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Republicans haul Netflix before Congress for being too ‘woke’

Republicans haul Netflix before Congress for being too ‘woke’

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Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos was launched into the middle of a congressional culture war on Tuesday as he testified before a Senate subcommittee about the company’s attempt to buy a large part of Warner Bros Discovery.

The hearing before the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee highlighted an array of traditional merger concerns on both sides of the aisle: that the deal could potentially raise costs for consumers, limit their theater experiences, or shrink the market for entertainment jobs. But a large chunk of the session also focused on Netflix’s allegedly “woke” programming, including content that features transgender characters.

Netflix is facing a competing bid from Paramount Skydance, run by CEO David Ellison, the son of President Donald Trump’s close ally and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. WBD has rejected Paramount’s offer, but Republicans are pushing to knock Netflix out of the running.

“Why in the world would we give a seal of approval or a thumbs up to make you the largest behemoth on the planet related to content?” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) asked. “It seems as though you have engaged in creating not only a monopoly of content, potentially, but the wokest content in the history of the world.”

After subcommittee Ranking Member Cory Booker (D-NJ) began his questioning following Schmitt by saying he’d get back to the topic of antitrust, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) countered that the question of content was relevant to the topic at hand. “If there are folks across America who are already struggling with their limited options,” she said to the executives, “you’re proposing you become even larger, and I am just saying maybe that shouldn’t have been a joke, ‘let’s get back to antitrust,’ let’s truly talk about whether there are going to be options.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) made a hard pivot from his questioning on whether Netflix would commit to using union labor and pay residuals on streaming content to ask, “Why is it that so much of Netflix content for children promotes a transgender ideology?” Hawley alleged that “almost half” of its content for minor children, excluding older teens, “promotes a transgender ideology agenda.” Sarandos said he didn’t know where that alleged number came from, and said that “Netflix has no political agenda of any kind.”

The French film Cuties featured heavily at the hearing as an example of oversexualized kids content. The movie, which was created as a commentary on the sexualization of young girls and Sarandos said is rated for mature audiences, not kids, became a symbol of Netflix’s alleged ideologically-driven library. Billionaire and Trump backer Elon Musk previously led a campaign against Netflix over shows like Dead End: Paranormal Park and The Baby-Sitters Club for featuring trans characters. GOP lawmakers also pointed to Netflix’s staff’s primarily Democratic-leaning political donations and content featuring LGBTQ+ characters as other examples of its bias.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked Sarandos and WBD Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Bruce Campbell if they’d watched the Grammys this weekend (only Sarandos caught the “tail end”). “Are we right now on stolen land?” Cruz asked pointedly, referencing artist Billie Eilish’s speech opposing ICE, where she said, “no one is illegal on stolen land.” Both said they didn’t know. (The Grammys were broadcast on CBS, which is owned by Paramount Skydance.)

Ellison declined an invitation to attend the hearing because he believed it wouldn’t be helpful given the circumstances, Booker said. But Ellison met with lawmakers privately, and Booker described his conversation with him as “fruitful.” Paramount’s bid could raise some of the same concerns as Netflix’s, but Ellison’s father’s close tie to President Donald Trump would potentially assuage some of the content concerns for Republicans, and raise them for Democrats.

Booker raised deep concerns about whether any transaction would be reviewed fairly by independent enforcers under the Trump administration. Sarandos admitted he’d met with Trump shortly before the deal was announced, but that the deal was not discussed in detail and was not the primary purpose of the conversation. “I do not trust this administration in their evaluations, and I just pray to God that everything that you all hope might come should this move forward, that you all attested to, comes to pass,” Booker said.

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ServiceNow, the U.S. enterprise software company known for automating workflows like IT service management and HR operations, is betting on an Indian banking software specialist to deepen its push into global financial services.

The company has invested $40 million in BusinessNext, valuing the 24-year-old Indian firm at $700 million and taking a roughly 5% stake. The deal gives BusinessNext access to ServiceNow’s global sales network as the companies expand their partnership in AI for financial services.

ServiceNow’s investment reflects BusinessNext’s growing profile beyond India. The profitable, Noida-based company, which generated about $32 million in revenue in its latest financial year, serves more than 70 banks across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S. Its customers include the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, and State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, which are India’s largest public- and private-sector lenders, respectively.

About half of BusinessNext’s revenue comes from outside India, with overseas markets expected to drive much of its future growth, founder and CEO Nishant Singh said in an interview.

The company chose ServiceNow over potential financial investors to accelerate its expansion by tapping the U.S. software group’s global reach. Singh told TechCrunch that the partnership would help BusinessNext “borrow” its go-to-marker “machinery” — referring to ServiceNow’s sales infrastructure — in markets where it has a limited presence.

“Think of it as a strategic partnership, which is cemented with funding,” he said.

BusinessNext’s software, Singh said, manages customer-facing banking workflows, while ServiceNow is stronger in workflow automation and back-office systems, a combination the two companies plan to sell jointly to financial institutions.

“India’s financial services sector is at an inflection point — institutions are moving from digital experimentation to full-scale AI-led operations,” Kulmeet Bawa, ServiceNow’s group vice president and managing director for India and SAARC, said. He added that the partnership combines ServiceNow’s enterprise workflow platform with BusinessNext’s banking expertise.

Founded in 2002, BusinessNext — known as CRMNext until 2022 — has spent several years building what Singh calls an “autonomous banking” platform, using AI agents to automate banking workflows while keeping sensitive customer data on private AI infrastructure to meet regulatory and privacy requirements.

Singh told TechCrunch that AI was built into the company’s platform from the outset rather than added later. “We actually renamed our company and we kind of rewrote our stack to put that fundamentally at the core,” he said.

BusinessNext employs more than 1,300 people across its operations and was last valued at $181 million in 2021, per private market intelligence platform Tracxn. It has raised more than $60 million in external funding and counts Avataar Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, and Ascent Capital among its existing investors.

