u/BorderTalk

For those who don't know, these are Ouki Yaba from the manga version and Ryuichi Kimari from the spin-off Alice in Border Road.
Stage 1 differs from the face card stage in that we have to participate in games without knowing what suit those games are. Therefore, all-rounded players like these two will have the highest survival rate.
- The reason for choosing Manga Yaba instead of the live-action is because the show cut many details about him. The manga shows that Yaba used to work in the investment banking sector and held the position of Representative Director of a venture capital fund, as well as being a quarterback on his school's American football team for four years. This demonstrates that besides specializing in the Hearts suit, he is clearly also very good in Diamonds and Spades. Regarding the physical aspect, not much needs to be said: he is clearly stronger than two adult men, dragging the Jack of Hearts with one hand and throwing him hard into a corner with ease. He is also calm, rational, has emotions, and can cooperate if it benefits him, unlike Banda who lacks that.

-Regarding Ryuichi Kimari, not much needs to be said: he is both strong, intelligent, and rational; his ability to understand emotions and opponent weaknesses (Hearts suit) was also demonstrated in his past as a police officer. Coordinated teamwork and cooperation are things he will also do if he finds them reasonable. Kimari's death in the story was due to plot elements because in this spin-off he had to face lunatics like Kuki and was killed by someone who should have been defeated by him in the first place and only luckily survived because Kimari had to leave quickly due to someone arriving.

All-Rounder: Characters who excel in both physical and intellectual capabilities.
Balanced: Characters who are not top-tier in either physicality or intelligence, but aren't weak either. They are skilled players with well-conditioned bodies and sharp minds.
Core Specialist: Players who lean heavily toward either physical or intellectual traits. They might perform decently in the opposite domain, but generally, they do not excel in both at once.
Specific Niche Capability: Players who aren't particularly strong in physical or mental stats, but demonstrate skills, capabilities, or specialized knowledge in a specific niche that is only useful under particular circumstances.
Non-Specialist: Players who don't show any notable abilities and are usually just minor background characters.
I will use the strongest version of each character for classification and ranking. For example, Manga Niragi is smarter than show and show arisu is smarter than manga

It’s been just over a year since Season 3 was released a few days ago, and I want to bring up a fresh discussion topic about it that I’ve been thinking about for a while. I’d love to know what you guys think.

As we know, the games in Season 3 functioned like a tournament where the sequence of games was pre-arranged from the start, unlike the first two seasons where it was random and you could join whenever and wherever you wanted

Unlike other games in Season 3, Kick the Can is the only game that imposes a strict limit on the number of survivors (not counting Old Maid since it took place in the real world and served as Banda's way of choosing his accomplice). Right after that came Future Sudoku, a game where teamwork and a higher player count were crucial. Looking back, I feel Kick the Can was intentionally placed there to weed out players and make the final game much harder, leaving them with no choice but to participate.

Looking at the bigger picture, I think Season 3 would have been way better if the games were designed without survivor limits, allowing players to truly cooperate and push through each round together (of course, some games like Zombie Hunt trick players perceptions, but in reality, everyone could have survived).

Also, speaking of Shion and Natsu’s deaths, they felt way too abrupt and lacked emotional impact. I know some of you get emotional easily, but to me, it felt pretty bland. They weren't deeply developed characters to begin with, so their deaths didn't hit hard. Especially Natsu—he tried so hard for Shion’s sake only to die in the very next round. Personally, I found it pretty pointless and buzzkilling.

-The 4 of Clubs has very different designs in the manga versus the live-action, even though the final solution—the bus—remains the same. Personally, I think the changes worked really well: using the concept of 'distance' instead of a blurred kilometer sign, and a rushing wave of water instead of an explosion, made the game far more reasonable for a 4-difficulty level.

-However, what I can't accept is how they cut the element of the Dealer pretending to be injured, replacing them with a random, nameless player. This completely robbed the game of its teamwork dynamic. It was likely done because the 4 of Clubs in the manga takes place after the Dealer reveal, whereas the live-action set it before that phase—forcing them to drop it.

