rubendh

While looking for other recommended series on IMDB, I came across this one in particular. After investigating a bit deeply, it gave me at first some "Squid Game" vibes, which I'd observed a few months ago and left me with a very bittersweet experience. However, I decided to give it the benefit of doubt to see how it played out. Eight chapters later, I can say without hesitation that despite not having the high popularity of its South Korean counterpart, "Alice in Borderland" is a superior series and by far.

Although it bears some similarities with "Squid Game" in terms of plot despite being released a year before the latter, the difference is that the creators of "Alice in Borderland" planned and executed it carefully, while maintaining its fidelity to the same-named manga most of the time. As a result, the plot never fell short or felt unstable during Season 1 and the plot twists were literally brutal and surprising. Furthermore, they didn't skimp of creativity, suspense and tension factors (especially when it come to the games), something that kept me glued to the chair to see what happens next.

Regarding the characters, this was perhaps one of the series' characteristics that stood out by far. The creators did a flawless job in the way they were presented to the audience, especially when they gave us the chance to see their life backgrounds through flashbacks, whether they were main or secondary. They also scored high in terms of showing an authentic chemistry between themselves (especially with Arisu and Usagi) to the point of connecting with the audience progressively and the individual character development on each one of them. Here I want to highlight an aspect and is related to Hikari's case. Although I was surprised to find out that she was trans (since I thought she was a woman all that time), the creators of the series didn't excessively focus on her sexuality or gender as it generally occurs in western series, but more on her abilities and capacities like anyone else. So I give them high props.

Ultimately, if you were one of the people who liked "Squid Game" or felt that the aforementioned series partially met or did not meet expectations at the end, I highly recommend that you watch "Alice in Borderland". I assure you that you'll love it. As for me, count me in to watch Season 2.

To be honest, the first time I found out about "Squid Game" was when I was traveling home and a passenger on my bus was watching it on his cell phone. After doing some research to confirm, I tried to avoid spoilers until I could see it, but in less than 24 hours the entire internet was filled with it. That forced me to abstain from watching the series for a few days until the boom subsided.

After finally observing the 9 chapters, I can share the following points. Personally, I really liked the social message that the series shared, of how they gave Korean children's games of the 70s and 80s a dark twist, and the chemistry between the characters and their individual development. I would have easily given it an 8, if not for two downsides.

The first was the way the story was told. At first, it was able to take off without any problem but it became unstable until the end of the season, which in my opinion could have been better. Apart from that, the police side-plot must also have been developed better. They gave him considerable screening time, only to stop with a clichéd Star Wars-type moment? I mean, what the heck?

The second is related to the characters. Although the characters had good chemistry with each other and a good, but slow individual development, the same cannot be said about the audience; since they felt a bit generic and the charisma was almost non-existent (especially with the main character).

In short, "The Squid Game" is not a bad series, but I consider it highly overrated from what I had to see. If in such case Netflix renews it for a Season 2, it is necessary that improvements be made, especially with the writing part. I give it a 6.5/10.

I must start this review by clarifying that I originally starting watching this series in mid-July, but I wasn't able to finish it until now due to force majeure reasons. Still, I'll give my personal opinion about it. Although "Mr. Mayor" is not a great masterpiece of series, it isn't trash either as some imply, since it's a good satire of what has become 21st century' politics and issues today, especially in the United States. Nonetheless, I have to flag some aspects.

Although the series creators made a good formula that kept me entertained most of the time generally speaking, I felt that its execution was kinda rocky. In the characters' aspect, while they are interesting enough and had a good interaction between them and with the audience, there's still a lot to do regarding their individual development. As for the comedy factor, it was both a hit and miss, because although there were jokes that managed to pull me some chuckles, other were so goofy and cringy that practically failed.

In the end, while "Mr. Mayor" is a quite OK series with a lot of potential to offer, it requires significant improvements in the writing and humor for Season 2 if it wants to continue in the TV's major leagues for more time. The question is: I would tune Season 2 when it is released? The answer is yes.