The deal comes as established enterprise software vendors face pressure from customers who are questioning whether traditional SaaS tools are worth paying for when AI-native alternatives are emerging. For ServiceNow, the deal builds out its position in banking by partnering with a company focused on AI-driven banking software, as it expands its enterprise software portfolio through acquisitions, investments, and partnerships.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#ServiceNow #bets #million #Indian #banking #software #specialist #expand #financial #services #push #TechCrunchServiceNow">ServiceNow bets million on Indian banking software specialist to expand its financial services push | TechCrunch ServiceNow, the U.S. enterprise software company known for automating workflows like IT service management and HR operations, is betting on an Indian banking software specialist to deepen its push into global financial services. The company has invested million in BusinessNext, valuing the 24-year-old Indian firm at 0 million and taking a roughly 5% stake. The deal gives BusinessNext access to ServiceNow’s global sales network as the companies expand their partnership in AI for financial services. ServiceNow’s investment reflects BusinessNext’s growing profile beyond India. The profitable, Noida-based company, which generated about million in revenue in its latest financial year, serves more than 70 banks across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S. Its customers include the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, and State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, which are India’s largest public- and private-sector lenders, respectively. About half of BusinessNext’s revenue comes from outside India, with overseas markets expected to drive much of its future growth, founder and CEO Nishant Singh said in an interview. The company chose ServiceNow over potential financial investors to accelerate its expansion by tapping the U.S. software group’s global reach. Singh told TechCrunch that the partnership would help BusinessNext “borrow” its go-to-marker “machinery” — referring to ServiceNow’s sales infrastructure — in markets where it has a limited presence. “Think of it as a strategic partnership, which is cemented with funding,” he said. BusinessNext’s software, Singh said, manages customer-facing banking workflows, while ServiceNow is stronger in workflow automation and back-office systems, a combination the two companies plan to sell jointly to financial institutions. “India’s financial services sector is at an inflection point — institutions are moving from digital experimentation to full-scale AI-led operations,” Kulmeet Bawa, ServiceNow’s group vice president and managing director for India and SAARC, said. He added that the partnership combines ServiceNow’s enterprise workflow platform with BusinessNext’s banking expertise. Founded in 2002, BusinessNext — known as CRMNext until 2022 — has spent several years building what Singh calls an “autonomous banking” platform, using AI agents to automate banking workflows while keeping sensitive customer data on private AI infrastructure to meet regulatory and privacy requirements. Singh told TechCrunch that AI was built into the company’s platform from the outset rather than added later. “We actually renamed our company and we kind of rewrote our stack to put that fundamentally at the core,” he said. BusinessNext employs more than 1,300 people across its operations and was last valued at 1 million in 2021, per private market intelligence platform Tracxn. It has raised more than million in external funding and counts Avataar Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, and Ascent Capital among its existing investors. The deal comes as established enterprise software vendors face pressure from customers who are questioning whether traditional SaaS tools are worth paying for when AI-native alternatives are emerging. For ServiceNow, the deal builds out its position in banking by partnering with a company focused on AI-driven banking software, as it expands its enterprise software portfolio through acquisitions, investments, and partnerships. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#ServiceNow #bets #million #Indian #banking #software #specialist #expand #financial #services #push #TechCrunchServiceNow

BusinessNext, valuing the 24-year-old Indian firm at $700 million and taking a roughly 5% stake. The deal gives BusinessNext access to ServiceNow’s global sales network as the companies expand their partnership in AI for financial services.

ServiceNow’s investment reflects BusinessNext’s growing profile beyond India. The profitable, Noida-based company, which generated about $32 million in revenue in its latest financial year, serves more than 70 banks across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S. Its customers include the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, and State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, which are India’s largest public- and private-sector lenders, respectively.

About half of BusinessNext’s revenue comes from outside India, with overseas markets expected to drive much of its future growth, founder and CEO Nishant Singh said in an interview.

The company chose ServiceNow over potential financial investors to accelerate its expansion by tapping the U.S. software group’s global reach. Singh told TechCrunch that the partnership would help BusinessNext “borrow” its go-to-marker “machinery” — referring to ServiceNow’s sales infrastructure — in markets where it has a limited presence.

“Think of it as a strategic partnership, which is cemented with funding,” he said.

BusinessNext’s software, Singh said, manages customer-facing banking workflows, while ServiceNow is stronger in workflow automation and back-office systems, a combination the two companies plan to sell jointly to financial institutions.

“India’s financial services sector is at an inflection point — institutions are moving from digital experimentation to full-scale AI-led operations,” Kulmeet Bawa, ServiceNow’s group vice president and managing director for India and SAARC, said. He added that the partnership combines ServiceNow’s enterprise workflow platform with BusinessNext’s banking expertise.

Founded in 2002, BusinessNext — known as CRMNext until 2022 — has spent several years building what Singh calls an “autonomous banking” platform, using AI agents to automate banking workflows while keeping sensitive customer data on private AI infrastructure to meet regulatory and privacy requirements.

Singh told TechCrunch that AI was built into the company’s platform from the outset rather than added later. “We actually renamed our company and we kind of rewrote our stack to put that fundamentally at the core,” he said.

BusinessNext employs more than 1,300 people across its operations and was last valued at $181 million in 2021, per private market intelligence platform Tracxn. It has raised more than $60 million in external funding and counts Avataar Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, and Ascent Capital among its existing investors.

The deal comes as established enterprise software vendors face pressure from customers who are questioning whether traditional SaaS tools are worth paying for when AI-native alternatives are emerging. For ServiceNow, the deal builds out its position in banking by partnering with a company focused on AI-driven banking software, as it expands its enterprise software portfolio through acquisitions, investments, and partnerships.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#ServiceNow #bets #million #Indian #banking #software #specialist #expand #financial #services #push #TechCrunchServiceNow">ServiceNow bets $40 million on Indian banking software specialist to expand its financial services push | TechCrunch

ServiceNow, the U.S. enterprise software company known for automating workflows like IT service management and HR operations, is betting on an Indian banking software specialist to deepen its push into global financial services.

The company has invested $40 million in BusinessNext, valuing the 24-year-old Indian firm at $700 million and taking a roughly 5% stake. The deal gives BusinessNext access to ServiceNow’s global sales network as the companies expand their partnership in AI for financial services.

ServiceNow’s investment reflects BusinessNext’s growing profile beyond India. The profitable, Noida-based company, which generated about $32 million in revenue in its latest financial year, serves more than 70 banks across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S. Its customers include the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, and State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, which are India’s largest public- and private-sector lenders, respectively.

About half of BusinessNext’s revenue comes from outside India, with overseas markets expected to drive much of its future growth, founder and CEO Nishant Singh said in an interview.

The company chose ServiceNow over potential financial investors to accelerate its expansion by tapping the U.S. software group’s global reach. Singh told TechCrunch that the partnership would help BusinessNext “borrow” its go-to-marker “machinery” — referring to ServiceNow’s sales infrastructure — in markets where it has a limited presence.