-But here's how they could have made it work instead:
Add Asahi to this game as the Dealer pretending to be injured. My reasoning is that in the manga, after witnessing players' willingness to kill one another, Asahi was originally content to let everyone lose so she could scoop up nearly 100 days of visa time. Yet, seeing people like Arisu moved her, leading to her eventual sacrifice for him and the group.

-Having Asahi play the injured Dealer would allow her to interact with Arisu early on and form a lasting impression of him, making her psychological shift and ultimate sacrifice far more moving and impactful. Furthermore, it adds a second plot twist to the 4 of Clubs beyond the bus revelation—one that only gets unveiled much later during Momoka and Asahi's backstory flashback, leaving viewers shocked as they realize, *'*Ah, so THAT's why this was a Clubs game all along.'

-On top of resolving why viewers kept questioning how the 4 of Clubs qualified as a Clubs game, Asahi's true identity as a Dealer could be gradually teased when Arisu arrives at The Beach and meets her again, noticing how suspiciously fast her injury healed (which could be set up as the catalyst for Arisu questioning and eventually uncovering Asahi's Dealer status, just like in the manga).

If it were up to me, Season 3 would be built with an earthquake as the reason pulling everyone back into the Borderlands.The idea of Banda being able to return to the real world to recruit players is pretty illogical, and it completely ruins the weight of their choice to stay behind and become citizens in Season 2.

-The story still opens with Ryuji interviewing Arisu and other victims, meeting Usagi, and remembering that female student from his past. Following that, he continues researching the Borderlands and schedules meetings with a few meteoroid survivors, but gains no further information (a slight tweak from the show, which was originally just one woman accepting an introduction). Later, he returns to his office to continue his research, but instead of receiving a text invitation to join a group meeting and play Old Maid, he falls asleep for a while due to exhaustion. But when he wakes up, everything around him suddenly feels very strange and unusually quiet (while he was asleep, the earthquake occurred, causing everyone to fall into the Borderlands, but this isn't revealed yet to build curiosity). He steps outside and is guided to a game venue, but instead of Old Maid, it will be Blackjack (6 of Diamonds)—a game Chishiya played in the manga. Changing the game isn't vital to the overall plot, yet it fits much better with Banda searching for someone he can utilize in his plan, so a game requiring heavy calculation like Blackjack would be much better than a game of pure luck like Old Maid. Ryuji wins, and suddenly Banda appears, but showing only his back in relative darkness—his identity isn't revealed yet, but it allows everyone to guess who it is.

-In my opinion, Ryuji shouldn't be written as paraplegic in both legs and using a wheelchair. Instead, he should have a disability in just one leg and use a crutch, similar to Inspector Yamato Kansuke in Conan, which would be much more realistic when having him participate in physical games. His motivation should be linked far more tightly to the death of that female student. Combined with a reasoning similar to Gamon Kano (Mira's brother in Border Road, who also wanted to enter the Borderlands to understand what his sister felt and thought when she was there): Ryuji wants to enter this realm of death for his research, but over time, combining it with the desire to know what that female student felt makes him grow increasingly obsessed with it. It can be built up so he gradually realizes his fanatic obsession with this realm of death isn't simply about research, but truly because of her.

-Next is Ann's story. Instead of Usagi dreaming about her father and being haunted, we replace her with Ann—someone whose mind stands between two worlds, flooded with dense, hazy memories of the other world causing her severe PTSD (I'm doing this because the first two seasons built Usagi overcoming her father's death and returning to the real world, so Season 3 shouldn't reverse that process, which would be very redundant). After Ryuji's segment, we transition to Ann's dream and her waking up in the middle of the night at the hospital, then cut to the daily lives of Usagi and Arisu, leading to the scene where Arisu counsels Ann. She tells him, "We've met before," right before being interrupted by someone, just like in the show. I will deeply explore Ann's suffering in Episode 1. Later, driven by curiosity—especially remembering the very strange sensation he and Usagi felt when they felt so familiar to each other at the hospital after that disaster—Arisu meets Ann again to talk. Right at that moment, Usagi calls his phone to report news of her pregnancy (prior to this, she could be shown going to the hospital for an exam), but before she can say anything, the earthquake strikes. He only manages to hear Usagi scream his name through the phone and replies immediately, right until everything turns completely silent. Ann beside him vanishes, and Arisu steps outside, walking toward the sign leading to the fortune game, just like in the show.

