Manga- Netflix
Morizono Aguni (粟国 杜園, Aguni Morizono) is a major character in Alice in Borderland. He specializes in Spades (
). He is portrayed by Sho Aoyagi.
Appearance[]
Aguni is a tall, muscular, middle-aged man with short dark hair and brown eyes. While in the Borderland, he is always seen wearing a black sleeveless tank top with green camouflage cargo pants and black combat boots. In the real world, Aguni is shown in a navy T-shirt with a dark-gray short-sleeved shirt on top and beige trousers.
As the story progresses, Aguni's face and body slowly get covered in more scars from getting attacked with a knife or shot with a gun.
Personality[]
Aguni is a tough military man who prefers to stick to a task. When assigned with controlling the militants on the Beach, he silently carries out his duties, easily earning the respect of younger delinquents, such as Niragi and Last Boss, and creating an illusion of his confrontation with Hatter, while remaining loyal to his best friend.
As demonstrated during various Spades games, Aguni is perceptive and calm, he excels at working out his opponents' strengths and weaknesses to be able to come up with a successful strategy. Despite the circumstances, he never shows fear and never panics, turning all his emotions into rage and using them to defeat the enemy. However, when left alone with his pain, he sometimes allows himself to let it out, such as when he cries after killing Hatter or when Arisu sees through his angry facade and notices his grief.
Murdering Hatter deeply traumatizes Aguni. He turns his pain and guilt into the decision to kill all the Beach members, blaming them for driving his friend insane, and then keeps hallucinating of Hatter judging his actions.
As stated by Aguni himself, he trusts in his friends, which is all the hope he needs in life, however, after it ends up being not enough to save Takeru, Aguni shuts his feelings down and decides not to trust people any longer, which results in the strange dynamic between him and Heiya, whom he teaches to be better at strategy and fighting, but whom he cannot let closer despite her romantic interest in him.
History[]
Aguni's backstory is mostly intertwined with Hatter's, as they are shown to be close friends in the real world before the events of the series. After Takeru took over his father's "Hat Danma" shop, Aguni came to visit him and tried on one of the hats, but Takeru stated that it did not suit him. He commented on Aguni becoming an SDF officer and joked that he had expected him to belong to the yakuza. Aguni mentioned another mutual friend of theirs who had been killed, and Takeru told him to live a long life as he was the only friend he had left. Aguni smiled and wished Takeru the same.
After arriving in the Borderland, Aguni and Hatter cleared multiple games before discovering the Seaside Paradise Tokyo hotel, where Hatter decided to create a utopia. Aguni was skeptical of the idea but agreed to support his friend's dreams and took on the role of the militant leader in charge of weapons and security.
Story[]
Season 1[]
Aguni first appears before the "Game of Tag", as he confidently walks into the Toei Sendagaya Apartment building and grabs a phone. After the game begins, he is joined by another militant, Jin, who arrived separately, they go up to the 7th floor, and Aguni coldly ignores Chishiya's attempt to communicate, walking in an opposite direction from him. Later, Aguni and Jin are seen standing in the corridor a few floors down.
Aguni explaining the plan of action to Karube
Horse Head overpowering Aguni
When there are about 6 minutes left until the end of the game, Karube decides to attack the Horse Head Dealer with a knife, and Aguni joins him and Arisu, revealing his observations about the height, weight, skills, and potential occupation of their opponent. As Jin brings a fire extinguisher, Aguni gives it to Karube and invites him to join their plan to hunt down the Tagger, while instructing Arisu to find the safe zone apartment.
Aguni explains to Karube that the Horse Head wields a MAC-10 and finishes shooting his 32-round ammo in 1.5 seconds, which means they are going after him during the reload time. Jin is tasked with luring the Tagger to a specific location, but is unaware of Aguni's plan to emotionlessly sacrifice him. Everything goes according to plan, and Aguni and Karube attack their opponent with fire extinguishers after the militant is shot. A fist fight then follows, and Aguni appears to be on par with the Tagger at first, but then the Horse Head grabs his legs and hurls him down onto the floor, kicking him in the face. Karube stabs the Tagger, but he takes out a long kukri knife and cuts Karube's side, which prompts Aguni to get up and attack him with a dropkick. Despite going against an armed opponent, Aguni does not waver and keeps fighting, getting cut with the knife across the left side of his face. The odds eventually turn in his favor, and Aguni overpowers the Horse Head, punching him in the face over and over, until Arisu and Usagi clear the game, and the collar on the Tagger's neck explodes.
