Review by Ian Keogh

Haro Aso pulls a complete surprise over the early chapters of Alice in Borderland Volume 8, opening with Kameyama Keito and his quest to record a documentary about Borderland. It’s very clever, Aso including the views of assorted game participants leading to thoughts about a type of person finding themselves in Borderland while also inviting speculation about the entire background premise.

Aso might be opening up the plot, but artistically he’s restricting himself to the view supplied by Keito’s camera, yet that also serves a purpose, reflecting what others consider a limited vision. It’s an interesting diversion, but don’t get your hopes up for any great revelation.

As the volume starts Aso notes we’re nearing the end, and indeed Volume 9 concludes the series, but this is no great rush to the conclusion. A game ended in Volume 7, so ‘King of Diamonds’ begins with a game of mah-jongg, which is obviously one of strategy, but doesn’t transfer well to visual interpretation. It’s also not going to mean much to anyone who doesn’t know the rules to mah-jongg. That’s only the prelude before Aso switches to something else, although it’s also cerebral and far more complicated than the initial simplicity suggests, as it involves assessing other players as well as making a personal decision.

For all that, mathematical possibilities are a dry topic for an action series, and reduce the art to head shots with expressions and explanatory diagrams, which continues for two chapters, although deaths do occur. The game is clever, but the possibilities require a lot of explanation, and unless that interests you, these are weak chapters. The story’s final two chapters perk up a little for including a character’s backstory and because the tension is far higher, but the complicated philosophical discussion doesn’t hold weight if a reader doesn’t care about the characters.

While it can be understood why Aso has made certain narrative decisions, much of this volume seems over-stretched. There’s an unnecessary prelude to events showing how the ruling community developed, in effect attributing some of their stranger decisions to insanity, after which we return to former lead character Arisu for the first time in almost two volumes. Even that’s not greatly satisfactory as much is recap and the remainder is soul searching as Aso displays how far Arisu has developed in Borderland.

The final chapter is more fulfilling as Aso prepares for the end with an accounting of all players remaining alive. We’ve seen them all in action over the series, know their personalities and what they’re capable of, and Aso finishes the volume with three of them involved in their own personal endgame. To be continued…