'Alice In Borderland': What is the story behind Haro Aso-created manga that inspired Netflix live-action show?
Whether it's through VR, AR, viral and creative marketing campaigns, or simply just material that is deeply engaging and complex, games are constantly trying to outdo themselves when it comes to immersion. Gamers are looking for new ways to get lost in the world of their games, and 'Alice in Borderland' is a series that speaks directly to that. The live-action Netflix series sees three gamers who are looking for the ultimate gaming experience - and what they find is a lot more than any of them could have bargained for.
The Netflix series is based on a manga that came out in the 'Weekly Shōnen Sunday' magazine, written and illustrated by Haro Aso. The series focuses on three youths, Arisu, Karube and Segawa, who are bored with their current lives. In the midst of a festival, Arisu wishes to be able to live in a more exciting world - and his wish is soon granted, as the trio find themselves in what appears to be an empty, post-apocalyptic version of their home city of Tokyo. There, a woman tells them that they have "entered the game" - and that the only way to survive in this new world is to play games like they never have before - their very survival is on the line.
The series debuted in 2010, and ran all the way through to 2016. The 'Borderland' is a place where people are forced to play games or die, and if that's not exciting enough for Arisu, nothing is. The series is beloved by both gamers and manga fans alike, who enjoy the psychological themes explored throughout the series as the constant grind just to stay alive begins wearing on the Borderlands' players. As a survival manga, it is widely regarded as one of the best of its genre, made especially intriguing for the different kinds of games that it introduces to the players, growing increasingly inventive - and dangerous - as the series goes on.
You can watch a trailer for the series below, which features the three gamers enter a hauntingly empty Tokyo, before being introduced to the play-or-die stakes of this gameworld. They quickly realize that if the world is a game, there must be a Game Master - and he's going to be the first person they're going to be seeking out.
All episodes of 'Alice in Borderland' Season 1 releases on Netflix on Thursday, December 10.
