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bookcheshirecat 's review for:
Alice in Borderland, Vol. 2
by Haro Aso
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
➽ I finally continued Alice in Borderland! Ever since watching the Netflix show, I've been wanting to read the source material, because I loved the story so much. I'm reading the 2-1 Omnibus volumes, so a lot happened in this one! Arisu and his friends are still searching for answers about the Borderlands. Karube can't forget the strange clues about this 'Beach' that might give them the answers they are looking for. However, Chota and Saori's visas are running out soon, since they didn't participate in the Five of Spades game. The first cracks are already starting to show in the group, since Chota is still injured and starting to believe Saori that they're built differently from Arisu and Karube. Nevertheless, the group decides to tackle the next game together.
➽ The Seven of Hearts game was brutal. I knew what would be happening because I watched the show, but the first time it definitely caught me off guard! Hearts games have been described as cruel and the worst card suit by Saori. She's the only one who participated in one, as it was her first game in the Borderlands. I liked the flashback to the Two of Hearts game, as seeing how the games work is always fascinating. Hearts games play on people's psychology and seem to be the most devastating games. I liked that we learned about the distinction between the different types of games! The Seven of Hearts has a high difficulty and is chilling, because its game of 'Hide and Seek' only allows one person to survive. At first, the instruction that the 'sheep' should hide from the 'wolf' seems illogical, as surely everyone would try to take the wolf's place. After a tense and heartbreaking chase, everyone decides to let Arisu live. We see a flashback of the three friends, which makes it even more devastating that they're giving themselves up for Arisu. In my opinion, Saori shows even more courage, as she barely knew Arisu, but couldn't ignore this heartfelt scene of friendship. Arisu desperately searches for his friends, and now you understand why the sheep are supposed to hide. The game ends with Arisu's companions all dying. I didn't expect three prominent characters to die so soon!
➽ Arisu's devastated at his loss and spends the next days lying on the ground, unmoving. He has given up on his own life until a girl called Usagi picks him up. She becomes his hope, and he decides to find the 'Beach' for his friends, who gave everything to buy him a chance to escape the Borderlands. I liked that we also found out more about Usagi, who was already introduced in the Five of Spades game. She's felt like an outsider her whole life, and the only bright spot was her father, who she used to climb with. After a disastrous climb that ended in him being publicly shamed, he dies by suicide and leaves Usagi devastated. Usagi and Arisu decide to hunt down the location of the Beach, but once they arrive, they find out it's not as carefree as they expected. They're forced to turn in their cards to the leader, the Hatmaker. He reveals that clearing all cards will allow one person to go back, which is why everyone has a numbered key. I liked that Arisu convinced them that Usagi had cleared the Seven of Hearts - one of their missing cards - and got her a better spot.
➽ The beach might seem like a paradise, but there are clear power dynamics between the Fighter Team and the Hatmaker's people. Arisu gets on their radar quickly for defending Usagi and decides to join Chishiya, the mysterious young man from the previous game. Chishiya is already one of my favorite characters, and I also loved getting to know his friend Hikari. Not everyone is happy with the Hatmaker's plan, and the power struggles within the Beach quickly turn tense. Chisihya is definitely a manipulative bastard, but I still love him! The volume ends on a cliffhanger with Usagi and Arisu caught as traitors. I was already warned by watching the show, but we see Niragi deciding Usagi's punishment should be a girl's worst nightmare, getting raped. He's such a vile person and I'm not looking forward to seeing more of him. It'll be interesting to see if the Manga and Show depict him in the same way, as I never liked how the attempted rape scene was used as a plot device.
➽ The Seven of Hearts game was brutal. I knew what would be happening because I watched the show, but the first time it definitely caught me off guard! Hearts games have been described as cruel and the worst card suit by Saori. She's the only one who participated in one, as it was her first game in the Borderlands. I liked the flashback to the Two of Hearts game, as seeing how the games work is always fascinating. Hearts games play on people's psychology and seem to be the most devastating games. I liked that we learned about the distinction between the different types of games! The Seven of Hearts has a high difficulty and is chilling, because its game of 'Hide and Seek' only allows one person to survive. At first, the instruction that the 'sheep' should hide from the 'wolf' seems illogical, as surely everyone would try to take the wolf's place. After a tense and heartbreaking chase, everyone decides to let Arisu live. We see a flashback of the three friends, which makes it even more devastating that they're giving themselves up for Arisu. In my opinion, Saori shows even more courage, as she barely knew Arisu, but couldn't ignore this heartfelt scene of friendship. Arisu desperately searches for his friends, and now you understand why the sheep are supposed to hide. The game ends with Arisu's companions all dying. I didn't expect three prominent characters to die so soon!
➽ Arisu's devastated at his loss and spends the next days lying on the ground, unmoving. He has given up on his own life until a girl called Usagi picks him up. She becomes his hope, and he decides to find the 'Beach' for his friends, who gave everything to buy him a chance to escape the Borderlands. I liked that we also found out more about Usagi, who was already introduced in the Five of Spades game. She's felt like an outsider her whole life, and the only bright spot was her father, who she used to climb with. After a disastrous climb that ended in him being publicly shamed, he dies by suicide and leaves Usagi devastated. Usagi and Arisu decide to hunt down the location of the Beach, but once they arrive, they find out it's not as carefree as they expected. They're forced to turn in their cards to the leader, the Hatmaker. He reveals that clearing all cards will allow one person to go back, which is why everyone has a numbered key. I liked that Arisu convinced them that Usagi had cleared the Seven of Hearts - one of their missing cards - and got her a better spot.
➽ The beach might seem like a paradise, but there are clear power dynamics between the Fighter Team and the Hatmaker's people. Arisu gets on their radar quickly for defending Usagi and decides to join Chishiya, the mysterious young man from the previous game. Chishiya is already one of my favorite characters, and I also loved getting to know his friend Hikari. Not everyone is happy with the Hatmaker's plan, and the power struggles within the Beach quickly turn tense. Chisihya is definitely a manipulative bastard, but I still love him! The volume ends on a cliffhanger with Usagi and Arisu caught as traitors. I was already warned by watching the show, but we see Niragi deciding Usagi's punishment should be a girl's worst nightmare, getting raped. He's such a vile person and I'm not looking forward to seeing more of him. It'll be interesting to see if the Manga and Show depict him in the same way, as I never liked how the attempted rape scene was used as a plot device.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Sexual harassment