Title: Alice in Borderland Vol. 9
Author: Haro Aso
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 2024
Genre: Comics
Pages: 400
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Books (Manga) to Movies (Television Shows)
Where I Got It: Library
Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.
After stumbling on a dealer’s bunker, Arisu is even more determined to uncover the terrible truth behind Borderland. But that means he and Usagi will have to abandon their plans to sit out the games and instead seek out the last person who might have the answers—the Queen of Hearts. Will taking on the queen find them a way home, or will it be their final game?
And we come to the end of the story. We get a wrap-up of the previous games and a reconnection of characters. We slowly start to wind down, but not without one last game to play. This time we get the Queen of Hearts, who we’ve already met. But in this game, the focus comes back to Arisu and his experience. I appreciate how the story started focused on Arisu and ended focused on Arisu. We get a nice bookend to series. But then, the big reveal at the end of the games. I’m not quite certain how I feel about the twist, but I did enjoy the wrapping up pages. Overall, I truly enjoyed this series and am so excited to now go and watch the television series.
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