Alice?

Alice?
アリス, Arisu
Titles
89th Alice of Wonderland
The White Queen
Personal Information
Gender	Male
Age	19 years old
Height	172 cm
Hair	Blond
Eyes	Blue
Status	Alive
Nationality	Wonderland Looking-Glass Land
Occupation	Queen of Looking-Glass Land
Debut
Manga	Chapter 1
Voice Actor
Drama CD	Takahiro Sakurai
Relationships
"Older sister"	Alice Liddell
Partner	Mad Hatter (Wonderland)
Bodyguard	White Knight (Looking-Glass Land)
Alice of Wonderland
Predecessor	The 88th Alice

Alice? (アリス, Arisu) is a mysterious young man who is presumed to willingly arrive in Wonderland. He was given the title of "Alice" after being named the 89th Alice of Wonderland by the Queen of Hearts and thereby joined the game of killing the White Rabbit in which he is assisted by the Mad Hatter. He is assumed to be the "younger brother" of Alice Liddell.

Background

Alice is the "younger brother" of Alice Liddell with whom he shares name with. He was yet unborn when he died together with their mother, dying of an illness. After this incident, her younger brother — who was created on paper by Lewis Carroll — was picked out of the waste bin by Dinah, his sister's pet cat who used to listen to her stories, and was eventually able to save him. Unfortunately, because of Carroll's destruction of the boy, the younger brother had an inhuman appearance. Hence, Dinah traveled to various worlds to locate different body parts in rebuilding the younger brother. The younger brother finally came to life by the time that 88 Alices were discarded. This younger brother was inadvertently named "Alice" by the Cheshire Cat during his arrival in Wonderland, answering the latter that his name is probably Alice. However, after several turns of events, he later accepted his role as Alice.

It is never really explained how Alice arrived in Wonderland, but it can be seen from the cover of the first chapter of the manga; he fell down the rabbit-hole as how "Alice" should have been. However, in the drama CD, it is revealed that a door allows anyone to enter Wonderland, similar to what Alice came across after falling down the rabbit-hole. Alice himself has forgotten exactly what he came for in Wonderland, but his hopes are towards finding out who he really is.

As the 89th candidate as Alice of Wonderland, Alice has been welcomed by different characters as such. Initially, he wanted to reject this, but he decided to participate in the game provided that he must be rewarded once he is able to finish the game. Some characters believe in him to be able to complete the game, especially the Duchess, though a lot also despise him for being the 89th candidate for many particular reasons.

When first met by the White Knight, Alice decided to go with him to meet the "Queen", whom he presumed as the Queen of Hearts. However, the White Knight then kneels before him, welcoming Alice as Queen. With this, Alice stutters how this happened since he is already "Alice", but the White Knight explained that he is only a candidate for becoming the next Queen. To become Queen of Looking-Glass Land, he has to meet certain requirements to prove he is suitable to perform his job as adviser to the people of the country. Despite being only a candidate, Alice is treated well, as seen when the White Knight answers him completely and clearly, and also serves him tea instead of making himself his own. However, he can also be treated unfairly such as being pointed with a gun by the White Knight. Later, Alice apparently accepted the title and became the Queen of Looking-Glass Land.

Name

Alice has his name officially published in every official character profiles with a question mark after it, indicating the uncertainty of the name "Alice" as his real name. This can also be interpreted as his current status, the 89th candidate of "Alice of Wonderland", thus making him not yet being the real "Alice." His position as a candidate is also questionable, as it was not the White Rabbit who gave him his new role. It is also said that he is the first male candidate of "Alice".

The very first sentence of the manga, which resurfaces later on, is "My name... What is it?", which could mean that Alice was unsure about his name himself. It also implies that he does not remember his earlier name or past at all. Upon his arrival in Wonderland, Alice initially denied his name being "Alice," even saying that his name was probably Alice. Even still, he reacted when called by it. Following his first Regret attack, he did not deny his name anymore. When told by the Queen of Hearts to say his name, he did not hesitate to answer with "Alice".

