History Series / AliceInBorderland

* AllForNothing: The 4♣ game, ''Distance'', that Arisu and Usagi along with three men participate in episode 4 seems to be this in a tragic sense as it turns out that [[spoiler: the bus was actually the goal all along instead of the end of the tunnel all of them has to run faster over there except Takuma as he had a sprained foot as the bus has the graffiti word 'GOAL!' already painted over its side. The two men, Arisu and Usagi were with had already died; the first man from being mauled to death by a panther and the second man trip down and drown as Usagi notices the tunnel is about to flood immediately by the submerging levels of water from the other side of the metal wall. Fortunately, she survived as Arisu and Takuma manage to get the bus working and she's saved at the last minute ending the game with Takuma the only man surviving.]]

* DeadlyGame: The main premise of the series. The color of the cards that represent the game indicates the "genre": spades are primarily physical challenges, clubs are based on teamwork, diamonds are intelligence-based and heart games are based on betrayals and heartbreak. The card value represents the difficulty and the number of days added to the players' visa if they survive the game.

* GasolineDousing: In episode 7 Last Boss douses a utility room with gasoline and lights it with a lighter to force people into the courtyard to get shot up by the militants.

** That said, the solution to the games can overlap with qualities typically attributed to other genres. For example, in ''Tag'', a Spades game, teamwork between the players and Arisu and Chishiya's intelligence were both factors that helped the players win. Also, [[spoiler:10♥ ''Witch Hunt'' is won by stopping and thinking things through]].

* LeParkour: Used to great effect by Yuzuha to win the 5♠ game.

* TheEndOrIsIt: The series ends with everyone waking up in the real world, having forgotten their time in the Borderlands, but still changed for the better. The final scene zooms in on a table with a bunch of cards scattered over it; the wind blows away every card but one as the camera focuses on the Joker card right in the middle...

* GracefulLoser: Almost all of the [[spoiler:Face Cards]] take their loses with grace, complimenting their opponents on their victory, even though it means [[FaceDeathWithDignity their death]].

* AdaptationalVillainy: It makes sense, but [[spoiler:Saori Shibuki does ''not'' sacrifice herself willingly during the Hide and Seek game like she does in the manga. Considering the fact that she's only known the other 3 for a few days, she doesn't have the same conflict as the guys do who have known each other their whole lives. Chouta instead forces her into hiding to let Arisu win. She does at least stop struggling at the end and accept that she's about to die.]]

** Zigzagged in season 2. In episode 7, [[spoiler:seven longstanding characters, six of them at least somewhat sympathetic, appear to suffer grievous if not mortal injury. Chishiya and Niragi are both shot as a result of a MexicanStandoff also involving Arisu, while five others are hurt badly battling the King of Spades -- Ann and Heiya appear to actually expire from their wounds, while Kuina clings to life saying she can't move. Usagi and Aguni are definitely alive, but suffer serious injuries too. (Arisu gets some cuts and bruises, but nothing worse than he sustains throughout most of the series]]. In the next episode, [[spoiler:once the Queen of Hearts game, and consequently all games, are cleared, all of these characters return to the real world and though they sustain injuries comparable to what they sustained in Borderland (notably, Heiya loses her foot), they're all alive and well. Even Tatta, who perished several episodes earlier, is resurrected.]] It's a zigzag because [[spoiler:though briefly resurrected, Chōta and Karube are still killed in the real world.]]

''Alice in Borderland'' (今際の国のアリス; ''Imawa no Kuni no Arisu'') is a Creator/{{Netflix}} science fiction/horror/thriller Japanese television series, based on the ''Magazine/ShonenSunday'' [[Manga/AliceInBorderland manga]] of the same name. Its core premise is that Tokyo has been almost entirely depopulated and those few who remain must play sadistic and violent "games" in order to survive. It stars Creator/KentoYamazaki as Ryōhei Arisu and Tao Tsuchiya as Yuzuha Usagi. The first season was released worldwide on 10 December 2020. A second season is due for release in December of 2022.

