After a three-year absence, the favored Japanese sci-fi thriller sequence Alice in Borderland lastly returned for Season 3 on Netflix in September 2025. A super substitute for these left chilly by the underwhelming third season of Squid Recreation, Alice in Borderland delivers the life-or-death stakes and make-or-break survival instincts that made the inaugural season of Netflix’s most-viewed hit present so addictive.
Based mostly on the mega-popular manga sequence, Alice in Borderland envisions a parallel model of modern-day Tokyo, the place two youngsters are compelled to take part in a sequence of lethal, torturous card video games that develop into more and more difficult. Though Squid Recreation attracts from a real-life Korean kids’s sport and Alice in Borderland adapts a Japanese manga, each ship visceral thrills whereas providing sharp social commentary.
‘Alice in Borderland’ Takes Place in Abandoned Tokyo
Based mostly on Haro Aso’s beloved manga sequence of the identical title, Alice in Borderland is an acclaimed Japanese sci-fi sequence that revolves round teenage gaming allies, Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya). Much like the cash-strapped contestants in Squid Recreation, Arisu has no cash and fewer luck, spending most of his time taking part in video video games in his bed room and avoiding his disconnected household.
The whole lot modifications for Arisu when he exits a public rest room and out of the blue enters the Borderlands, an otherworldly reproduction of post-apocalyptic Tokyo, the place he unites with Usagi, a talented mountain climber reeling over the latest demise of her father. The Borderland is revealed to be a purgatorial holding place between life and demise, the place those that’ve skilled a near-death expertise get a second probability to outlive.
As Arisu and Usagi vie to remain alive by competing in lethal card video games of escalating issue, with demise being the last word consequence, they type a young romance. Every card go well with determines the kind of challenges the gamers face. As an example, spades point out bodily video games, diamonds signify psychological video games, golf equipment symbolize teamwork challenges, and hearts denote emotional video games.
Alice in Borderland Season 2 ended with Arisu, Usagi, and their buddies studying that their so-called ally, Mira (Riisa Naka), is secretly the Queen of Hearts who challenges them to a high-stakes sport of croquet. Season 3, which premiered on Netflix on September 25, picks up 5 years after a meteorite hit Tokyo, leaving Arisu, Usagi, and the opposite individuals with no reminiscence of the Borderland.
Other than the survival instincts that each exhibits revolve round, fashionable kids’s video games essentially join Alice in Borderland and Squid Recreation. Whereas playing cards within the deck are the figuring out issue within the former, Arisu and Usagi interact in such playful, harmless video games as tag, cover and search, dodgeball, croquet, and different bodily video games. Additionally they clear up cerebral puzzles and strategic parlor video games comparable to Mahjong.
With demise the last word punishment for shedding any specific card sport problem, Alice in Borderland is most aligned with Squid Recreation in its potential rewards. The last word prize for successful the video games in Alice in Borderland is an extension of their visas. In the event that they lose, not solely will their visas expire, however they may even be shot to demise by laser beams taking pictures down from the sky. Behind the veil of flashy gaming thrills and harrowing demise defiance is a trenchant social commentary permeating from each TV exhibits.
Squid Recreation‘s commentary is extra distinguished, referring to social experiments and Darwin’s principle of survival of the fittest. The sequence poses the query of how far an individual in monetary destroy is keen to go to complement themselves at the price of harming one other human being. A scathing commentary on the corrosive rot of capitalistic greed, Squid Recreation makes use of recognizable kids’s video games to make a robust assertion.
Not far off, Alice in Borderland‘s social commentary spotlights inequality, authorized citizenship, private sovereignty, and the inherent worth of human life. Furthermore, each TV exhibits discover themes of crushing Survivor’s Guilt, with Gi-hun in Squid Recreation reeling over the demise of his pleasant rivals after rising victoriously, and Arisu lamenting the deaths of his buddies, Chota and Karube, after personally prevailing.
What To Count on in ‘Alice in Borderlands’ Season 3
Returning after a three-year hiatus, followers might discover a slight episode discount in Alice in Borderland Season 3. The primary two seasons every featured eight episodes, whereas Season 3 has simply six episodes. Plot-wise, the story picks up 5 years after the devastating meteorite struck Tokyo within the Season 2 finale, and left Arisu and Usagi with amnesia in the true world. Now married to Usagi, Arisu turns to Dr. Ryuji, who begins probing Arisu’s reminiscence in regards to the Borderland.
As Usagi experiences traumatic flashbacks to the gory Seaside bloodbath in Season 2, Dr. Ryuji is transported to the Borderlands. As soon as his reminiscence returns, Arisu races the ticking clock to rescue Usagi from a coma within the Borderland after Dr. Ryuji kidnaps her. The opening episode units up a heroic dynamic for Arisu as he embarks on a solo mission to maintain Usagi alive.
In case you have been left upset by the ending of Squid Recreation Season 3, Alice in Borderland might be the proper sequence for you. For essentially the most profitable Netflix sequence on file to drop off so drastically is a tough tablet to swallow, with Squid Recreation Season 2 additionally nicely under the usual that Season 1 established throughout the COVID lockdown.
In contrast, Alice in Borderland has improved season over season. The primary season earned an 82% Rotten Tomatoes rating, whereas the second season elevated to 91%. With an equal viewers rating of 91% (Popcorn Meter), Alice in Borderland appeals to each critics and non-critics, persevering with to enhance with every passing season. With three years to put in writing, direct, movie, and edit Season 3, chances are high excessive that Alice in Borderland will proceed to do what Squid Recreation couldn’t: get higher with time. Alice in Borderland is streaming on Netflix.