Manga- OVA
- Netflix
Nitobe (新渡戸, Nitobe) is a minor character in Alice in Borderland, who participates in the Five of Spades game, "Tag".
Appearance[]
Nitobe is a bald older man with thin eyes, a sharp jawline and cheekbones, a pointy nose with a curved nasal bridge, and a small black tapered goatee. He wears a small black fedora with a white hatband, a loose dark-spotted white shirt that is rolled up to cover the mid-forearms, and a black vest on top of the shirt paired with black business pants and casual shoes.
Personality[]
Nitobe is a knowledgeable and observant older man with a friendly disposition.
Story[]
Not much about Nitobe's past is revealed, but it is known that he played multiple different games based on his collected knowledge of how the suits of the games work and what they require.
Five of Spades[]
Nitobe first appears in the Five of Spades game, waiting in the lobby with the other participants. He notices Karube and Arisu appear near the venue entrance, and urges them to hurry along, as the game was about to start. Nitobe points to a clock that displayed the time at five fifty-nine. There is also a poster on the wall, explaining the registration deadline being six o'clock.
"Hurry up if you want to join the game! You're running out of time."
— Nitobe telling Karube and Arisu that the clock will hit six soon (Chapter 5)
As both Karube and Arisu enter, the clock hits six, closing the venue with lasers to prevent players from leaving. After the game name and a summarized explanation is told to the players, Nitobe approaches Karube and Arisu, sniggering behind the latter about how annoying it is to see players not take the games seriously. He confidently introduces himself to the guys and bitterly comments on how the "minority" is not taking things seriously—jabbing toward a hooded Shuntaro Chishiya, who is listening to music while leaning against the wall and charging his iPhone.
As the game name, difficulty, and suit are heard by the players, Yuzuha Usagi immediately plops her bag on a bench, pulls out her running shorts and shoes, and changes into them while she is catcalled by two other male players. Nitobe notes how the girl is not part of the other players, as she "understands, too".
Nitobe explaining card suits to Arisu
Nitobe glances back at Arisu and shares his amassed information about the games in the Borderland, highlighting Arisu's initial capability. He mentions the card number ranking in their difficulty and simplifies the four main card suits to Arisu and Karube:
- Spades involve being athletic, testing physical strength and endurance;
- Diamonds challenge one's knowledge and problem-solving skills, earning the nickname "brain games" from Nitobe;
- Clubs are "right in the middle", testing all-round skills and completion through teamwork;
- Hearts are not thoroughly explained by Nitobe due to being interrupted by the announcement, he boils it down to "the cruelest games of all".
Nitobe listens to the rules with the crowd and comments on one part of the announcement mentioning a hidden bomb in the apartment building, noting its danger. After the rules are explained, the topic of an urban legend in the building is brought up by a couple of players, with two of them discussing the facts, and one telling them to shut up and stop scaring the others.
The game starts, and a majority of the players simultaneously scatter in different directions. Nitobe comments on the players who go in their respective paths in a snarling manner, insulting them as a "disorderly mob".
"Teaming up with useless players can be fatal. No one wants to rely on each other."
— Nitobe commenting on the harsh reality of teamwork in the game (Chapter 6)
Nitobe, Karube, and Arisu loitering
Nitobe sticks along with Karube and Arisu, and the three walk to the third-floor west stairwell, idling and creating a plan. Nitobe suggests that Arisu should watch the walkway, while Karube watches the top, and he watches the bottom. Nitobe urges the two to call out if they see anyone approaching them.
He rationalizes this decision, noting that as long as they avoid the center stairwell, the trio would only need to worry about watching for three directions. He mentions that he considered narrowing further down to the walkways or intersections, but it would become too risky to do so.
Nitobe checks his watch and notes that it is 6:05 PM. A doorknob jiggles, paired with heavy footsteps and a loudly slammed door. Then the trio hears gunshots from the floor above and Nitobe dashes upstairs, despite protests from Arisu and Karube. Nitobe justifies his actions by exclaiming he needs to know what they are up against and urges them to come along as well.
Arisu and Nitobe witnessing a player being tagged
As the trio heads upstairs, they witness a male player being shot followed by heavy footsteps on the next floor. Horse Head makes an appearance from the hallway, pointing his smoking gun at the corpse. The Dealer witnesses the three loitering on the stairwell and opens fire at them, causing the players to sprint down the stairwell.
"What was that?!"
— Nitobe questioning what he witnessed (Chapter 6)
They reach the next floor, and Arisu attempts to hide himself and Karube. He calls out for Nitobe as well, but Nitobe refuses to join along assuming they are being ridiculous. He abandons them and continues jogging down to the first floor. He bolts halfway to the west wing of the apartment complex, dwelling and sweating over how awful he has been at sports since he was a child, confirming to himself he was not made for Spades games.
"I guess...Spades isn't my thing..."
— Nitobe's last thoughts before being killed (Chapter 6)
Horse Head appears from the west stairwell, spotting and tagging Nitobe in the process, bringing down the player count to eight with twenty-two minutes left in the game.
Games Played[]
Unknown games
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The name Nitobe consists of the three kanji: "新" (ni) (new), "戸" (to) (door) and "部" (be) (part).
- Although Nitobe's specialty is not clearly stated in the manga, it is likely not Spades, as during the "Tag" game he states it is not his strongest suit while being chased by the Horse Head. Additionally, he mentions them as his "least favorite" when explaining the different types of suits to Arisu and Karube.
- Nitobe is one of the few minor characters who appear across all three versions of the story (manga, anime, live-action) with little-to-no change in the appearance, personality, or storyline.