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Why Are Netflix's Squid Game And Alice In Borderland Popular? Death Game Genre Explained


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Squid Game and Alice in Borderland are both among the most popular TV shows on Netflix today. The two Asian series share the same plot — it uses the game theory and combines it with the pressure of survival. Both Netflix series belong to the death game genre, and here's why they sell to the audience.

Squid Game And Alice in Borderland Successfully Used Death Game Genre

Squid Game and Alice in Borderland are often compared because they are similar in a good way.

Squid Game, a South Korean survival game, features 456 participants fighting for 45.6 billion won (about $38 million) playing a series of deadly Korean children's games. Only one survived Gi-hun (Lee Jung Jae).

Alice in Borderland, a Japanese TV series, features several players forced to join the game to survive. There is no money involved, but they have to enter and win games to extend their visas. Once their visa expires, they will be shot dead. Ryohei Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) played various games and lost his best friends in a game of hearts that included betrayal.

According to CBR.com, the two movies draw fans because the leading stars Gi-hun and Arisu were relatable. Alice in Borderland's lead Arisu is just a regular guy and not strong, but his exceptional observation skills, experience in playing video games give the viewers hope that they could survive a death game.

Squid Game's Gi-hun is a gambling addict, but he is clever. Both characters are easy to love. Also, many love to root the underdog.

Death Game Genre Thrills The Fans

Alice in Borderland and Squid Game are packed with action and clever games that would make the audience want more. The sets of games in both films promise death. In every game, there will be a winner and loser, and the losers die.

In Alice in Wonderland, all the players can survive. However, when that happens, the dealers of the game would die. So, there's a guaranteed death in every game. In Squid Game's tug of war, half of the players died because the losers fell to their death.

The death games genre is considered absurd and exaggerated. However, they also contain enough reality to spark a conversation.

Squid Game director Hwang Dong-hyuk created the hit series as early as 2008. He already completed the plot a year later. However, he faced constant rejection for 10 years because the producers felt his movie was "too unrealistic." After a decade, Netflix picked it up, and it became a global hit!

Alice in Borderland Season 2 is coming up on Netflix. Meanwhile, the streaming service has not renewed Squid Game yet. We will keep you posted once it gets the green light.

RELATED: Squid Game vs Alice In Borderland: Which Netflix Survival TV Series Is Better?

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