach the final level of the game. That is the game of croquet. The game had simple rules; no one had to die in it. There were three levels, and Arisu had to clear these stages to win. But there’s a catch: Mira manipulated them and created an illusionary image inside his mind. Arisu believed that he was a mental patient, and because of him, his friends passed away. She used this against him only to make him quit the game. This would automatically ensure her victory. Usagi managed to bring him back, and their love for each other was enough for Mira to understand that humanity still exists. The laser killed her in the end, ensuring Arisu’s victory, which brought them back to the real world. Mira was a psychopath; she knew the right way to play with people’s minds, and all this bloodshed excited her.
Final Words
“Alice in Borderland” is a series filled with multiple lessons to learn. Just like animals, humans were slaughtered in this world, and the game masters had fun watching it. Gradually, many players got used to this world and decided to become a part of these games, representing themselves as face cards. In the first season, Arisu and the others met Mira for the first time, and she was ecstatic about the whole situation. At first, they played the games and managed to earn visas to stay alive, but in the end, these players controlled the whole gaming structure. Mira was responsible for everything; she controlled them, and the whole story moved accordingly. Some people got used to this world and decided to stay back as the final level offered them two life-changing choices. One guaranteed their return to the normal world, whereas the other choice would give them the option to stay back. Most of them chose to go back, while others found the gaming world to provide justice to those who didn’t find any benefits in the real world. Some of these game masters willingly joined the games and accepted their deaths, while others couldn’t bear the psychological pain these games put them through.
