Another Alice, Another Wonderland

 

 

Ryohei Arisu is a disillusioned slacker stuck living in the shadow of his perfect little brother.  The sadness of everyday life surrounds him and his future does not look bright.  Until one night, when a massive and unusual fireworks display transports him and his two friends into a strange new world, a world where deadly games are played both for great prizes and for the right to continue living for another day. 

 

This manga series initially released in the US as a live-action Netflix series.  I tried to get into it, but who has the time or the patience these days to sit around and watch a 45-minute episode, let alone multiple ones in a row?  Plus I watched it in the English dub with subtitles, and that always gets me messed up, thinking about the minute differences between what the dub says and what they actually say.

 

Me, I preferred the manga, in case it wasn’t obvious.  With a manga, one can take one’s time reading it-not that I did much of that with how cerebral, fast-paced and action-packed it was.

 

The games are really think-y and would be almost impossible for anyone without a ton of lateral thinking and strategic ability.  Nothing about where the players are or who brought them there is explained, which serves as an excellent hook for people to keep reading.  We even get a brief scene of some fanservice from female player Shibuki.

 

Me, I have already some familiarity with author Aso Haro’s work from an earlier series known as Hyde and Closer (which I would also highly recommend), but this one is a lot more grown-up and even darker than his first one (if you can believe it).

 

And, yes: there is a vague “Alice In Wonderland” theme running through the work (if the main title wasn’t enough of a hint for you).  Hints and clues and in-game information pages are based on classic playing cards, and we have already seen characters named Chishiya (Cheshire Cat), Arisu (Alice) and Usagi (Rabbit, as in White Rabbit).  Some people may find that annoying, preferring to stick mainly and/or only to original work, but as long as it sticks to only sneaky little side references like those, I am not complaining.

 

The characters also manage to show a lot of themselves (or at least have the implied potential to), and the same goes with growing as people.  With his life on the line in games involving serial killers and flaming arrows, Arisu finds within himself a desire to live.

 

Would that we were all so lucky…