Discussion Alice in Borderland

Yup, looks that way. Either t hat, or there are multiple ways to interpret whatever information is provided after "winning", but I doubt it.

Well yeah, it almost seems pointless. I guess presumably after they win this, they would at least win until another group passes, but still, that is like what, a few months at most, then they need to play the game?

Agreed.

Also, how is Niragi still even alive at this point? He literally said his time was basically up. Then was splitting up blood and got the shit beat out of him, now he just gets up and walks away.

Chapter 41 was good. I'm guessing Arisu didn't think that it'd work, considering it was a guess. The rules didn't confirm or deny such a thing could be done. Kyuma and the others have accepted their loss and deaths.

It seems that as I thought, the residents of borderland were originally players. Kyuma doesn't outright say it, but I think it's pretty evident. Arisu is sad and frustrated because he doesn't want more deaths, and thinks they could've been friends under different circumstances. Kyuma said how there was never a choice but to participate, which is true if they don't want to die. Even so, Kyuma says they have been friends for a while.

Interesting, I wonder if they can really find a different answer to just keep playing the game? Kyuma tells Arisu to find another answer basically, but we really don't know anything about the truth of "winning". All of the residents were laser beamed and then the blimp exploded.

Damn, Arisu finding Tatta dead didn't go down well. He really was in full despair. Even more so than when his other friends died. He blamed himself, but the others calmed him down a little. Still, now he isn't really talking to anyone. They buried Tatta in a nice place, at least.

Dude, how the **** is Niragi still alive? lmao.

 

I mean I get why he made that decision, but it feels like the same thing as when he survived that one terrible game alone. But this time is worse for him, when last time it was long time friends killed, but it's just taken it's toll I suppose.

Chapter 42 was good. So this is two days after the game and three days after the start of the second stage. We have one group just sitting around drinking. They're content with just letting the others try clearing the games. Looks like the Queen of Spades has just gone down now too.

Another group of people are hiding underground. But a young boy they're with has his visa expiring today. I really have to question how such a young kid managed to survive. Damn, must be lucky as. Some of the women want to play a card game to save him, but the older man refuses. The younger man wants to play though.

Another group has been spurred into wanting to play with seeing the Queen of Spades going down.

Well damn, so after all of this Arisu has decided to give up on participating in more games. Usagi has decided to stay with him. Can't say I blame him, but this kind of just feels like a repeat of what happened before when his original group all died.

So, the current status is 9 games remaining and 175 players remaining.

 

Yeah, I still feel like this is a similar crisis he's having now compared to almost a the start. Where he didn't give up there, but he's basically given up now. I wonder if he will truly stick to this, or if something will tip him into competing again.

Yes, looks like it's time for the new girl Heiya to show up, I presume.

Chapter 43 was good. Four days after the start of the second stage. Day 27 of Arisu's visit and 20 days left on his Visa.

Usagi and Arisu are still together. They're hanging out at some abandoned house. Arisu found a watermelon he looks forward to eating. It's been three days since that game, but Arisu hasn't been depressed and just in high spirits. But it more seems like he's just being delusional in that he's just ignoring their current predicament complete. This has Usagi very worried, and I guess Arisu senses it, as he tries to comfort her about the King of Spades who shot at them, and that he won't attack for a while, it was more circumstantial that he attacked.

Arisu is very hung up on things involving the killing in the games. Wondering why he's fine killing an animal to survive, but then struggling with his line of thinking of basically killing Tatta and indirectly killing Kyuma and the others. Then the thinking of everyone being victims. It's more or less why he resolved to not participate in any more games, so he wasn't involved in any more killing. He intends to live until he dies by either someone else playing the game or by dying to the laser, as long as he isn't harming anyone else. Idk, feel like this takes away from everything done to survive at this point, plus if someone is trying to kill him, I don't think self defence is wrong, which is playing the game, but I get it, he doesn't want to be a participant in these games anymore.

After it stopped raining, Arisu posed the question when the rainbow came out - where does a rainbow start and what's at the end? So they went on the bike to see. Chasing the rainbow, they never found it but got away far. So far, they came across the stadium that the other girl escaped, Heiya. Arisu starts stripping to jump in the hot spring, only to realise Usagi is a woman so it got a little awkward. But it was cleared up at just using the hot spring and nothing else.

