Personally, I hardly read any manga at all, I prefer my pictures to move around with flashy effects whilst making noise.  So, the majority of what I’ve read are things that were thrust in my face by one person or another.  Heart no Kuni no Alice is no exception, and it came recommended to me by my friend Alex.

If you guessed that this manga is yet another adaptation of the Alice in Wonderland story, you would be right.  It’s also a bishonen adaptation, just to make it clear what you’re getting yourself into.  Alice lives in a world where she feels utterly unloved, while her sister seems to get all the attention.  She wishes beyond all else that she could be loved too.  Cue the appearance of Peter, the bishonenized white rabbit, who merrily whisks her away to Wonderland, where her dream can come true.

On the other side of the coin, being loved by everyone is definitely not all it’s cracked up to be.  Everyone wants her, and they are all cheerfully willing to kill to have her or die trying to keep her.  This doesn’t sit well with Alice at all.  This is where the author takes a sharp 90 degree turn.  Rather than being helpless and constantly bemoaning her situation, as most girls of this nature are wont to do, Alice thrusts into action.  She’s written as a relatively bright girl who is determined to keep herself (and everyone else) alive while trying to figure out how to get home and what exactly is plaguing this world.  She’s also definitely not above using others to her advantage, given her rather lofty position.

A lot of the charm so far has been watching the author slowly reveal the reimagined Wonderland and the characters within.  For example, the white rabbit is now a manipulative, conniving, and somewhat creepy chief advisor.  The Mad Hatter has received a proper gothic bishie name, Blood Dupre, and is now the boss of the mafia, and I can venture to guess what he traffics.  And really, who wouldn’t want to read a version of Wonderland with a mafia?

There are currently only 9 chapters translated, and while this is by no means the greatest manga in the world, so far it has been enjoyable.  It mixes parts of comedy, action, romance, and mystery, and while it does not excel in any area so far it’s achieved a balance, which is more than a lot of works can say.  If you want a bit of a change of pace for Lewis Carroll’s classic, give it a shot.