Alice in the Country of Hearts

 is a Japanese female-oriented visual novel developed by Quin Rose. The game is a re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's classic 1865 novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". There were multiple sequel games, as well as multiple manga series, licensed in North America originally by Tokyopop and later by Yen Press and Seven Seas Entertainment. An original video animation adaptation was announced for release in November 2008, but was later delayed. An anime film adaptation produced by Asahi Production was released in Japanese theaters in July 2011.
Plot.
Alice Liddell is an insecure girl who is overshadowed by her sister's beauty and grace. During one of their outings, Alice's sister goes to get a deck of cards for a game while Alice falls asleep. When a white rabbit comes and encourages her to chase him, Alice assumes she is dreaming and tries to go back to napping until the rabbit turns into a man with white rabbit ears and carries her off. Peter White (the White Rabbit) throws Alice into a hole that appears in her yard and jumps in after her. When they land in a strange, open area, Peter starts confessing his undying love for her. He tells her to drink a 'medicine' but when she refuses, he simply pours the liquid into his mouth and then kisses her, forcing her to drink it. It is later revealed that whoever drinks this medicine, participates in a game, so says Peter. Alice learns that she is in Wonderland and the only way she might be able to return to her world is to interact and spend time with the strange people in Wonderland, which slowly refills the vial. However, Wonderland is going through violent times—everyone is reckless and uncaring as to who lives or dies, and with a civil war going on everyone in the strange world finds it hard to trust each other with an instinct to kill.
Wonderland is split into various countries, with most of the action taking place in the 'Country of Hearts'. It is divided into three main territories: The Castle of Hearts, ruled by Vivaldi (the Queen of Hearts), with assistance from Peter White who serves as Prime Minister, and Ace (the Knight of Hearts), the most skilled swordsman in the Wonderland, who has a terrible sense of direction; Hatter Mansion, home of Wonderland's Mafia, The Hatters, led by Blood Dupre (The Hatter), with help from his second-in-command Elliot March (the March Hare) and the gatekeepers, Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum); and the Amusement Park, run by the marquis Mary Gowland (the Duke) with help from a punkish cat, Boris Airay (the Cheshire Cat). All three territories are at war with each other, with the only neutral area being the Clock Tower Plaza in the centre of the Country of Hearts. Alice moves into the Tower and ends up living and helping Julius Monrey, whose job it is to repair clocks, which work as the hearts of the inhabitants of Wonderland. As a result, he is considered Wonderland's mortician and he gives life to new residents once the Clocks are repaired. Also appearing in the series is the sickly Nightmare Gottschalk (the Caterpillar), a dream demon who is the embodiment of bad dreams and ruler of the neighbouring 'Country of Clover'.
Characters.
Country of Hearts.
The Country of Hearts is the primary setting of the "Alice in the Country of Hearts" series and the first Wonderland location that Alice visits. The majority of characters in the series originate from this country. The country has the unusual property of changing the time of day seemingly sporadically.
Country of Clover.
The Country of Clover is the primary setting of "Alice in the Country of Clover", the sequel to the "Alice in the Country of Hearts", and the second Wonderland location introduced. While the game retains most of the characters from "Country of Hearts", the game removes Julius Monrey and Mary Gowland in favour of two new characters, Pierce Villiers and Gray Ringmarc. Nightmare and Joker, who also appeared in the Country of Hearts, have larger roles in the Country of Clover. In contrast to how time of day changes in the Country of Hearts, the Country of Clover is known for changing its seasons at will.
Country of Diamond.
The Country of Diamond is the third original setting for the series and is introduced in "Alice in the Country of Diamonds" as another region of Wonderland. While a number of major characters return from the first two original games, many appear in different forms from their previous appearances. Three new characters are introduced, while Vivaldi, Pierce Villiers, and Mary Gowland do not return.
Media.
Visual novels.
"Heart no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World" is a female-oriented visual novel developed by Quin Rose and released on February 14, 2007 playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. The game is a re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's classic "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Prototype ported the game to the PlayStation 2 (PS2) on September 18, 2008, and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) on July 30, 2009. An English version of the game, under the title "Alice in the Heart: Wonderful Wonder World", was released for iOS and Android devices, with the translation done by Artmove.
Quin Rose released a sequel to "Heart no Kuni no Alice" titled "Clover no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World" on December 25, 2007 playable on a Windows PC. Prototype ported the game to the PS2 on April 15, 2010 and the PSP on March 31, 2011. It follows the first game under the assumption that Alice did not fall in love with anyone, maintaining only friendships with the major characters. She remains in Wonderland as a result and the setting moves from the Country of Heart to the Country of Clover. "Clover no Kuni no Alice" replaces Julius Monrey and Mary Gowland with Pierce Villiers, the representation of the Dormouse, and Gray Ringmarc, Nightmare's right-hand man who works more in the capacity of a nanny to his master. "Heart" and "Clover" were accompanied by a third game, the fan-disc "Joker no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World" developed by Quin Rose and released on October 31, 2009 playable on a Windows PC. "Joker no Kuni no Alice" is a side-story to the first two games and reintroduces Julius Monrey and Mary Gowland.
