#macchiro

Source: BIBLIOMANIA ビブリオマニア

The number in her hand is 431, and the door beyond has a 430 engraved on it. Those are the first things Alice sees when she wakes up in an empty room. A most cheerful host, the Serpent greets her with the promise of her every wish becoming real. Yes, all the cake she can imagine will be hers in that manor, for it is a special place where dreams become real! There's only one rule: she has to stay inside her own room. Should she leave, her body will start to rot and fall into pieces. The only way out of the manor is thorugh the door of room 000, and for that she needs to cross all the others, whatever their respective guests have to show about them. Undaunted, she goes through the door. What will Alice find in her way out?

Written by Obaru and ilustrated by Macchiro, this 12 chapter series serves as one of the most interesting reinterpretations of the central ideas found in Alice in Wonderland. While the premise of a little girl going home in a world devoid of real life logic remains the same, the immediate parallels mostly stop there, as each room visited shows a different aesthetic and thematic concern. With a playful edge but an interest in the darker side of humanity, the directions this series takes see their ingenuity only matched by their twistedness. The more things go on, the more evident it becomes how much of your initial expectations you can't trust, either about the world, the Serpent or even Alice herself.

To complement this, the artwork is exquisite, having an inking technique equal parts intricate and expressively loose that immerses you in a surreal landscape that's constantly shifting. Even more, the way it handles shapes and textures lends beauty even in the increasingly uncanny imagery you see as the story progresses. Unusually for a manga, it's presented in an occidental reading style too.

A hidden gem that may not always be the most approachable, but it's certainly never dull.