Alice in Borderland Vol. 18

今際の国のアリス [Imawa no Kuni no Alice] #18

by Haro Aso

「げぇむ」を「くりあ」しないと
死ぬ世界「今際の国」。
幾多の死線を乗り越えてきたアリスは、
ついに最後の「げぇむ」に挑む！！
ウサギと共に立ち向かう、最後の敵はミラ！！
美しきバラ園で繰り広げられる
「くろっけぇ」の心理戦に、
アリスは最悪のピンチに…！！　
勝負の行方は、はたして――！？
そして「今際の国」の謎が遂に明らかに！？
魂揺さぶる戦慄のサバイバル・サスペンス、
感涙必至の最終巻！！

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Comics, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2016

About the author

AKA 麻生羽呂

Reviews

[Ritvik Taneja]

This is a review of the whole series, not just volume 18.

I found Alice in Borderlands by chance, and took to reading a few chapters out of sheer boredom during the pandemic quarantine. It only took a few chapters for me to be hooked, and finish the series in two days. Safe to say, this is probably one of the best manga I've ever read.

The manga balances the mystery of the Borderlands with the complex deathgames characters need to go through to continue to survive in the world. Every chapter left me on the edge of my seat, thinking of how characters will beat a game, who will fall and who will triumph, and anticipating how the games could get even more dangerous, more brutal, and eventually, how they would expose the truths behind the characters themselves.

The manga has a very interesting trajectory though. At the start, it is purely thrill based, focused on the mechanics of the deathgames and how to survive them. Towards the middle and end though, there is a shift to the philosophy behind the characters and what it means to be in the Borderlands, or rather, what it means to live a life to the fullest capacity. It was beautiful seeing this transition and interplay between characters as they came to terms with who they are.

Aside from the characters, the constant struggles, etc, my favorite thing about this manga is the deathgames themselves. The creativity behind them and the even better strategies to tackle them. They range from the pure psychological to horror, from the cerebral to full on physical bouts of strength, endurance and speed to win.

To top it all off, the art gets better and better, and has this sort of gritty, surreal nature to it :)

Alice in Borderlands is easily a 10/10 series for me.

[richa ⋆.˚★]

After months of reading this, I'm finally done and the whole thing was worth it 🤌🏻

[Phoenix2]

The final book of the Alice in Wonderland manga series is truly a dive into the rabbit hole. The final chapter was so so so good!! The first chapter was also intense, dark and masterfully created. But, if I should be honest, the answer was not my cup of tea. I preferred one of the others the queen of hearts gave to Arisu... BUT, one can not deny how marvelously crafted this story was presented, with so many layers of emotions, psychological trials and shocking truths.

Overall, this manga was a real treat. Though the middle volumes were not as good as the rest, the story was perfectly dark and the art served the complexity of the story like it is a movie sequence.

[A_ bookbound _soul]

19-oct-21
Why am I alive?

Tbh, I don't know. I'd like to know. But again, if this manga has taught me something, it is not to fixate on answer.
I suppose I'm alive to experience countless more stories through books, anime, manga and stuff. To live more than one life.
To make others smile.
To explore new things everyday.
Sometimes I may feel like I am alive for the sole reason that I was born but I never want to forget that this game called life is actually fun.

Ch61
if this end is true then this is probably one of the most deep and thought provoking manga about mental health and how it can affect you. trippy...
I mean I guess this is how kids feel when they learn that "Alice in Wonderland" is just a mentally fucked up Alice making up stories?

hmph... I still think Mira put something in his tea...

END OF THE MANGA
Definitely one of the most mind bending things I've ever read!

[D E N Z]

Thought I'd give a review on the ENTIRE franchise instead of giving each volume a review, so here it goes.

Lately, I've been on a reading manga phase, and while I just recently started reading Manga, I can whole-heartedly say, that this series is probably (one of) the best manga I've ever read.

Honestly, I don't know where to begin and frankly, I don't think my words can do this series any justice. Alice In Borderland is truly a one of a kind manga. I remembered when I read this I was so engrossed with the story and the games that I just kept on reading them chapter after chapter. This series is a great psychological series and all the games were sooooo fun to read and incredibly mind-bending. And honestly, a lot of the characters here are pretty great too and you can't help but root for each and every one of their survival.

This series made me feel a lot of thing: happiness, tears, laughs, and of course, mindblown.

I honestly don't know if I will ever find another kind of series like this, but Haro Aso, thank you so much for creating this series. I know I will never forget about this for a looooong time.

