As someone who adores stories set in Wonderland, the Alice in the Country Of series was definitely going to grab my attention. I wish I had some of the games to play, but my Japanese definitely needs to be better to play an otome game. Way too much text. But when stumbling across the original game’s manga adaptation years ago, I immediately grabbed it.
After reading the original three, I picked up a few of the volumes set during other games in the series, and I’d love to get more of them. Sadly, they are out of print, so it’s tough to get them. I literally just got another volume in the post as I’m writing this. So I’m definitely getting more into this again.
But since I’m so into Wonderland stuff at the moment, I decided, why not reread the first volume and check if I still enjoy it. Fortunately, I did.
So the idea of Alice in the Country of Hearts is that Alice was out with her sister. After falling asleep, she has a strange dream where a white rabbit drags her down a hole into a new world. In that world, the rabbit has taken the form of a man, and he forces some medicine down her throat by kissing her. Now Alice has been told if she wants to return home, she has to interact with the citizens of Wonderland and play the game. But this world is dangerous, and though as an outsider, everyone will love her, plenty is going on that could put her at risk.
I once again loved this first volume. I was going to reread all three before posting this, as I thought I might as well, but since these are omnibus volumes…yeah, I decided to be kind to myself.
Obviously, I already have my faves and an idea of what goes on. But I didn’t remember much in detail, so I wondered whether my opinions would change. I don’t think they really have; I still very much look Blood, aka the Hatter, as Alice’s love interest best. But I’m enjoying seeing most of the characters and them interacting with Alice. It’s only really Peter that I didn’t like.
I’m wondering if maybe I should pick up a few of the series where Alice is romanced by other characters. I’m primarily curious about the Boris ones, but still, I wouldn’t say I like the idea of him with Alice. And since these games are basically dating sims…, you really have to like the ship to pick up the manga versions.
But if my current Wonderland focus picks up, I might do that. But I’m also not supposed to buy more books, so, err…probably best that I don’t.
I definitely had a good time picking this one up again. The art is excellent, and the story is pretty interesting. I like this version of Wonderland and the idea that only certain characters are important and that any other characters are faceless and easily replaceable. And then the Clockmaker’s role in that and Ace too. It’s actually so interesting, and I know it could get pretty dark. I can’t remember if it does, but I remember being satisfied, so I’m sure it does a good job.
Overall, I still liked this volume and will 100% be reading on. I think I’ll also be picking up more books from this series and getting inspiration. I know there’s a new game coming out in Japan soon for the Switch, so maybe this will be the one to finally get translated. I hope so!
Lace and Dagger Books 