I first learned about Alice in Borderland from the Netflix original series. Pulled in by the death game premise and the way the series dealt with relationships, I was excited to see the manga officially released in English—even more so when I realized the mangaka behind my favorite seinen title Zom 100 Bucketlist of the Dead is also the mangaka who created this story. Created, written, and illustrated by Haro Aso, Alice In Borderland Volume 1 is published and localized in English by VIZ Media through its VIZ Signature imprint. The English translation and adaptation comes from Jonah Mayahara-Miller and features touch-up art and lettering by Joanna Estep.

Originally released in 2011 by Shogakukan, the Alice In Borderland manga isn’t exactly what the Netflix series brought to audiences. In Volume 1, readers are introduced to 18-year-old Ryohei Arisu who is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future feels like impending doom left in his kid brother’s shadow. His friends Chota and Karube are no different. With what feels like a world closing in on him as he approaches adulthood, he wants desperately for a zombie apocalypse or some other natural world-ending disaster to hit Japan. Then, maybe he can have a chance at life. But wishes are dangerous, and when a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world Ryohei realizes the danger that comes with going down the rabbit hole.

A city that nature has started reclaiming, empty streets, and games await. What starts off as something interesting and exciting to the trio, quickly becomes dangerous. The first game starts with a bang, but Ryohei manages to beat the clock and save his friends. It’s a short-lived victory, however, as they discover that winning only earns them a few days’ grace period. With a pace that fits the dire circumstances, the death game the friends find themselves in becomes even more dangerous as the cards are dealt.

If you’re coming into the manga after watching the series like me, this massive volume with 344 pages offers up the first two challenges we see in the series—only very different (well, at least the first one). The ages of the characters in the manga are younger, making Arisu a very different character than what the television series showed us. He’s even more insecure and worried, but that works by the volume’s end when we see him figure out the games. Additionally, the entire first game is different than that in the show, though some events are the same within it.

Why am I mentioning this? Well, I’m mentioning it because even though you may know all the twists of Alice In Borderland, opening up the manga that started it all gives you more story, different games, and characters with slightly different motives. While I was worried that the shocks that the series delivered on Netflix would spoil reading the manga, that didn’t happen. Instead, it built up a tension that only grew as the story revealed all the liberties taken in the adaptation.

Now, Aso’s story is what keeps me set on returning to Alice In Borderland, but their art is what seals the deal. While some hyper-stylized characters like Chota are hard to like design-wise, the games, the violence, and the danger are all expertly illustrated. Each moment of dreams it brought to life with the illustration, and the horse-masked tag-game and barrage of bullets feel even tenser and fear-inducing than I thought it could be.

Overall, Alive In Borderland Volume 1 is amazing. It’s a thick volume that does a lot of work by showcasing two games. But every bit of it leaves me craving more. Death games are great, but they’re only as good as the characters playing them. Haro Aso’s characters, particularly Arisu, are all the reason you’ll need to stay with the series.

It seems that the survival death game genre is making a full-on renaissance these days. Gone are the days of the Hunger Games/Battle Royale debate as more media have depicted high-stakes brawls. Back in 2020, Alice in Borderland got a critically acclaimed live-action adaptation worldwide. Now the manga is available in a deluxe 2-in-1 omnibus, and it’s a thrill ride for those yearning for more.

Alice in Borderland focuses on Arisu and his childhood friends, the former of which is bored with his everyday life. When Arisu wishes for his days to become more exciting, the trio is whisked away to another version of Tokyo. Meeting office worker Saori, the four end up participating in deadly events scattered across the land. The rules of the game are explained slowly, and if they don’t participate, they will end up as messy smears. This series will test Arisu and his friends as they try to live another day in a hellish paradise.

I haven’t watched the live-action show myself, but I’ve heard great things about it. If the manga is any indication, Alice in Borderland is a gritty and endearing tale of survival. While Arisu is a boastful protagonist at first, the second he’s transported he becomes humanly vulnerable. The cast’s reactions and realizations throughout the manga are palpably relatable, and it creates a heartfelt narrative and conflict. The mysteries that have risen in the beginning are a wonderful hook that made me want more, and I cannot wait for the next omnibus.