Personality

Alice's sarcasm

Alice has a confident personality. He believes that he can finish the game, for he is the Alice of Wonderland. When invited to someone's place, he does not want himself making tea, since he believes that he is a guest. This can be seen twice in the manga; when he asked the Mad Hatter if he will make his own tea; and when he asked the White Knight whether the tea will be made by the White Knight or by himself. Alice is also confident in the game to kill the White Rabbit and is determined to finish it by practicing his shooting skills with his revolver. In his spare time, he gets easily bored and just wants to kill the White Rabbit in order for the game to be finished already. However, Alice can also be seen as sarcastic most of the time. He loves to make comments on almost everything he thinks weird or out of place. The Knave of Hearts once thought his ironic retort as insult to the Queen of Hearts. Even if he is in grave conditions, he still has enough sarcasm; when he was a hostage of the Knave, he still manages to be somewhat sarcastic with the way he talks to the Knave.

Another characteristic worth mentioning is his curiosity. This corresponds to how Lewis Carroll's Alice's personality should have been (although she is, of course, without sarcasm; just pure curiosity). He is somewhat also emotional, shouting every time he can. This trait was commented by the Mad Hatter.

Alice and the Hatter likened to two mountain monkeys

Furthermore, Alice is shown to be competitive and aggressive especially with his partner, the Mad Hatter, with whom he usually argues and is at odds with. Usually, and partially due to Alice's personality, when having a conversation with the Mad Hatter, it will end with the two of them quarreling. In an omake, the Cheshire Cat remarks that the two are like a pair of mountain monkeys when they fight. However, Alice, like all previous Alices, is attached to the Mad Hatter and often feels lonely if he isn't around. He also becomes jealous if the Mad Hatter gives his attention to others, like the March Hare. A running gag through the series is that both Alice and the Hatter acknowledge that they are like a married couple, with the Hatter being the "dominant partner", where they are like having a "marriage crisis" as described by the Hatter himself. Later, however, Hatter asks Alice to teach him how to tie a tie. When Alice asks why, he merely replies that he aspires to be a "domineering husband", to which Alice asks if he has a "mistress", since Alice is his "wife". The Hatter, however, responds in complete seriousness that he is completely dedicated to Alice, which Alice finds creepy. Given these dynamics, it can be seen that Alice and the Hatter have an erratic relationship, sometimes being harmonious, especially when dealing with matters related with the game, but also oftentimes being discordant, as seen during casual times.

During separate occasions, Alice looks up to the original Alice as his older sister whom he cherished dearly because even when he had nothing, she found him and held on to him. However, it was later revealed that he attempted to kill her because he was jealous of everything she had: her name, her life, her dreams. He killed her in order to become the real Alice and promptly forgot about it after he came to Wonderland. 

Despite his sometimes negative demeanour towards others, Alice was seen to have a soft spot for the Duchess, where the two genuinely cared for each other. The two became good friends with each other, with the Duchess encouraging Alice to become the true Alice. Because of his thoughtfulness for her, Alice was outraged when he heard that the Duchess was supposed to be his substitute in being attacked by the Duke, and attempted to set her free by killing the monster. After the incident with the Duke, Alice mentioned that he wished to spend more time with her, such as having tea, not knowing that she was already executed.

Appearance

Alice's full appearance

Alice is a fair-skinned man with blue eyes and shaggy, blond hair where his unkempt bangs cover his forehead. For most of the series, his outfit consists of blue, long-sleeved shirt with notched collars, which he does not fully button up and is tucked in his pants; underneath the collars, he places a loosely-tied black necktie. He wears a white, three-button suit jacket with three buttons at the end of each sleeve and a pair of matching-coloured pants, finished off with white laceless Oxford shoes. He usually keeps his snubnosed revolver on the left area inside his jacket or in his right pocket of his pants.

When staying at his and the Hatter's flat, especially when he sleeps, he occasionally takes off his jacket, which reveals a dark-coloured belt with buckle fastened around his waist.

