“Alice In Borderland” is one of this shows which (judging from what you’ve probably read by previous reviews), attracts typically three main audience types; diehard fans of the original manga, J-drama fans of either particular cast members and a minority of “ casual” drama watchers who have either stumbled upon the drama during a search or have just been recommended it. For those in the former category, it’s fair to say the biggest question which should be raised is if the first season of Alice In Borderland is actually worth watching, or if it is simply a waste of time.

As you can probably guess from the mention of this drama being a “ first season”, it’s wrong to entirely claim that some of the show’s flaws won’t be fixed in later episodes , however, there are a couple of notable reoccurring themes , inconsistencies and problems which should be mentioned to anyone considering watching this first season.As an idea the show is both intriguing, disturbing and undeniably quite ingenious throughout some of its storyline . From “ Liar- Game” and “ Battle- Royale” -style puzzles and fights , plot twists to the notable name references from Lewis Carroll’s surrealistic classic “ Alice In Wonderland” ( Arisu of course being “ Alice” as our protagonist ), there is of course a notable array of reoccurring and intriguing characters introduced into the show who all play intriguing roles . In particular these include; a mysterious girl and mountain climber called Usagi , the taciturn and conniving Shuntarō Chishiya ( Nijiro Muramaki) and his accomplice Hikari Kuina ( Aya Asahina ) as well as strong militant fighter Aguni Morizono ( Sho Aoyagi).


It should be said , however, that the acting in the show is bit of a mixed-bag .Whilst Kento Yamazaki ( Todome No Kiss and Death Note-2015) is undeniably a fairly good actor, there’s no sugarcoating that his performance as our main protagonist Arisu was a little lacklustre to say the least , with several scenes throughout episodes of fairly generic line deliverance . Similarly whilst Tao Tsuchiya ( Mare, Orange) wasn’t bad as our female protagonist Usagi, her performance was a little questionable in consideration to her fame as a fairly renowned actress. Perhaps the one role which was certainly well-performed in the show and must be given some praise to is Nijiro Muramaki’s (Anohana; The Flower We Saw That Day-2015 , and The Isle of Dogs) roel as the intelligent, mysterious and conniving player Shuntarō Chishiya ; a character who against all odds is more likeable than the male lead.

By all default Arisu had all the right traits of being both a likeable and deep male lead; a traumatic past with his family, experiencing loss and loneliness, intellectual and undeniably socially-awkward at times as well gave boundless opportunities for character growth . Sadly, the biggest issue with Arisu’s characterisation was that against all the action and bloodthirsty moments of the series, there was little time provided for us as viewers to either reflect or see Arisu being able to contemplate these moments both through his interactions with other characters and through his own doubts as well. Whilst it can be argued that Arisu’s poor character depth was a it consequence of the show “ running out of time” than anything else, there is still the notable presence of minor well-written characters such as Kuina and Aguni who actually have quite good character depth, interesting pasts and are fairly three-dimensional in comparison.

This resulted in Arisu often coming off as a notable plot device in the series rather than an actual character; impassive to certain events and only really having the “ driven- angst” when it was necessary for a plot event rather than allowing Arisu to be a likeable male lead.

The ending was undeniably open. This is naturally because the show will receive a second season and allows the plot to extend outwards, however, there were several notable flaws in this first season alone from acting abilities, a fairly lacklustre OST and even our main protagonist’s depth which will probably need to be smoothed out or at least focused upon going forwards. Overall, the first season of Alice In Wonderland was far from a masterpiece ( in addition to some questionable CGI as well) , however, nonetheless it was a fairly thrilling journey down the rabbit hole into a bloodthirsty Wonderland ; undeniably ridiculous at times, but surprisingly a fun ride.