“Think of it as a strategic partnership, which is cemented with funding,” he said.

BusinessNext’s software, Singh said, manages customer-facing banking workflows, while ServiceNow is stronger in workflow automation and back-office systems, a combination the two companies plan to sell jointly to financial institutions.

“India’s financial services sector is at an inflection point — institutions are moving from digital experimentation to full-scale AI-led operations,” Kulmeet Bawa, ServiceNow’s group vice president and managing director for India and SAARC, said. He added that the partnership combines ServiceNow’s enterprise workflow platform with BusinessNext’s banking expertise.

Founded in 2002, BusinessNext — known as CRMNext until 2022 — has spent several years building what Singh calls an “autonomous banking” platform, using AI agents to automate banking workflows while keeping sensitive customer data on private AI infrastructure to meet regulatory and privacy requirements.

Singh told TechCrunch that AI was built into the company’s platform from the outset rather than added later. “We actually renamed our company and we kind of rewrote our stack to put that fundamentally at the core,” he said.

BusinessNext employs more than 1,300 people across its operations and was last valued at $181 million in 2021, per private market intelligence platform Tracxn. It has raised more than $60 million in external funding and counts Avataar Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, and Ascent Capital among its existing investors.

The deal comes as established enterprise software vendors face pressure from customers who are questioning whether traditional SaaS tools are worth paying for when AI-native alternatives are emerging. For ServiceNow, the deal builds out its position in banking by partnering with a company focused on AI-driven banking software, as it expands its enterprise software portfolio through acquisitions, investments, and partnerships.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#ServiceNow #bets #million #Indian #banking #software #specialist #expand #financial #services #push #TechCrunchServiceNow
Apple has again announced an increase in the cost of its service in India. This time, Apple has raised the price of subscriptions to Apple Music and Apple One in various plans. These increased prices have already been implemented and include Individual, Family, and Student plans. The price increase follows a recent increase in the price of AppleCare+ subscriptions for Mac and iPad.

According to Apple, higher music licensing costs are the main reason behind the latest price hike. The company says these rising expenses have affected its subscription pricing. Apart from the revised prices, nothing else has changed. Subscribers will continue to receive the same features as before. India is not the only market affected by the latest price increase. Apple has also updated subscription prices in several other countries. The new rates are now live in the US, the UK, Europe, and more regions. Users worldwide will pay the revised subscription charges.

New Apple Music prices: Old vs New

PlanOld PriceNew Price
IndividualRs 119/monthRs 139/month
StudentRs 59/monthRs 69/month
FamilyRs 179/monthRs 229/month

What each Apple Music plan offers

Apple Music offers Individual, Family and Student plans with different benefits. The Individual plan gives one user access to more than 100 million songs. It also includes ad-free streaming, offline downloads, Spatial Audio, Lossless Audio and Apple Music Classical. The subscription works across Apple devices, Android phones, Windows PCs and compatible smart TVs.

The Family plan offers the same benefits and allows up to six family members to share a single subscription. Each member gets a separate music library and personalized recommendations. Apple also offers a Student plan for verified college and university students. Along with all Individual plan features, it includes Apple TV+ at no extra charge.

New Apple One prices: Old vs New

Apple Raised Apple Music and Apple One Prices in India: Full Price List Apple has again announced an increase in the cost of its service in India. This time, Apple has raised the price of subscriptions to Apple Music and Apple One in various plans. These increased prices have already been implemented and include Individual, Family, and Student plans. The price increase follows a recent increase in the price of AppleCare+ subscriptions for Mac and iPad. According to Apple, higher music licensing costs are the main reason behind the latest price hike. The company says these rising expenses have affected its subscription pricing. Apart from the revised prices, nothing else has changed. Subscribers will continue to receive the same features as before. India is not the only market affected by the latest price increase. Apple has also updated subscription prices in several other countries. The new rates are now live in the US, the UK, Europe, and more regions. Users worldwide will pay the revised subscription charges. New Apple Music prices: Old vs New PlanOld PriceNew PriceIndividualRs 119/monthRs 139/monthStudentRs 59/monthRs 69/monthFamilyRs 179/monthRs 229/month What each Apple Music plan offers Apple Music offers Individual, Family and Student plans with different benefits. The Individual plan gives one user access to more than 100 million songs. It also includes ad-free streaming, offline downloads, Spatial Audio, Lossless Audio and Apple Music Classical. The subscription works across Apple devices, Android phones, Windows PCs and compatible smart TVs. The Family plan offers the same benefits and allows up to six family members to share a single subscription. Each member gets a separate music library and personalized recommendations. Apple also offers a Student plan for verified college and university students. Along with all Individual plan features, it includes Apple TV+ at no extra charge. New Apple One prices: Old vs New Apple has also updated the pricing of its Apple One plans. Users now have to pay Rs 195 for the Individual plan, Rs 295 for the Family plan, and Rs 995 for the Premier plan. The Apple One subscription brings together multiple Apple services in one package. Depending on the plan, services include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+. PlanOld PriceNew PriceIndividualRs 175/monthRs 195/monthFamilyRs 235/monthRs 295/monthPremierRs 899/monthRs 995/month #Apple #Raised #Apple #Music #Apple #Prices #India #Full #Price #Listapple

Apple has also updated the pricing of its Apple One plans. Users now have to pay Rs 195 for the Individual plan, Rs 295 for the Family plan, and Rs 995 for the Premier plan. The Apple One subscription brings together multiple Apple services in one package. Depending on the plan, services include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+.