Arisu ended up on Usagi's side and they saw Elephants taking a bath there, only for him to realise he went to Usagi's side. She asked him not to leave, and they ended up getting intimate together.

 

Yeah I thought it was real. This has planted a seed of doubt in Arisu I think. He is 50/50 on playing the games again I believe.

Yeah, I'm extremely confused. The rules are stupidly convoluted. It says the mark changes when they guess, but if you think about it, if they group up, and as a group tell each person what their mark is, there is no guessing. By that logic, the mark shouldn't ever change, as it's not a guess... But it's obviously not that simple, or it still just counts as a guess. No rule prevented the other players from telling them what the mark is.

Chapter 44 was good. Back to the past, briefly, Karube apparently got a girl and had closed down his bar or three days in a row. Chota asked Arisu if he wanted to try get some girls with him, but Arisu just asked to why bother. 5 days after the start.

Usagi wonders what the others are up to. Arisu insists they're fine. Usagi feels bad they are the only ones not trying to beat the games, and specifically wonders if it's "right" for them to be that happy.

Now Arisu is back on the pity part. So when he and his brother were very young, their mother passed away. He questions his father where their mother went and if they'd see her again. His father's response was cold and not really appropriate for children, he basically just said he hates idiots and if Arisu wanted his love, to live up to his expectations. I think it's fair to have thoughts from that traumatic experience of being scared and not knowing if he could love anyone, but it's a bit ridiculous to say that he's never been loved the same way everyone else did. If his dad truly didn't give as hit about him, or hated him, he could've kicked him out of the house. He was still provided for, even if he's father was a stupid asshole.

Usagi said she'll love him and give him all of the love he didn't get in the past, as well as more in the future and she'll give him so much that he'll barely be able to hold it all. It had Arisu getting emotional.

Got damn, that nightmare got me thinking it was real. The nightmare of the King of Spades coming up behind Usagi and killing her by stabbing her in the heart. Arisu is questioning if he's making the right choice - doing noting and living for 0-20 days depending on if a player/resident kills them or they die to lasers, or if he should fight to protect what he has now.

The Jack of Hearts game is in a prison. There are 20 participants that have to put on a collar and then can enter the venue. No metal is allowed. They're on edge having waited half a day already, but being at 18/20 players. One of the players tried to make small talk, only for another Genki Kiriu to snap. What is that hair. LMAO. Bro looks like he's wearing a toupee or some shit. Another player Masaki Aizen made some small talk. A female player was looking around, and another player Sunato Banda pointed out the ladies' room. When questioned how he knew where it is, he just replied with "I uh... just do" lmao.

The players heard some noise and so went to investigate, only to spot another male banging a female. The male is Ouki Yaba, looks almost like Yakuza or a mobster or something . They finally got two other players, two younger girls it seems. The game is called Solitary Confinement.

All of the collars have a symbol on the back. Heart, Diamond, etc. They have a time limit of one hour and give minutes before the time is up, the doors will lock and they need to be in their cell. During the final five minutes, they need to announce the correct mark of their collar, otherwise the collar will explode. When a player guesses correctly, the mark on the collar changes and the process repeats. The Jack of Hearts is amongst the players. If the Jack of Hearts gets a game over, the remaining players complete the game. If two players remain, one is the Jack of Hearts, so they win.

The following three actions are forbidden. They may not render others unable to answer for themselves. They may not block someone from entering a cell and two or more players can't be in a cell. Anyone who breaks those rules will get a game over.

Hmm I think the only way to clear the game would be to have one person stand in front of the group, and have the group tell them what is on their collar. Then when the whole group has gone through. I don't understand the whole "if they guess correctly it changes" though, is that for the cells only? If it is, seems almost impossible to win. Otherwise, if it's only when they "guess" they don't "guess" if the other players tell them what it is, and they truthfully state what it is. Idk, I feel like that isn't so simple then.

 

Yup, I presume it's a ploy. Get everyone comfortable with the first round, then start picking them off which will create uncertainty and make it easier to sow distrust and get them to fail.

