15 Best Shows Like Alice in Borderland Every Fan Needs to Watch
After finishing the second and last season of Alice in Borderland you are probably wondering what to watch next. You have grown to like this survival genre, with a lot of twists and turns that come along the way. Alice in Borderland captures this perfectly, with characters we’ve grown to love and the unexpected reveal at the end of the show. With that said, let’s take a look at the 15 best shows like Alice in Borderland that every fan needs to watch after finishing the second season.
Squid Game
What’s it about: We follow a story of a divorced father whose gambling addiction left him in a lot of debt. He lives with his mother and on occasion spends time with his daughter. One day he is approached by a strange man who offers him an invitation. He tells him that if he wants to get rid of his debt he should follow the instructions on the invitation. Turns out, to win a large cash prize he has to win in a series of children’s games with a deadly twist.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: This famous Korean TV series is similar to Alice in Borderland with its survival game element and the fact that there are children’s games references. The main character has to face off in a series of games so that they could win, a large cash prize in the case of Squid Game, and in the case of Alice in Borderland to find out the truth about what happened to their world.
3%
What’s it about: The series follows the harsh realities of the impoverished majority, where society is split into two categories. The ones who are well-off and wealthy, and the ones who are not. Every so often 20-year-olds have the opportunity to try and complete the trials of the so-called „Process“ and be promoted to the wealthy side of the country.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: This show is very similar in the way it uses survival elements. We have two groups, and the one trying to live a better life has to go through some difficult trials to get there, and even then only 3% of the trial applicants will get to pass the trials.
All of Us Are Dead
What’s it about: This show follows Korean High school students in the day to day lives. Until one day a virus outbreak starts after one student got bitten by a rat. This started a large-scale virus infection spread all over the high school, and the most dangerous thing about this virus is that it turns everyone into zombies.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: The similarity between the two shows is the overarching theme of a natural disaster happening. Or rather, an unexplained supernatural circumstance that affects a whole nation or a big portion of the population. In Alice in Borderland that’s the moment of everyone’s disappearance and in the case of All of Us Are Dead it’s a supernatural virus that affected everyone.
The Purge
What’s it about: You have probably heard about the popular movie series The Purge. The same concept is the base for this TV show adaptation. To prevent crime from reaching high numbers, Americans have decided to make all crime legal for twelve hours once per year. We follow a couple of different characters all living in the same town, during the Purge.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: Just like in Alice in Borderland, The Purge has its own set of rules in the game of survival. Everyone is presented with the twelve-hour rule, one a year to commit any crime freely, without it being illegal. This survival theme is what makes these two shows similar.
Panic
What’s it about: Every summer in the rural part of Texas, a town called Carp, holds a series of challenges for its graduating seniors. Nobody knows when these games started or who invented them, but for most people in this town, this is the ultimate ticket out of it. To win a large amount of money they have to face their worst fears.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: Another series with a survival game as the main driver of the story. We have our main characters almost forced to play these games so they could find a better future for themselves. This is something our protagonists Arisu and Usagi have to face as well, in order to find the answers to their captivity.
Zero: The Bravest Money Game
What’s it about: Zero is a middle school teacher at a private institute. He gets the opportunity to participate in a game of survival. If the person manages to win, the reward is a hundred billion yen. The games were set up in an amusement park that is under construction. The participants of the games form friendships and try to help each other out.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: This show, Zero: The Braves Money Game also fits in this deadly game sub-category of the genre. We follow the main protagonist that has been struggling in some way and wants to turn his future around. The potential of the games is presented to him and he decides to take it.
Deadman Wonderland
What’s it about: This anime follows the story of a young high school student called Ganta Igarashi. One day a violent criminal kills everyone in his school except Ganta, leaving him the main suspect in the case. In the end, he lost at trial and was sentenced to a special prison program. This prison is called Deadman Wonderland and it’s set in a theme park where prisoners have to fight for their existence through different trials or hard work.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: The similarities are immediately clear, we have a prison setting which in hindsight is also the setting for Alice in Borderland. They might not be prisoners in that, the characters were sentenced for a crime they committed but, they are imprisoned in a world in which they have to compete to survive.