Alice dressed up as a woman

During the occasion that Alice dressed up as a woman, he initially wore an extravagant dress with white-lined black high collar and short, white, puffy sleeves; the body of the dress is striped until the lower torso area and worn with a black belt which is tied into a ribbon behind, where the design spreads like an "X" shape and continues on the edge of the skirt with abstract designs of heart shapes. Alice also wore a headpiece with a heart ornament over a striped ribbon-like lace, alongside what is most likely his white Oxfords. Though the Hatter commended this look (albeit with sarcasm), he replaced the look with a simpler appearance: he wore a blue, long-sleeved dress with puffed shoulders and white-and-black linings on the eyelet collars, large cuffs, and edge of the skirt, which is topped by a white pinafore and a white-and-black belt tied around the waist. Underneath, he wore white drawers over black stockings and black, low-heeled, Mary Jane shoes. He apparently wore a blonde wig that reaches his back, adorned with a black ribbon headband over his head.

Abilities

Alice's trademark punch for the Knave of Hearts

Alice is relatively able to fight, as seen when he tried to kick the first Regret who attacked him. This can also be seen when he punches the Fish Footman and the Knave of Hearts multiple times later in the series, though merely for comedic purposes.

To aid him in the game, Alice was given a black snub-nosed revolver by the Mad Hatter when he was brought to his apartment. Alice tried to use it to shoot him, but was unsuccessful since it had no bullets loaded. The Mad Hatter told Alice that the gun was not meant to protect himself, since there is no need as long as he is around protecting him. Later, it is implied that the real use of the gun is to help Alice in the game of killing the White Rabbit. Though initially poor in his marksmanship, Alice eventually became adept in shooting with his gun, to the point of injuring the Cheshire Cat's arm, and, because of his amateur excellence, he often practices his shooting skills, so that he would never again hit and thereby hurt anyone or anything.

Plot

Arrival of the 89th Alice in Wonderland

The Cheshire Cat welcomes "Alice"

Alice arrives in the middle of a parade being held in Wonderland. Pulled out of the crowd by the Cheshire Cat, he states that the parade will start soon and calls him "Alice", causing him to flinch away. He tells him his name is not Alice, but, for the sake of an agreement, claims that his name is probably Alice. With this response, the whole crowd of the parade turns and stares at him, making the Cheshire Cat warn him not to turn around.

The Cheshire Cat begins to lead Alice to the Castle of the Queen of Hearts, dodging Alice's questions while asking his own. After explaining who the monarch is, the Cheshire Cat tells Alice that they are going to the palace on orders, supposedly by the Queen of Hearts. Alice turns around to leave, only for the Cheshire Cat to remind him not to look back and tells him about the Regrets, which Alice confuses for enemies. The Cat lists off the three types of humans that Regrets like, but only manages to name two: Alice in Wonderland and humans close to suicide.

Alice's first Regret attack

He disappears the moment a Regret forms itself behind Alice, appearing in the form of a female. First appearing comforting to Alice, it then attacks Alice and begs him to return the name. The Hatter steps in and saves Alice, shooting the Regret and dissipating it. Alice goes along with the Hatter after asking if he is an enemy or not. Warning him not to turn around, the Hatter informs him that Regrets are beings who continue to dwell on their past. Appearing out of nowhere, the Cheshire Cat informs him that Alice named himself.

As they rest at the Hatter's flat, Alice asks the Hatter why he is the one chosen to meet the Queen, to which the Hatter does not know, asserting that he only follows the orders. The Hatter then gives Alice his own gun to protect himself; Alice points it at the Hatter and, upon being provoked by the Hatter, fires it. However, it contains no bullets, since it is the duty of the Hatter to protect him. As the Hatter finishes his tea, he kills yet another Regret from earlier and further explains their origins.

