22 Episodes Of Netflix's Best Japanese Show Deliver Peak Battle Royale

Published Nov 6, 2026, 6:30 AM EST

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While looking for compelling new action thrillers, it becomes impossible to ignore battle royale stories. There is something truly fascinating about the gamification of survival stories where only one last man will remain standing. The battle royale trope is perhaps as old as the survival horror genre. In recent years, however, it has almost become synonymous with Netflix's Squid Game.

The viral Korean drama on Netflix rose in the ranks to become one of the most successful shows on streaming. While many factors can be attributed to its success, it worked so well because of its nostalgic survival games and its hard-hitting social commentary. During Squid Game's successful run on Netflix, another similar survival thriller was slowly gaining immense traction.

Based on a manga of the same name, the Japanese series, Alice in Borderland, never matched the commercial highs of Squid Game. Yet, it became quite successful in its own right and lasted for 3 whole seasons before concluding its run. In hindsight, it is hard not to appreciate how Alice in Borderland delivered peak battle royale storytelling throughout its runtime.

The Battle Royale In Alice In Borderland Is Ruthless & Unforgiving

Alice in Borderland adopts a fairly conventional story setup in its early moments, albeit with a mysterious supernatural twist. Its three main characters suddenly find themselves in an alternate version of Tokyo where they must play one survival game after another. The three leads, Arisu, Chota, and Karube, cleverly make their way through the first few games, where Arisu puts his intelligence on full display.

However, just when a viewer assumes the proverbial "the power of friendship" will help them overcome all odds, the Netflix survival thriller drops its first shocking twist.

In a game, called the "7 of Hearts," all three main characters are forced to play against one another. Only one has a shot at survival. This initially turns them against one another before Arisu's friends sacrifice their lives for him. With this, Alice in Borderland establishes how unforgiving its central games can be.

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With what follows, Alice in Borderland finds clever ways to keep raising the stakes with almost every new game. While some games require wit, others are driven by skill and strength. The stakes, however, always remain sky-high.

The most memorable games in Squid Game thrive on childhood nostalgia. Instead of treading the same path, Alice in Borderland compels viewers with the scale of its games. Its characters find themselves scaling the Tokyo Tower in one game, while facing apocalyptic riddles in another. There is no limit to what can happen in a game in Alice in the Borderland, which keeps the show completely unpredictable.

Unlike many conventional survival thrillers out there, Alice in Bordeland does not follow a one-dimensional "last man standing" story. The live-action Japanese Netflix show builds a rich fantastical world that follows a massive and diverse roster. While the central games are the primary drivers of its story, it ensures that each game progresses the story forward.

The show almost turns into a rite of passage for the main character, Arisu, as he learns to answer the core question surrounding one's existence: "What are you willing to do to live?" He walks into the games' fantastical world with a sense of purposelessness and lack of direction, deeply affected by the passive detachment many experience in the modern world.

As his story progresses, he finds new reasons to live before fully understanding the value of his life in the real world. Like Arisu, every main character gets a dense backstory and cathartic journey throughout the show's runtime. With this, the Netflix survival show not only fascinates viewers with its creative battle royale format but also its profound character study.

Alice in Borderland

A video-game-obsessed young man and his two friends as they navigate a surreal version of Tokyo, where they are forced to participate in perilous games to survive. Based on the 2010 manga, this live action series was originally preceded by an anime adaptation back in 2014.