After the game is cleared, Aguni silently takes the Dealer's gun and searches his pockets for ammo. Hearing Jin's walkie-talkie, which instructs him to return to the Beach, Aguni quickly disappears before Karube can ask any questions.
Aguni in the amusement park
Aguni is next seen during the Six of Spades game, which takes place in the zoo. He calmly waits for a tiger to approach him and starts shooting. Since 5 bullets are not enough to kill the animal, he punches it in the head, which helps him defeat it.
After the game time is over, all the Beach members gather by the pool. The militants also walk into the area, scaring everyone, and approach Arisu. Aguni asks what happened to Karube and expresses regret over his death, stating that the strong ones die and the weak ones survive. He then notices Usagi and tells Niragi to bring her to him. Niragi and the other militants escalate the situation, which eventually leads to Hatter's interference. Since Niragi openly disregards Hatter's order and claims to only answer to Aguni, Hatter forces Aguni to admit his leadership.
At night, there is an executive meeting with Aguni present. He sits at the head of the table across Hatter but does not participate in the discussion, with his facial expression unreadable.
The episode begins with a flashback of Aguni and Hatter first locating the hotel that will eventually become the Beach.
Aguni opening the black envelope
Aguni making a statement
The morning after Hatter's game, Aguni is present in the executive meeting room, standing by the table with the corpse of his friend on top. His face is emotionless, he remains silent and shows no reaction to anything people in the room say or do, until Niragi starts beating the corpse in an attempt to prove that Hatter has no say in who will become the next leader of the Beach. Aguni assumes the role of the Beach's "new king" and proceeds to open the black envelope, which contains the passcode for the safe with all the cards gathered by the Beach members so far. According to Chishiya's narration, only the new leader can see what is inside the opaque envelope as he opens it in the presence of all the executive members. Chishiya describes Aguni's face in that moment as dark, surprised, and perplexed. Having checked the contents, Aguni seals the envelope again and proceeds to make a statement in the lobby. After Niragi's introductory speech, Aguni confirms that Hatter is no longer #1, and the full control over the Beach is now his. He urges the Beach members to follow his orders, live for him, and die for him.
After Arisu finds a wrong safe, Chishiya informs Aguni of the attempt to steal the cards, and all the militants rush into Hatter's suite. While Niragi and others make a scene, Aguni praises Chishiya's perceptiveness and inadvertently gives him a hint about the location of the real safe by looking at the picture of a stag on the wall.
Later, Aguni stays in his room, silently looking out of the window, and does not participate in any punishments. He is one of the last people to arrive in the lobby after the announcement that the Beach has become a game venue for the "Witch Hunt".
Aguni trying on a hat
While Beach members are trying to find the right game strategy and pointing fingers at each other, Aguni proclaims everyone, who is not a militant, to be a Witch. He asks the culprit to come forward and, when nobody does, he orders a massacre, and everyone starts running away as soon as Niragi happily shoots his gun in the air in response to that. As Niragi murders another militant in cold blood, Aguni remains unfazed and claims that he has no need for useless people.
For the duration of the game, Aguni does not kill anyone personally, he stands by the pyre and watches as the militants throw bodies in the flames. A tear appears in his eye as he realizes that his life has turned upside down, and a flashback of him and Hatter follows, showing them in the real world before the Borderland, trying on hats in Takeru's "Hat Danma" shop and smiling. Takeru then wished Aguni to live a long life, calling him the only friend he had left, which seemed to make Aguni happy, and he wished his friend the same.