Alice formally introduces himself to the Queen

Alice arrives at the Queen's castle where he is officially dubbed as the 89th Alice of Wonderland. When asked by the Queen about being given a name by the White Rabbit, Alice answers ambiguously. Because Alice did not learn about the game from the White Rabbit himself, he becomes surprised when the Queen tells him about it and starts to back out from the game. He cannot, however, refuse from the order even from the beginning. As he once again struggles to negotiate with the Queen, he orders Alice to kill the White Rabbit. Clouded by thoughts of refusal as his arrival at Wonderland was not meant to kill anyone, Alice tries to shoot the Queen with the gun that the Hatter gave him, but the Queen advises him to not yield into the fear he feels. As the Queen welcomes him as the 89th Alice, the latter shoots the Queen, refusing to be a tool that can be merely thrown away easily like the previous Alices. However, in the end, Alice agrees to join the game, but negotiates with the Queen to reward him should he be able to win the game, to which the Queen accepts.

Back at their flat, Alice wants to resume the game and kill the White Rabbit, but the Hatter advises him to first locate the mouse, Wonderland's only informant who can track the whereabouts of the White Rabbit. Later, Alice goes outside and practices his shooting skills. Failing to hit at least one target, he becomes annoyed and seemingly jealous of the Hatter's refined shooting skills. As he resumes his training, a footman invites him on behalf of his mistress, but brings him forcibly to his mistress' residence.

Alice attempts to shoot the Duke

At the Duchess' mansion, Alice is welcomed by the young Duchess. As she serves him some tea, Alice notices a small burn on the back of her palm, so he lends her his necktie to tend to her wound. The Duchess asks him of his plan whether he still wants to become Alice in spite of abandoning his past and sacrificing many things in his life, similar to the previous Alices. Before he could answer, however, the Duke appears and orders her footman to let Alice escape from the place. He sees the Duchess welcome it as "Alice", confusing him. He then realises that the Duchess' wound from earlier was caused by the Duke. As he shouts at the Duchess, the Cheshire Cat appears and shuts him, telling him not to interfere with the Duchess' job of being Alice's substitute. He asks help from the Cheshire Cat to stop the monster, but he refuses; he decides to stop it himself, but he is ultimately stopped by the Cheshire Cat who reminds him that his weapon is meant for killing the White Rabbit. He returns home confused by the recent happening, but the Cheshire Cat advises him not to worry about the Duchess.

The next day, in their attempt to look for the Dormouse, Alice bumps into a child along with his two friends; as they recognise him as Alice, they run away from him, apologising. Eventually, they reach the "tacky" entrance of Caterpillar Lane; he sticks his head onto the space, but cannot get out. As he struggles to get out, the Duke resurfaces behind Alice, with the Hatter leaving him behind to face the monster.

Ruckus at Town Square

Alice faces the Duke

Still clueless about the Duke's reappearance at town square, Alice struggles to get free from his stuck state. Suddenly, a man stands behind him and frees Alice from his stuck state. Alice asks him who he is, but the man advises him that names are not easily given off in Wonderland. Just then, black oozes appear, and the Dormouse inform Alice that the Duke has attacked town square because the substitute probably failed to fulfill her duty. Alice goes to the town square, just in time to interrupt the Hatter who was about to shoot the Duke. Relieved to see that the Duchess is safe, Alice proclaims that he is Alice of Wonderland. As the Hatter angrily orders him to run away, Alice comes face to face with the Duke and eats him up, shocking everyone at the scene.

Inside the Duke, Alice marvels at the materials things that the Duke has eaten up and thinks of a way to stop him. However, black oozes drip on him, injuring him all over. He falls down and lands at a garden without injury and faces a lady holding a black cat, referring to her as "big sister".

Alice is retrieved by the White Rabbit from the Duke

She embraces him and takes him to her house, serving him various sweets and pastries. Though initially warm with each other, she turns cold at him at the mention of the name "Alice" and orders him to give her name back. However, he fails to accept this and, seemingly under the control of someone, fires his gun at her, killing her. At that moment, the White Rabbit appears at the town square and slashes the Duke, retrieving an unconscious Alice.

