Sunday, April 10, 2011

Heart no Kuni no Alice


















PLOT:

Alice Liddell is an insecure girl who is jealous of 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 some '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 this liquid is some kind of way to prevent her from going home. 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 medicine 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.

CHARACTER:

Most characters in Alice in the Country of Hearts are very loosely based on Lewis Carroll's originals, though there are also a few invented by QuinRose.
Alice Liddell (アリス=リデル Arisu Rideru?)
One of the very few characters who are similar in personality, physical appearance, and reactions to the original book. Alice reacts to everything a little bit more realistically than the original Alice, questioning her surroundings, however she is still dreamy and absent minded. Many of the other characters note that Alice unintentionally leads them on. Her views on life in general have made her a valuable part of wonderland life. The inhabitants fall in love with her because she values life, not like the people who live there. She often considers returning home, but is dissuaded by painful headaches induced by Nightmare whenever she tries to recall memories of her sisters Edith and Lorina or whether she considers if she has seen Peter before or not. In the manga, she chooses to reside in the neutral Clock Tower with Julius Monrey.
Peter White (ペーター=ホワイト Pētā Howaito?)
Voiced by: Kōki Miyata
Other than having a pair of white rabbit ears, wearing a watch, and wearing a suit coat he has little in common with the White Rabbit upon which he is based. He is the first to meet Alice and claims to be desperately in love with her; his sociopathic tendencies mean that he will not hesitate to kill anyone he dislikes, especially if they get between him and Alice. Alice mentions hating him on several instances, but he is persistent in gaining her love. Peter is able to turn into an actual rabbit, which he does so in order to gain Alice's affections since she has a soft spot for his rabbit form, and works for the Queen of Hearts in Heart Castle as a Prime Minister. He is often caught rhyming as he speaks, however in the original version he is heard talking normally without rhyming. It appears he and Nightmare know why Alice was brought to his world and it appears he is some how connected to her older sister.
Blood Dupre (ブラッド=デュプレ Buraddo Dupure?)
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi
Leader of the Hatters, he is charming, flirtatious, laid-back and loves black tea, Blood is nothing like the Mad Hatter, the character he represents. He rules the Hatter's Mansion area and is strongly hated by Mary Gowland for making his name known throughout the Land of Hearts. He is also involved in a civil war with the Queen of Hearts. Alice notices right away that he looks exactly like her ex-boyfriend. Nightmare created his face to look identically like her ex-boyfriend, though his reasons for doing so unknown. In the beginning, Blood states he has no intention of loving Alice, and discusses trying to kill her. He even attempts to choke her at one point, and shoots at her during a ball held by his elder sister Vivaldi. However, like many others, Blood develops a strong interest in her, and antagonizes Julius just so Alice will leave Julius to stay with Blood, though she never actually leaves the Clock Tower. It is even suggested later in the manga that Blood is in fact jealous and directs his negative feelings at Alice.
Elliot March (エリオット=マーチ Eriotto Māchi?)
Voiced by: Tsuguo Mogami
Other than having a pair of brown hare ears, Elliot shares no likeness to the March Hare, upon which he is based. He first seems willing to help Alice, until he points his weapon at her and says he wants to "test his new gun". But later in the manga, Elliot comes across as a kind and sweet person with the willingness to kill people without hesitation. Elliot is dedicated to serving Blood, due to the fact that Blood helped Elliot escape prison for a terrible sin. Elliot had destroyed his friend's clock (the people of Wonderland have clocks instead of hearts, and when repaired the clocks become a new person), as his friend had wished. Because Wonderland needs replacements, the act of destroying a clock is taboo and he was thrown in jail. Elliot constantly states that he isn't a rabbit and doesn't like carrots, though all he ever eats is carrot-flavored dishes.
Dee and Dum (トゥイードル=ディー、トゥイードル=ダム Tuīdoru Dī, Tuīdoru Damu?)
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
