#i know the aib fandom is not big but maybe it will convince my mutuals to watch this

[cthulhuliet]

Alice in Borderland Episode 1 Rambles:

I started Alice in Borderland, and I typed out my live reactions while watching it, I am also going to give my opinions on the episode, this is for episode 1 (the rambles will probably be stream of consciousness but the review will be far more coherent.)

I am only on episode one now but I have to say go watch this show .

-Finally, gamer representation.

-The set up damn….

-Dead Mom, so true.

-Arisu is some kind of queer, what is that outfit?

-Lol 4:20.

-“I have some business to take care of” *punches Karube*

-Arisu is needy but kind of cute so it is ok. Seems to have a lot of friends which is shocking considering he’s a gamer. This music hits though.

-Gaming and walking you’re going to run into a pole or something.

-Vomit, nvm.

-Them all lined up? Wildly different vibes. Need backstory.

-"Imagine if the zombie apocalypse just happened" I have these exact conversations with my friends I swear.

-Are Arisu and Karube fucking or something? *puts Arisu on his shoulders* Yeah, they are.

-Oh, so they are stupid.

-They literally caused a traffic incident, this is literally the most realistic portrayal of friendship I have seen in a while.

-This show stole my color scheme (but the OP effects are really cool).

-The high angle shots really show how big the city is without people.

-"I think it would be kind of nice, just the 3 of us" Oh, ok, Arisu is a freak.

-Karube is the only one who has a braincell. Understood.

-"Game start". That is ominous as hell. Never say the word “game” with no context.

-... Arisu? Why would you walk towards the laser that you just saw your friends badge get burned off at? Is Arisu stupid or something?

-The game: waifu or emo

-Oh. They really just killed her, what the hell. I hope they are starting to realize this isn’t just fun and games.

-Arisu? Where is this coming from? You’re actually clever? Needed to get a pen and paper for your strategy. Glad Karube punched it out of you.

-These people have seen 2 people die from random lasers in front of them. I mean good job on the 3 day visa I suppose.

There was more commentary before the game started just because I became incredibly invested in what was happening with the game. Great work on that.

Review: One thing that stuck out to me immediately is the directorial style of the show. It all seems incredibly deliberate: the stark difference in style between Arisu, Karube, and Chota; the high school girl wearing mainly white is killed by the red laser; the shots showing Arisu's sweat from playing video games to later waiting to 'sacrifice' himself by opening the door (though he doesn't die in this game).

For the characters I thought that Arisu's shift from relaxed but slightly anxious gamer to puzzle genius was a bit sudden and heavy handed-- not saying it was bad, I just wish we got a little more foreshadowing of how clever he actually was beforehand (they gave us shots of his books being all about geometry and about cars, so it was not out of character). It was for sure a "where was this before" moment.

Arisu is a very intriguing main character. He is obvious the Alice in all of this (Arisu = Alice) and I know there are other characters to come, but he is just the kind of unhinged genius I need. Being able to work out the dimensions of the building based upon his knowledge of geometry was excellent. I am looking forward to seeing where they take him and how his gaming knowledge is going to move the plot forward and help them survive.

I really enjoy Karube as a character and I would be looking forward to more of him... If I were writing his character. I am worried that the show is going to reduce him into an hot-headed brute without any depth.

I also have to live with the knowledge that some of these characters are going to die, and that is ok. I also know that I have to look forward to more characters joining, as this is only the first episode.

Only thing I am worried about is that the show is going to Arisu solving all the puzzles while everyone else stands around and basks in his genius. It is obvious that the character has faults and faults that can be easily exploited, I hope they delve into more of that later in the games. Maybe there will be games testing mental fortitude rather than intelligence.

I am curious as to what the significance of the cards are so far. It was shown in the op different cards, and we saw it at the end that they got visa for the 3 of Clubs game they just played. What would a 9 of Diamonds do? Or a Jack of Spades? The numbers are equivalent to the difficulty, and the more difficult the game the more visas are credited to you. I can only guess that the different cards are the types of games that there are? Tests of physical, mental, social, emotional, something like that corresponding with the suits. Or it is possible that suits signify danger, and there are only Ace-5 for spades and clubs because the danger is lower, but for hearts and diamonds it is only 6-10 because these are riskier? These are just speculations, I know I will find out.

I am really enjoying this thus far, and this is just to kind of organize my thoughts. If you read this, thank you, I hope you enjoy my thoughts about future episodes <=>