Cheshire Cat

This article is for the character. For the chapter of the same name, see Cheshire Cat (Chapter).

Cheshire Cat
チェシャ猫, Chesha Neko
Real Name
Dinah
(ダイナ, Daina)
Personal Information
Gender	Male
Height	180 cm
Hair	Auburn
Eyes	Brown
Status	Alive
Nationality	Wonderland
Debut
Manga	Chapter 1 (Cheshire Cat) Chapter 5 (Dinah)
Voice Actor
Drama CD	Kazuhiko Inoue
Relationships
Owner	Alice Liddell
Mistress	Duchess (Former) New Duchess
Regret	The 88th Alice

The Cheshire Cat (チェシャ猫, Chesha Neko) is the former pet cat of the Duchess with whom he showed loyalty, and he is the one who led Alice to Wonderland and gave him his name instead of the White Rabbit. Along with the Mad Hatter, he serves as Alice's guide throughout Wonderland, constantly explaining certain matters in the country. Unlike other characters in Wonderland, he has no real role in the game, simply enjoying life in Wonderland.

In reality, he is Dinah (ダイナ, Daina), the black pet cat of Alice Liddell. He is usually shown to be by Alice's side, often listening the stories that she tells him.

BackgroundEdit

The Cheshire Cat is Dinah, the pet of Alice Liddell. Although it is largely unknown as to how Dinah became the Cheshire Cat, he has known the White Rabbit since Alice in Wonderland fell apart. In fact, the Cheshire Cat basically started it all, handing the bloodied manuscript to the White Rabbit, instructing him on what to do, helping him whenever, and even telling him the name of the author who stole "Alice" away: Lewis Carroll.

At one point during the 88th Game, the Cheshire Cat killed the 88th Alice, stabbing her in the stomach with a knife. Telling the Hatter that "if it's impossible for her little brother, then it's impossible for the author, too"; he manages to escape with an injured arm caused by the Hatter shooting at him. At this point, the erstwhile Duchess found him wounded, remarking on his dirty appearance. She asked him if he knew her, to which the Cheshire Cat agreed, telling her that he is the Duchess' pet cat, after all. He is then invited to come with her, being promised for his gunshot wound to be tended. Since then, the Cheshire Cat and the Duchess became close with each other, albeit having to avoid intimacy; he constantly wonders if he, a stray cat, would be attached to her if he is shown kindness.^[1] It is hinted that he really liked her, but the Cheshire Cat never stayed inside her residence, always wandering around and sleeping in other people's houses trying not to get attached to his mistress. However, it is shown that the Cheshire Cat got very attached to her, to the point of saving her and even crying for her.

AppearanceEdit

The Cheshire Cat is a tall, pale, effeminate young man with ears resembling a cat that makes him distinct among others. His height is 180 cm (5'11"). He has long brown hair with side-swept bangs, mostly covering his eyes. Underneath his black suit lined with brown, he wears a loose white shirt and a brown vest. He wears a pair of knee-high hazel boots, and commonly has his hands in his pockets.

PersonalityEdit

The Cheshire Cat is a carefree and satirist person. He will not hesitate to kill if needed, to obtain his goal. He is always seen smiling on the outside although he suffers a lot on the inside. He is the kind of a character who knows more than what he says and tells anyone straight what he thinks. He was very attached to his first owner Alice and after that to the Duchess.

PlotEdit

Arrival of the 89th Alice in WonderlandEdit

During the welcome festival, the Cheshire Cat pulls the newly-arrived Alice out of the crowd and tells him of the danger he may face if he stays on the streets. He bows before him and welcomes "Alice" to Wonderland. Alice denies this, but the Cheshire Cat continues to call him as such until Alice admits that his name is probably Alice. As he states his name once again, the residents stare down at Alice, making the Cheshire Cat tell Alice not to turn around. When Alice asks who he is, he answers that he is merely a pet cat.