PlanOld PriceNew Price
IndividualRs 175/monthRs 195/month
FamilyRs 235/monthRs 295/month
PremierRs 899/monthRs 995/month
#Apple #Raised #Apple #Music #Apple #Prices #India #Full #Price #Listapple">Apple Raised Apple Music and Apple One Prices in India: Full Price List Apple has again announced an increase in the cost of its service in India. This time, Apple has raised the price of subscriptions to Apple Music and Apple One in various plans. These increased prices have already been implemented and include Individual, Family, and Student plans. The price increase follows a recent increase in the price of AppleCare+ subscriptions for Mac and iPad. According to Apple, higher music licensing costs are the main reason behind the latest price hike. The company says these rising expenses have affected its subscription pricing. Apart from the revised prices, nothing else has changed. Subscribers will continue to receive the same features as before. India is not the only market affected by the latest price increase. Apple has also updated subscription prices in several other countries. The new rates are now live in the US, the UK, Europe, and more regions. Users worldwide will pay the revised subscription charges. New Apple Music prices: Old vs New PlanOld PriceNew PriceIndividualRs 119/monthRs 139/monthStudentRs 59/monthRs 69/monthFamilyRs 179/monthRs 229/month What each Apple Music plan offers Apple Music offers Individual, Family and Student plans with different benefits. The Individual plan gives one user access to more than 100 million songs. It also includes ad-free streaming, offline downloads, Spatial Audio, Lossless Audio and Apple Music Classical. The subscription works across Apple devices, Android phones, Windows PCs and compatible smart TVs. The Family plan offers the same benefits and allows up to six family members to share a single subscription. Each member gets a separate music library and personalized recommendations. Apple also offers a Student plan for verified college and university students. Along with all Individual plan features, it includes Apple TV+ at no extra charge. New Apple One prices: Old vs New Apple has also updated the pricing of its Apple One plans. Users now have to pay Rs 195 for the Individual plan, Rs 295 for the Family plan, and Rs 995 for the Premier plan. The Apple One subscription brings together multiple Apple services in one package. Depending on the plan, services include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+. PlanOld PriceNew PriceIndividualRs 175/monthRs 195/monthFamilyRs 235/monthRs 295/monthPremierRs 899/monthRs 995/month #Apple #Raised #Apple #Music #Apple #Prices #India #Full #Price #Listapple

has again announced an increase in the cost of its service in India. This time, Apple has raised the price of subscriptions to Apple Music and Apple One in various plans. These increased prices have already been implemented and include Individual, Family, and Student plans. The price increase follows a recent increase in the price of AppleCare+ subscriptions for Mac and iPad.

According to Apple, higher music licensing costs are the main reason behind the latest price hike. The company says these rising expenses have affected its subscription pricing. Apart from the revised prices, nothing else has changed. Subscribers will continue to receive the same features as before. India is not the only market affected by the latest price increase. Apple has also updated subscription prices in several other countries. The new rates are now live in the US, the UK, Europe, and more regions. Users worldwide will pay the revised subscription charges.

New Apple Music prices: Old vs New

PlanOld PriceNew Price
IndividualRs 119/monthRs 139/month
StudentRs 59/monthRs 69/month
FamilyRs 179/monthRs 229/month

What each Apple Music plan offers

Apple Music offers Individual, Family and Student plans with different benefits. The Individual plan gives one user access to more than 100 million songs. It also includes ad-free streaming, offline downloads, Spatial Audio, Lossless Audio and Apple Music Classical. The subscription works across Apple devices, Android phones, Windows PCs and compatible smart TVs.

The Family plan offers the same benefits and allows up to six family members to share a single subscription. Each member gets a separate music library and personalized recommendations. Apple also offers a Student plan for verified college and university students. Along with all Individual plan features, it includes Apple TV+ at no extra charge.

New Apple One prices: Old vs New

Apple Raised Apple Music and Apple One Prices in India: Full Price List Apple has again announced an increase in the cost of its service in India. This time, Apple has raised the price of subscriptions to Apple Music and Apple One in various plans. These increased prices have already been implemented and include Individual, Family, and Student plans. The price increase follows a recent increase in the price of AppleCare+ subscriptions for Mac and iPad. According to Apple, higher music licensing costs are the main reason behind the latest price hike. The company says these rising expenses have affected its subscription pricing. Apart from the revised prices, nothing else has changed. Subscribers will continue to receive the same features as before. India is not the only market affected by the latest price increase. Apple has also updated subscription prices in several other countries. The new rates are now live in the US, the UK, Europe, and more regions. Users worldwide will pay the revised subscription charges. New Apple Music prices: Old vs New PlanOld PriceNew PriceIndividualRs 119/monthRs 139/monthStudentRs 59/monthRs 69/monthFamilyRs 179/monthRs 229/month What each Apple Music plan offers Apple Music offers Individual, Family and Student plans with different benefits. The Individual plan gives one user access to more than 100 million songs. It also includes ad-free streaming, offline downloads, Spatial Audio, Lossless Audio and Apple Music Classical. The subscription works across Apple devices, Android phones, Windows PCs and compatible smart TVs. The Family plan offers the same benefits and allows up to six family members to share a single subscription. Each member gets a separate music library and personalized recommendations. Apple also offers a Student plan for verified college and university students. Along with all Individual plan features, it includes Apple TV+ at no extra charge. New Apple One prices: Old vs New Apple has also updated the pricing of its Apple One plans. Users now have to pay Rs 195 for the Individual plan, Rs 295 for the Family plan, and Rs 995 for the Premier plan. The Apple One subscription brings together multiple Apple services in one package. Depending on the plan, services include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+. PlanOld PriceNew PriceIndividualRs 175/monthRs 195/monthFamilyRs 235/monthRs 295/monthPremierRs 899/monthRs 995/month #Apple #Raised #Apple #Music #Apple #Prices #India #Full #Price #Listapple

Apple has also updated the pricing of its Apple One plans. Users now have to pay Rs 195 for the Individual plan, Rs 295 for the Family plan, and Rs 995 for the Premier plan. The Apple One subscription brings together multiple Apple services in one package. Depending on the plan, services include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+.

PlanOld PriceNew Price
IndividualRs 175/monthRs 195/month
FamilyRs 235/monthRs 295/month
PremierRs 899/monthRs 995/month
#Apple #Raised #Apple #Music #Apple #Prices #India #Full #Price #Listapple">Apple Raised Apple Music and Apple One Prices in India: Full Price List

Apple has again announced an increase in the cost of its service in India. This time, Apple has raised the price of subscriptions to Apple Music and Apple One in various plans. These increased prices have already been implemented and include Individual, Family, and Student plans. The price increase follows a recent increase in the price of AppleCare+ subscriptions for Mac and iPad.

According to Apple, higher music licensing costs are the main reason behind the latest price hike. The company says these rising expenses have affected its subscription pricing. Apart from the revised prices, nothing else has changed. Subscribers will continue to receive the same features as before. India is not the only market affected by the latest price increase. Apple has also updated subscription prices in several other countries. The new rates are now live in the US, the UK, Europe, and more regions. Users worldwide will pay the revised subscription charges.

