* Actually, I finished this a while ago - in fact, soon after it was released on Netflix. However, I have been rather busy so couldn't find time to write this until now.
Title: Imawa no kuni no Arisu Season 3 / 今際の国のアリス シーズン３
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Recommended for:
For those who have been following this since Season 1, like the series so far and the cast members BUT don't mind the lack of a conclusion yet again
* Potential spoilers ahead!
Liked:
- In terms of the scale of the games and intricate visuals, this series had plenty to rave about. Personal favourites for the visuals were the first game which Arisu took part in i.e. "Omikuji" and the final game "Mirai sugoroku". It's evident how big the budget was and how much effort was put into the CG and art direction as a whole in order to showcase all these things in a single drama series.
- Those who are fans of Yamazaki Kento and Tsuchiya Tao and/or want to see Arisu and Usagi together (at long last!) should be satisfied with this latest installment. Although the journey to being together for good (at least for now) was hardly smooth-sailing and they didn't get to spend a lot of time playing the games together.
- The star-studded supporting cast lineup with some surprises here and there should be quite satisfying to watch for most viewers. The part featuring familiar faces from past seasons in somewhat altered settings towards the end definitely stirs up some nostalgic feelings.
Disliked:
- Given that there were two main plotlines in the earlier part of this season i.e. the Arisu's games subplot and Usagi's games subplot with Ryuji, it was inevitable that some of the games were shown only in "digest" format with hardly any explanation on the rules or the progression/outcome of the game. Coincidentally or not, it was Usagi's earlier games which were featured in this manner.
While Arisu's games tend to be the intellectual type, Usagi's games were clearly focusing on the physical aspect so she seemed to be able to sail through them pretty effortlessly despite being supposedly in a condition where she couldn't or shouldn't be involved in such punishing and strenuous activities. Ironically, her game buddy Ryuji was in a wheelchair so the fact that he survived till the end was kind of bewildering, even with Usagi's assistance.
Honestly speaking, some of the games had some "bugs" or obvious loopholes which meant that they didn't seem quite logical. On one end of the spectrum, the physical games seemed to be so easy to understand but there was also a very complicated one i.e. Zombiegari which was simply mind-boggling. As such, I didn't feel the same kind of engagement with most of the games as compared to Season 1 and even 2.
- Perhaps because the games didn't seem to be the focus in this sequel, that was probably why the pace of the game developments was so uneven. In contrast, there was a lot more time towards the end discussing this "big" issue which I thought was rather meaningless and too lengthy. Coupled with the fact that there was hardly any conclusion and there were still lots of questions to be answered, I couldn't help but feel that the ending was like click bait - looks like the creators are still not done with this series. I can't say for sure whether I still want to continue watching this but something needs to be done about the story and real/substantial answers should be given by now if the games are going to play second fiddle to the main plot going forward.
- I wonder if it was a smart move to keep Arisu and Usagi away from each other for most of the story and introduce a sinister third wheel to stir trouble for them. Personally, I was fine with them being separated since there was a significance to this setting but the third wheel development was somewhat redundant and rather annoying to watch even though I liked Kaku Kento's performance.