Aguni orders a massacre of all Beach members
Aguni telling the militants to shoot him
15 minutes before the "Witch Hunt" game ends, all survivors move back to the lobby. Aguni orders the militants to kill everyone, but nobody shoots, and some start questioning the whole ordeal and regretting their actions. Aguni kicks one of them down and claims that whoever goes against him is a Witch, pointing a gun at the guy's head. Tatta's voice interrupts him as he, Arisu and Usagi walk into the lobby, asking to finish the game. Despite Arisu's clear alibi and plea for cooperation, Aguni smiles and punches him in the face, throwing him into the crowd. After Usagi gets pushed away trying to help Arisu, she claims that Aguni himself is the Witch, to which he punches Arisu again, openly confirms her suspicions and drops his gun, telling the militants to shoot him. However, Arisu insists that Aguni is not the Witch and tries to deduce another motive that might be driving his death wish. By looking in his eyes Arisu realizes that Aguni killed Hatter and lost all hope.
"In reality, you were not in conflict with Hatter at all. Didn't you both actually help each other? You wanted to make sure that dangerous people like Niragi do not go on a rampage. You tried to hold them back. You... Weren't you and Hatter best friends in reality? Then why did you kill him? For some reason, you could not forgive Hatter for what he did. You wanted to stop Hatter and his craziness. You wanted your best friend to regain his senses."
— Arisu about Aguni and Hatter's relationships
Aguni watches Hatter beating people to death
Aguni asking Hatter to end the Beach
Aguni realizing that Hatter's gun was not loaded
Arisu's speech is followed by another flashback, which shows Aguni and Hatter in the Borderland. They cleared a certain number of games and found the hotel building, which Takeru decided to turn into his own utopia that would give people hope. Aguni was skeptical, but his friend's passion about his dreams was captivating, so Aguni gave in. However, what happened later deeply shocked him, as Hatter gradually became crazier and crazier, until one day he murdered a few people for keeping cards hidden from him and introduced the third Beach rule, "Death to the traitors". Seeing his once warm and caring friend beat people to death made Aguni realize that Hatter had become a completely different person.
His own memories, provoked by Arisu's words, fuel Aguni's rage, and he starts punching and kicking Arisu again, saying that Arisu does not understand what he is talking about. Another flashback appears, showing Hatter's last game in Kabukichō. As it turned out, the game venue was right next to Hatter's own "Beach" host club, so Aguni and Hatter walked in. Aguni admitted being at his limit, because it was getting harder to control Niragi and others, which is why he asked Hatter to end the Beach. He made it clear that he did not believe in the possibility to come back home after gathering all the cards, and insisted on stopping all the Beach activities. However, Hatter reminded him of the "Death to the traitors" rule and asked to have hope, which angered Aguni, who had got tired of Hatter's antics. According to Aguni, the Beach never gave him hope, the only hope he ever had was in his friends, which was enough for him. Hatter muttered to himself about a necessity to make hard decisions and pointed a gun at Aguni, whose facial expression clearly showed just how shocked and heartbroken he was feeling at that moment. He easily evaded Hatter's shot and then pulled his trigger, which resulted in Hatter's death.
"I understand the pain in your eyes. You killed your friend. And so you wanted to kill everyone at the Beach, because they were the ones who made your friend go crazy."
— Arisu about Aguni's reasoning
Realizing that Arisu saw through his pain, Aguni sheds a tear and tells him to shut up, pushing him back into the crowd. After Arisu claims that Momoka herself is the Witch, Aguni kicks him in the gut, screams that the Witch is him and demands to be murdered. He starts attacking everyone thoughtlessly, remembering how he looked at Takeru's dead body, checked his gun and saw that it was empty, which means Takeru never planned to kill Mori-chan, but tried to provoke him instead in order to die by his hand.
Screaming in pain, Aguni pushes everyone away, blaming them for driving his friend insane and screaming that he is the Witch, until Asahi reveals being a Dealer and gets shot by a laser. Aguni regains his senses, and Arisu's speech convinces him to move on, however, Niragi appears out of nowhere and starts shooting everyone. Aguni decides to sacrifice himself in order to save those who are still alive, so he runs right at Niragi, ignoring bullets, and pushes him downstairs into the flames.