New Apple Music prices: Old vs New

PlanOld PriceNew Price
IndividualRs 119/monthRs 139/month
StudentRs 59/monthRs 69/month
FamilyRs 179/monthRs 229/month

What each Apple Music plan offers

Apple Music offers Individual, Family and Student plans with different benefits. The Individual plan gives one user access to more than 100 million songs. It also includes ad-free streaming, offline downloads, Spatial Audio, Lossless Audio and Apple Music Classical. The subscription works across Apple devices, Android phones, Windows PCs and compatible smart TVs.

The Family plan offers the same benefits and allows up to six family members to share a single subscription. Each member gets a separate music library and personalized recommendations. Apple also offers a Student plan for verified college and university students. Along with all Individual plan features, it includes Apple TV+ at no extra charge.

New Apple One prices: Old vs New

Apple Raised Apple Music and Apple One Prices in India: Full Price List Apple has again announced an increase in the cost of its service in India. This time, Apple has raised the price of subscriptions to Apple Music and Apple One in various plans. These increased prices have already been implemented and include Individual, Family, and Student plans. The price increase follows a recent increase in the price of AppleCare+ subscriptions for Mac and iPad. According to Apple, higher music licensing costs are the main reason behind the latest price hike. The company says these rising expenses have affected its subscription pricing. Apart from the revised prices, nothing else has changed. Subscribers will continue to receive the same features as before. India is not the only market affected by the latest price increase. Apple has also updated subscription prices in several other countries. The new rates are now live in the US, the UK, Europe, and more regions. Users worldwide will pay the revised subscription charges. New Apple Music prices: Old vs New PlanOld PriceNew PriceIndividualRs 119/monthRs 139/monthStudentRs 59/monthRs 69/monthFamilyRs 179/monthRs 229/month What each Apple Music plan offers Apple Music offers Individual, Family and Student plans with different benefits. The Individual plan gives one user access to more than 100 million songs. It also includes ad-free streaming, offline downloads, Spatial Audio, Lossless Audio and Apple Music Classical. The subscription works across Apple devices, Android phones, Windows PCs and compatible smart TVs. The Family plan offers the same benefits and allows up to six family members to share a single subscription. Each member gets a separate music library and personalized recommendations. Apple also offers a Student plan for verified college and university students. Along with all Individual plan features, it includes Apple TV+ at no extra charge. New Apple One prices: Old vs New Apple has also updated the pricing of its Apple One plans. Users now have to pay Rs 195 for the Individual plan, Rs 295 for the Family plan, and Rs 995 for the Premier plan. The Apple One subscription brings together multiple Apple services in one package. Depending on the plan, services include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+. PlanOld PriceNew PriceIndividualRs 175/monthRs 195/monthFamilyRs 235/monthRs 295/monthPremierRs 899/monthRs 995/month #Apple #Raised #Apple #Music #Apple #Prices #India #Full #Price #Listapple

Apple has also updated the pricing of its Apple One plans. Users now have to pay Rs 195 for the Individual plan, Rs 295 for the Family plan, and Rs 995 for the Premier plan. The Apple One subscription brings together multiple Apple services in one package. Depending on the plan, services include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+.

PlanOld PriceNew Price
IndividualRs 175/monthRs 195/month
FamilyRs 235/monthRs 295/month
PremierRs 899/monthRs 995/month
#Apple #Raised #Apple #Music #Apple #Prices #India #Full #Price #Listapple

Not to pick at an irritated scab, but when the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones… happened… I, a fan of the series via the show, naively assumed all author George R.R. Martin had to do was pen a different bookend to the series to recover all the lost goodwill of the series. Little did I know that was a touchy subject among book-readers who’ve been tortured by the author’s perpetual procrastination for years. Condolences.

While the same scenario isn’t fully analogous with what’s happened with Netflix’s live-action Alice in Borderland TV show and VIZ Media’s English manga release of the series’ extended epilogue, Alice in Borderland: Retry, the manga more than retroactively makes up for the huge disappointment I felt witnessing the show I loved go full Squid Game in the worst way possible in its final season.

Alice in Borderland is a cutting series in which a man named Arisu gets trapped in a sci-fi death game where a group of sequestered survivors must compete in a litany of challenges in an abandoned city. Think Gantz meets Kaiji. Its rules are cruel, but never completely ass-pull, with players logically outfoxing each other to win games lest a laser from the sky punch them through the top of their heads.

The show was so good I didn’t realize it was based on a manga by Haro Aso (Zom 100: Bucketlist of the Dead) that was also adapted into an anime—a fact that speaks to its overall quality in a sea of lackluster live-action Netflix projects. And for two seasons it came and went, adapting that story prior to Squid Game mania and, subsequently, in the throes of its pop culture takeover. That is, until a third season was released last year, ripping Arisu and his lover Usagi from their peaceful lives post-death games and throwing them back into the fray like a kid with a magnifying glass looming over an ant hill.

I was rocking with the series for a bit despite the show clearly making stuff up as it went along until it committed the tacky, cardinal sin of copying what Squid Game’s third season did in its final moments, desperately sequel-baiting itself by asking the question no one was curious about in a stinger: What if it took place in America? May that answer never come because of the road it took to tarnish the show’s reputation. As far as I’m concerned, there was no third season.

So imagine my surprise to find that Viz Media’s recently released localization of Aso’s 2020 epilogue manga to the series, set 10 years after its conclusion, would retroactively act as a remedy to the Netflix series’ final season I wish I could wipe from my mind palace. The manga starts out almost exactly the same as the third season of the Netflix series (duh, the manga came out first), with Arisu going from a NEET to a psychologist and Usagi expecting their first child. That’s the last thing similar between the two.

Unlike the Netflix series’ contrived reasoning to get everyone back into the games, Arisu winds up in the games for a pretty simple reason. He and five other participants get hit by a billboard and wind up in the Borderlands. If you’ve watched the show or read the manga, this inciting incident is far from the cataclysmic events that send Arisu to the Borderlands the first time around, but what it lacks in spectacle, it more than makes up for in the challenge that awaits them.

In contrast to the more-is-more inventiveness of the Netflix series’ games in its final season, Arisu and company only have to play one game, which is essentially musical chairs but for keeps. Despite the simplicity of the game, the stakes of the 300+ page epilogue far exceed those of the Netflix series, where its collective of players, composed of an insurance employee, a nursery school teacher, an emergency room nurse, a doctor, and an unemployed man, have to debate whose life matters more.