Aftermath

Alice arrives at the Duchess' mansion courtesy of the Cheshire Cat and is waked by the fish footman. The Duchess arrives happy to see him; Alice asks about the Duke, but the Cheshire Cat arrives and tells him that it has been taken care of by the White Rabbit. As the Cheshire Cat leaves, the Duchess returns his necktie and puts it on him. Though Alice vaguely remembers what had happened, he asks the Duchess why the Duke has been killed. She answers that he probably has no use anymore, to which he responds that she also should not be a replacement anymore as well; she says she will not be, making Alice relieved. He is again asked by the Duchess if he still wants to become Alice amidst the challenges; he answers that he will become Alice. Outside, he tells the Hatter that they shall now resume the game.

Seeing that the key to Caterpillar Lane has disappeared, the Hatter suggests Alice to dress up as a woman. After various dressing attempts to make him look like a lady, Alice is brought to the Queen of Hearts to show his loyalty—a condition required to enter Caterpillar Lane. At the palace, Alice is greeted by a laughing Knave of Hearts and punches the latter. He then proceeds to meet the Queen and offers his loyalty to him. The Queen acknowledges this and asks Alice to help him in their work before asking him to get changed back into his regular clothes.

The Three Children

Along the way, Alice and the Queen talk about their roles in Wonderland, specifically the Queen's responsibility of keeping the country at peace. After some stopovers for the Queen to receive gifts from women, they proceed to an abandoned house to locate three young children. Locating the three children, the Queen strikes Bibi with his scythe, but Alice saves the child from the Queen, demanding an explanation for the Queen's actions. He answers that the children had violated a taboo and reveals that he brought Alice with him to prove his loyalty to him in exchange for his reward. Rogy suddenly bites him and asks his friends to flee, though to no avail.

Alice shields the Rogy from being killed

Rogy becomes enraged at Alice for being the reason why the Duchess was executed. Upon knowing this, Alice becomes shocked; Rogy further provokes the Queen by claiming that he knows the real Queen of Wonderland. As he lands an attack on the child, Alice shields him, deciding to reject the offer of a reward from the Queen. Visibly distraught, Alice is encouraged by the Queen, quoting the Duchess herself that he "must move forward no matter what". In the end, Alice is left with no choice and lets the Queen carry out his duty by executing the three children in Alice's midst.

After the incident, Alice gets a hold of the key, but is vividly frustrated and angered by the way things are happening, to the point of crying and pounding a wall. A Regret appears before him, with the Cheshire Cat watching from far away. She tempts him to give her the name "Alice", but the Hatter arrives in time to shoot her and dissipate. He asks the Hatter why he swore loyalty to the Queen, which the Hatter answers with his purpose: to leave Wonderland with Alice.

Entering Caterpillar Lane

Alice, the Hatter, and the Caterpillar fall down with Centipede

With the key retrieved, Alice and the Hatter enter Caterpillar Lane, which apparently opens into a market. He picks up an apple and eats it, when it transforms into a lady who welcomes the duo. She deduces that they are looking for information, specifically where the Dormouse is. She agrees and right away opens up Centipede, an experience completely new and unknown to Alice. She takes the book 100 Tales of Caterpillar Lane and specifically chooses the "The Wimpy Book", taking them to a cartoon-esque Wonderland. Befitting the title of the book, the Hatter explains that Alice, to get them to the Dormouse, must act like a wimp in the path they would be taking. In other words, he must act differently from how he normally acts. Signages asking bizarre questions make Alice and his company choose from two options, having to keep in mind that he must answer differently from usual. However, after a few questions, "The Wimpy Book" gets destroyed, leaving Alice alone in a different setting. A new signage emerges and asks Alice about the Queen's temper, making him recall the Duchess and the three children. He opts to merely shoot the signage, shifting into a new chapter entitled "Book of Living Idly".