Twins based on the characters Tweedledum and Tweedledee that besides being twins and finishing each others' sentences on occasion, they look and act nothing like their counterparts. Dee and Dum are the young gatekeepers to the Hatter Mansion. Due to their young age, they often slack off and love money and killing. They have a violent tendencies and actually tried to kill Alice upon first meeting her, thinking that slitting her throat would be a fun game. They don't think life is important, thinking that Alice, like everyone else, will have a replacement. In Joker no Kuni, they are seen being able to change into an adult form.
Boris Airay (ボリス=エレイ Borisu Erei?)
Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama
Boris is the counterpart of the Cheshire Cat; like the character he is based on, Boris loves riddles. He has functional cat ears and a tail, several piercings and tattoos, and dresses in short, exposing outfits with a pink boa and a collar with a chain. Boris works in the Amusement Park District for Mary Gowland. Though he is sly, devious character with a childish persona, he becomes close to Alice. He is friends with Dee and Dum, despite the fact that they work for opposing groups, and even goes to Hatter Mansion to have tea parties and interact with Elliot and Blood. Boris has on numerous occasions, sneaked into the Castle of Hearts. When his luck ran out, Alice found him badly wounded and bloody, and after a reprimanding from Alice, Boris promised to change his careless and ruthless ways for Alice's sake. When Ace threatens to kill Alice, Boris only shoots at his feet saying, "I can't kill you because it would make Alice sad." He gets mad at Ace when he kills in front of Alice. Like many others in the Land of Hearts, he also falls in love with Alice.
Vivaldi (ビバルディ Bibarudi?)
Voiced by: Yuhko Kaida
Vivaldi is based upon The Queen of Hearts. Like the character in Carroll's book, she regularly orders the beheading of servants for the smallest of mishaps. She tends to use the majestic plural and is demanding and dangerous. A beautiful and composed woman who shows little emotion, she does expose her feelings towards Blood when Peter and Ace inform her of his interest and advances to Alice. She loves cute things and has a secret room full of stuffed animals. Only a few select maids know of her collection. Vivaldi is Blood's older sister and as the Queen of Hearts, she is the only person aside from Alice who is able to keep Peter in line.
Ace (エース Ēsu?)
Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa
Ace is an original character, though he is possibly based on the Knave of Hearts. He is the Knight of Heart Castle and considered the most skilled swordsman in Wonderland, but has a notoriously bad sense of direction and often forgets how to get to places. Though, seemingly harmless at first, he becomes more devious over time and demonstrates a tendency towards violence. His lost adventures are revealed to be assassinations of people that the Joker or the Clockmaker want him to kill; he helps Julius Monrey collect clocks from people who have died while killing those who get in his way. Ace is one of the first characters to admit that he has no romantic interest in Alice, though that changes shortly after he says it. Despite confessing to love Alice, she notes how he used her a shield when Peter threatened to shoot him. He almost kills Alice because she is changing everyone in Wonderland, but mentions that if he killed her, he couldn't hear her heartbeat anymore, so changes his mind.
Julius Monrey (ユリウス=モンレー Yuriusu Monrē?)
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu
Julius is an original character, though it is suggested that he represents Time (who has an argument with the Mad Hatter), from the original Alice in Wonderland book. He is in charge of the only neutral district, the Clock Tower Plaza; it is also shown that he controls the world's time. As the fixer of clocks, he is regarded as the mortician of Wonderland, since the fixed clocks will become the hearts of reborn Wonderland residents. Julius is initially the closest character to Alice; she trusts him and lives in his Clock Tower with him. While seemingly apathetic and anti-social, several characters mention how much he must like Alice because of his eagerness to help her get home and to give her a room to stay in. Later on, Julius shows jealousy towards the other men in Alice's life and tells her to leave, saying that she can go where ever she chooses as he thinks she feels obligated to stay. Alice refuses to leave and Julius admits that he doesn't find her annoying. As his attachment to Alice grows, he becomes protective of her when other characters threaten to take her away. It is seen that Julius does not enjoy roller coasters, crowds, and Blood
Mary Gowland (メリー=ゴーランド Merī Gōrando?)
Voiced by: Kenyu Horiuchi