It’s rare that manga get a chance to reach a conclusion without getting the axe, and just as rare for series on an indefinite hiatus to start back up regardless of whether a creator is healthy, willing, and able to spin more narrative yarn years after the fact. Which begs the question whether the juice is worth the squeeze to loop back to a series that’s already over. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one in doubt of what, if anything, could be gained from revisiting a series whose manga concluded pretty succinctly. Aso had his doubts too, which he lays bare near the midpoint of the manga, writing the following:

It’s been ten years since I started working on Alice in Borderland. Like Arisu, I didn’t want to ever revisit a horrifying world like Borderland, but I was given the opportunity to write a sequel and I just couldn’t pass it up. What does it mean to live? What do our lives mean? Now, at 40 years old, I want to retry answering these questions.

While its game is a deceptively simple one, a fatal road of agony, betrayal, and second-guessing the inherent good in the human spirit left me in awe as I flipped through its pages and found that Aso still had it in him to concoct an intense, not-so-unwinnable death game, and that what he had to say serves as a footnote to a series that’s more than earned its place in the pantheon of death game narratives.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Alice #Borderland #Retry #Netflix #Series #Reheating #Squid #Game #NachosAlice in Borderland,Manga,Netflix,Viz Media">‘Alice in Borderland: Retry’ Makes Up For the Netflix Series Reheating ‘Squid Game’ Nachos Not to pick at an irritated scab, but when the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones… happened… I, a fan of the series via the show, naively assumed all author George R.R. Martin had to do was pen a different bookend to the series to recover all the lost goodwill of the series. Little did I know that was a touchy subject among book-readers who’ve been tortured by the author’s perpetual procrastination for years. Condolences. While the same scenario isn’t fully analogous with what’s happened with Netflix’s live-action Alice in Borderland TV show and VIZ Media’s English manga release of the series’ extended epilogue, Alice in Borderland: Retry, the manga more than retroactively makes up for the huge disappointment I felt witnessing the show I loved go full Squid Game in the worst way possible in its final season. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49_44FFKZ1M[/embed] Alice in Borderland is a cutting series in which a man named Arisu gets trapped in a sci-fi death game where a group of sequestered survivors must compete in a litany of challenges in an abandoned city. Think Gantz meets Kaiji. Its rules are cruel, but never completely ass-pull, with players logically outfoxing each other to win games lest a laser from the sky punch them through the top of their heads. The show was so good I didn’t realize it was based on a manga by Haro Aso (Zom 100: Bucketlist of the Dead) that was also adapted into an anime—a fact that speaks to its overall quality in a sea of lackluster live-action Netflix projects. And for two seasons it came and went, adapting that story prior to Squid Game mania and, subsequently, in the throes of its pop culture takeover. That is, until a third season was released last year, ripping Arisu and his lover Usagi from their peaceful lives post-death games and throwing them back into the fray like a kid with a magnifying glass looming over an ant hill. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8p6YkEPVco[/embed] I was rocking with the series for a bit despite the show clearly making stuff up as it went along until it committed the tacky, cardinal sin of copying what Squid Game’s third season did in its final moments, desperately sequel-baiting itself by asking the question no one was curious about in a stinger: What if it took place in America? May that answer never come because of the road it took to tarnish the show’s reputation. As far as I’m concerned, there was no third season. Alice in Borderland Retry is now available in print and digital! Read a free preview: https://t.co/OJcjm9wliH pic.twitter.com/8iqGzwjTIV — VIZ Media (@VIZMedia) July 21, 2026 So imagine my surprise to find that Viz Media’s recently released localization of Aso’s 2020 epilogue manga to the series, set 10 years after its conclusion, would retroactively act as a remedy to the Netflix series’ final season I wish I could wipe from my mind palace. The manga starts out almost exactly the same as the third season of the Netflix series (duh, the manga came out first), with Arisu going from a NEET to a psychologist and Usagi expecting their first child. That’s the last thing similar between the two. Unlike the Netflix series’ contrived reasoning to get everyone back into the games, Arisu winds up in the games for a pretty simple reason. He and five other participants get hit by a billboard and wind up in the Borderlands. If you’ve watched the show or read the manga, this inciting incident is far from the cataclysmic events that send Arisu to the Borderlands the first time around, but what it lacks in spectacle, it more than makes up for in the challenge that awaits them. In contrast to the more-is-more inventiveness of the Netflix series’ games in its final season, Arisu and company only have to play one game, which is essentially musical chairs but for keeps. Despite the simplicity of the game, the stakes of the 300+ page epilogue far exceed those of the Netflix series, where its collective of players, composed of an insurance employee, a nursery school teacher, an emergency room nurse, a doctor, and an unemployed man, have to debate whose life matters more. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq2p_B5MD0c[/embed] It’s rare that manga get a chance to reach a conclusion without getting the axe, and just as rare for series on an indefinite hiatus to start back up regardless of whether a creator is healthy, willing, and able to spin more narrative yarn years after the fact. Which begs the question whether the juice is worth the squeeze to loop back to a series that’s already over. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one in doubt of what, if anything, could be gained from revisiting a series whose manga concluded pretty succinctly. Aso had his doubts too, which he lays bare near the midpoint of the manga, writing the following: It’s been ten years since I started working on Alice in Borderland. Like Arisu, I didn’t want to ever revisit a horrifying world like Borderland, but I was given the opportunity to write a sequel and I just couldn’t pass it up. What does it mean to live? What do our lives mean? Now, at 40 years old, I want to retry answering these questions. While its game is a deceptively simple one, a fatal road of agony, betrayal, and second-guessing the inherent good in the human spirit left me in awe as I flipped through its pages and found that Aso still had it in him to concoct an intense, not-so-unwinnable death game, and that what he had to say serves as a footnote to a series that’s more than earned its place in the pantheon of death game narratives. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Alice #Borderland #Retry #Netflix #Series #Reheating #Squid #Game #NachosAlice in Borderland,Manga,Netflix,Viz Media

happened… I, a fan of the series via the show, naively assumed all author George R.R. Martin had to do was pen a different bookend to the series to recover all the lost goodwill of the series. Little did I know that was a touchy subject among book-readers who’ve been tortured by the author’s perpetual procrastination for years. Condolences.

While the same scenario isn’t fully analogous with what’s happened with Netflix’s live-action Alice in Borderland TV show and VIZ Media’s English manga release of the series’ extended epilogue, Alice in Borderland: Retry, the manga more than retroactively makes up for the huge disappointment I felt witnessing the show I loved go full Squid Game in the worst way possible in its final season.

