Manga
Netflix
Enji Matsushita (マツシタ エンジ, Matsushita Enji) is a minor antagonist in Alice in Borderland. He is a Citizen who serves as the Jack of Hearts (ハートのジャック, Hāto no Jakku) in the Borderland. He is portrayed by Kai Inowaki.
Appearance[]
Matsushita is of average height and build. The main characteristic of his appearance that stands out is his hair—specifically, the long bangs that cover half of his face. He is depicted wearing a striped white shirt, dark trousers, and a gray cardigan.
Personality[]
Matsushita is shown to be shy and quiet; he does not interact with any of the players except for his partner Sunato Banda, who gained his favor by attempting to manipulate him. As revealed later, Matsushita is the main manipulator in his own game, "Solitary Confinement", in which he places the participants in situations that force them to doubt and kill each other, while Matsushita himself remains on the sidelines, observing. As noted by Chishiya, Matsushita does not trust others easily and prefers to keep his distance.
Story[]
Matsushita first appears as a Citizen during his own game, the Jack of Hearts, titled "Solitary Confinement". He watches as players are listening to the rules and panicking, and then, seeing that Banda goes downstairs, he follows him in order to pair up, potentially aware of Banda's past as a murderer. However, after Matsushita offers him partnership, assuming nobody else would be willing to, Banda turns the situation upside down and reveals Matsushita's insecurities instead.
Matsushita manipulated by Banda
"I can see it clearly by your childish attitude. You are ashamed of the darkness inside you, which makes you petty and jealous. You feel safe hiding your face behind those bangs so that people won't see your true nature. You are a worthless person who judges others to feel better. But that is what I like about you. We should be friends."
— Banda's observations of Matsushita
The duo pair up and tell each other their symbols. By the end of Round 1, there are no deaths, and players return to the game. Round 2 begins, and Matsushita wonders how long it is going to continue, since all the players seem to stick to the same strategies. He then listens to Banda's assumption and observes him setting up the first death of the game by advising Seto to lie to Kiryu.
In Round 4, Matsushita watches Kotoko leaving with Yaba while eating a cookie in a black packet and then follows Banda to another area. During the next few rounds, Matsushita keeps eating cookies with differently colored wrappers and remains a side observer without any direct participation in the game. By the end of Round 12, Matsushita notices that Chishiya is left alone without a partner.
Matsushita confronted by Chishiya in the cafeteria
Matsushita walks into the cafeteria in order to pick up some snacks when he is approached by Chishiya, who is now desperately trying to find out the symbol displayed on his collar. Matsushita first ignores him and tries to walk away; however, Chishiya's words about Banda seem to attract Matsushita's attention. Chishiya states that Banda might be the Jack of Hearts, since he was a serial killer in the real world, and Matsushita might be the key to clearing the game, because he is the only one who can lie to the Jack due to being his partner. Matsushita does not believe Chishiya and refuses to strike a deal with him; however, right before leaving the cafeteria, he decides to lie to Chishiya, naming his symbol as Hearts, while it is in fact Diamonds.
After leaving the cafeteria, Matsushita stumbles upon Banda, then points at the screen and claims that the Jack of Hearts is Chishiya. Banda agrees with the fact that Chishiya is suspicious, and Matsushita promises that the guy will die next round.
Before the end of the round, Banda tells Matsushita his symbol correctly: Spades. However, Matsushita decides to lie to Banda and claims that his mark is also Spades, while it is in fact Hearts. All the players are invited to enter a cell and disclose their symbols.
Matsushita realizes he has won the game
Matsushita and Kotoko using snacks as a secret code
As the time runs out, there is a bang in one of the cells, indicating that a collar exploded. Matsushita is the only one who leaves his cell, so he looks around and starts maniacally laughing, stating that he has won. Suddenly, another door next to him opens up, and Chishiya walks out with a smile.
"So you were the Jack of Hearts after all?"
— Chishiya exposing and scaring Matsushita
Since Matsushita paired up with Banda, a murderer, the answer was easy for Chishiya to deduce, because Matsushita does not trust people easily, even if Banda's monologue in the beginning overwhelmed him. Then Banda walks out of his cell and confirms Chishiya's words, further pointing out that Matsushita tried to kill him because he considered himself to be the best at manipulating others. Chishiya also agrees with that, stating that Matsushita's self-importance likely came from being in a special position. Matsushita tries to deny everything and points his finger at Banda, accusing him of being the Jack of Hearts; however, Yaba walks down the stairs onto their floor and reveals that Kotoko is dead, despite him telling her the truth, which means she was manipulated by someone else, and it was not Banda. Then Matsushita points his finger at Chishiya, who, in turn, explains the cookie scheme used by Matsushita and Kotoko in order to communicate during the game: they went to grab snacks at the same time, choosing a specific type that came in four differently colored wrappers, tying the color to the symbol on the collar. Seeing a certain color in each other's hands, they knew what their symbol was, so they would be alerted if their partner decided to deceive them.
Matsushita terrified about what Banda is going to do to him
Despite all three players giving convincing evidence on why Matsushita is the Jack of Hearts, he tries to deny that until the end, claiming it can be any of them. Chishiya wonders why Banda and Yaba did not kill Matsushita despite suspecting him to be the Jack and then answers his own question by explaining that they wanted to get information out of him. Matsushita freaks out as he sees Banda and Yaba approaching him, but he has nowhere to run, so they shove him into a cell and demand answers. Seeing knives in Banda's hands, Matsushita looks terrified, and Banda elaborates that he will not be able to kill Matsushita according to the rules; however, "there are other ways to have fun". Matsushita screams, and it is later stated by Banda that he gave a wrong answer willingly to stop the torture by choosing to die and end the game.
Games Played[]
as a Citizen in the Current Immigration Period
Etymology[]
- The forename Enji consists of the kanji "苑" (en) (garden, farm, park) and "治" (ji) (cure).
- The surname Matsushita is a combination of the kanji "松" (matsu) (pine tree, fir tree) and "下" (shita) (under, below).