Netflix’s Alice In Borderland: Major Changes Between The Manga And The Adaptation

Alice in Borderland is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Haro Aso. It was first serialized in Shogakukan’s Shōnen Sunday S magazine in 2010 and ran across for five years.

Netflix’s attempt to recreate the story is getting a lot of online traction. Netizens are sharing their views about the live-action adaption, and some hardcore anime fans pointed out the differences between the manga and the upcoming live-action movie.

Alice in Borderland is a modern psychological thriller

Isekai is a popular genre in Japanese cinema, where protagonists and deuteragonists get transported to a parallel universe and start a new life from point zero. But Alice in Borderland ditches this genre and follows the reverse-isekai, or a reverse plot, where the characters stay the same and the world around them changes.

Alice in Borderland follows the story of Arisu, Karube, and Chota. While hanging out near a firework festival, the trio found themself in a life and death situation after a big bright explosion temporarily left them unconscious. After gaining composure, Arisu and his friends wake up in a new reality, and they must participate in this new deadly game. Otherwise, they will die at the hands of other in-game players. The latter part of the story revolves around fighting, surviving, and learning about the game master.

Netflix changed the fireworks plot

In Netflix’s live-action adaptation, Arisu, Karube, and Chota get chased down by the authorities after causing traffic disruption in the Shibuya crossing. After running for half a mile, the trio ends up in the washroom cubicle and decides to hide in for a while. After an electrical outage, Arisu goes out of the washroom cubicle only to find out, Tokyo is emptied-out of humans, and they are the only people left in the streets. However, in the manga, Arisu, Karube, and Chota wake up in an empty street after a white explosion blinds them temporarily. This change was obvious as creating a power outage plot feels more realistic than fabricating a big blast in a public firework festival. The live-action adaptation gracefully attuned to the first scene by incorporating a simple and believable plot device for the movie.

The first game was Three of Clubs

In the original manga, the first game was Three of Clubs, and Arisu, being the intelligent one, answers the trivia questions on behalf of his friends. The difference is subtracted from the correct answer for every wrong answer, and the boys dealt with flaming arrows parallel to the subtracted number. However, Netflix’s adaptation changed the entire plot, and instead of Three of Clubs, Arisu and friends tackle a new game called Live or Die. In the game, the players have to choose between two doors on their smartphones. One door is for ‘Live,’ and the other Door is for ‘Die.’ To make things interesting, Netflix added two more characters to this game, and Arisu, Karube, and Chota played the game with two extra females. Additionally, Netflix added a time-limitation in the new game so that the edge-of-the-seat experience will bloom for the live-action viewers.

Arisu Ryouhei ability was shifted to a gamer guy

In the manga, Arisu was an observant student. He was portrayed as an idealist who follows his intentions and takes immense pleasure in analytical activities like solving puzzles, playing sudoku, etc. However, in the live-action adaptation, Arisu was a top-tier gamer who knew the in & outs of modern-day video games. The concept of video games attracts generation Z, and the directors were well aware of the fact that young people spend less time on board games and more on video games. So it was obvious that the creators will remove the board game factor and replace it with modern video games culture.

Netflix changed the ending plot for another season

In the Netflix live-action adaptation, season 1 ended with players locating the in-game cards, and the only card that was left was the Face Card. Asahi and Momoka finally make up their minds and decide to participate in the game. The character’s intention is still unclear as nobody knows why Aguni pushed Niragi into the Beach fire and why he saved Arisu. The ending is unexplained and unclear as Netflix didn’t highlight the true intentions of some characters.

In the manga, the ending was satisfying as Arisu, along with his friends, finally meets with the Borderland citizens. The manga ends with Arisu, Chishiya, Usagi, and Kuina meeting with Kano Mira, one of the game creators, and they finally finish the deadly game with some more survivors.

Source: Netflix’s Alice In Borderland: Major Changes Between The Manga And The Adaptation