Yeah, not sure.

Chapter 45 was good. So, some of the participants agreed to team up to try and work out who the Jack was. The idea propsed be Ippe Oki is similar to what I have, confirm truth via group decision. One of the last girls to arrive Urumi Akamaki thought it was a good idea and watched to join. This spurred on others joining.

One of the players noted they went with "he" and wondered if they should rule out women, but it was discussed and of course, no one can be ruled out. The next idea was noting that the people who arrived first and last w ere suspicious and the ones who immediately grouped up were those people, so they realised that it was going to be difficulty to cooperate and were left with 6.

One of the six is Rui Hibino and she split from her friends, knowing the heart game would pit them against each other which was smart. One guy is trying to see his own collar, but can't quite see it. A girl noted no glass to be used as a mirror and also noted now it makes sense why metal was banned. Another girl noted kitchen knives are ceramic so don't reflect.

The tap at presumably the sink has tomato juice coming out of it, to not give a reflection off. There is also enough food to last 6 months to a year in the storage room.

Akamaki went first asking them her mark, and the all answered truthfully that it was heart. Elsewhere the daughter of a company president Meisa Tokui is trying to use money which is useless to tell her the mark she has.

Another Katsusai Rokudo, a cult leader, is trying to tell another girl he can be trusted because he can "hear the voice of god".

Two other men are watching Aizen. Aizen seems like the most suspicious person, but it could be a red hearing. He's basically worded it in a way that instead of asking others to trust him, just asking who goes first to tell the other person their collar mark. They deduce he's a salesman. One of the men tells the other that he's the Jack of Hearts which has the other shocked, but this was just a test to rule out the other person as the Jack. I suppose he is a contender to be the Jack, my other pick being Akamaki. The guy that was "Tested" is Kunio Kariya, a night club owner. The other guy is Eiji Mitsurugi, a con man.

The woman that was getting railed is Kotoko Shiga, and seems like she has her own issues, she regretted doing what she did and apparently always gives into pushy men and insists she can't show her face to people now. The other man Yaba said he'll protect her.

Another man Enji Matsushita approached the quiet loner guy, who seems a bit suspicious too. He basically called out a lot about him based on his looks and personality/speech which made the other guy scared/creeped out, but then said he wanted to be friends. He seems like a bit of a psycho.

The guy quick to anger is Genki Kiriu and is a professional wrestler. He hit the other guy Akifumi Seto for 'hesitating" to tell him his mark. This had Seto lying to get him killed, which just had things worse for him. The group ended up taking him in.

The counter went down, and they all had their guess. Everyone survived the first round! This has them all in high spirits. I assume this is a tactic to let their guard down, and they'll be slowly picked of from here.

Seto got beat up again by Kiriu to het his mark. The "leader" of the group Ippe was demanded by Akami to kick out Seto, under the guise of Kiyiu beating on them all if he stays. Ippe did say it was the last time he would help. This left Seto alone in his cell.

With Seto alone, this is where that creepy guy came up to manipulate him. He says that the others all underestimate him, and no one understand him. But he can see his spry, violent, intense ferocity and he understands the "true him" and Seto can be much more. He gives him a knife and says it's time to rise. Oh, interesting, no wonder this guy seems like a sociopath/psychopath. He murdered four women brutally and didn't show any remorse so was sentenced to death. Sunato Banda is a death row inmate. Bunda proposes that Seto kills Kiyiu so that no one will mess with him again.

 

Yeah, it panned out about how I expected. Although I thought the Jack would have had more of a direct role. I am presuming that Yaba Ouki is the Jack, but maybe not. Once the first killings started, it just spiralled into everyone desperately lying to save themselves.

Chapter 46 was good. As expected, based on Seto's prior comment he was also basically a punching bag in normal life too, being extorted by some thug.

Round 2 has everyone survive. This has the players getting more and more confident, so far as one of them saying it's a "cinch". Mitsurugi raised a good point, that the Jack could've already been at work, bargaining with other players, even if they didn't realize it.