Alice in Borderland is a cutting series in which a man named Arisu gets trapped in a sci-fi death game where a group of sequestered survivors must compete in a litany of challenges in an abandoned city. Think Gantz meets Kaiji. Its rules are cruel, but never completely ass-pull, with players logically outfoxing each other to win games lest a laser from the sky punch them through the top of their heads.

The show was so good I didn’t realize it was based on a manga by Haro Aso (Zom 100: Bucketlist of the Dead) that was also adapted into an anime—a fact that speaks to its overall quality in a sea of lackluster live-action Netflix projects. And for two seasons it came and went, adapting that story prior to Squid Game mania and, subsequently, in the throes of its pop culture takeover. That is, until a third season was released last year, ripping Arisu and his lover Usagi from their peaceful lives post-death games and throwing them back into the fray like a kid with a magnifying glass looming over an ant hill.

I was rocking with the series for a bit despite the show clearly making stuff up as it went along until it committed the tacky, cardinal sin of copying what Squid Game’s third season did in its final moments, desperately sequel-baiting itself by asking the question no one was curious about in a stinger: What if it took place in America? May that answer never come because of the road it took to tarnish the show’s reputation. As far as I’m concerned, there was no third season.

So imagine my surprise to find that Viz Media’s recently released localization of Aso’s 2020 epilogue manga to the series, set 10 years after its conclusion, would retroactively act as a remedy to the Netflix series’ final season I wish I could wipe from my mind palace. The manga starts out almost exactly the same as the third season of the Netflix series (duh, the manga came out first), with Arisu going from a NEET to a psychologist and Usagi expecting their first child. That’s the last thing similar between the two.

Unlike the Netflix series’ contrived reasoning to get everyone back into the games, Arisu winds up in the games for a pretty simple reason. He and five other participants get hit by a billboard and wind up in the Borderlands. If you’ve watched the show or read the manga, this inciting incident is far from the cataclysmic events that send Arisu to the Borderlands the first time around, but what it lacks in spectacle, it more than makes up for in the challenge that awaits them.

In contrast to the more-is-more inventiveness of the Netflix series’ games in its final season, Arisu and company only have to play one game, which is essentially musical chairs but for keeps. Despite the simplicity of the game, the stakes of the 300+ page epilogue far exceed those of the Netflix series, where its collective of players, composed of an insurance employee, a nursery school teacher, an emergency room nurse, a doctor, and an unemployed man, have to debate whose life matters more.

It’s rare that manga get a chance to reach a conclusion without getting the axe, and just as rare for series on an indefinite hiatus to start back up regardless of whether a creator is healthy, willing, and able to spin more narrative yarn years after the fact. Which begs the question whether the juice is worth the squeeze to loop back to a series that’s already over. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one in doubt of what, if anything, could be gained from revisiting a series whose manga concluded pretty succinctly. Aso had his doubts too, which he lays bare near the midpoint of the manga, writing the following:

It’s been ten years since I started working on Alice in Borderland. Like Arisu, I didn’t want to ever revisit a horrifying world like Borderland, but I was given the opportunity to write a sequel and I just couldn’t pass it up. What does it mean to live? What do our lives mean? Now, at 40 years old, I want to retry answering these questions.

While its game is a deceptively simple one, a fatal road of agony, betrayal, and second-guessing the inherent good in the human spirit left me in awe as I flipped through its pages and found that Aso still had it in him to concoct an intense, not-so-unwinnable death game, and that what he had to say serves as a footnote to a series that’s more than earned its place in the pantheon of death game narratives.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Alice #Borderland #Retry #Netflix #Series #Reheating #Squid #Game #NachosAlice in Borderland,Manga,Netflix,Viz Media">‘Alice in Borderland: Retry’ Makes Up For the Netflix Series Reheating ‘Squid Game’ Nachos‘Alice in Borderland: Retry’ Makes Up For the Netflix Series Reheating ‘Squid Game’ Nachos Not to pick at an irritated scab, but when the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones… happened… I, a fan of the series via the show, naively assumed all author George R.R. Martin had to do was pen a different bookend to the series to recover all the lost goodwill of the series. Little did I know that was a touchy subject among book-readers who’ve been tortured by the author’s perpetual procrastination for years. Condolences. While the same scenario isn’t fully analogous with what’s happened with Netflix’s live-action Alice in Borderland TV show and VIZ Media’s English manga release of the series’ extended epilogue, Alice in Borderland: Retry, the manga more than retroactively makes up for the huge disappointment I felt witnessing the show I loved go full Squid Game in the worst way possible in its final season. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49_44FFKZ1M[/embed] Alice in Borderland is a cutting series in which a man named Arisu gets trapped in a sci-fi death game where a group of sequestered survivors must compete in a litany of challenges in an abandoned city. Think Gantz meets Kaiji. Its rules are cruel, but never completely ass-pull, with players logically outfoxing each other to win games lest a laser from the sky punch them through the top of their heads. The show was so good I didn’t realize it was based on a manga by Haro Aso (Zom 100: Bucketlist of the Dead) that was also adapted into an anime—a fact that speaks to its overall quality in a sea of lackluster live-action Netflix projects. And for two seasons it came and went, adapting that story prior to Squid Game mania and, subsequently, in the throes of its pop culture takeover. That is, until a third season was released last year, ripping Arisu and his lover Usagi from their peaceful lives post-death games and throwing them back into the fray like a kid with a magnifying glass looming over an ant hill. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8p6YkEPVco[/embed] I was rocking with the series for a bit despite the show clearly making stuff up as it went along until it committed the tacky, cardinal sin of copying what Squid Game’s third season did in its final moments, desperately sequel-baiting itself by asking the question no one was curious about in a stinger: What if it took place in America? May that answer never come because of the road it took to tarnish the show’s reputation. As far as I’m concerned, there was no third season. Alice in Borderland Retry is now available in print and digital! Read a free preview: https://t.co/OJcjm9wliH pic.twitter.com/8iqGzwjTIV — VIZ Media (@VIZMedia) July 21, 2026 So imagine my surprise to find that Viz Media’s recently released localization of Aso’s 2020 epilogue manga to the series, set 10 years after its conclusion, would retroactively act as a remedy to the Netflix series’ final season I wish I could wipe from my mind palace. The manga starts out almost exactly the same as the third season of the Netflix series (duh, the manga came out first), with Arisu going from a NEET to a psychologist and Usagi expecting their first child. That’s the last thing similar between the two. Unlike the Netflix series’ contrived reasoning to get everyone back into the games, Arisu winds up in the games for a pretty simple reason. He and five other participants get hit by a billboard and wind up in the Borderlands. If you’ve watched the show or read the manga, this inciting incident is far from the cataclysmic events that send Arisu to the Borderlands the first time around, but what it lacks in spectacle, it more than makes up for in the challenge that awaits them. In contrast to the more-is-more inventiveness of the Netflix series’ games in its final season, Arisu and company only have to play one game, which is essentially musical chairs but for keeps. Despite the simplicity of the game, the stakes of the 300+ page epilogue far exceed those of the Netflix series, where its collective of players, composed of an insurance employee, a nursery school teacher, an emergency room nurse, a doctor, and an unemployed man, have to debate whose life matters more. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq2p_B5MD0c[/embed] It’s rare that manga get a chance to reach a conclusion without getting the axe, and just as rare for series on an indefinite hiatus to start back up regardless of whether a creator is healthy, willing, and able to spin more narrative yarn years after the fact. Which begs the question whether the juice is worth the squeeze to loop back to a series that’s already over. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one in doubt of what, if anything, could be gained from revisiting a series whose manga concluded pretty succinctly. Aso had his doubts too, which he lays bare near the midpoint of the manga, writing the following: It’s been ten years since I started working on Alice in Borderland. Like Arisu, I didn’t want to ever revisit a horrifying world like Borderland, but I was given the opportunity to write a sequel and I just couldn’t pass it up. What does it mean to live? What do our lives mean? Now, at 40 years old, I want to retry answering these questions. While its game is a deceptively simple one, a fatal road of agony, betrayal, and second-guessing the inherent good in the human spirit left me in awe as I flipped through its pages and found that Aso still had it in him to concoct an intense, not-so-unwinnable death game, and that what he had to say serves as a footnote to a series that’s more than earned its place in the pantheon of death game narratives. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Alice #Borderland #Retry #Netflix #Series #Reheating #Squid #Game #NachosAlice in Borderland,Manga,Netflix,Viz Media

