Alice in Kyoto Forest Volume 1 Review

 

It's been a while since I used my dolls for a book picture! I knew Bunny Blanche and Madeline Hatter from Every After High would be perfect for this.

Alice in Kyoto Forest by Mai Mochizuki and Haruki Niwa is about Alice Shirakawa, a 15 year old orphan who loves books and lives with her aunt and uncle. However, her uncle wants nothing to do with her, and so Alice decides she should move out and find a job to support herself. She finds an advertisement to be an apprentice to a geisha (called a maiko) in Kyoto, where she was originally from. But when she moves back to Kyoto, it isn't the Kyoto she remembered! It looks historical... and magical. Alice tries to figure out the mystery of this new world she was whisked away to, her true purpose there, and reunite with her childhood friend, Ren. 

So far I love this story! It's very obviously inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Overall, it also reminded me of some Studio Ghibli movies, most notably Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and a little of My Neighbor Totoro. 

I did give it 4.5 stars, but that's just because this first book ended on a cliffhanger. I hope the second book is great, too!

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