In March 2010, was released for Windows as a remake of "Heart no Kuni no Alice" featuring redrawn CGs and new character routes. A version for the PSP was released in July 2011. The game was followed by as another fan disc for the PSP in December 2011 that involves 26 different story arcs. was released on December 20, 2012 for the PSP as the sequel to "Clover no Kuni no Alice" and introduced new characters and a new region in Wonderland. A sequel to "Diamond" titled was released July 25, 2013 for the PSP. On May 29, 2014, a sequel to "Heart no Kuni no Alice" and its fan disc was released titled "Heart no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Twin World".
Manga.
A manga adaptation illustrated by Soumei Hoshino was serialized in Mag Garden's "Monthly Comic Avarus" between the October 2007 and October 2010 issues. Six "tankōbon" volumes were published by Mag Garden between July 10, 2008 and December 15, 2010. The manga was licensed in North America by Tokyopop, who had published five volumes before the license reverted to the owners. At New York Anime Festival 2011, Yen Press announced that it will re-release the manga. "Alice in the Country of Hearts" is also licensed in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing, in Italy by GP Publishing and in Poland by Studio JG.
A second manga adaptation illustrated by Mamenosuke Fujimaru and titled "Joker no Kuni no Alice: Circus to Usotsuki Game" began serialization in the June 2011 issue of Ichijinsha's "Comic Zero Sum". An alternate retelling of the story titled , written by Owl Shinotsuki and illustrated by Delico Psyche, was serialized between 2010 and 2011 in "Monthly Comic Avarus". Two volumes were released in Japan: the first on December 15, 2010 and the second on August 12, 2011. Yen Press publishes "My Fanatic Rabbit" in North America.
Novels.
Kodansha published nine novels written by Yukiko Uozumi between February 2008 and March 2011. The first three novels are based on the original "Heart no Kuni no Alice" game, the next three are based on "Clover no Kuni no Alice", and the last three are based on "Joker no Kuni no Alice". Ichijinsha published six light novels written by three different authors, but all illustrated by Nana Fumizuki. The first novel is written by Momoko Komaki and was published in July 2008 based on the original "Heart no Kuni no Alice" game. Two novels are written by Midori Tateyama: the first is based on "Heart no Kuni no Alice" and was released in December 2008, and the second is based on "Clover no Kuni no Alice" and was published in June 2009. Three novels are written by Sana Shirakawa: two are based on "Clover no Kuni no Alice" and were released in February and March 2010, and the third is based on "Joker no Kuni no Alice" and was published in December 2010.
Anime.
An original video animation anime adaptation was announced for release in November 2008, but QuinRose announced on its production blog that the release was delayed until further notice. An anime film adaptation titled "Alice in the Country of Hearts: Wonderful Wonder World" premiered in Japanese theaters on July 30, 2011. The film is produced by Asahi Production and directed by Hideaki Ōba.
Reception.
The "Heart no Kuni no Alice" manga was ranked 27th on the Tohan charts between January 13–19, 2009. The third volume of the manga was ranked 25th on the Tohan charts between June 8—14, 2009. Japanator's God Len comments on the "lots of kissing and/or yaoi-centric scenes because this one is made for a more female audience."
The first volume of Tokyopop's English translation of "Alice in the Country of Hearts" was part of "The New York Times" Manga Best Seller List for seven weeks before dropping off the charts, but re-entered a few weeks later for another two weeks on the chart; the volume peaked at No. 5. The first volume again re-entered the chart at No. 5 during the week of July 18–24, 2010. The second volume was on the charts for four weeks, peaking at No. 6, before falling out of the rankings. The third volume was eighth place in its first week, rose to seventh in its second week, but fell to tenth place in its third week, where it stayed for its fourth week.
Ed Sizemore enjoyed the "pretty-boy" artwork and enjoyed Alice's characterization, but felt that the rest of the cast's "psychotic" characterisation made it uncomfortable to read. Zack Davisson enjoyed the "suggestion that Alice is creating the fantasy world from her subconscious, and that the rules set are her own", and enjoyed the manga's treatment of the game's story. Carlo Santos thought that the manga could be read as a satire on reverse harems, but felt the first volume lacked plot. Reading the second volume, he felt the plot was still "aimless", but enjoyed the exploration of "non-canon" ideas about Wonderland, such as what happens to a Wonderland character after they die.
Yen Press' English release of volume one of "Alice in the Country of Hearts: My Fanatic Rabbit" stayed on "The New York Times" Manga Best Seller List for six weeks, debuting at No. 7, and rising to No. 3 before falling to No. 9.