Alice in Borderland (2020)

Original title

今際の国のアリス

Directed by

Shinsuke Sato

Cast

Yamazaki Kento, Tsuchiya Tao, Machida Keita, Morinaga Yuki, Misaki Ayame, Kaneko Nobuaki, Aoyagi Sho, Sakurada Dori

Genre

psychological thriller

Country

Japan

Length

3 seasons, 22 episodes

Rated

TV-MA

Rating

8.1 of 10 from 2,753 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A group of people are transported to an empty Tokyo and forced to play deadly games to survive. Each game tests their wits and physical limits with the threat of execution if they fail.

tensesuspensefulbleakfast-pacedunsettlingsurrealurgentclaustrophobic

What happens

Alice in Borderland (Japanese: 今際の国のアリス, Hepburn: Imawa no Kuni no Arisu; lit. 'Arisu in the present world') is a Japanese science fiction thriller drama television series based on the manga of the same name by Haro Aso. The series is directed by Shinsuke Sato. It stars Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya as allies trapped in an empty, parallel version of Tokyo, forced to compete as players in dangerous, fatal games. The type and difficulty of each game is represented by playing cards based on French suits and the games are used to extend their "visas" that, if expired, result in the player's execution by lasers shot from the sky. The series' first season was announced in July 2019 and filmed from August to December 2019. Set locations included Shibuya districts and a green screen studio replica of Shibuya Crossing. The show's visual effects were produced in an international collaboration between Japan's Digital Frontier and teams from Singapore, the United States, and India. The musical score was composed by Yutaka Yamada, who had collaborated with Sato. The first season premiered on the Netflix streaming service on December 10, 2020, and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, direction, and acting. They compared the show to many entries in the survival genre, including the films Battle Royale (2000) and Cube (1997). The first season's strong performance and high viewership in many countries resulted in Netflix renewing the series two weeks after its premiere; the second season was released on December 22, 2022. On September 27, 2023, it was renewed for a third season, which premiered on September 25, 2025. In a January 2026 article, Netflix stated that the third season was the show's final. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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