Alice, of Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass fame, has inspired countless artists over the years, with stage shows, music, films, and animation based around the classic character and her adventures. With its talking cats, transforming heroine, and adventures in faraway lands, the story really does lend itself to the world of anime, not to mention video games and light novels. In fact, there have been entire anime series based on the story, often taking it in a new, animesque direction.
Some anime only dedicate one or two episodes to the story. Often, the main character dreams they are Alice. Other times, a new character will appear who is partly based on the classic story. And, like with most Western retellings, characters from the second book like the Red Queen or Tweedledum and Tweedledee might appear in the story that’s otherwise based on the first book.
10 Manga Sekai Mukashi Banashi: Blink & You’ll Miss The Cheshire Cat In This “Alice In Wonderland”
This anime series often retold various fairy tales and classic works of literature. Some of their longer stories were adapted into multiple shorts that aired in a serial format. Their take on Alice was a two-parter, causing certain characters and story devices to be cut or combined. The Cheshire Cat, for example, only appears towards the end as a book illustration, albeit an animated one.
This version, in addition to its psychedelic imagery, is especially known for its dark and grotesque character designs, with a green, corpse-like Mad Hatter and a Duchess who looks like she’s made of wood.
9 Hello Kitty: One Of Her First Anime Roles Was In An “Alice In Wonderland” OVA
Hello Kitty’s first introduction to anime was in a series of OVAs in the early ’90s. One of the episodes was a retelling of Alice in Wonderland with Hello Kitty in the title role.
Being aimed at young children, some of the characters tend to be a bit nicer to Alice than in the original. The Caucaus Race, for example, doesn’t have a winner because the animals are just having fun instead of being a metaphor for the futility of government. On the other hand, the Queen of Hearts still wants her head and seems to be in cahoots with the Mad Hatter.
8 Sailor Moon: The Daimon In “It’s In The Cards” Is Patterned Off The Story
In this episode of Sailor Moon, the adorable Chibiusa and the mysterious Hotaru find themselves trapped in another dimension thanks to a Daimon called U-Ikasaman, who is based on various Alice In Wonderland characters. While mostly patterned off the queen from a deck of cards, she also notably sports a pair of rabbit ears. She also enjoys playing games, including chess and cards, forcing the Scouts to play her and trapping them in giant cards when she cheats her way into winning.
On top of that, the story has a subplot involving Dr. Tomoe getting snacks for tea time, possibly a shout-out to the Mad Hatter.
7 Code Geass: The Story Is Retold In The “Nunnally in Wonderland” OVA
Nunnally asks Lelouch to tell her a story and he uses his Geass to make the various Code Geass characters appear in the story he’s about to tell. C.C. is the Cheshire Cat, Suzaku is the White Knight, Anya is the White Rabbit, and Kallen is the March Hare. Marianne is the Queen of Hearts and Kanon is the Red Queen. In the end, the characters rebel and force Lelouch to be the Mad Hatter. In a further twist, it turns out that everything was just a dream. Lelouch just fell asleep while telling his story to Nunnally.
6 The Animatrix: Trinity & Ash Use The Story To Communicate In “Detective Story”
The reference to the “rabbit hole” is one of the most famous lines in The Matrix trilogy. The animated anthology spinoff, The Animatrix, so it makes sense that the story would pop up in an anime based on the series. A down-on-his-luck detective and a hacker calling herself “Trinity,” the film character, are working on a dangerous case that has seen many previous detectives lose their lives. They decide to communicate using phrases and details from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
5 Cyborg 009: Alice Takes Joe On A Journey In “The Night of the Star Festival”
Airing as something of a Tanabata special, this episode of the 2001 series has Joe Shimamura encounter a mysterious little girl named Alice. It turns out that her name is rather fitting. Unlike the Alice from the original story, this Alice isn’t just jumping from place to place, but through time itself. Like the rabbit from the original story, she leads Joe on a journey down the metaphorical rabbit hole to the past. And she’s also implied to be Joe’s dead mother.
4 Cardcaptor Sakura: Eriol Sends Sakura Into The Story In “Sakura And Sakura From Wonderland”
While reading the original Alice in Wonderland book, Sakura finds herself trapped in Wonderland thanks to Eriol’s spell. There, each of the characters she meets is based on people she knows. The all-powerful reincarnation of Clow Reed, Eriol, is the Cheshire Cat, Yukito or Yue is the White Rabbit, and Touya is the Mad Hatter. Counting in the characters from Through the Looking Glass, Tomoyo even appears as Humpty Dumpty.
Most notably, the two cards featured within the episode are the Big and the Little, a reference to Alice changing sizes in the original story.
3 Inuyasha: The Series Started With Kagome Falling Down A Hole In “The Girl Who Overcame Time… and the Boy Who Was Just Overcome”
Kagome, a young girl in contemporary Japan, finds herself falling down a well while searching for her cat. She is soon attacked by yokai. Of course, Kagome’s not exactly in a different world as much as she is in a new era as the well transported her to the past, albeit one where magic is real. And soon she’ll encounter someone with white hair who some might argue doesn’t deserve her love. The third episode is even called “Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again.”
2 Black Butler: The “Ciel In Wonderland” OVA Sees Its Characters All Dressed Up
In this two-part OVA, the ever-secretive Ciel Phantomhive notices a white rabbit-eared Sebastian and follows into down a hole, finding himself in another dimension. A rat-like Elizabeth then takes on the “Alice” role, changing size and crying a flood of tears. Ciel then encounters other characters absorbed into Wonderland roles. Once he reaches the castle, however, he starts to be tried for things he’s done in the real world.
Notably, the second part is one of the few adaptations to answer why a raven is like a writing desk: life has no real answer. At the end, it turns out the whole thing is a story Sebastian is reading to Ciel’s soulless body.
1 Ouran High School Host Club: Haruhi Reunites With Her Mother In “Haruhi In Wonderland”
Haruhi starts to dream about the time she first interviewed at Ouran Academy, but the dream eventually turns into something inspired by Lewis Carroll once she is invited to explore the campus. Usa-chan is the Pink Rabbit, Kyoya Ootori is the Caterpillar, Renge is the Duchess, Tamaki is the Mad Hatter, Mori is the Dormouse, Honey is the March Hare, and the Nekozawa twins appear to share the role of the Cheshire Cat. The Queen is implied to be Haurhi’s dead mother, a revelation that ends the dream.
Once Haruhi wakes up, it turns out that the host club was in the middle of organizing a Wonderland-themed cosplay, leading Haruhi to wonder if she was still dreaming.
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