I watched the Netflix adaptation first before I decided to read the manga of Alice in Borderland. I found some of the characters really interesting, so I gave the manga a shot to learn more about them. If you know me pretty well, I believe you can already tell who my favorite characters are.

First, Chishiya Shuntarou. He may not be the protagonist of the story and he could be labeled as a douche by many, but for me, he’s my top 1. The main reason why I like his character would be his unbelievable level of intellect and cunningness. Chishiya doesn’t have an interest in other human lives. He’s even willing to sacrifice people along the way in order to prove his theory and meet his goal. That doesn’t sound really humane but he’s just being realistic and practical. They’re being stared at by death in the face each second of their stay in the Borderland, is there anything you shouldn’t do in order to live? Also, he beat both the Jack and King of Diamonds in a day single-handedly. End of discussion.

Second, Arisu Ryouhei. Like Chishiya, he’s a highly intelligent person. However, Arisu is more of like a slacker and a last minute doer that’s why I pick Chishiya over him for the #1 spot. The latter tends to plan ahead of time and Arisu seems to be quick in finding solutions when they’re already close to the endgame. Regardless, I admire his deep desire to understand what it means to live. Contrary to Chishiya, Arisu leans toward saving people using his own cleverness rather than treating them as pawns.

Third, An Rizuna. Rational, calm, inquisitive, and a scientist. Everything about her screams exemplary. I like how she didn’t take advantage of being an elite on the Beach and went the most logical route during the Witch Hunt. On top of that, she beat the Queen of Diamonds during the 2nd stage of the Games. Another reason why I like her is that despite the fact that she’s a person of Science, she’s not closing her mind to the existence of things that cannot be fully explained rationally. She tends to respect other people’s beliefs and doesn’t laugh at them even when they say things that are superstitious.

I get excited when people use their scientific knowledge and explain the process thoroughly when solving problems or overcoming challenges. That's why two of my favorite moments in the manga would be Chishiya creating a DIY flamethrower and An making use of existing supplies to find the identity of the witch.

I didn’t expect how the story in the manga ended. I was kind of anticipating a scientific explanation behind their situation but for the record, I’m not saying it’s bad. It made sense in a way but it was not the kind of route that I was expecting.

Overall, it’s good. The factors that made me like Alice in Borderland are its intriguing characters and the thought of using the different card suits in categorizing Games and people’s strengths.
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