Boss of the Amusement Park, Gowland is a possible parody of The Duchess as he is a marquis and semi owner of Cheshire Cat. However he gets angered at Boris when he bleeds on his floor. Other than those times he enjoys the company of him and Alice. He is an older man with mood swings, but is generally a cheery and very social person. He has the power to pull out his violin, which turns into a kind of gun or rifle at his will, in various sizes, though he has no talent playing it. He invites Alice to come to the park any time she likes and visits her at the clock tower. Gowland is the archenemy of Blood Dupre, who told everyone Gowland's first name is Mary, making his name 'Merry Go Round', like the term merry-go-round. Dupre seems eager to pick fights with Mary, making fun of him and his name, throwing Gowland into a violent rage.
Nightmare Gottschalk (ナイトメア=ゴットシャルク Naitomea Gottosharuku?)
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita
Nightmare is based on The Caterpillar in the original Alice in Wonderland, but is usually seen when Alice is sleeping. Later, he comes to the clocktower with a resident of Clover. He is the one who allowed Peter to bring Alice into Wonderland. He calls himself an 'Demon', claiming he is the embodiment of bad dreams. He interacts mostly with Alice, but also appears before Peter and Julius as well. It appears he along with Peter knows why Alice was sent to their world. He also claims to love her. He is sickly in the books and is seen coughing up blood, but hates doctors and injections. He wears an eyepatch for unmentioned reasons and seems to not have any weapon. In Clover no Kuni, he is seen in the clover tower.
Pierce Villier (ピアス=ヴィリエ Piasu Virie?)
Voiced by: Sōichirō Hoshi
Pierce is the counterpart of the Dormouse and the Gravedigger of Wonderland. He has functional mouse ears and a tail and suffers from insomnia; he drinks coffee to try and stay awake. He used to be a part of the Hatter family, but ran away because the twins bullied him, which was the cause of his sleepless nights. He adores Nightmare because he helps him sleep and is often worried about his health. Pierce is terrified of Boris who often tries to eat him and constantly makes him feel like his life is in danger. However, he likes Peter and Elliot because he doesn't feel threatened around rabbits. In an side chapter of the manga, he attempts to kiss Alice soon as he recognizes her as an outsider. Alice then slaps him in the face and asks him "if he tries to kiss strangers often".
Gray Ringmarc (グレイ=リングマーク Gurei Ringumāku?)
Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai
Gray is based on the Lizard in the original Alice in Wonderland. He works for Nightmare, though is often reduced to acting as a nanny of sorts in order to force Nightmare to do his work, and tends to be a workaholic, pushing his subordinates to do the same. In contrast, he is notably a poor cook and artist, despite his best efforts. By nature Gray is a kind man who cares for people and animals, but he is also a former assassin and a deadly combatant. As a result, he is unwillingly Ace's designated sparring partner as he is the only one who can match the Knight of Heart's skill. Gray often compares and sees himself as inferior to Julius, particularly in regards to his relationship to Alice.
Joker (ジョーカー Jōkā?)
Voiced by: Akira Ishida
An enigmatic character who the player must visit and play a card game with in order to change the season in the Alice in the country of hearts game. Two Jokers exist within the story—one is a polite and modest man while in contrast, his counterpart is foul-mouthed and condescending. He also claims Alice needs him. The jokers are in charge of the prison in wonderland. In Joker no Kuni, they are seen executing Alice's older sister, which symbolizes all the memories of Alice that took place before Wonderland.
Others
Most of the people of Wonderland are servants and guards. They are men and women who all look the same besides the uniforms they wear that represent their district location. They have no eyes and look and dress the same as the other servants in their district. Citizens of Wonderland think these people are unimportant and identical, but Alice is able to recognize their individual differences. As soon as Alice does though the guards fall in love with her. Though they are not given names, Alice still thinks of them as people and becomes angered when others do not consider them as such. In the game, it's discovered that Alice can give them faces so she could remember each one of them.
Besides servants, there are also normal citizens that have no roles in the 'game' of Wonderland. People without roles have no eyes and little to differentiate between them. Vivaldi, the Queen of Hearts, was once a girl without a role. Among the citizens there are some rebels, who try to destroy their friends' clocks so they can't be replaced. Try Reading Online