Seto reached his breaking point and so stabbed Kiriu in the back. Deserved. It didn't turn out well though, Kiriu beat the shit out of Seto, to the point he was dead, then Kiyiu got killed as punishment. The infighting went well for the Jack. This has sown more distrust in the players.

Banda is loving this. Matsushita questions if they'll be figered out, but Banda just goes on about enjoying the game, and that no one can stay sane in the current circumstances, so it's starting to get good.

The cult leader Rokudo continues with his usual cult tactics, and the begrudging follower continues confirming his symbol and vice-versa. She ends up asking another players Mino citing that she can't trust Rokudo anymore. He lies planning to get rid of her due to her showing up last. He then asked the old woman for his mark, and she lied thinking she can't trust anyone. This is just circling at this point. Mino lied to the old woman. Rokudo came by and told the old lady her true mark, and has her doing some mental gymnastics about not trying Rokudo but trusting Mino.

When it came time to check, boom! 3 more out, so 15 out of 20 players remain. The cells remained locked for the eliminated as they aren't needed.

Rokudo joined Ippe's group. The first one went fine with Kakeru reading Meisa's. Kaneko couldn't bring his glasses in, so almost said spade, but correct himself to clubs for Kakeru. Akamaki asked to speak privately with Kakeru and asked to get everyone to agree to vote out Kaneko, saying he was going to lie but changed his mind, which isn't truthful, and he's the Jack of Hearts. When Kakeru questioned that Ippe wouldn't, Akamaki proposed excluding him as he's too nice and it's causing problems. She then baited him by saying she's worried about him. Akamaki tasked Kakeru with telling the others and they all agreed having Ippe despairing and leaving Kaneko dead.

My best guess for the Jack is either Akamaki, Aizen or Yaba.

They are now on the 6th ound with 14 remaining. True to Yaba's word, the group is devouring itself. Tokui and Hibino are out and they're down to 12 remaining. Aizen is out next. Akamaki continued to revel in her control of everyone, this is when they collude to remove her next time. Akamaki ruled herself out as the Jack. Four more are out, including Akamaki and Aizen. So that leaves Ouki as my last guess for Jack.

They are now on round 8, with 8 participants remaining. This is where Mitsurugi and Kariya launch their plan. Wonder what it is.

 

Well, that plan was good, but they just didn't count on someone completely screwing them over. GG in a single round.

Yeah, I think that Matsushita Enji is the one we don't know a whole lot about, aside from also Shiga. I've kind of changed my mind of Yaba tbh. I could be wrong and it is Yaba, but now I'm leaning towards it being Matsushita or Shiga, the latter could have just been playing around with Yaba the whole time intentionally. That would fit into the while mind **** aspect of the heart games, right?

Chapter 47 was good. Ouki suspects Banda as the Jack. Banda suspects Ouki as the Jack. In life, Ouki was the president and CEO of a venture capitalist company. Interesting, so the plan of Mitsurugi is to just not do what the game wants. They will survive playing the game for months, until the food runs out. Apparently, they don't intend to go after the Jack either.

Wow, I didn't expect Mitsurugi to have that kind of past. So when he confessed to Ippe that he was a con man and never felt bad about it. Except, one day, he used a man for some "water investment" and he poured his company funds in. When it went belly up, he killed himself, his two-year-old daughter and his pregnant wife. Apparently, that's when he noticed his abilities weren't meant to harm others. It's interesting to learn visa don't expire mid-game.

Yaba decided to take drastic measures as he doesn't want to be stuck playing the game for months. So he used force to lock Mitsurugi in the cell. Technically no rule is broken, as they can't obstruct people from entering the cell, but nothing was said about leaving it. The woman Shiga is defending Yaba with a knife, to prevent others attacking them, or trying to use force, but Yaba warns her to not harm them so she isn't excluded. Yaba then allows Kariya to enter the cell, before locking him in too. Seems that Mitsurugi and Kariya might be dead here, due to the rule preventing two people being inside the same cell. Ippe gave up and now Rokudo is alone without knowing his mark.

The four that formed the second group are all out. Mitsurugi thought the Jack was Enji Matsushita. Interesting.

 

Yeah, who knows lol. Who do you think the Jack is? Mitsurugi's guess or someone else?

 

Yeah my thought too