''Alice in Borderland'' (今際の国のアリス; ''Imawa no Kuni no Arisu'') is a Creator/{{Netflix}} original science fiction/horror/thriller Japanese television series, based on the ''Magazine/ShonenSunday'' [[Manga/AliceInBorderland manga]] of the same name. Its core premise is that Tokyo has been almost entirely depopulated and those few who remain must play sadistic and violent "games" in order to survive. It stars Creator/KentoYamazaki as Ryōhei Arisu and Tao Tsuchiya as Yuzuha Usagi. The first season was released worldwide on 10 December 2020. A second season is due for release in December of 2022.

* SequelHook: Season 1 ends with [[spoiler:the mysterious game leader (possibly a representative) announcing the introduction of new games. The next day, blimps carrying huge banners of face cards fly in over Tokyo, suggesting that the new games will be even harder than the hardest encountered up until now]].

** In [[spoiler: 10♥ ''Witch Hunt'' a girl Momoka is found dead with a knife in her chest, with the whole Beach cordoned off and everyone inside has two having find the "Witch" responsible. In truth there's no killer, Momaka committed suicide and is herself the "Witch" so with enough calm analysis and thought absolutely no one had to die, but with the recent regime change putting the likes of the bitterly destructive Aguni in charge violence was largely inevitable.]]

** In [[spoiler: 10♥ ''Witch Hunt'' a girl Momoka is found dead with a knife in her chest, with the whole Beach cordoned off and everyone inside has two hours find the "Witch" responsible. In truth there's no killer, Momaka committed suicide and is herself the "Witch" so with enough calm analysis and thought absolutely no one had to die, but with the recent regime change putting the likes of the bitterly destructive Aguni in charge violence was largely inevitable.]]

** In 10♥ a girl [[spoiler: Momoka is found dead with a knife in her chest, with the whole Beach cordoned off and everyone inside assigned the role of finding the "Witch" responsible. In truth there's no killer, Momaka committed suicide and is herself the "Witch" so with enough calm analysis and thought absolutely no one had to die, but with the recent regime change putting the likes of the bitterly destructive Aguni in charge violence was largely inevitable.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alice_in_borderland_season_2.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alice_in_borderland.jpg]]

''Alice in Borderland'' (今際の国のアリス; ''Imawa no Kuni no Arisu'') is a Creator/{{Netflix}} original science fiction/horror/thriller Japanese television series, based on the ''Magazine/ShonenSunday'' [[Manga/AliceInBorderland manga]] of the same name. Its core premise is that Tokyo has been almost entirely depopulated and those few who remain must play sadistic and violent "games" in order to survive. It stars Creator/KentoYamazaki as Ryōhei Arisu and Tao Tsuchiya as Yuzuha Usagi. The first season was released worldwide on 10 December 2020, and a second season has been ordered.

* AdvancingWallOfDoom: A watery version occurs at the end of the Four of Clubs game.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Displayed early on by Arisu in the Three of Clubs game and most of the succeeding games [[spoiler:except tragically for the Seven of Hearts]]. Chishiya later gets to show off his own intellect as well when he [[spoiler: figures out where Hatter was keeping the cards (and manipulates Arisu into getting caught looking in a fake location so that he can go after the real location), and later when he figures out a seemingly random doodle was actually a map of the subway system]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Arisu and the wounded man on the bus during the Four of Clubs game.

* SuicideNotMurder: [[spoiler:The murder victim in 10♥ ''Witch Hunt'' turns out to have been a dealer and to have actually stuck the knife into her own chest and the solution to the game is to throw her on the fire]].

* AdaptationalHeroism: Heroism would be too strong a word, but Arisu's father in the Netflix series seems to be less abusive and more just tired of Arisu's utter lack of motivation to do anything. He still constantly compares Arisu to his more successful younger brother, but unlike the manga where he throws a party for Arisu's brother for getting into college while outright ignoring that Arisu is in the room, he celebrates with dessert that he even offers to Arisu, who silently ignores him.