Alice in Borderland

The fantasy of a shy teenager on film, a rip-off of everything under the sun, played only for effect and without any essence of its own. I’ve no clue whether the original Japanese manga is like this, but the series feels like one of those empty Netflix products that only want to appeal to their target audiences, without any further ambitions. There’s even a place called Beach, so the characters can walk around in swimsuits and look sexy. The first three episodes weren’t so annoying, but the utterly stupid fourth episode made me lose all interest. The core of the series, the games the protagonists are forced to play, is banal at best and, at worst, pointless and with nonsensical solutions. By the end I wasn’t sure whether to laugh at the pathetic portrayal of the wannabe dramas between the characters, or to cry at how awfully reluctant the creators were to say something specific about the meaning of all this. We clap and clap, we fuck with some stupid chick on the monitors of the control centre and we move on to the second season, but please, without everything, and without me. (14/12/2020)

Eintopf² rips off basically everything ever made in the field of genre films, manga, video games, comics, classic works, geek culture – everything, everywhere, in everything. During the opening episode alone, you'll safely recognise Persona, Danganronpa, Cube, of course Alice, Project Zero, 28 Days Later, pub quizzes, Saw, Takeshi's Castle, Jumanji, the escape game phenomenon, The Game, Battle Royale, Hunger Games and well over seventy other predecessors. Once again, this is just in the first episode alone. Every scene pushes a completely different formal envelope, and so each episode feels like it was shot by a trio of directors, each in their own way, with their own vision and at the mercy of the others. The protagonist is a genius of the "Sherlock Rag" format who pulls solutions and what seems to be justifications for them out of his ass, but this is standard in Japanese affairs. And that repeatedly problems are solved thanks to a deus ex machina last-minute workaround? That is by far the least of the problems. And yet, worlds wonder, it works as a cohesive, tightly knit unit of sorts that moves along, is adrenaline-fuelled, with a world and rules that make you want to find out more, and it constantly has some ideas (not always used, but when it sticks, kudos to it), it plays with the rules of genres, it's formally polished, it never gets stuck in place, and the characters grow on you over time, so there's quite an emotional response. At its core, it's about game theory applied to uncompromising situations filled with Sophie's choices that likeable characters must make to their advantage at the expense of others, which is a very solid concept. As much as I would be reluctant to recommend it to anyone, there is so much here that I think everyone will find something to like, and also something that will irritate them to no end. In any case, it fulfils the parameters of a cult-classic in every aspect. (13/12/2020)

Excellent stuff. Netflix scores again and for Japan, Alice in Borderland is probably the event of the decade. Jumanji meets Cube meets Escape Room meets Battle Royale!! Alice in Borderland is an excellent mix of favorite movies combined into one and it is an incredible 8-hour ride that I enjoyed in one breath. A group of random people from Tokyo are transported to a parallel world resembling virtual reality. They must play dangerous games to survive, and the reward is a several-day visa, where Death awaits you after its expiration, so the key to survival is to play and win. There are four types of games: team, physical, knowledge, and malicious that play with the mind and emotions, all divided into different levels from 1 to 10. Each episode features a different game, and it’s always something inventive and original. The protagonist is a geek who has never worked in normal life and has only played video games, so he excels in knowledge. Visually satisfying, and I cannot remember better technical execution from Japan, the characters are very entertaining, likeable, and some are very mysterious. The series is also packed with many unexpected twists, where I never managed to guess the course of events even once, and the ending is properly surprising. The highlight for me was episode 7. It features a proper Battle Royale and there was no shortage of blood, there was even one excellent fight between a samurai sword and Kung-Fu. Anyone who enjoys games, puzzles, solving riddles intelligently will be satisfied, just like me. Great satisfaction, and the cliffhanger for the 2nd season is great. Story****, Action*****, Humor**, Violence****, Entertainment*****, Music****, Visual*****, Atmosphere*****, Tension****. 8.5/10. (11/12/2020)

It begins with a whirlwind of ideas and unexpected twists, but in the second season it started to drag a bit, to the point that I fell asleep with almost every episode. The ending, on the other hand, is another inventive bloodbath. I love this type of ending, and I was surprised to see that it could be innovated quite substantially as well. The Japanese are good, despite their sometimes excessive screaming. They’ve always been. (16/04/2023)