[Thuy]

Come from Netflix series because I can't wait for ss2! Finished the whole manga within a few days and it was such a pleasure experience

The idea is briliant, still haven't wrapped my head around how the author was able to come up with such awesome and meaningful story like that. It really makes me question my true identity on the verge of death, when I have to make choices that I bet my life on. I think I'll never know who I really am

I like all the characters. It's a shame that the 2 best friends of Arisu die too soon. I wanted to see them more in the story, but like the story said at some point, their deaths are " necessary evil" for Arisu to mature.
Shibuki was a calculating person and will do anything to hold on to her life. I cried when she smiles and embraces Chunta during her last few seconds of the hide and seek game. It's like she finally accepts her fate that she is about to die. It was such a hard moment for Shibuki to let go considering what she did in the past, but she did it, and at least she was happy in her last moment

[Luciana Gomez Mauro]

Wow, sin palabras.
Excelente desenlace, el juego psicológico de Mira estuvo espectacular.
Sabía lo que pasaba porque me vi la serie antes, gracias a la serie conocí los mangas, pero hay detalles que se cambiaron y me encantó como se plasmo aquí.

Sin duda, una historia espectacular, arranque con el primer libro hace más de un año apenas termine la serie, y me encantó sumergirme en esta historia.

Arisu me hizo reflexionar muchísimo, en realidad toda la historia te hace repensar muchas cosas.

¿Tenemos un motivo para vivir o morir?
¿Hay una sola única respuesta para eso? O ninguna?

Amé a Usagi y Arisu juntos. Cómo Pareja se me hacen increíbles por como se complementan juntos.

Doudou y Agnni también me encantaron.
Cómo Chishiya, kuina y ann.

Los amé a todos, y se que la historia no termina.

Porque el pobre Arisu vuelve a borderlands en unos años más adelante de que termina este tomo, y ya voy a leer esa historia apenas la obtenga.

Denle una oportunidad a este historia, es una joya

Y eso que no hable de las ilustraciones que son una maravilla.

[signe!]

my babies i'll miss them so much

[Rodrigo Vargas]

El volumen mas psicologico hasta ahora, repleto de momentos visual y narrativamente atractivos en los que temes por tus personajes favoritos. Se le supo dar un cierre interesante al comic, repleto de momentos emotivos y con un mensaje muy ameno.

[Veronica Morfi]

Truly beautiful ending. Amazing series overall. Did not have a dull moment reading it. And can't wait for the show to continue.

[Nguyễn Hải]

Recommended this manga by a colleague, and can't stop reading it throughout the weekend.

This is the top of the best survival manga and overall manga I've ever read (Gantz still better).

If you like survival games, this is for you. If you like reflecting, this is for you. If you want a mix of happiness, surprise, anger, sadness, and greatness, this is for you. Everyone has different tastes, but I don't know a person I wouldn't recommend this work to. This is truly a masterpiece that, beyond giving you pleasure, changes the way you view life.

[Mik]

3.5 porque no me convence mucho la manera en la que terminaron las cosas, me esperaba algo totalmente diferente. Igual tengo que decir que la historia es tremenda y que, como todas, tiene sus altos y bajos.

[Martina]

I liked some entries more than others, but as a whole, this is a pageturner of a series.

[Katryne]

i can’t tell if i hate or love the ending… it just felt anticlimactic…..glad my fav character made it tho <3

[Diego]

"What's the definition of reality? Everything we see, everything we touch - our nerves relay information from our eyes and hands. Everything we consider physical is simply our brain's interpretation of electrical impulses. To put it another way, we do not see the world with our eyes, we see it with our brain."

[Claire]

I finisheddddddddddddd!!!! ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
I love all the games ngl ... wish i can play in real life (without actually get killed tho...)

[♡ cristiana]

I'm really glad I had the chance to read them. I first saw the adaptation and I was so curious about the citizens and the other games and it did not dissappoint!

[itsnikhat]

The final volume of Alice In Borderland ended just like it began. Arisu in this volume is as determined to get the answer that he’s been seeking for after losing so many people throughout the process of the games. Of course the final game had to be against the Queen of Hearts, and despite the game itself not being the focus of it all, the ending was interesting throughout due to it being a psychological battle. I think I loved the conversation between the QoH and Arisu more than the actual explanation that followed.

Overall review: This is a great dystopian series, makes you introspect on what you would do if you woke up in a world where playing deadly games was survival ticket. Each of the main characters was written so brilliantly and even some of the minor characters were so interesting. There are points when the story seems to be a bit dragged on, perhaps because i was more interested in the main story than some of the side stories that were introduced. I want to applaud the writer for giving us this masterpiece, for having the ability to write characters which may not be there for long term in the manga but manage to leave a heavy impression on you. I started reading this because of the Netflix Adaptation, and now I can’t wait for the second season! I’m assuming that it’ll be done well since the first season was pretty dedicated to the manga.

[Angie]

Arisu overthrows the Queen of Hearts thanks to Usagi’s intervention, and wins the game of Borderland, ensuring survival for the remaining players, who are now left with the choice: stay or go back. We get the truth about Borderland as we follow those who return. The day of the fireworks, a meteor hit the city, plunging its victims into “Borderland”, a bridge between life and death where people must fight to survive. Upon waking up at the hospital, none of the players remember the experience - or each other. However, Usagi and Arisu do get to have a little meet cute, even if they’ll never know what they went through together.

