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Reviews
Imawa no Kuni no Arisu (2020)
Did I watch the same show?
I'm not sure that I watched the same show that those who gave 10 stars saw.
I'll briefly describe what I saw. 3 'losers' hide in a bathroom stall and get thrown into an alternate version of their world where the only people who survived were those who look good in a bikini. Even though everyone is gone and stores are fully stocked the office girl continues to wear heels and work clothes in life-or-death physical games. Episode 3 was supposed to be heart breaking but we are not invested enough into these characters to care if they die. Just because you laugh and eat ramen together doesn't mean you are a great person. The first 4 episodes were interesting because of the games but then in episode 5 the show becomes a frat party and switches to something completely different. It's high school drama class, literally everyone is the same age, the same height, the same hair, its hard to tell the characters apart. The bad acting gets worse, in comes cult-leader guy, CSI girl, inked swordsman and the return of the violent thug and blond dude who is kinda cool (has anime hair). The Tarantino-loving creators pour on the violence, so much so that its just boring and not effective.
The only interesting character is the former wedding gown salesgirl who brings a cell phone to a sword fight, and of course always wearing a bikini. Even rock climbing girl is not interesting although she traps and eats rabbit instead of free food from abandon stores. Which brings me to the main character, Arisu, besides also having anime hair-style he doesn't really fit or carry the series and seems more like a spectator. He is surrounded by idiots to make his look better. But he likes to scream a lot and can take a beating.
Games are clever but only solved through random and specific info that only Arisu knows, this means that the audience can only spectate and not play along.
The final episodes are drawn out with flashbacks that come too late and don't add to the story.
I am reviewing and rating this as a standalone series, if you have to read the book or be into manga to appreciate this series then it failed as a storytelling show. I am not rating the SFX or dubbing, that would bring the rating even lower.
I guess this is intended for teens but with all the violence, suicide, sex, rape, torture, sexism and mass shootings I wouldn't recommend it.