Season 2[]
Aguni makes a dramatic reappearance after Arisu is saved from Shirabi's pursuit. Arisu wakes up and learns from Heiya that "he" wanted to save him, so Arisu owes "him" thanks, but since Arisu ruined their plan, "he" is in a foul mood. When Arisu walks to the tree where his savior is sitting, it is revealed that "he" is Aguni.
"Hey, newbie (よう新入り, Yō, shin'iri)"
— Aguni to Arisu
Aguni admits that staying alive was not exactly his choice, and the news of Niragi's survival irritates him. He wipes his gun and inquires about other mutual acquaintances, so Arisu recounts the recent events. When asked, Aguni reveals his intention to take down the King of Spades and invites Arisu to join. To Arisu's shock, Aguni explains that the King is just a man, and all people have weaknesses, so he is not invincible. He further expresses his resolve to die in the battle if necessary, as he has no place to return and no reason to live, convinced that he was supposed to die during the fire at the Beach. Hearing Arisu's monologue on survival, Aguni calls it weak but agrees that a wish to live is a natural human desire, which causes him to feel jealous of Arisu.
Hatter's ghost appears to Aguni
When Arisu and Heiya are asleep, Aguni keeps watch, leaning on the tree. He hears a familiar voice and refers to him as "Takeru", before the camera zooms out and shows Hatter in his Beach clothing standing in front of him. Hatter starts asking Aguni about the reason why he is trying to defeat the King of Spades, assuming that Aguni feels guilty over killing multiple Beach members, and then suggests ending his own life (自殺, jisatsu) if Aguni wishes to die so badly. Despite Hatter's hostility, Aguni silently listens to his outburst and politely asks him to leave, which might indicate that it is not the first visit from the ghost.
The group preparing for an ambush
In the morning, Aguni walks towards the others and witnesses Heiya's attempt to have sex with Arisu. The situation does not seem to bother him, as he is focused on the mission, but Heiya still tries to find an excuse for her behavior, claiming that Aguni has already rejected her before. Aguni ignores her and explains the plan: lure the King of Spades to the mountains and eliminate him.
During the hike, Aguni follows a compass and voices his suspicion that the King of Spades keeps tabs on all the players and tracks them, so he intends to find a good spot for an ambush.
Reaching a cliff, Aguni states that this is where they will wait for the King of Spades. He hands Heiya a couple of smoke bombs and explains that traps will warn them of incoming attacks even at night. After Heiya impresses Arisu with her knowledge about setting traps, Aguni claims to have taught her and orders Arisu to keep watch in the tent.
Aguni after shooting Shirabi
Aguni's plan works, as Shirabi follows the path avoiding the traps and comes close to the tent, pointing his gun at Arisu. However, right before he fires, Heiya launches an explosive arrow, which distracts his attention, and Aguni shoots him in the chest. Not lowering his gun, Aguni waits to make sure the King of Spades is dead, slowly approaching his body. However, Shirabi gets up and starts shooting back at him, forcing Aguni into hiding. Arisu runs towards him and hides behind the same tree. He realizes that he was a bait, and Aguni does not deny the fact, claiming that Arisu has a talent for it. Reloading his gun, Aguni explains that Shirabi has a bulletproof vest, likely being a mercenary, and sends Arisu to lure him to the cliff, while using a flashlight to attract attention, allowing Arisu to go undetected. During the further gun fight, Shirabi drops a grenade to Arisu's feet, so Aguni shouts for him to run, but that eventually ruins the plans, and Shirabi gets the chance to attack Aguni up close. As Shirabi prepares to shoot, Heiya hits him with her Flex-Foot Cheetah and pushes Aguni down the hill to save him. They roll down, and Aguni hits his head on a tree, losing consciousness. Shirabi fails to locate them and leaves.