Kakegurui
What’s it about: This live-action adaptation of the anime and manga series Kakegurui, follows the students of the Hyakkaou Private Academy. The students that go to this academy are usually in some way privileged and wealthy. This academy has a crazy gambling culture among the students. Some students lose all of their money and then have to serve the student that they lost.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: Just like Alice in Borderland this live-action adaptation has various different games that the students play, it’s all connected to some form of gambling, everything from poker to Russian roulette. These games get deadlier and more high stakes the further you go, which is also similar to Alice in Borderland where the games get harder with time.
Liar Game
What’s it about: The series follows a college student who gets involved in a game called Liar Game Tournament. To play the game, and win, you have to lie, cheat and use any means of deception on other players. Kanazaki and Akiyama, the main characters team up and decide to unveil the truth behind these games together.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: Firstly, we have the similarity in the use of the game tournament, where players have to reach a certain goal to win. More importantly, we have two main characters who are trying to figure out what, or who lies behind these tournaments, which is the same motivation in the Alice in Borderland series.
The Society
What’s it about: High school students from Connecticut get ready for a school trip. For some unexplained reason, the trip got canceled. When the students got off the bus, nobody could reach their parents by phone. When they got home, there was no one there. Turns out that everyone in their hometown disappeared. The students have to organize a new society where only they coexist with each other.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: The Society is similar to Alice in Borderland in the element of the disappearance of everyone. The unexplained circumstance behind their parents and everyone’s disappearance. They have to work together to figure out how this happened and why they are closed off in their town with almost no access to the rest of the country.
Wayward Pines
What’s it about: In a mysterious small town Ethan Burke, a Secret Service agent, has to investigate the disappearance of two fellow agents. Further, he goes to follow the evidence, the less he understands, how in such an idyllic town something like this would go unnoticed. What is revealed later, is that the town of Wayward Pines is closed off with an electrified fence, and anyone who tries to leave is punished by public execution.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: This show is similar to Alice in Borderland with its closed-off town that the people are unable to leave. Not only that but the overarching conspiracy, who actually runs the town and why is everyone forced to stay there. These are all elements that we can find in the Alice in Borderland series.
Extracurricular
What’s it about: The show follows the story of a young high school student who stepped into an illegal business. He created an app that functions as a protection service for prostitutes. His double life is exposed by one of his classmates, but in return, she wants to be included in his business.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: These two shows are similar in that they both test our morality pretty well. We have so many different situations where you could potentially say that the student was right in his actions involving criminal activities. Or the countless candidates that acted in their self-interest of surviving the hellish games created in Alice in Borderland.
Hellbound
What’s it about: Hellbound follows the story of an angel that delivered a prophecy that condemns different people living in this world. In the beginning, nobody believes this will happen, but soon enough they start to come true. This causes chaos and eventually enables a religious group to grow its influence.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: One of the main reasons why this show is similar to Alice in Borderland is the supernatural events caused by an unknown being. This setup is very similar in that the people of this world are trapped and their faith relies on the prophecy of an angel.
Bandersnatch
What’s it about: We follow a story of a young and ambitious programmer that starts to develop a game based on the player’s choice. He was inspired by a mad fantasy writer and tried to implement this in his game. We watch him slowly go mad while working on this project.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: The reason why this is similar to Alice in Borderland is a slow descent to madness. Where even Arisu was not sure if what he was experiencing was real or not. The blurring of what’s real and what is not is where the series projects meet.
Welcome To Eden
What’s it about: There is a rumor going around about a huge party happening on a remote island. A group of young party-goers find this out and decide to join in on the fun. Turns out that after you come to this island, leaving is not really an option.
Why it’s like Alice in Borderland: This show is similar to Alice in Borderlands in many ways. We have an initially tempting situation that turned out to be much more dangerous than the protagonist expected it to be. We also have the element of secret leadership that is not fully revealed, and the fact that no one can just leave the island without any consequences.