-Ann returns to the Borderlands (without dying, of course) so she can have the opportunity to learn more about that world (just as she did in Season 2 and the manga), but is separated from Arisu due to different heart-stopping times. Ann plays the role of a character who constantly asks the exact questions lingering in the viewers' minds (for example: Why does the Borderlands operate differently this time compared to before, with no other cards appearing except the Joker? Or who is the Joker?). Just like in the manga, she asks many questions and answers her own doubts using her scientific and philosophical knowledge (combined with lore about the Borderlands taken from Border Road).

-Arisu's Zombie Hunt game still happens just like in the show, but Banda appears in this game just like in Blackjack, showing only his back and observing Arisu from afar, only revealing himself at the end of the game after manipulating a player to their death to clear the venue. After that, just like the show, it cuts to Ryuji playing the rhythm game with Usagi, and through Ryuji's flashback, we learn that after Banda found out Arisu returned, he used Ryuji to approach Usagi, forcing Arisu to stay behind. In exchange, he would be given the answers to games like Runaway Train and be allowed to become a citizen to study this world. But here, Banda says he must keep her alive until the final game because he has a plan. Participating in Zombie Hunt serves both to satisfy his boredom and to subtly manipulate Arisu bit by bit by spreading lies during that game (similar to how Mira's words during the Beach executive meeting influenced Arisu bit by bit).

*-*Runaway Train allows Ann to reunite with Arisu (after showing a few earlier scenes of her fighting through games). In this game, she solves the puzzle alongside Arisu. As for the rest, it depends on what the game idea is, so I won't say more. Finally, it can be combined with Ann helping Tetsu give first aid to Arisu.

-For Kick the Can and Tokyo Bingo Tower, aside from Ann joining Arisu's group just to secure another survival spot.

*-*Future Sudoku is the game where Banda appears directly to execute his plan. As a game capable of separating players into rooms with harsh point deductions leading to death, having a scheming manipulator who knows how to manipulate others like Banda will make this game much more interesting. The plot can be built so that Ann, through her deductions, realizes there is something very off about this Banda guy, but he acts in time and pushes Usagi and Arisu into a tight spot, while also manipulating Arisu and causing the deaths of other players (the players who died in the show can be killed off by Banda instead).
The story at this point mirrors Retry, placing Arisu in a 9 of Hearts game designed just like the 7 of Hearts (making everyone misunderstand that only one person can survive), and clearing it proves he is no longer who he used to be. Just like the Queen of Hearts game, when he falls into despair, he no longer needs Usagi physically beside him to pull himself back up.
Ryuji and Ann are initially set up as foils to one another: both share the goal of understanding the Borderlands, but with two different motivations and methods. Ann is haunted by terrible memories of the past and decides to observe and ask questions about this world, while Ryuji, haunted by the death of the female student, resorts to extreme actions and manipulates Usagi to explore it. Eventually, seeing Usagi—who resembles that female student—gradually change Ryuji, he decides to turn his back on Banda. Banda fails, but breaks the rules to avoid dying in the game, attempting to shoot Usagi himself, but Ryuji steps in to block the shot and sacrifices his life.
Banda is struck down by a sky laser for breaking the rules, and the Watchman appears, freezing time for everyone except Ann and Arisu, who can still move.
Then the climax gives both of them a conversation with the Guardian at the end of the film: trimming down Arisu's lines to let Ann ask her own questions, adding a few questions about why she is different. The Guardian doesn't say much, but she understands on her own and accepts living with the memories of both worlds.
We can include a detail of Yaba looking at Banda's corpse, commenting, "We really aren't alike at all," exactly like his comment in the manga.

-Waking up from that world, Arisu (whose injuries aren't too severe) frantically asks the doctors about his wife and is told she is stable. Looking over, he sees Ryuji's body covered in severe wounds and is informed that he has already stopped breathing as they cover him with a white sheet and wheel him away.