Not to pick at an irritated scab, but when the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones… happened… I, a fan of the series via the show, naively assumed all author George R.R. Martin had to do was pen a different bookend to the series to recover all the lost goodwill of the series. Little did I know that was a touchy subject among book-readers who’ve been tortured by the author’s perpetual procrastination for years. Condolences.

While the same scenario isn’t fully analogous with what’s happened with Netflix’s live-action Alice in Borderland TV show and VIZ Media’s English manga release of the series’ extended epilogue, Alice in Borderland: Retry, the manga more than retroactively makes up for the huge disappointment I felt witnessing the show I loved go full Squid Game in the worst way possible in its final season.

Alice in Borderland is a cutting series in which a man named Arisu gets trapped in a sci-fi death game where a group of sequestered survivors must compete in a litany of challenges in an abandoned city. Think Gantz meets Kaiji. Its rules are cruel, but never completely ass-pull, with players logically outfoxing each other to win games lest a laser from the sky punch them through the top of their heads.

The show was so good I didn’t realize it was based on a manga by Haro Aso (Zom 100: Bucketlist of the Dead) that was also adapted into an anime—a fact that speaks to its overall quality in a sea of lackluster live-action Netflix projects. And for two seasons it came and went, adapting that story prior to Squid Game mania and, subsequently, in the throes of its pop culture takeover. That is, until a third season was released last year, ripping Arisu and his lover Usagi from their peaceful lives post-death games and throwing them back into the fray like a kid with a magnifying glass looming over an ant hill.

I was rocking with the series for a bit despite the show clearly making stuff up as it went along until it committed the tacky, cardinal sin of copying what Squid Game’s third season did in its final moments, desperately sequel-baiting itself by asking the question no one was curious about in a stinger: What if it took place in America? May that answer never come because of the road it took to tarnish the show’s reputation. As far as I’m concerned, there was no third season.

So imagine my surprise to find that Viz Media’s recently released localization of Aso’s 2020 epilogue manga to the series, set 10 years after its conclusion, would retroactively act as a remedy to the Netflix series’ final season I wish I could wipe from my mind palace. The manga starts out almost exactly the same as the third season of the Netflix series (duh, the manga came out first), with Arisu going from a NEET to a psychologist and Usagi expecting their first child. That’s the last thing similar between the two.

Unlike the Netflix series’ contrived reasoning to get everyone back into the games, Arisu winds up in the games for a pretty simple reason. He and five other participants get hit by a billboard and wind up in the Borderlands. If you’ve watched the show or read the manga, this inciting incident is far from the cataclysmic events that send Arisu to the Borderlands the first time around, but what it lacks in spectacle, it more than makes up for in the challenge that awaits them.

In contrast to the more-is-more inventiveness of the Netflix series’ games in its final season, Arisu and company only have to play one game, which is essentially musical chairs but for keeps. Despite the simplicity of the game, the stakes of the 300+ page epilogue far exceed those of the Netflix series, where its collective of players, composed of an insurance employee, a nursery school teacher, an emergency room nurse, a doctor, and an unemployed man, have to debate whose life matters more.

It’s rare that manga get a chance to reach a conclusion without getting the axe, and just as rare for series on an indefinite hiatus to start back up regardless of whether a creator is healthy, willing, and able to spin more narrative yarn years after the fact. Which begs the question whether the juice is worth the squeeze to loop back to a series that’s already over. Evidently, I wasn’t the only one in doubt of what, if anything, could be gained from revisiting a series whose manga concluded pretty succinctly. Aso had his doubts too, which he lays bare near the midpoint of the manga, writing the following:

It’s been ten years since I started working on Alice in Borderland. Like Arisu, I didn’t want to ever revisit a horrifying world like Borderland, but I was given the opportunity to write a sequel and I just couldn’t pass it up. What does it mean to live? What do our lives mean? Now, at 40 years old, I want to retry answering these questions.

While its game is a deceptively simple one, a fatal road of agony, betrayal, and second-guessing the inherent good in the human spirit left me in awe as I flipped through its pages and found that Aso still had it in him to concoct an intense, not-so-unwinnable death game, and that what he had to say serves as a footnote to a series that’s more than earned its place in the pantheon of death game narratives.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Alice #Borderland #Retry #Netflix #Series #Reheating #Squid #Game #NachosAlice in Borderland,Manga,Netflix,Viz Media

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