In the morning, Aguni wakes up, leaning on a tree, and sees Hatter's ghost once again. He asks him nicely to disappear, but Hatter remains in the same spot looking at Aguni with hostility, so Aguni screams at him, and the ghost turns into Heiya holding firewood. Aguni exhales in relief, while she rushes towards him, happy that he finally opened his eyes, hugs him, and cries.
Aguni and Heiya remain in the forest, while he is recovering from the previous confrontation. While Aguni is asleep, Heiya picks up her bow and arrows, gently kisses him on the cheek, and leaves.
Aguni explaining the strategy to defeat the King of Spades
After regaining consciousness and restoring his energy, Aguni joins Heiya, Arisu, Usagi, Kuina, and Ann during the King of Spades game. He comes to an overgrown tunnel with a rifle and explains to the others that the King will run out of ammo soon, so it is best to take cover for the time being. To Heiya's question, Aguni admits following her, but her assumption about his feelings for her is left unanswered because Aguni is focused on the task at hand. He points out that the King is human and not invincible, which means they have a chance to defeat him. Aguni's strategy is to lure Shirabi into an area where the blimp cannot drop supplies, which would leave him defenseless if he cannot restock the ammo. Kuina suddenly remembers about a bomb Chishiya gave her, and Aguni laughs calling it a toy. Despite kerosene inside, Aguni claims that the bomb will not create a big enough explosion, so Arisu suggests enhancing it by filling it with gas from the nearby drugstore. Aguni is willing to risk it and volunteers to lure the King into the drugstore. All the girls decide to assist him, and he smirks in disappointment, looking at his "squad", but does not argue and suggests leading Shirabi to a narrow alley first.
As the King walks further into the alley, following the girls, Aguni opens fire at him, and the counterattack is stopped by Kuina and Heiya's intervention. Ann attracts Shirabi's attention, and he opens consecutive fire at her, but then runs out of ammo, which allows Aguni to fight him with his fists. The King ends up stronger and pushes Aguni away across the alley, temporarily immobilizing him on impact.
Aguni looking at Heiya's body
Having overpowered Heiya, the King points his gun at Aguni, but Heiya shields him with her own body, getting shot in the chest at close range multiple times. Her blood covers Aguni's face, and she looks at him while struggling to breathe, which fires his anger towards Shirabi. Furious and desperate, he yells out and runs towards the enemy, punching him in the face and attempting to shoot him in the head, but Shirabi pushes his hand away and releases the ammo from the gun, rendering it useless. Aguni keeps punching him over and over, then kicks him in the stomach with his knees, and eventually grabs him by the neck and slides his body into a pile of garbage. After that, he takes the King's leg and throws him towards the nearby building. However, Shirabi still has a gun to use, so he shoots at Aguni's shoulder. While he is reloading, Aguni runs at him and pushes him to the wall, removing bullets from the magazine in his hand. Shirabi grabs his neck, then throws him aside, sits on top of him, and starts punching him in the face. Aguni covers his head with his arms and shoulders, minimizing the impact, but Shirabi decides to strangle him instead. Kuina rushes towards the King and kicks him off Aguni.
While Kuina and Usagi are trying to defeat the King, Aguni, barely conscious, reaches out for a bullet on the ground and loads a gun with his hands shaking. Then he and Shirabi shoot at each other simultaneously, and Aguni falls down with blood pouring out of his head.
Aguni shooting at the bomb to make it explode
Since the bullet did not hit his head directly and likely only scratched the temple, Aguni survives. He follows Arisu and Shirabi to the second floor of the building. Seeing that the King refuses to open the door, Aguni pushes him into the store and orders Arisu to proceed with the plan, ready to hold Shirabi down to make him stay in the room. However, Arisu decides to save Aguni, so they both run towards the window, shatter the glass by jumping out of it, Arisu throws the bomb into the drugstore mid-air, and Aguni shoots at it to make it blow up. The explosion wave propels them both away from the building.
