Are You Alice?

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I finished this manga a few hours ago in my binge-read of the last five volumes. As a fan of Alice in Wonderland, more specifically the many dystopian alternatives to the fairytale, this manga was very enjoyable to me.

The story was quite confusing and strangely paced at the beginning. In fact, throughout the story the main goals of the protagonist shifted quite often, however, I find it forgivable due to the nature of the whacky tale that is Alice. Without trying to give spoilers, I will say that the story does take quite an entertaining turn in the last few volumes, as you see ... how this Wonderland and its rules came to exist and how they make sense. At the beginning of the story, it's all hard to make sense of. 89 Alices? Regrets? Rules of the game? It's hard to grasp, but keep reading and I promise it'll start to make sense!

When it comes to character, the gender ratio isn't too diverse. There are only about two or three characters (other than the 88 Alices) that are women, and even the more recent Alice is male, but despite the male advantage the manga surprisingly doesn't give off shoujo male vibes at all. There are a few mentions of how men like women, but there are no frames that show off the male bodies for female readers, which I find surprising. However, as the story progresses, it's fun to see how the Wonderland characters match up to real-life characters, such as what the Cheshire Cat or Alice are like in Wonderland vs. the real world. There are big twists in the characters, large character developments, and many characters too. Also, the names are all western which are easier to remember haha.

Overall, I think this manga is so underrated and deserves a lot more hype and recognition. Please consider reading it if you get the chance!

A very interesting concept, overal. I found it by accident, but am very happy I did. A majority (if not all, depending on your personal opinion on how important certain characters are) of the main characters are male, and though I am unsure of my exact feelings about that, I can say that I'm interesting in seeing any other character developements that may occur. There are a few moments that may make you tilt your head in confusion, and there are some events that I personally see as a bit strange, but the overall storyline is very enjoyable, and there is very little to no ... 'useless' events.

Overall, I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Alice in Wonderland and is looking for a new twist on the story and its characters. However, I also warn that younger people and those with a very childish view on the original story may be disappointed, as this is in no was a 'cute' portrayal of it. The story contains guns and death, as well as a crossdresser and I mildly portrayed sex scene(at least, I'm pretty sure what that is. If anyone knows what I'm refering to, but does not believe that's what it is, I'm open to discussion). But there is no overly-mature content, so as long as you are able to look at the storyline, events, and characters with an open mind, and don't mind some mild language and violence, there is no oustandingly objectable content.

The story is all over the place and only comes together at the last two volumes or so. That doesn’t mean it’s badly written, it’s just that i personally like a plot that follows a straight line, i do not mind some flashbacks from time to time, i wouldn’t even mind the story jumping around between the past and the present if it wasn’t so much to the point that made following the story so annoying. But i feel it was done as if to hide the plot holes because whenever things got interesting the story would just jump into the past or try to ... retell something that we already knew and later when it picked up where it left some things were left unexplained and i think THAT is poor writing. Imagine one moment it feels like everything is falling into place and the story is finally moving forward and you go to the next chapter just to find it’s back 30 chapters to tell something you don’t care about anymore. That is no fun and it diminishes the enjoyment for me.
I also noticed that some dialogues were repeated a lot throughout the series with the only difference being one or two new sentences or scenes every time. What a waste. Also yeah, Lots and LOTS of dialogue, i think it would be much better if this was a light novel instead.
I felt like the author desperately tried to lengthen the story but it just made it unbearably slow and dull. Which resulted in many unnecessary chapters that really add nothing. Author herself admits volume 7 is a side story so not reading it doesn’t change anything. It could have been a 5 volume manga and it would be better than 12 where the story gets dragged for so long. You might think that those “extra” chapters might be important and can add depth to the characters but not when i don’t like of the characters!. That’s right, i only liked the Mad Hatter (only until midway) but i couldn’t stand the rest. Couldn’t sympathize with them. Their reasoning and motives aren’t well explained and they lack development. Except for the cat, though he’s just a cat so it doesn’t count.
It should have been called Alice in the madhouse because they’re all crazy and it shows.

Bottom line is; i read this for the sake of finishing it because I’ve put it on hold for 4 years, otherwise i would have dropped it after the sixth volume when the story got stuck. Also maybe I’m being biased because i never liked the story of Alice in Wonderland in the first place since i was little so there’s that.

The art for one thing, is not bad but i do not feel anything about it. Truthfully, the first time i saw this i thought it was a BL or something but it wasn’t. What a disappointment.
Another thing I’d like to say is that i think manga is better when drawn by the same person who comes up with the story. This was originally a CD drama so i do not know what that is about but i always prefer the original source material rather than adaptions or remakes.
The only reason i was able to finish this was because i started to read it in a funny voice out loud so yeah, hearing my own voice was more amusing to me than the actual story.

Although i said all that i will give this work a 6/10 because i feel it’s slightly better than some other manga adaptations, and i think some effort was put into it. And it’s my own fault for being so stubborn and wanting to read something i didn’t like from the beginning. It’s just that it wasn’t my cup of tea. Albeit i would love to have some tea with Lewis Carroll.