"Why do you think you're alive?"
Imawa no Kuni no Alice (今際の国のアリス), also known as Alice in Borderland, is a beautiful, psychological manga that primarily focuses on themes such as human nature, changing one's path, and most importantly, life. It is inherently able to provoke readers in protruding thoughts around the meaning of life and how far and willingly we can define what life is. Is life what you make it? Is life simply us being born? Questions like these is what the author attempts to evoke from us readers.
STORY - 8.5/10:
You most likely have already read the synopsis written for Alice in Borderland. It is about our main character who sees fireworks with his friends late at night and are randomly stuck in this post-apocalyptic world where they play games based on a card value and ranking. Hearts - Psychological; Diamonds - Intelligence; Spades - Physical; and Clubs - Balanced/Cooperation. The higher the card value, the more difficult the game is. Thus our protagonist and friends are left to find a way back to their original world and answer to why they are here, but what makes the story so charming is how pleasant everything plays out. Sure, we've already seen similar stories based on survival game-like genres but this story in particular really hooks the reader is how immersive the entire story is. It never gets boring or dull to read and manages to keep everything interesting and well-paced for a survival manga.
ART - 8.5/10:
The art is an enjoyable treat for the eyes as the manga progresses along with the author's form and art style for this particular manga. It is delicate, yet rough enough to illustrate different meanings during scenarios. Character art is excellent and the author's attention here is definitely evident. If a character is upset, you're able to really feel the intensity in their anger with every stroke in the panel. The background art surrounding characters is beautifully done and readers are able to visualize the story easily. There's enough details that any less or more would take away meaning behind what's happening during a situation.
CHARACTERS - 10/10:
In my opinion, this is where the manga truly shines and it is easily seen throughout the story. There is considerable raw development in not only our protagonist but in many characters. We're able to understand their pasts and how this world affects who they will and have become after experiencing traumatic moments. Arisu, the protagonsit, is a somewhat underachiever in life who doesn't get great grades and is always being compared to his genius, younger brother. But one game after another, we see how much he changes and the journey of him finding the answer to this world. I don't necessarily want to give out too much about the characters but most of them are great.
ENJOYMENT - 9/10:
This manga is one a kind and I really enjoyed it from start to finish. It was well-paced and always kept me reading and wanting me to know more. There are twists, psychological warfare, intense action, outstandingly wits and cleverness, and amazing teamwork all blended into one fulfilling manga.
OVERALL - 9/10:
In the end, I believe anyone reading this review should check out this manga if you came this far. It really starts to pick up the pace after a few chapters in, but if it's not exactly your tastes then that's okay because that's also what life's about.