-After returning to the real world, although Ann remembers everything most clearly and her injuries aren't light, she feels much better and more at peace. A few months after these events, a small detail shows Ann's patient file noting a positive mental recovery without needing explicit dialogue. And it would be even better if, during the scene where Kuina receives psychological counseling from Arisu, Kuina meets Ann upon leaving the room. Just like Arisu and Usagi before, Kuina feels an overwhelming sense of familiarity toward Ann without knowing who she is. Ann simply says, "Let me buy you a cup of tea," or something similar, subtly implying that the two will begin building a new friendship.

-Finally, Arisu hears news that the earthquake in Japan from months ago is now occurring in many places around the globe, and the camera transitions to the US, showing the nametag of a waitress named Alice, just like in the show. This is an open ending—not meant as a new film installment, but to show that the Borderlands exists all across the world.

Difficulty: 6 ♣️
Name: Cipher Wheel
Venue: Ferris Wheel (featuring 12 enclosed cabins)
Number of Players: 12
Setup:
-The Ferris wheel will complete one full rotation as each of the 12 players enters their assigned cabin, one by one.
-Once all players are secured inside, the game will begin at a randomly selected cabin.
Rule:
-When a specific cabin's turn starts, the top emergency hatch on that cabin and all 11 other cabins will unlock simultaneously. At this point, players are free to climb between cabins.
-On their turn, a player must identify the correct target position for their cabin and move their cabin to that location by climbing through the top emergency hatches into the other cabins
-The time limit for each cabin varies and is fixed, ranging from a maximum of 1 hour to a minimum of 5 minutes.
-If the time limit expires before the player climbs into the correct cabin, all emergency hatches will close, and that player will be electrocuted to death by a high-voltage current installed on the iron bars (GAME OVER for that player).
-Players must complete the relocation of a minimum of 8 cabins to clear the game.
-After each turn, the game will advance to the next cabin following a clockwise direction.
-If 5 turns fail, it means the quota of completing 8 cabins cannot be met (GAME OVER for all players)
-Players who deliberately climb into a cabin that does not correspond to their required position when time runs out will be eliminated immediately by an automated gun installed inside.
Core game:
-The game operates on the mechanism of a clock face. The 12 cabins correspond to numbers 1 through 12, and the time limit in each cabin corresponds to its required target position on the clock face.
Example: 15 minutes corresponds to Position 3 on the clock; 5 minutes corresponds to Position 1.
-Moving a cabin mirrors turning clock hands:
Climbing clockwise: The wheel rotates clockwise.
Climbing counterclockwise: The wheel rotates counterclockwise.
Example: To adjust a cabin with a 20-minute time limit currently at Position 9, the player must climb out of that cabin and move from Position 9 to 8, 7, 6, 5, and finally enter the cabin at Position 4 on the clock (corresponding to 20 minutes). The Ferris wheel will then shift to that location.
-This is a team game. Other players are allowed to go outside to support one another, but the main player of that specific turn must be the one to step into the destination cabin; other players cannot directly alter or take over their turn execution.
-There is no limit on the number of people per cabin, so it is fine if the destination cabin already contains another player.
-Cabins from previous turns, whether successful or failed, can still serve as destination cabins for subsequent turns.
-Players who intentionally jump off the wheel to escape the game will be eliminated by lasers immediately.
-Every cabin is equipped with a safety harness for each person, similar to the Tokyo Tower Bingo game.
-Sensors are installed on the iron framework and cabins to verify whether the player's movement path is correct.
Notes:
-Rated 6 ♣️ because Usagi previously cleared a game of this difficulty before reuniting with Arisu after his 7 ♥️ traumatic game. This setup fits her perfectly to showcase her climbing abilities.
-Having only 12 cabins initially raised concerns that the wheel might look too small rather than grand like in the video. However, eliminating extra cabins on a massive wheel frame leaves wide gaps between the 12 cabins, making traversal far more challenging, dangerous, and visually impressive.
-For those who want to know, the scene in the video above takes place at the beginning of Episode 5, Season 1, and the manga chapter showing the games Usagi previously played is Chapter 15.