He shows Alice around the country and asks him his purpose for coming to Wonderland. He mentions the Queen of Hearts and tells Alice of the absolute will of the single monarch ruling Wonderland. He then takes Alice to the Queen's castle, but he further reminds Alice not to look back, or Regrets may surface once humans "look back" to their past, similar to what Alice literally did. As the Cheshire Cat explains about Regrets, black oozes appear in front of Alice and further tells Alice three categories that Regrets get attracted to. As he lists off two categories, a Regret completely concretises into a female, causing the Cheshire Cat to disappear and ultimately leave Alice on his own.^[2] Once the Mad Hatter arrives to save Alice from the Regrets, the Cheshire Cat reappears when the Hatter asked Alice if he has met the Cheshire Cat, to which the latter immediately explains that Alice was the one who named himself. He also tells a curious Alice that the Hatter cannot see him, albeit he can hear him. Once he gets a reassurance from Alice that he is indeed "Alice", the Hatter points his gun at him and drives him away, taking the job of taking Alice to the Queen of Hearts. As he leaves, he bids Alice good luck.^[3]

The Cheshire Cat is next seen with a mistress who asks him to go home, lest his mistress may be worrying for him. He dismisses this thought, but bears in mind that he is bound to the Duchess as her "pet cat". He later visits the White Rabbit in the latter's territory, whom the Cheshire Cat asks to give him some food. The White Rabbit arrives and inquires him of his mistress, to which the Cheshire Cat answers that she has been "eaten" by his master. The White Rabbit accepts his plea, albeit serving him some scraps for his guest. The Cheshire Cat thanks him and thinks of the grandiose treatment the White Rabbit has always given to "her" everyday, though she cannot eat or drink the food prepared for her. Fairly annoyed, the White Rabbit asks the reason for the Cheshire Cat's arrival; the latter says that he has come to meet Alice and describes him as lovely and honest. However, the White Rabbit exclaims that the current Alice is rather different, as he has lost his way to Wonderland and therefore is not Alice. Since the current Alice called himself by name, the Cheshire Cat asks the White Rabbit behind that reasoning, but the latter knows well enough that the Cheshire Cat actually named the current Alice as such. The Cheshire Cat disagrees with his statement, claiming that he is merely a powerless cat, so the White Rabbit chides him and just tells him that Alice shall perish soon anyway, asking the Cheshire Cat to prepare a grave for the "fake" Alice. As he is about to leave, the Cheshire Cat warns the White Rabbit to not underestimate the current Alice. Later, the Cheshire Cat is seen to contemplate about his status as a pet cat: being powerless and having experienced enough loneliness.^[4]

He is later seen^{[Note 1]} beside a young girl and is later grabbed by his owner as she is called by someone. He later resurfaces at the Duchess' mansion, halting Alice from interfering with the Duchess in her role of being Alice's substitute towards the Duke. He then tells the fish footman that he shall take Alice away himself, being reprimanded by the Footman for being a disobedient cat. As he grabs Alice's hand, the latter demands an explanation from him. He explains about Wonderland's regrets having needed to be eaten away by the Duke, with the Duchess at bay whenever the monster becomes berserk and looks for Alice. Alice asks him to help his mistress, but refuses to do so. As Alice decides to shoot the monster, the Cheshire Cat stops him again and reminds him that his weapon is meant to kill the White Rabbit and cannot protect anyone, especially given his poor marksmanship. As the Duke drags the Duchess away, the Cheshire Cat expounds that many people will be sacrificed in order for Alice to exist in Wonderland. He later brings Alice back to their flat and advises him not to worry about anything, including the Duchess; nonetheless, he thanks Alice for trying to save his mistress. Just then, the Hatter shoots towards the Cheshire Cat, ordering him to let go of Alice or he will shoot again. The Cheshire Cat easily accepts his order and bids Alice goodbye.^[1]

Ruckus at Town SquareEdit

When a lady proclaims that she "has found Alice", the Cheshire Cat is one of the people who became aware of this situation. Later, he appears at town square just in time to shield the Duchess with his body after the Duke lands an attack meant for her. He apologises to his mistress, saying that he cannot pretend not to notice her.^[5] He further apologises for getting her clothes dirty, but she tells him not to worry. She reprimands him for doing something unnecessary such as saving her despite not being the true Alice; she must perform her role as the Alice's substitute or she will lose reason to exist, preventing her to be his mistress. The Cheshire Cat pats her and smiles. He then asks the Hatter where Alice is, and he answers that he left him behind; they expect him to perform something unnecessary. The Hatter decides to shoot down the Duke no matter the distance; the Cheshire Cat assures the worrying Duchess that the Hatter is actually a skilled marksman. Upon Alice's sudden interruption, the Hatter misses the target, shocking the Cheshire Cat and the Duchess. As Alice proclaims to the Duke that he is Alice, the monster eats him up, making everyone astounded.^[6] He states that he did not expect Alice to be literally eaten by the Duke.

