What makes you feel like life is worth living? For some “Alice in Borderland” viewers, it’s seeing their favorite characters return – even if it’s only for a brief glimpse.
In the Season 3 finale, Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) has successfully made his watery way back to the land of the living, escaping the Borderland purgatory vortex with wife Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya). It’s unclear if the happy couple recalls their wretched experiences in Borderland, but their sights are trained on the future as they mull over baby names. Later, we see Arisu settle into his chosen career.
The “Alice in Borderland” manga by Haro Aso, on which the TV series is based, emphasizes that Arisu’s particular skillset is psychological – in contrast to say, Usagi’s physical prowess as a mountain climber. Thus, it makes sense to see him use his ability to predict an opponent’s moves, which served him well in the games. Back in the real world, however, he channels his talents to help others as a counselor.
In a series of sessions, Arisu asks his clients, “What makes you feel like life is worth living?” and receives positive responses. It’s heartening, especially once viewers realize these are fellow Borderland escapees who have picked themselves up from the dire circumstances that led to their otherworldly journey in the first place. The show also has fun teasing out the revelation of who each client is. It’s an enjoyable not only to spot these familiar faces but also witness them acting in ways we’ve never seen them before: happy and at ease.
“I love that you were able to discern that, that it gives off a different vibe, because that was exactly our aim. So thank you,” Yamazaki, through interpreter Yoshiko Okura, told Salon. “And I think Season 3, the characters have all cleared the games in Borderland in [Seasons] 1 and 2. So they had this strength, if you will, in their hearts because of that experience, I think. That’s why they are able to, sometimes, I won’t say, relax, but be a little open and talk about daily conversations, if you will. Also, I love the fact that you again, are able to enjoy the unique characters, but also how you can also enjoy the actor’s personality seeping in a little bit. I enjoy that a lot as well, and that’s why I love Season 3.”
So which of our Borderland buddies made their cameos? Before we delve into Arisu’s clientele, let’s first revisit who we already knew was returning – besides Arisu and Usagi – in Season 3.
[Warning: Major spoilers for Season 3, including the ending, follow.]
Rizuna Ann (Ayaka Miyoshi)
Ann is a level-headed forensic scientist who doesn’t even let almost-drowning in the games faze her. Throughout the first two seasons she exhibits an ability to solve various murder mysteries through careful deduction, a steely resolve and cool fashion sense (with sunglasses and red lipstick as her accessories of choice). When she emerges from Borderland, she awakes in a body that had been going through cardiac arrest after the meteor disaster in Shibuya – the same incident that caused Arisu and others to enter the Borderland as well.
This season, she undergoes psychiatric care for her PTSD and upon learning of Usagi’s disappearance, convinces Arisu that a drug that will put him into a deathly state will enable him to retrieve her from Borderland. She gives him two minutes real-world time to accomplish this task in Borderland and even guards his body as his consciousness is fighting in other world.
Sunato Banda (Hayato Isomura)
In Season 2, Banda primarily appears in the Jack of Hearts game in the prison where one person recognizes him as a serial killer who preyed on women in the real world. Keeping a low profile, Banda makes it to the end by making an alliance with another unsavory player. Together, they start to embrace their more ruthless tendencies out in the open, and when given the choice to return to their original world, they opt to stay as citizens of Borderland, where they can presumably have fun running sadistic games.
This season, it’s revealed that Banda has been bored because no one come close to challenging his position in the games. Since Arisu had been the ultimate winner previously, Banda deems him a worthy partner in crime and schemes to make him return by luring Usagi to Borderland, forcing Arisu to follow. However, Arisu resists becoming a citizen, and just as Banda is about to shoot Arisu for refusing, Banda himself is eliminated by a laser beam from the sky.
Oki Yaba (Katsuya Maiguma)
In Season 2, this cold and calculating man in a business suit stays on the sidelines of the Jack of Hearts prison game by picking a submissive and compliant partner, but by the end teams up with Banda. They are comrades in torture, stimulated by the idea of making others miserable, so when given the choice to return to the real world, Yaba instead decides to remain a Borderland citizen.
This time around, Yaba makes brief appearances, mainly to discuss Banda’s convoluted plan to enlist Arisu. Although Yaba also laments that no one excelling in his stage of the game, he also admonishes his pal, “You shouldn’t use this world for your own pleasure.” Yaba’s fate remains unknown by the end of Season 3.
