Heartbreaking deaths are unavoidable in a survival drama show, and the Alice in Borderland deaths are as bad as any on TV today. The unforgettable and lovable characters on the show make the devastating scenes of their demise almost too painful to watch. Alice in Borderland came out a year before the hugely popular Squid Game and told a similar story. In this one, a group of friends in Tokyo comes out of a bathroom, where they were hiding, to find the city abandoned. They soon end up taken into an arena and forced to play dangerous games, where the losers were executed.

However, unlike Squad Game, which focused on one main protagonist throughout, there are multiple fan favorites in Alice in Borderland, and many of them die as the show rolls on. The most tear-jerking Alice in Borderland deaths often happen to characters who have shown that they’re good people, despite being helplessly stuck in a seemingly endless competition full of life-or-death games. Some of these characters sacrifice their own lives so that other players could survive, which only makes their deaths even more moving and upsetting for fans who have grown to love them.

12 Takatora Samura (Last Boss)

As a hikikomori, or someone who withdraws from society, Last Boss easily adapts to the deadly world he finds himself in. In fact, he embraces the change when he realizes no one else is around. Last Boss is far from being likable, as he enjoys the freedom of being able to swing his samurai sword around and hurt others.

Last Boss not only changes his name but also his appearance. He asks a tattoo artist to cover him up in a way that he wouldn’t be allowed to re-enter society. He completely shuns his old life and enjoys intimidating and hurting others in the competition. Needless to say, no one was too upset to see him die and some fans might have found themselves breathing a sigh of relief when Kuina manages to stop his lethal rampage.

11 Nigari Suguri

Although fans see a glimpse of Nigari’s sad backstory as he’s shooting people with a sniper rifle, the fact that he was bullied as a kid doesn’t do much to justify his heinous actions on the show. He’s an arrogant character who blindly follows Aguni’s senseless and aggressive commands. He even enjoys chasing down other players on The Beach during the “Witch Hunt” round. Fans may also recall the disgusting scene where he tries to assault Usagi.

Things begin to look dire when he starts mindlessly shooting at the crowd and almost hits Arisu, but he’s thankfully stopped by Aguni. It’s implied that he burns in the fire offscreen and viewers can only hope that he’s really gone.

10 Takeru Danma (Hatter)

Whether fans like it or not, Hatter is undeniably one of the smartest characters in Alice in Borderland. He’s able to lean into his own narcissism and charms to trick hundreds of players into thinking he can offer salvation from the brutal competition.

In reality, Hatter only cares about himself, using others to have enough manpower surrounding him during the deadly games. He loves the fame and attention but doesn’t realize it comes with potential threats. It turns out that he’s the biggest danger to himself, as he makes the foolish mistake of attempting to kill Aguni and gets shot in return. Hatter doesn’t go out of his way to hurt others like Nigari and Last Boss, so at least this was one of the Alice in Borderland deaths that wasn’t a source of relief.

9 Akuyava Momoka (The Witch)

Momoka is at the center of the most difficult game in Alice in Borderland, as she is the titular witch in “The Witch” round. Fans soon learn about her tragic story of being recruited as a dealer along with her friend Asahi. The dealers and friends found themselves in the unfortunate position of both posing as players and having to prepare the dangerous games for others. They felt guilty and at some point, Momoka couldn’t take it anymore and turned the knife on herself. She’s only featured for a few minutes, so fans likely don’t feel too bad about her unfortunate fate.

8 Kujõ Asahi

Audiences see glimpses of Asahi every now and then, but she seems more like an aloof player rather than a character with a shocking secret. Fans likely weren’t expecting the massive twist in the show when Asahi stood up and explained that she was a dealer responsible for staging games.

A laser shoots down from the sky and kills Asahi instantly after her confession. Her attempt to exonerate her friend and save the others in the game is irable, but most would agree that it comes out of nowhere. Among the Alice in Borderland deaths, hers was a little harder to stomach than Momoka’s because it was so jarring and she did do it to spare the players on The Beach.

7 Saori Shibuki

Despite Shibuki’s questionable and manipulative choices in the competition, most fans would say that she simply did what she had to do to survive. Her cruel manipulation of Chōta is unforgivable, but it’s worth noting that it doesn’t really work on Arisu’s friend. The show does somewhat humanize Shibuki during her moving scenes with Arisu, so some fans can’t be blamed for feeling a bit attached to her character. Of the Alice in Borderland deaths, the way she dies is horrible as well, as she doesn’t have a choice and takes comfort in holding Chōta during her last moments in the “Hide-and-seek” round.

6 Ginji Kyuma

Ginji Kyuma was the King of Clubs in Alice in Borderland, and he stood out as the one competitor in the game who refused to wear clothes. Kyuma was successful in competing in the game with his friends and bandmates, and he chose to remain there as the man responsible for the King of Clubs game. However, it was when the new competitors took him on at his own game that he and his friends met their fates.

Arisu was able to trick Kyuma and steal all his points and won the game, leading to their deaths. It was sad because Kyuma's friends all trusted and loved him as their leader, but it was his temporary lack of judgment that got them all killed. He also proved himself to be someone who Arisu and the audience came to respect, making it hurt more. For his part, Kyuma accepted his death gracefully.

5 Keiichi Kuzuryu

Keiichi Kuzuryu was the King of Diamonds, although this wasn't revealed until later in season 2. Throughout most of the show, he was posing as someone else, and it wasn't until it was time for the game to begin that Chishiya figured out that Kuzuryu was the King of Diamonds. What made this really horrifying was that this Alice in Borderland game was a gruesome one. Contestants had to guess a number between 0 and 100 and the losers died via an acid bath.

What made his fate more heartbreaking than other Alice in Borderland deaths was that he chose to die and went out to save someone else. While he was one of the hosts, he ended up battling Chishiya in the finals of the game one on one and allowed his opponent to win. The key to this was that Kuzuryu had lost faith in humanity, but when Chishiya told Kuzuryu his number ahead of time, it restored his faith in humanity and he let Chishiya win and took his acid bath, dying in his place.

4 Aguni Morizono

If the villain Aguni never became a hero, viewers probably wouldn’t have batted an eye when he died. As the stereotypical strong man in the show, Aguni carries around his rifle and leads his goons with pride as part of his fake feud with Hatter.

It’s revealed that he only does this to maintain peace on The Beach, which is why he’s disheartened when he learns Hatter began to believe their farce was real. The way he lashes out in the “Witch Hunt” game is mostly a result of his own guilt around having to shoot his best friend in self-defense. It doesn’t completely excuse his horrific actions on Alice in Borderland, but fans certainly felt a tinge of sadness after Aguni heroically saves Arisu and sacrifices himself in the fire.

3 Kōdai Tatta

Tatta had been around since the second episode of season 1 after being part of the Five of Spades game of tag at that time. He returned later and then again when he saved Arisu and Usagi from the King of Spades. However, this was the beginning of the end for the young man. He took part in the King of Clubs game with Arisu, Usagi, Kuina, and Niragi. This game was called Osmosis and was all about stealing points.

While asked to remain behind and protect the base, Tatta failed in his task. He was scared to battle the King of Clubs so when an attack on the base commenced, he was unable to defend it and his team lost several points. This Alice in Borderland death ended up as a sacrifice because he felt terrible about letting his team down, so he cut off his own arm and gave it to Arisu to use to steal points from the King of Clubs. His team won, but Tatta bled to death.