Spoilers for all three seasons of Netflix’s live-action Alice in Borderland. The central named deaths include Karube, Chota and Shibuki in Season 1; Tatta, Kyuma and his bandmates, Matsushita, Kuzuryu, the King of Spades and Mira in Season 2; and Tetsu, Itsuki and Banda in Season 3. Ryuji goes to the vortex. Arisu and Usagi survive and return to the real world. These outcomes are not all the same: some characters die in Borderland, some are eliminated by a game, and the Season 2 hospital reveal means a Borderland death is not necessarily a permanent real-world death.
What does “dies” mean in Alice in Borderland?
The deadly game rules make failure to clear a game fatal in Borderland. But the Season 2 ending reveals that the players’ experience there took place during the Tokyo meteor disaster. Many who choose to return wake up in a hospital, so a character’s apparent death in Borderland does not always mean they permanently die in the real world. Netflix’s Season 2 ending explainer describes the hospital reveal and the players’ choice.
The list below covers named characters and major deaths in Netflix’s live-action adaptation through Season 3. It is not an exhaustive record of every unnamed player or on-screen casualty, and the series is based on Haro Aso’s manga; this is not a list of every manga death or difference.
Who dies in Season 1?
Karube and Chota
Arisu’s friends Karube and Chota die in an early game that forces the friends to choose who will survive. Their deaths establish the consequence of losing in Borderland and become a defining loss for Arisu.
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Shibuki
Shibuki also dies in Borderland. Netflix’s official material establishes the lethal game premise and identifies the principal cast, but does not provide a complete named-death ledger for Season 1; the names here are the central deaths, not every casualty.
Who dies in Season 2?
| Character | Game or event | What happens | Real-world return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tatta | King of Clubs | He removes his game bracelet, severs his arm and bleeds to death, helping Arisu win. | The finale’s hospital reveal means a Borderland death is not automatically a confirmed permanent real-world death. |
| Kyuma and his bandmates | King of Clubs | They die after losing the game. | The finale’s hospital reveal applies to players who choose to return. |
| Matsushita | Jack of Hearts | Netflix’s recap says he was presumably stabbed by Yaba and Banda after the game. | The recap does not establish a separate permanent real-world death for him. |
| Kuzuryu | King of Diamonds | The game’s scales of justice release acid, killing him. | The finale’s hospital reveal means the Borderland outcome alone does not establish permanent death in the real world. |
| King of Spades | King of Spades battle | Arisu and Aguni kill him. | The game’s apparent deaths should not be conflated with the later real-world hospital outcomes. |
| Mira | Queen of Hearts | After Arisu wins by refusing to forfeit, the game kills Mira. | The ending reveals players who decline to remain in Borderland waking in the hospital. |
Netflix’s Season 2 finale recap names these deaths. Several returning characters appear close to death during the King of Spades battle, but the recap says players who decline to stay in Borderland wake up in the same hospital. Do not treat those apparent deaths as confirmed permanent deaths in the real world.
Who dies or is eliminated in Season 3?
| Character | Game or event | Outcome in Borderland | Returns to the real world? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tetsu | Final game | Eliminated after entering a room whose penalty costs more points than he has. | Not among the final-game survivors who return. |
| Itsuki | Final game | Eliminated when a room penalty reduces his points to zero. | Not among the final-game survivors who return. |
| Banda | Watchman | Killed by the Watchman. | Not among the final-game survivors who return. |
| Ryuji | Vortex | Goes to the vortex after Usagi fights him off. | No: the finale says all final-game survivors except Ryuji go back. |
| Arisu and Usagi | Final game | Survive and make it back to safety. | Yes. They return to the real world. |
These terms matter: Netflix’s Season 3 ending explainer describes Tetsu and Itsuki as eliminated, Banda as killed, and Ryuji as going to the vortex. It says the other final-game survivors return.
Does Arisu die? Does Usagi die?
No. Arisu and Usagi survive Season 3 and return to the real world. Other players who survive the final game also return; Ryuji is the exception identified in Netflix’s finale recap.
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No. This article covers the Netflix live-action adaptation, which Netflix identifies as based on Haro Aso’s manga. It does not claim that the manga has the same deaths, sequence of events or ending. Netflix’s cast guide covers the adaptation and its characters.
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