Hikari Kuina (Aya Asahina)
Kuina is known for her easygoing demeanor and wearing a bikini, with a fake cigarette dangling from her lips. Although she is initially seen as a schemer, her martial arts background comes in handy as she proves herself to be a reliable team player. Through flashbacks it’s revealed that she learned martial arts from her demanding father, who could not accept her transgender identity, and has a sick mother in the hospital.
This season, as one of Arisu’s clients, Kuina is practically glowing with joy and contentment in a chunky sweater and jeans, but still with her signature dreadlocks. She reveals, “I started teaching at my dad’s karate school. The kids are so eager to practice. Seeing that makes me so happy.” Kuina has found her place in the world, and now, her father appears to have accepted her fully.
Morizono Aguni (Sho Aoyagi)
Physically impressive, this strong fighter is part of the Militants, the muscle that intimidated the other members of the Beach, a society at a resort hotel in the Borderlands, organized by his friend the (Mad) Hatter (Nobuaki Kaneko) for players to gather all the cards through the games with the goal of eventually returning home. However, he became disillusioned when his friend became more and more tyrannical, and after a misunderstanding shoots and kills the Hatter. Later Aguni employs his strength to become a useful member of Arisu’s team to defeat the face card bosses.
Now, he appears before Arisu more subdued and humbled, with hair slightly grown out. He reveals he no longer has flashbacks, is sleeping better and is used to his job, which he reveals is taking over the shop for his deceased friend. “I think, ‘Why am I alive?’” he says. “Maybe it’s to work hard so the hat shop won’t go under.”
Akane Heiya (Yuri Tsunematsu)
As a high school student, Heiya was vain and selfish, but she’s tested as soon as she enters the Borderlands and only ends up surviving after injuring her leg, which is amputated. Afterward, she’s seen as a strong force wielding a bow and arrow, but also flirting with other male game participants. Eventually she develops feelings for Aguni and even shields his body from harm from one of the kings on a rampage.
In the land of the living, Heiyahas fully come into her own and is fashion-forward, adorned with gaudy jewelry, along with a denim jacket and miniskirt. She also has a white prosthesis in the place of one leg. When Arisu asks what makes her feel life is worth living, she replies, “When everyone recognizes me as an influencer, of course. This is how I’ll spread my wings in this world.”
Suguru Niragi (Dori Sakurada)
This dangerous member of the Beach’s Militants was known for his facial piercings and violent nature. At one point in the games he became badly burned on one side of his face and along his limbs and body. That didn’t stop his aggressive behavior, however, and he even attempted to sexually assault Usagi. It’s perhaps because of this he’s one of the more controversial characters after he’s treated with tolerance, as if he had somehow redeemed himself, when he decides to return to the real world.
In therapy with Arisu, Niragi still looks almost the same – wearing a busy patterned-shirt, face scarred and with nose and brow piercings. But his demeanor feels subdued. He admits, “There was a time when I felt like I shouldn’t have gotten a second chance. But maybe that’s the point and I have to prove I can do better. Now I work hard for the sake of my rug rat.”
Shuntaro Chishiya (Nijiro Murakami)
This platinum-haired schemer and scene-stealer often dressed head to toe in white and is as smart as he is smug. Although he acted with scorn and condescension throughout the games, he had an uncanny ability to survive through wits alone, especially in the Jack of Hearts prison game and the King of Diamonds challenge, in which he escaped death by sulfuric acid. Over the course of the games, he grew to respect the more self-sacrificing Arisu and Usagi, eventually even getting shot in order to save Usagi. It’s revealed that his cynical nature stemmed from his days as an idealistic young pediatric surgeon whose patient was lost when an organ transplant intended for the child instead was given to another through favoritism.
In the real world, Chishiya has opted for a darker colored suit, but still sports his signature platinum locks. Less smug but still rather inscrutable, he sips on tea and evades answering Arisu’s question directly, instead turning the tables.
“‘Worth living’? Good question. Even if you don’t know the answer, it’s not so bad, is it? Life, I mean,” he says, relaxing back into the couch. “How about you? What makes you feel like life is worth living?”
When Arisu reveals that he’s thinking of a name for his child, Chishiya only nods in affirmation, but it’s a good reminder that he had once devoted his profession to saving children’s lives.