Manga- Netflix
Keiichi Kuzuryū (九頭龍 慧一, Kuzuryuu Keiichi) is a supporting character in Alice in Borderland. He is a Citizen who serves as the King of Diamonds (ダイヤのキング, Daiya no Kingu) in the Borderland. He is portrayed by Tsuyoshi Abe.
Appearance[]
Kuzuryu is a middle-aged man with medium-length, slightly wavy black hair parted off-center and dark brown eyes, which are always hidden behind thin rectangular glasses. One of his noticeable characteristics is a small scar on the left side of his face.
While at the Beach, he is depicted wearing a blue button-up shirt with a barely visible floral pattern, black capris with large light blue flowers, and flip-flops. When Kuzuryu reappears in Season 2, he is dressed in formal attire consisting of a dark gray suit, a white shirt, and a tie with a diamond-like pattern.
Personality[]
Kuzuryu is portrayed as a calm and collected individual who has never demonstrated any sign of worry or fear. If his opinion is ignored or devalued by others, he remains emotionless and does not get involved in conflicts. Despite being a man of few words, Kuzuryu is highly intelligent.
Over the course of the story, Kuzuryu, who has seen injustice in the real world, continues to search for a way to ensure equity and fairness in the Borderland, and is unwilling to decide whose life has more value. He strives to live by his own ideals and make his own choices, constantly questioning other people's motives and reasoning.
History[]
Before the Borderland, Kuzuryu was a successful lawyer. However, when he took a case defending a factory that dumped contaminants, causing environmental issues that led to the deaths of twenty people, his client refused to pay a settlement to the victims, denying any blame. He accused Kuzuryu of not understanding the law and called him naive for thinking that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. That conversation led Kuzuryu to lose faith in fairness and justice because he was forced to bend the rules in favor of the powerful at the expense of the weak.
Story[]
Season 1[]
Kuzuryu first appears at the Beach after Arisu and Usagi get kidnapped and brought over. He apologizes for the rough treatment and remains in the room during Hatter's explanation, adding details to his story.
At the end of the day, when Hatter calls an executive meeting, Kuzuryu is present among the members, sitting at the table next to Hatter and opposite Ann. After Ann suggests looking for game venues outside of Tokyo, Kuzuryu insists that previous games have always been hosted within the city borders. Upon learning that Hatter needs to replenish his visa days, Kuzuryu proposes calculating the most likely game type for a specific arena, but Hatter finds that approach ineffective and dismisses it in a rude manner.
Kuzuryu is present when Hatter's body is revealed. He volunteers to become the new #1 as the former #2, per the line of succession, but when Niragi and Last Boss threaten everyone into voting for Aguni instead, Kuzuryu silently raises his hand in agreement.
While Aguni is opening the black envelope, which contains the password to the safe holding Hatter's cards, Kuzuryu is present at the meeting as a witness to that, along with other executives. Later, he is also on the balcony when Aguni gives a speech to the Beach members.
As Momoka's body is revealed in the lobby, Kuzuryu is among the players who rush downstairs to see it.
As the "Witch Hunt" game begins, Kuzuryu silently watches the chaos unfold in the lobby. Shortly after Aguni orders a massacre and everyone scatters, Kuzuryu and Mira can be seen calmly leaving the room. They are not seen for the remainder of the episode, likely having left the game venue.
Season 2[]
Kuzuryu revealed to be the King of Diamonds
Kuzuryu is revealed to be the King of Diamonds, who sits at the head of the table in the Supreme Court building, strapped to his seat. There is a screen in front of him that shows the game rules and results, and a tablet he can use to make choices. There are four participants who attempt to defeat the King of Diamonds in the "Balance Scale" game: Chishiya, Daimon, Yashige, and Asuma. After Chishiya asks him why he infiltrated the Beach, Kuzuryu attributes the decision to mere curiosity, and ignores further questions for a while.
The "Balance Scale" concept is short and simple:
- Contestants choose a number between 0 and 100;
- The average of the numbers everyone selected is multiplied by 0.8;
- The person whose number is the closest to that result is the winner.
Kuzuryu wins Round 1 easily; his face remains calm and emotionless. After Asuma notices a suspicious sound of water pouring above his head, Kuzuryu explains that it is sulfuric acid (硫酸), which will keep filling the container, and the scales will tip after a player reaches -10 points, which indicates GAME OVER. Chishiya keeps trying to make Kuzuryu talk by stating that all life, including his, is equally valuable, but Daimon interjects, laughing, "The scale will always tip to whatever side has more gold", and Kuzuryu remains a silent observer.
