Review by C.J. Bunce
With last year’s announcement that Netflix renewed for a third season its live-action series Alice in Borderland–a Top 10 international hit in more than 70 countries–you may be wondering how to bide your time. Luckily Netflix didn’t adapt all the original source material to the screen. Will they go back for Season 3 and flesh-out side characters like in Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, or will they abandon the manga and take the heroes of the series into an entirely new direction? Will the Joker drive the story?
The manga provides additional characters and even new games that expand what viewers saw in the show, so if you haven’t followed up on the several available volumes yet, why not give them a try now?
When we reviewed the first season of Alice in Borderland here at borg back in 2020, there was no English edition of the original Japanese manga available. After the series aired, VIZ Media began issuing a volume-by-volume English translation, and we’ve reviewed Volume 1 here, Volume 2 here, Volume 3 here, Volume 4 here, Volume 5 here, and Volume 6 here. Each book is a massive 344-page paperback, and with Volume 7 they together collect the first 56 chapters. Alice in Borderland Volume 7 is available in print and digital now here at Amazon, or add it to your VIZ digital account here.
As a refresher, in the first volume readers met series protagonist Arisu and his friends entering the dark setting of Borderland. The next two volumes increased the pace of action and tension. Volume 4 focused on the hopelessness of the series’ leads chances. Volume 5 slowed the story down, shifting the nature of the threat and intensifying the story’s unique brand of villainy. Volume 6 was a more heady story, bringing in entirely new characters in a scene that later would be better tied into the TV series. But wait–in Volume 7 those new characters become more interesting, and readers get a better view of the murderous Jack of Hearts.
Volume 6 began a side tale reflecting the human condition: the evil that men do, the struggles faced unequally by everyone, and myriad types of relationships people face–good and bad and everything in between–including experiencing love and betrayal. That continues in Volume 7 as more players are killed off. Again the nuances of survival and decisions within the Jack of Hearts battle require some careful attention from the reader, especially for anyone trying to keep up with the game players.
But after the Jack of Hearts game concludes, the most interesting villain of the series finally emerges–the King of Spades, a special ops warrior with all kinds of killing skills, sure to clear the game board once and for all. Alice in Borderland thus far was great at leaving the “goofy kid” type out of the story, and the TV series wisely cut him out entirely. But in manga stories it seems to be practically a required element. Enter Hayato Dodo, a teenager who acts more like a little kid (if you’re keeping up you know the Dodo is from Lewis Carroll’s original story). Dodo becomes a third wheel with the tough survivor and former Beach co-head Morizono Aguni and the one-legged archer Akane Heiya, who are doing everything possible to eliminate the King of Spades. In the show Dodo’s role is subsumed by Akane or eliminated altogether. Another twist seems to make it unlikely for the manga to end the same as the show. Lots of unknowns remain as readers await the next volume, but this entry brings in more content from the surrounding battles. And it excludes most of the key players of the story. Recall we last saw Usagi in a bad way.
Note: As with prior volumes, the book is printed entirely in its original black and white artwork, typical of manga books, and it retains the creator’s original manga formatting.
Alice in Borderland Volume 1, Alice in Borderland Volume 2, and Alice in Borderland Volume 3 are excellent reads, and in Alice in Borderland Volume 4 readers may wonder if Haro can keep the action running for three more books. To check out the “expanded universe” of the story with more elements that go beyond the TV show, check out Alice in Borderland Volume 5, Alice in Borderland Volume 6, and now Alice in Borderland Volume 7, available in print and digital now here at Amazon, or add it to your VIZ digital account here. You can also pre-order Volume 8 here and Volume 9 here. Keep coming back to borg as we review the next two volumes.
