Amongst the entire surprises that Season 2 of Netflix’s Alice in Borderland had in retailer for its viewers, it’s safe to say that one in every of them caught us completely off guard. Kyuma (Tomohisa Yamashita), additionally referred to as the King of Golf gear – the first “boss” (or “citizen”) that Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) sort out – is a nudist and spends all of his time inside the assortment completely naked.
Whereas nudism is an precise philosophy and apply, within the true world the adepts to it have restricted areas the place they are going to prepare it (normally at specific seashores and inside their very personal properties). However, a very nude physique continues to be a shock for many people, and the affect of seeing a buck-naked particular person on television may make plenty of folks uncomfortable – and that’s very true for Japanese audiences as a result of the nation continues to be pretty conservative in various factors.
For Kyuma, Being Naked Is The Ultimate Publicity
The first motive why Kyuma is naked regularly is that he’s been in Borderland longer than the model new players, and he received right here to know that he’s residing in a world the place societal tips no longer apply. He’ll get to do what he wants and costume — or undress — as he likes, and no person can drive him to placed on one thing. All points thought-about, it’s actually surprising that the gathering doesn’t attribute additional characters who blatantly ignore social constructs – other than, you acknowledge, those that kill mercilessly with no punishment.
The second motive is that, narratively, having Kyuma in no way placed on clothes helps underscore the character’s philosophy. Sooner than they gear as a lot as play the symbiosis recreation, Kyuma and Arisu have a dialog regarding the “actual world” throughout which Kyuma questions Arisu’s notion that Tokyo from Season 1, Episode 1 will not be the true issue the least bit. Kyuma states that Borderland unveils the true nature of the human being, and as a consequence of that, it could be perceived as rather more precise than the world they left behind.
Kyuma additionally suggestions that society is tethered to tips that make us placed on masks and shields which regularly forestall us from forming vital connections and having brutally honest conversations. In Borderland, nothing is off the desk and you may completely expose your self – which, visually, interprets to the King of Golf gear sporting no clothes and at all times inviting of us to have heart-to-hearts. In line with Kyuma, solely by dying inside the eye you’ll truly reveal your true self, and that’s the reason he likes residing in Borderland.
As a result of the season progresses, you discover that Kyuma was correct at least partially. Out of the entire residents that Arisu and his workforce battle, the King of Golf gear is the one one which makes them mirror in regards to the place they’re, what would possibly Borderland be, and within the occasion that they really actually really feel like returning to the “precise” world. Kyuma may be the one one who has a protracted and vital dialog with the protagonist – true, there is a longer dialog that takes place inside the closing episode, nonetheless the stage of honesty in that alternate is up for debate.
Naked and (Not) Afraid
Kyuma’s beliefs moreover end up making him one of many “cheap” residents. Since he believes that inside his enviornment everybody appears to be equal, that suggests that his workforce always manages to find a method to battle sincere contained within the twisted Borderland tips. Kyuma lays out the foundations of his recreation explicitly, his workforce doesn’t actually really feel unbeatable (versus completely different residents’ arenas), and it doesn’t actually really feel like he’s hiding one thing like a couple of of his fellow residents.
Ultimate nonetheless not least, that’s solely briefly explored by the gathering, nonetheless being buck naked could be a approach to psych out your adversaries. When Kyuma reveals up, no person is prepared for what he’ll seem like, and his being naked is ample to destabilize whoever takes him on. On our side of the show, having this type of character launched so early inside the season indicators to the viewers that residents are unpredictable, and that they play by their very personal tips, so that you just in no way know what to anticipate when a model new King, Jack or Queen present themselves.
True ample, the video video games from Season 2 wildly differ from Season 1, significantly by way of battles of wits. In Season 2, there could also be room for video video games that are completely bodily, others throughout which players solely should assume and barely switch, and usually a mixture of every. This was teased inside the first season, nonetheless making the video video games as distinct as their golf gear, hearts, diamonds, and spades indicators is what makes the model new episodes the entire additional thrilling.