Round 2 is easily claimed by Kuzuryu as well, confusing and scaring the other participants; in Round 3 Chishiya intentionally picks 100, causing Daimon to win. During the next few rounds, Kuzuryu continues to win with mixed success, and by Round 10 he reaches the -4 points mark and wins once again, leading to the deaths of Asuma and Yashige.
After two players are eliminated, new rules are added to the game:
- If two or more players choose the same number, they will be disqualified from the round and will each lose one point;
- Choosing the exact correct number will cause other players to lose two points instead of one.
Kuzuryu and Chishiya are the only participants left
Round 11 ends with all remaining players choosing 0, which, according to the new rule #1, leads to all of them losing one point, and Kuzuryu's count drops to -5. Since Chishiya wins Round 12 with the exact correct number, rule #2 applies, and Kuzuryu loses 2 points, while Daimon gets eliminated. Chishiya wonders whether Daimon believed in her own words until the end, which prompts Kuzuryu to ask whether he has ever peered behind the curtain to see how the world really works.
"Have you watched children die because their parents could not afford a few yen for medicine? Seen girls sold off to pay for their parents' debts? Been powerless to break the cycle of poverty?"
— Kuzuryu to Chishiya
Daimon's death introduces the third additional rule: "If a player chooses 0 as their number, the other player wins if they choose 100".
Round 13 begins with Kuzuryu being at -7 points and Chishiya at -9. Chishiya is curious why Kuzuryu is trying to make the game fair, but Kuzuryu responds with a question of his own: "If there were a million doses of a vaccine for a disease, which million people would you save?" Chishiya quickly realizes that Kuzuryu does not wish to determine the value of a life, and Kuzuryu admits that he could never choose who lives and who dies.
"What makes one life worth saving and one worthless? How can I know?"
— Kuzuryu to Chishiya
Chishiya's answer makes Kuzuryu remember his own past, which disillusioned him when he worked as a lawyer in the real world. He failed to make a company pay a settlement for all the lives that were lost because of their actions, and was forced to bend the law in favor of the powerful ones, which is why now he keeps striving for fairness, believing that equity is what everyone should be fighting for.
Since they are still in the game, Round 13 starts and Chishiya decides to inform his opponent that he will pick 100 as his next number, which evidently bothers Kuzuryu, since revealing the answer will likely guarantee Chishiya's death. Chishiya openly asks him, "What value does my life hold?", and Kuzuryu, while hesitating to pick a number, remembers how he, Ann, Hatter, and Aguni first discovered the Beach, and how Hatter told him it would be mad to abandon their ideals. The flashback then changes to an unnamed game where Kuzuryu gave up running up the stairs, but Takuma encouraged him to continue, willing to save Kuzuryu's life the same way someone else once saved his. All those memories lead Kuzuryu to choose 0, which makes Chishiya the winner of Round 13 according to the last added rule.
Kuzuryu happy to make his own choice
Round 14 ends the same way, and both players end up at the -9 points mark. Round 15 becomes the final one, and Chishiya turns his tablet around, showing Kuzuryu which number he has picked. Kuzuryu remembers his conversation with Momoka, which happened before the Ten of Hearts game, when he asked about her reasoning for volunteering to be the Witch, and she explained that she did it for her ideals, as she believed all people were good at heart and would not blindly kill each other over her death, which was what she wanted to prove to the Citizens.
Kuzuryu makes his final decision, picks 0, reaches -10 points, and smiles.
"I'm finally free. I made my own choice based on my own ideals. It's all thanks to you."
— Kuzuryu's last words
Tears roll down his face as he remembers his conversation with Mira at the end of the "Witch Hunt", when he promised to make his own game fair. The scales above his head tip, and the acid melts his body, indicating the end of the King of Diamonds game.
Games Played[]
as a Citizen in the Current Immigration Period
Etymology[]
- The forename Keiichi consists of the kanji "慧" (kei) (enlightenment, wisdom) and "一" (one, single, alone).
- The surname Kuzuryuu is a combination of the three kanji: "九" (ku) (nine), "頭" (zu) (head), and "龍" (ryuu) (dragon, imperial dragon, mythical creature).