[aisha~]

4.5 stars

update : bringing this down to 4 stars bcs I’m realizing that I actually didn’t like the explanation that was given for the borderlands, and also that all these players and friends (doudou, kuina, ann) played zero parts in the final game. This especially bothers me in the case of Ann and Kuina, since we hadn’t seen them in soo long

[Panda Laveur]

Une série qui fonctionne parfaitement bien ! C'est aussi cruel que rythmé, difficile d'abandonner la lecture pour une activité aussi triviale que le sommeil... Un coup de coeur !

[Vedran Mavrović]

A fitting and very satisfying end. It all came to a clear thought and meaningness.
I am very humble and grateful for reading this manga.

[Eric Liu]

This is a review of the whole series not the last volume. I read the whole thing in one day.
As continuing the tradition of a Battle Royale genre, Haro Aso and team put in plenty of twisted violence and desperate characters in bleak situations, but also a whole lot of hearts. (This is a funny joke if you’ve read the manga) This is true on a narrative aspect and also on a thematic level. It has possibly the best ending that a gory Battle Royale isekai can ever have. The absence of a Phillip-K-Dick style paranoia is very welcomed.

Readers can probably draw connections and similarities to Liar Game, Squid Game, Black Mirror, and maybe even Saw. But what I really appreciate about Alice in Borderland is the use of shock-values to draw readers in, and then discuss the meaning of human lives, and the miracle that it is, and the preciousness of it. “Why do you live in this world?” or “How will you live from now on?”, are questions many teenagers (and adults) go through, and as a Shonen manga, it’s an effective vehicle to get this message across. From the start it is clear who this manga is trying to speak to: the young male population in Japan (and elsewhere) that was increasingly losing its direction and footing in society, and exhibiting anti-social tendencies.

I really hope it reaches those people and give them hope that they can find meaning in their lives.

[Federico]

[Alice in Borderland - Vol. 9 → ☆☆☆.75]

-- Recensisco in un'altra edizione perché di quella nuova non sono ancora usciti i volumi --

Scrivere un finale con queste premesse era indubbiamente difficile: nessuna spiegazione dell'accesso a Borderland poteva soddisfare tutti in modo unanime. Ho trovato molto interessante il modo in cui Mira ha presentato tutte le possibile alternative, tutte prese da altre opere survival come Battle Royale e da classifici del Sci-fi, ma il meteorite che provoca un'allucinazione collettiva mi è sembrato un po' assurdo...

Il jolly lasciato come chicca finale senza troppe spiegazioni, ma comunque coerente con il suo ruolo intercambiabile, l'ho trovato geniale e rispetto alla serie sicuramente viene approfondito meglio il ruolo dei dealer e il modo in cui sono diventati tali. Forse avrei preferito un approfondimento maggiore sullo scorrere del tempo nel Borderland e in generale sul motivo per cui ciascuno è entrato nel mondo come giocatore in un momento diverso, ma in generale lo trovo un finale abbastanza degno.

Leggerò sicuramente anche lo spin off nonostante l'idea di vedere Usagi e Arisu sposati non sia il mio primo pensiero-

[angel]

the only reason I will give this two stars instead of one is because I appreciate the earnestness of its heavy handed final message. but it really pulled the "it was all a dream" type of ending and that is so tired.

overall, two stars for the entire series, because of the fun games, for the pretty positive Trans woman rep, and for the occasional interesting character connections. but the art was gritty and ugly (in a genuinely uninteresting way), the character designs were boring and there were a couple of characters who were drawn way too closely, the objectification of woman consistently (come on, you can't have both the men and women appear as mannequins going into the borderlands, the women have to be nude? and the sexual assault.. ssiiighh..), the all over the place structure of the story, the difficult to parse panels, and the laughably "none of this really happened" ending that invalidates the actions of all these characters. I guess you can say their actions are all metaphors for them fighting inside their brains to survive, but come on.

boooo

[Mateus Bandeira]

agora que cheguei ao fim da série de mangás, posso dizer:

- impecável
- genial
- meticuloso
- inteligente
- não subestima o leitor
- tudo o que acontece tem uma razão de acontecer
- é self-aware, mas não ao ponto de ser pedante

e apesar de ter ido pro caminho que eu esperava, foi de uma maneira muito feliz, e não poderia ter tido outro final. apesar do grotesco, do aspecto jogos mortais + battle royale da coisa, o desenvolvimento e o fim são muito, muito bonitos, e com uma mensagem muito latente e atual. apesar de muito absurda, é uma saga muito coesa e coerente com o que ela propõe. eu amei cada episodio que assisti da série, e amei cada volume desse mangá. feliz por poder ter acompanhado isso da forma intensa com a qual acompanhei.

[Soumaya Hajji]

What a delightful manga!! Overall some changes and characters were made in the live action(some changes I liked in the show, some im very sad was kept out of the show!!), but the overall arc and meaning was there!

[Lailah]

3.5/5

[Mohamed]

Surprisingly, a fitting end.

[Gabrielle Deschenes]

4.5