Alice sleeps at the bar

In this book, Alice is asked about questions regarding his identity as "Alice", ending repetitively whether he killed Alice. He becomes irritated at the author jumbling up his story, until the author crumples the paper he is writing on. He wakes up in another setting, unexpectedly meeting the Cheshire Cat. Alice apologises to the Cheshire Cat for being unable to save his mistress despite being Alice. He admits that he is not a good candidate after all, but the Cheshire Cat dismisses this thought and advises Alice that what he feels are only normal as a being; he also encourages him to move forward and carry the story and the spirit of the Duchess's advice to him. Later, the Cheshire Cat mentions something that may hint to Alice's past, but the Cheshire Cat simply claims that he is a mere pet cat who does not know anything of the sort. Before ending their conversation, a signage asking whether Alice is Alice emerges, to which Alice answers "maybe". Eventually, after this, he arrives at the bar where the Dormouse stays, falling through the roof. The Hatter and the Caterpillar then arrive at the bar, later seeing Alice sleeping at the sofa. As he wakes up, the Dormouse advises them to go to the Pool of Tears, where someone with knowledge of the White Rabbit's whereabouts might be. He also opens the topic about Wonderland's exit, metaphorically comparing it to an end goal of a race which is launched by the "greatest trap".

Pool of Tears Incident

Alice and the Hatter arrive at the Pool of Tears, where they encounter the Dodo, who does not speak. The Hatter impatiently points his gun at the boy and demands to know the White Rabbit's location, but to no avail. Just then, the Cheshire Cat appears unannounced, annoying the Hatter even more. For the second time, the Hatter demands the Dodo to tell them where the White Rabbit is, to which the boy repetitively tells them that they will die in the Caucus Race.

Trivia

• In Disney's Alice in Wonderland (1951), Alice was a little girl with curiosity who had long blonde hair, a blue dress, a white apron, and a black bow in her hair. Curious but serious, she often discussed with residents of Wonderland as to why they were so silly, and she spent many of her travels being abused or ignored by the characters around her, save for the White Knight.
  • In the manga series, to mirror this, Alice has short blonde hair, wears a blue shirt (dress), a white suit (apron), and a black tie (bow), and has a similar personality if put onto a masculine character. Also, while he's treated far better, he complains twice the amount the book Alice did about how he's ignored or abused or something of the sort.
• The 88th Alice once asked the Mad Hatter whether he is a bad guy or not. He gave the same response to Alice when he asked the same thing to him.
• In the drama CD, Alice is not surprised at all when the Cheshire Cat appears at random. However, in the manga, almost every sudden appearance by the Cheshire Cat is greeted with Alice's surprise or screaming. A key example is in the Pool of Tears arc; in the drama, when the Cat appears, there's a moment of silence before Alice asks where he came from. In the manga, Alice screams, falls over, and orders the Cheshire Cat to stop appearing so suddenly. Also, in the manga, it almost feels like every moment described above grows in grandiose nature.
• According to the character profiles:
  • His birthplace is unknown, though he hints that it was raining when he was born.
  • His desired pet is anything but a cat.
  • He likes to sleep at ten o'clock.
  • His type is a girl who is beautiful and older than him.

Quotes

• (To the Cheshire Cat) "I don't happen to possess the name that the likes of you has just labeled me with. I'm... Let's just say that my name's probably Alice. Satisfied?"
• (To Marianne) "I won't give that name to anyone. One Alice is enough, and I'm that Alice. I... I've had enough of no one calling my name... No one acknowledging my existence... I don't want to live like a piece of scrap paper anymore... Didn't you promise to give me a name... Big sister? You've lived happily enough, right? It's my turn now. I'm... going to become Alice!"
• "There's no way she could be in Wonderland. She can't possibly be alive here."
• "I killed her. Her eyes, her arms, her legs... Her dreams, her wishes, her past, her everything, I completely erased it all... And her name, I... That's right. I stole my sister's name... Was born... And then came to Wonderland."
• "I was given a name. I was given a place to belong. I was given life. Just existing... Even the mere act of drawing breath... Gives me a feeling of ecstasy I can't even begin to express."

Navigation

Alice of Wonderland
Known candidates	The 88th Alice • The 89th Alice
See also	The Other Alices • Alice of Wonderland • "Kill The White Rabbit" Game