No show loves a near-death fake out like Alice in Borderland. True to this live-action show’s manga roots, the Netflix thriller is filled with abandoned characters on the brink of death who return just when you’ve started to forget about them. But none of these “Are they dead?” moments are as stressful as what happens to Chishiya (Nijirō Murakami).
It’s hard not to love this moody and manipulative medical student. Chishiya starts Alice in Borderland as a potential rival to Arisu (Kento Yamazaki). As Arisu beats his games through teamwork and motivational speeches, Chishiya takes the opposite approach, often watching from the sidelines before tricking other players to get what he wants. He’s one of those characters that’s so good at being bad, watching him is a delight. That’s why what happens in Alice in Borderland‘s final episodes is an emotional rollercoaster. Spoilers ahead.
Does Chishiya Die in Alice in Borderland?
Don’t let Episode 7 freak you out too much. Chishiya ends Alice in Borderland just fine. Well, maybe not fine. But he is alive at the end.
In the penultimate episode of Season 2, constant troublemaker Niragi (Dori Sakurada) once again returned from the dead. Only this time around, he challenged Chishiya and best boy Arisu to their own game within a game. Niragi was determined to make Arisu and Chishiya admit what they really thought about him, warts and all, and you just know that Chishiya was down to read him. This is a man who made it through Borderland solely because he doesn’t care if he lives or dies. You know he doesn’t care about silly things like people hating him.
But in the end, it seems like Chishiya did care about one thing. Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) appeared in the middle of the trio’s standoff, which further enraged Niragi. Ever since she pulled her hand away from him during the King of Clubs saga, he’s had beef with her. He even went so far as to attempt to rape her earlier in this season. Once Niragi saw Usagi, he funneled all of his rage into trying to take her down. But the bullet that was meant for Usagi was blocked by Chishiya.
Whether Chishiya took that bullet because of love, friendship, or because he knew that Niragi’s rage was unfair remains unclear. Regardless of the answer, the result was the same. Chishiya spent most of Alice in Borderland’s final two episodes bleeding out on the street.
Does Chishiya Leave Borderland?
He was still alive with Arisu and Usagi defeated the Queen of Hearts and won Borderland, which meant that Chishiya was offered two choices: he could stay in Borderland permanently or leave it for whatever was beyond. Chishiya chose to leave, which led to him waking up in a hospital bed beside his former rival, Niragi. In Alice in Borderland’s final moments, they half-heartedly mock each other in a pseudo-friendly way.
As we’ve covered before, Chishiya, Niragi, Arisu, Usagi, and the rest of our heroes and villains were actually victims of a meteorite that crashed into Tokyo. It’s implied that Borderland was a limbo of sorts and that the people who survived that horrible realm were able to return to their real lives. As for the rest, they weren’t so fortunate. So, yes, Chishiya makes it out alive, but he probably has some therapy in his future.