I first learned about this series after watching the adaptation on Netflix, which became one of the few shows I watched start-to-finish in 2021. It was recommended by a coworker of mine, and they were spot-on with the assumption that I would enjoy the show.

Unfortunately, I found the manga — of which, the edition this review is for compiles the first two volumes — pretty unsatisfactory. I didn’t find any of the early characters introduced—Arisu included—compelling, and I didn’t particularly care what happened to them. It was interesting to see which of the challenges were different from the ones I’d already known, but other than that…

Well, this review somehow turned out to be more about the show than the manga, but if you had to ask me, I would recommend spending your time on the adaptation instead. At the very least, the characters are more complex and a bit easier to cheer for.

I'd heard about this title for a number of years, so it's nice to see it finally in print! This is a survival game manga, and while I wasn't fully invested in the characters at first, the general plot and engaging art kept me reading. If you like more action-oriented titles, give this one a look!

My file was corrupted and I could not access this on multiple devices. Looking forward to reading it upon release.

I loved the Netflix series and I was so excited when I saw that they are publishing a manga. I enjoy that with the manga, I can take my time to understand everything that is happening compared to the show which can be fast paced and difficult to understand, especially if there are any type of riddles involved. However, I felt a little disappointed with the art style/depiction of the characters which isn't how I would've imagined them. I think this will be a great series to own, especially as this genre is becoming more popular for TV series.

Alice in Borderland is a dystopian graphic novel about an unsatisfied teenager, Arisu, who finds himself sucked into a survivalist world that he doesn't hate because at least now he feels he has a purpose.

Arisu is the older son of some hyper-ambitions parents with an over-achieving younger brother, leaving him feeling unappreciated and invisible. Escaping the constant comparison to his brother, Arisu finds himself feeling more competent and aware of his gifts and talents in the Borderland. The problem is, things are life or death in the Borderland and he's got to figure out how to play the game to keep himself and his friends alive. Fantastic artwork.

I had high hopes as I really loved the netflix series but I didn't click with the art style and the characters seemed a bit too pervy for my tastes. That being said, it is an interesting story and it's not fair to compare it to Squid Games as this came first. A must if you like that battle royale, murder game type of thing

This Graphic Novel is Squid Game meets The Hunger Games and is the scariest I've read. Deeply enjoyable and creative.
Thank you Chantelle of Viz Media and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

If you liked watching Squid Games on Netflix, this manga may be for you. However, the manga is written from a male-gaze lense, so female characters are objectified and sexualized. This is an adult manga for sure, with murder and violence as they try to win games to survive. It's not great, but its not a bad read.

Great story! I like the originality of it. I also heard there is a tv show with the same name so I will have to check it out to see if and how it's related to this manga. Great new series that I will follow closely!

Thank you to NetGalley and Viz for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This Viz Signature Edition of Alice in Borderland Volume 1 collects what was published in Japan as Volume 1 and Volume 2.

I was happy to hear that Viz was releasing this Alice in Borderland, and it lived up to the hype. Haro Aso's storytelling abilities are on full display in this death game suspense series. Arisu is a high schooler with little direction in life. He lives in the shadow of his over-achieving brother, and he has no strong desires other than to have a fun time living in the moment. One night, he and two of his friends are suddenly transported to a strange land that looks like the world they know but is seemingly empty. Although they enjoy themselves for a little bit, theyr'e soon thrust into a mysterious game in which they dont' know the rules and their lives are on the line.

Arisu gets great character development as he's put in increasingly difficult situations. I'm excited to see how the relationship between him and his friends changes as time passes and the stakes intensify.

Aso's has a nice amount of grit that sets the story's tone, and I'm excited for the next volume.

Story and Art: Haro Aso
English Translation and Adaptation: Jonah Mayahara-Miller
Touch-Up Art and Lettering: Joanna Estep
Design: Alice Lewis
Editor: Pancha Diaz