Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Alice in Borderland.Netflix's Alice in Borderland has been a hit since its premiere on December 10, 2020. The live-action adaptation of the shonen manga series was so well received that the streaming service renewed it just two weeks after Season 1 was released. If you're unfamiliar with Alice in Borderland, the story follows Ryohei Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Yuzuha Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) as they're mysteriously transported into what seems to be an alternate reality of Tokyo, Japan where they must survive deadly games set by an unknown force.
Those familiar with the Alice in Borderland source material probably noticed some changes in Netflix's telling of Arisu and Usagi's journey. If you aren't or haven't read the manga, don't worry — while it's highly recommended and certainly provides a better understanding of the story, it's not necessary in order to enjoy the show. With that, here are some significant similarities and differences from Netflix's first season of Alice in Borderland.
Something Tells Me We Aren't in Tokyo Anymore
In the shonen version of Alice in Borderland, Arisu and his friends, Chota Segawa (Yûki Morinaga) and Daikichi Karube (Keita Machida), are attending their 3rd year of high school, placing them at around 18 and 19 years old. The manga introduces them to us as they are navigating the coming-of-age phase of their young adulthood, whereas the show begins with them already in their early to mid-twenties. Collectively, Netflix's version of the boys stays true to the angsty and escapism-laced nature of their illustrated counterparts. They're at odds with where they are in their personal and professional lives, and it's reflected in many ways in the Netflix series. Arisu is an analytical genius and — as opposed to being a highly observant and deductive type as he is in the Alice in Borderland manga — is modernized into a young adult who exemplifies his natural aptitude via gaming, which he's obsessed with. Due to this, as well as his age and being unemployed, he's also a disappointment to his family. Chota is on the verge of losing his IT job due to not taking it seriously (which can be observed by the post-it notes left at his desk after entering Borderland's alternate Tokyo), while also dealing with his mom constantly asking him for money for the cult she's fallen into. The decision to portray Chota as kind and loyal in the Netflix version of Alice in Borderland as opposed to the shonen version's perverted habits was an appreciated choice, but it does take away from the joke within his name. Of the three, Karube has likely the least changes between the show and the manga as he only had his love for fighting toned down and swapped out for being a calm and cool rebel. He also was recently fired from a bar he worked at instead of being the owner of one at an impressively young age.
The Netflix adaptation of Alice in Borderland also changed how Arisu and his best friends are transported to Borderland Tokyo. Originally, they attempt to walk to Shibuya only to stop their journey short at a nearby train station. While waiting for the next ride back to their homes, they see what's assumed to be fireworks followed by an explosion. After a trippy crossover, they wake up covered in a strange dust inside Karube's bar within Borderland. In contrast, the Shinsuke Sato-helmed show maintained the basic beats of the event (those being "train station," "fireworks," followed by "a big boom, and you're in Borderland.") Albeit with some slight alterations. The Alice in Borderland show begins with the boys meeting up at Shibuya Station and accidentally causing a car wreck after a heartfelt show of comradery between them. As they're fleeing the scene, Chota brings their attention to fireworks going off midday before hiding from the district's local authorities in one of the station's bathrooms. Just as the cops track them down and loudly bang on the door of the stall they're hiding in, an outage occurs, bringing the otherwise bustling world to a quiet. As Arisu, Chota and Karube exit the stall to investigate, they discover that they've been transported to a strange, desolate, alternate version of their world: Borderland.
The Games of Borderland
What each of the playing cards represents for Borderland's games translates evenly from the manga to the live action of Alice in Borderland. Where the show diverges is mostly in the players and, at times, each game's rules. For instance, the Four of Diamonds game is originally played by Beach residents, Rizuna An (Ayaka Miyoshi) and Taketo Serizawa; only one of whom, Rizuna, we've met so far in the Netflix adaptation of Alice in Borderland. In lieu of Taketo, the show has Arisu join Rizuna in the game's group. This makes better sense for what we know of this Netflix version of the story, given the puzzle-solving skills Arisu has exemplified already. However, there are also times in which the Alice in Borderland show created its own twist on the games, such as we see with the Three of Clubs game. In the live-action, this game is named "Dead or Alive" and takes a simplified, but deadly, spin on what's basically an escape game. The manga, on the other hand, gives readers "Good Fortune Bad Fortune," which is a complex, very intense, and lethal, quiz game. Where the two versions of Alice in Borderland resemble each other is that Chota eventually gets his leg severely burned.
We may have only seen six of Borderland's games from beginning to end so far, but Netflix's Alice in Borderland also delivered a number of them via a montage after Arisu and Usagi reach the Beach. Interestingly, two of the games, "Hunting Competition" and "Bingo in the Matchstick Factory," are exclusive to the Alice in Borderland show. The other games we're treated to are either directly pulled from the manga with mild alterations or entirely different interpretations with slight similarities. For example, Netflix's simple yet excellent depiction of "Beast Hunter" is the same aside from their point system and where it takes place. Although it isn't directly named, the shonen version of the Six of Spades game is in a zoo rather than an amusement park and is where Morizono Aguni (Shô Aoyagi) is scarred. While it would have been fun to see the manga's version of the Four of Hearts game, otherwise known as "Human Elevator," adapted to live-action, it's still satisfying to see it even somewhat referenced.
The Beach and the Dealers in 'Alice in Borderland'
About midway through Alice in Borderland's first season, Arisu and Usagi reach the Beach. How the utopia works and the related events that are adapted are pretty true to the manga. Within the hotel is a governing body split into two dominant factions: The Idealists, led by Takeru "Hatter" Danma (Nobuaki Kaneko), and the Militants, who follow Morizono Aguni. It's at this point where we see some major differences take place within the show. Much of the story building that occurs at the Beach in the Alice in Borderland show is omitted, such as Hatter's descent into madness and the finer details of his and Aguni's shared history. To that, some of the most important details about the Beach's main residents are maintained, such as the backstories of Hikari Kuina (Asahina Aya) and Takatora "Last Boss" Samura (Shuntarô Yanagi) and their inevitable showdown during the Witch Hunt.
The speed at which the first season of Alice in Borderland goes through the Beach chapters of the manga is the most glaring change at the point we're at in the show. In addition to what's been covered, the show has the cards collected by the end of the first season as opposed to using the games as the main story's building blocks. This brought us forward rather quickly to the revelation of this world's true hierarchy, the Dealers and Citizens of Borderland. While there is still plenty of narrative material they could use, it does raise some questions as to what the second season of Alice in Borderland will cover. Will Netflix reveal the reason for the games sooner rather than later? What is Borderland, and how were the fireworks connected? Hopefully, we'll find out when Season 2 of Netflix's Alice in Borderland premieres on December 22, 2022.
Alice in Borderland Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.