A Thousand Miles

Alice in Murderland

****

Alice in Murderland is a Fantasy manga by Kaori Yuki. Started in January 2014, it’s serialized in Kodansha’s Aria magazine.

It follows the exploits of Stella Kuonji as she deals with one hell of a family issue. The Kuonji family has a rather fancy tea party each month, none of the members are expected to miss. This time, though, the matriarch and patriarch announce that their children will all need to fight to the death. Apparently, the Kuonji family is super important and super powerful (like shadow organization, Illuminati powerful) so the last pair standing will inherit it all. The premise seems something akin to a family level Battle Royale with Alice in Wonderland aesthetics

I show a picture of volume 9 because its cover art is what nudged me into actually picking up volume 1. This isn’t my first time seeing the series on shelves. Once I saw volume 9 in the new arrivals section, my interest was piqued. You’ve got a gun-toting Alice and what seems like an assassin nurse. Obviously, things are getting crazy in this universe. But that’s farther along in the series and I’d need to start at the beginning if I want to revel in the present craziness.

Down The Rabbit Hole

This is the part where I’d disappointedly berate the first volume for what I presumed to be a lack of focus. It’s a slightly odd premise, if there ever was one, but it’s an interesting one nonetheless. Mixing fairy-tales with the macabre isn’t new and, if there’s anything American McGee has taught us, Alice in Wonderland is no exception. But it (initially) felt like Alice in Murderland didn’t agree. Alice in Wonderland themed murder-fest isn’t a hard premise to sell me on, but the story seemed so disinterested in its own premise. So much so, the matriarch and patriarch have to show up and remind the rest of the cast that they indeed are supposed to be ending each others lives. With the exception of the usual culprit, everyone else seems too preoccupied with their sewing and reminiscing and whatnot to put much of a concerted effort into the murder games. This is exacerbated by the unclear passage of time between the first and second tea party. It could’ve been a day, but it’s most likely closer to the established monthly pace the parties regularly occur at (something heavily implied by the matriarchs “dratted snail’s pace” comment). So, did everyone sit around for a month doing….nothing?

My second read through was much smoother, though. A choice few pages made much more sense, knowing who was actually in them and some character interactions become fridge brilliance as a result. Even that disinterest the story sees to revel in exhibited a silver lining. Focusing on the seemingly tangential backstory and cutesiness of some of the characters provides a useful, if not rough, juxtaposition between their usual personalities and those of the monsters this game turns them into.

Don’t get me wrong – the main conflict does still feel like something the matriarch and patriarch have to drag everyone along on because it’s something no one (besides Stella) even mentions. But, much like “The Thing”, everyone finds themselves participating in it whether they want to or not.

The characters are a bit hit or miss for me. The matriarch comes across as affably evil, mostly due to her softer, more earnest demeanor. The patriarch is more heavy handed, being willing to “gently guide” his children into getting with the program. With bullets and swords. I like him more. Maybe it’s his bitching hat. Maybe it’s the dual Walther P22s. Stella is somewhat apprehensive with the people around her, but it isn’t too offputting considering the company she is presently keeping and that she isn’t mean, just stern. Alice is stern as well, but she’s a gun-toting fighter that helps facilitate the action the premise so heavily implies, so that makes her good in my book. Sid is the bad seed that everyone apparently tolerates. Zeno, the doting, responsible big brother to Stella acts as a foil to Sid. He’s competent enough to thwart Sid’s antics and he grew on me throughout the volume, though not for the reasons one may assume. Claire, the older, but smaller sister to Stella and Melm, the youngest sister, add the down to earth sensibilities and cutesiness that round out the cast. Sadly, they don’t get their time in the limelight until later on when one would reasonably expect the murder game to be in full swing. So we get reminiscing and craftworks at a time that feels out of place.

What Works

Art – All things considered, the art is rather appealing. It’s detailed enough, especially in reference to clothing and objects, to be a treat to look at while also being just stylized enough. My favorite pieces from volume 1 would have to be the spread for the first chapter (or “wonders” as they are stylized) and the patriarch’s first announcement of the game.

What Doesn’t

The Kuonji’s Themselves – I’d posit that about 90% of the death and destruction in volume 1 is collateral damage. For as rich and powerful as the Kuonji family is supposed to be, they seem to lack the manpower and infrastructure to properly monitor their own grounds and keep things under control. They follow this up by gamefying the process of cleaning up their own mess so they can foist the work on their unmotivated children.

The Rub

Of the murder game related properties I’ve consumed, even partially, over the years, I’ve recognized a few things that made them work. Battle Royale and BTOOM understand the isolation that separating people from society generates and how that factors into their mindset. Highlander and Killing Bites had premises that were lenient enough for their characters to engage in things other than just trying to butcher each other. The Hunger Games, Future Diary and Deadman Wonderland all presented us with institutions and beings capable of spearheading a death game like this while also convincing us that they are competent enough to properly manage it.

Alice in Murderland is rough around the edges because it doesn’t do some of these convincingly……yet. I’m not convinced of the Kuonji family’s competence, the kids seem to be able to drag their feet in carrying out their mission and, seemingly to make sure there is some bloodshed, a certain attribute of the Kuonji family gets utilized by the story in a similar manner to way “The Thing” used its alien lifeform.

I think the first volume would’ve been better had they cut out a fight or two (I can’t believe I’m saying this), moved Stella’s first fight to the end of the volume, placed the character introduction and reminiscing near the beginning while filling in the missing space with the characters acclimating themselves to the new area, the weight of what the game asks of them and preparing themselves accordingly.

Continue?: Meh. Maybe.