Out of the debris, Aguni looks around, finds Arisu, grabs his hand and pulls him up. Looking at the drugstore in flames, Aguni falls down, having spent all his energy, and tells Arisu to clear the last game without him. When he notices that Shirabi is still breathing, even though immobilized, Aguni immediately gets up and walks towards him. Suddenly, the King offers him his gun, as if asking to finish the job, and apologizes. Whether the King's last words are about Aguni or the friend in his flashback remains unknown. Aguni assumes the apology is meant for him and says that he never hated Shirabi. Then he pulls the trigger, and the game is officially cleared.
Aguni seeing Hatter for the last time
Realizing that he has played his part, Aguni decides to take his own life. As he points the gun towards his head, a familiar voice interrupts him, and Hatter's ghost appears for the last time. Aguni asks why his dead friend came to him again and wonders whether he expects an apology, but Hatter suddenly claims that he is the one who has come to ask for forgiveness. He admits forcing his best friend to do unpleasant tasks, then gently pushes Aguni's gun away from his temple, places his hand on Aguni's shoulder, and wishes him well. With a smile, Hatter turns and walks away, disappearing into the smoke and leaving Aguni almost in tears.
The King of Spades' blimp blows up in the sky and falls behind Aguni. He lays down on the debris and awaits the end of the Second Stage.
Aguni hugging Heiya
A few hours after Shirabi was defeated, Aguni is still lying on debris and awaiting the finale. Arisu and Usagi clear the Queen of Hearts game, so the announcement across the Borderland congratulates all the survivors and offers them a choice: stay in the Borderland and become a Citizen, or refuse the permanent residency. Barely conscious and with an empty look on his face, Aguni decisively whispers:
"I decline."
Hearing a female voice, Aguni turns his head to see Heiya crawling towards him. He struggles to move but reaches out to her anyway, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards himself. She lies on his chest, cries, and claims she does not want it, referring to the residence. Hearing her heavy breathing, he hugs her with one arm, looking up in the sky.
Hatter and Aguni in Shibuya moments before the meteorites
A flashback follows: Arisu was at the Shibuya Crossing, waiting for his friends. The scene repeated the same way as Episode 1 (Season 1) at first, with the zombie talk, then Karube putting Arisu on his shoulders, and then the trio causing a road accident. However, this time it is revealed that all the other people Arisu met in the Borderland were also at the Shibuya Crossing at the same time, including Usagi, who was standing nearby, Niragi sitting on a bench, Kuina decisively rushing through the crowd, Chishiya having a nonchalant stroll, Hatter and Aguni walking out of a shop and talking, Tatta sitting in a big lorry, and Ann looking at her watch as she walked past Arisu and his friends. The same scene that was shown in Heiya's flashback before repeats itself, but now shows that the assumed fireworks were actually a few meteorites that hit Shibuya, causing a massive explosion and crushing all the buildings in the area.
Later, Aguni is seen in a hospital room with his body covered in bandages and an oxygen mask on his face. According to the doctors whose conversation is overheard by Heiya, it is a miracle that he is alive, but he is not waking up. Heiya talks to the nurse and admits that she does not know him, indicating that nobody has any recollection of their experiences in the Borderland. However, Heiya feels like he is fighting for his survival.
Season 3[]
Aguni talking to Arisu
Aguni makes a brief appearance at the end of the episode, when multiple survivors of the Tokyo Meteorite Disaster come to Arisu one by one to share their feelings about their current lives. Arisu asks if Aguni ever has flashbacks of what happened, and Aguni admits that he is able to sleep better lately because he is used to his job. Then Arisu mentions that Aguni said he has been thinking about the meaning of life and encourages him to share.
"Why am I alive? Maybe it's to keep the hat shop from going under."
— Aguni to Arisu's question
Aguni keeps Hatter's hat with him and fiddles with it while speaking.
Games Played[]
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Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The forename Morizono consists of the kanji "杜" (Mori) (woods, thicket) and "園" (zono) (garden, park, orchard).
- The surname Aguni is a combination of the kanji "粟" (a) (millet, grain) and "国" (guni) (country, land).
- "Aguni" sounds like the English word "agony" pronounced with a Japanese accent.