As Alice falls down at a garden, Dinah is seen being held by his owner. Inside her house, the cat rests at a chair while Alice eats. Marianne tells Alice that Dinah is always with her, but, regardless, Alice advises her not to wander outside. However, she adds that the Dinah – the Cheshire Cat – always saves her from trouble, also giving her advice as to how the end of the story can be reached. Back at the town square, the weakened Cheshire Cat watches the White Rabbit slash the Duke with his rapier and eventually retrieve Alice. He comically greets the White Rabbit, saying that he shall come visit him again to eat at his territory. When the White Rabbit tells the Hatter that the 89th is not Alice, the Cheshire Cat informs the Hatter that the 89th came to Wonderland out of his own will. Hence, he tells the Hatter that he can do whatever he wants to do with Alice. The Duchess orders her pet to carry Alice to her mansion, which he diligently accepts.^[7]

AftermathEdit

As Alice wakes up at the Duchess' mansion, the Cheshire Cat arrives and informs him that the Duke has already been taken care of by the White Rabbit. He also tells Alice that the Hatter is drinking tea, and makes his leave as he has an appointment somewhere, bidding Alice and his mistress goodbye. At the Duchess' execution, she asks a favour from the Queen to tell the Cheshire Cat the last words that she wanted to tell him, to which he makes sure he will tell him. As she is beheaded, the Cheshire Cat suddenly feels lonely as he cradles a mistress, questioning where he will go home to now that the Duchess is gone.^[8]

TriviaEdit

• In the original story, the Cheshire Cat was owned by the Duchess and had a perpetual grin on his face. He gives Alice cryptic advice and is very loyal to his owner, and later on appears in the Queen's garden to once again talk to Alice. Here, the Cheshire Cat was capable of completely vanishing, as well as allowing his grin, eyes, ears, head, and body appear at different times.
  • However, Dinah was, in the book, the female pet cat owned by the Liddell children.  Furthermore, while it's never told what color of fur Dinah had, she had two kittens in Through the Looking-Glass; a white kitten and a black kitten (and according to the narration, the event of the second book are entirely the black kitten's fault). In the manga, Alice Liddell is seen carrying a black cat with her, and it's directly stated that this cat is Dinah, who later becomes the Cheshire Cat.
• His night job is being a prostitute, usually in exchange for food and a bed.
• Despite attacking the Alices on two different occasions, the 88th was ready to work with him if it meant regaining her name and the 89th was sympathetic towards the Cheshire Cat before and after the event, blaming himself for being unable to help the Duchess or his fault for shooting off the Cheshire Cat's arm.
• Before the event with the Duke, the Cheshire Cat's ears were black and he wore a sweater with a high collar under a suit.  Presumably because of having the back of his outfit burned away, he switched his clothing to what he wears now and in volume three, his ears are the same color as his hair.
• The Cheshire Cat's special skill is stalking.
• The Cheshire Cat is not loyal towards the Queen of Hearts, as stated so by himself when he said that only those who are loyal to the Queen can enter the Caterpillar Lane and he cannot.

QuotesEdit

• (To the 89th Alice during their first meeting) "There are 50,000 people who hate their name, but this is the first time I've met someone who is in denial of theirs."^[2]
• (To Alice) "Enemies? What are those?"^[2]
• "I'm a cold-hearted cat. Even if my mistress is worn out, there's nothing I can do. There's nothing a pet can do after all. Experiencing this sad feeling once is more than enough. Isn't that right, Alice?"^[4]
• (To Alice) "No one can truly love a pet."^[1]
• (To the Duchess after saving her from the Duke) "I'm sorry. I can't pretend not to notice after all."^[5]
• (To Alice) "You don't have to abandon everyone. You're carrying the spirit of the words you just spoke. You're carrying the name. And you're carrying the story. The Duchess also told you about the story, I believe. If you follow the path you believe in, even I will be happy."
• "Even if people are on good terms, they can lie to each other. Right?- No, This is a place where lies have to be told precisely because people are on good terms, isn't it?" (Alice: "Oh, are those the kind of lies you're telling?") "It's regrettable, but before you tell lies, you have to be close to someone. I don't have anyone like that."
• "If it's for you, I will throw everything away."

NotesEdit

1. ↑ He is presumed to be Dinah in this scenario.

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Are You Alice? manga, Chapter 5
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Are You Alice? manga, Chapter 1
3. ↑ Are You Alice? manga, Chapter 2
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Are You Alice? manga, Chapter 4
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Are You Alice? manga, Chapter 6
6. ↑ Are You Alice? manga, Chapter 7
7. ↑ Are You Alice? manga, Chapter 8
8. ↑ Are You Alice? manga, Chapter 9