, or simply Kagihime, is a manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 written by Kaishaku

Kaishaku (manga group)

is a group of two manga artists consisting of and . The name comes from , an appointed second person whose duty it is to decapitate one who commits seppuku - ritual suicide by disembowelment...

. The manga was serialised in Dengeki Daioh

Dengeki Daioh

is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...

. A 2006 thirteen episode anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 produced by Trinet Entertainment was adapted from the manga.

Kagihime is one of many anime works influenced by Alice in Wonderland

Works influenced by Alice in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass have been highly popular in their original forms, and have served as the basis for many subsequent works since they were published...

 as the story focuses on the completion of a third Alice book, The Eternal Alice. However Charles Lutwidge Dodgson is referred to as L. Takion and not as Lewis Carroll for reasons unexplained.

Plot

The story revolves around the male lead of the story, Kirihara Aruto. The story begins one night when Aruto is up at night writing his own copy of The Endless Alice. Suddenly he sees a girl leaping through the night sky. Believing her to be the Alice he writes about so often, he leaves his house and follows her to
a library. He then sees her fighting with another girl,
who then was defeated. The former then steals the latter's story and disappears. The next day, she reveals herself as Arisugawa Arisu, the female lead of the story. She then explains that she is an Alice User, capable of transforming into a kemonomimi bunnygirl that uses a key in fights against other Alice Users. The keys are used to unlock the stories in other Alice Users's hearts. She explains that if a girl loses her story that she can no longer maintain her identity as an Alice User, and the overall goal of all Alice User is to defeat all others and finish the Endless Alice, as the one who does so will be granted a wish. Later, Kirihara Kiriha, Aruto's little sister is introduced. Kiriha then reveals herself as an Alice User as well, and proceeds to fight Arisu. Aruto breaks up the fight and the two make peace with each other. The trio then agrees to help each other finish the Endless Alice. The rest of the series follows their adventures together.

Characters

Alternate L. Takion

The author of two Alice books that are currently in print and somewhat of an antagonist. His main goal is to get Alice Users to bring him stories of the other Alice Users that are defeated in order to expand his collection of stories to create Eternal Alice, a book that is rumored to grant wishes to whoever puts it together. He invites Arisu Arisugawa and Aruto Kirihara to a tea party; Aruto and Arisu venture to the house where it is rumored that Takion lived and pass through a mirror to the dimension where Takion currently resides. He passes himself off as Takion's successor and shows an interest in Aruto's abilities. He is accompanied by three servants: the librarian and two little girls named "Alice". It is suggested in the Manga that Takion was used instead of the Alice book's original author Lewis Carroll because of how Takion is portrayed in the series.

The dimension where Takion resides is different from the Wonderland Space that Aruto and Arisu are capable of entering.

Arisu's Japanese name is written in hiragana

Hiragana

is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...

 and not in katakana

Katakana

is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...

, as she often cites, though her name still bears strong similarity to Alice. She is first seen during the night by Aruto when he saw her pursuing after another woman. They meet the next day at Aruto Kirihara's school where she admits to being a Seeker of Alice. Arisu quickly becomes friends with Aruto because of their mutual affinity for the Alice stories Like all Alice users, she is determined to finish the Endless Alice and be granted a wish. Very little is known about Arisu's past, and this fact becomes more apparent as the series continues. Aruto finds out that Arisu does not have any previous memories before meeting him because she is actually a character that was created out of Aruto's imagination

Imagination

Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...

 in order to replace his sister, whom he knew he could not love.

Like Aruto's sister Kiriha, they become outfitted in bunny girl costumes when entering the Wonderland Space.

Arisu is an experienced and dedicated Alice User, she has allowed herself to be kept from her mission and willingly become friends with two of her enemies, but she will eventually have to unlock them to finish the Endless Alice and get her wish. Unlike other characters, Arisu seems to share the same type of Key Sword with Kiriha.

Aruto, the male protagonist, is an avid fan of the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...

novels and he is writing a fan fiction sequel to it. It is explained in the story that because of his fanaticism with Alice books, he is able to enter Wonderland Space, which is a dimension where Alice Users fight. He first talks to Arisu during a fight that she has with another girl in Wonderland Space. At his school the following day, he discovers that she is also a fellow student in his school. Arisu befriends Aruto and wishes to read his fan fiction at his house, however Aruto's little sister notices them and quickly realizes who Arisu is, and becomes jealous of her as she loves her brother deeply and thinks of him as her boyfriend. Aruto has the power to copy and write the stories in peoples hearts and later in the series was shown that he had the power to make characters in a story to appear in the real world. He generally returns the written stories back to their owners in the Wonderland Space as he feels it's not his right to keep such a personal account. The girls who have their stories taken are not allowed to enter back into the Wonderland Space.

Throughout the series there is some degree of sexual tension between Arisu, Kirika, Asuka, and Kiraha. After receiving an invitation to a tea party, Arisu and Aruto find themselves trapped in a different kind of Wonderland dimension created by L. Takion. Alice, one of two almost identical girls who are in the same dimension as Takion and both named Alice, creates a cage out of vines in the Alphabet Forest (reflecting what happened in the books) that can only be dispelled by a kiss from the heart. He does escape by kissing Arisu, but when Kiraha finds out, she becomes moody around them. In her jealousy, she almost gets him killed.

Kiraha, Aruto's younger sister, is attached to Aruto by a love for him, not as a brother, but as a lover. She claims that she does not like the Alice stories. Once it is revealed that she is an Alice User and when she fights Arisu, she admits that she wants to complete The Eternal Alice to make Aruto happy. She is often seen blushing around her brother, especially when is kind towards her. Kiriha often competes with Arisu for Aruto's attention. Despite her dislike for Arisu, she agrees to work with her to complete the Endless Alice. She plans to use her wish to get her brother to fall in love with her.

Kisa Misaki

Another Alice User. Unlike the others, she only became an Alice User for power, but after battling Arisu (despite not seeming to care about the stories before the battle) and being saved by Kiraha, she agrees to help collect the stories in order to be closer to Kiraha. Kisa has stockpiled items that have been previously owned or touched by Kiraha in a cupboard at her house that she collects whenever possible. She also tries to get Kiraha to eat her food; she is seen kissing the food beforehand and/or eating the food after Kiraha has taken a bite as to receive an 'indirect kiss' from her. Kiraha however, is not aware of Kisa's stronger feelings towards her. Her key sword has the power of Water.

Kirika Kagarigi

A researcher who's dream is to be the youngest person to achieve a Nobel Prize. She recruits Aruto, Kiraha, and Arisu to help her research those whose hearts have been seized by Alice (Manga: Alice Syndrome), those capable of entering the Wonderland Space. When Kirika enters the Wonderland Space, she reverts to her younger self due to a tragic mishap she experienced while at that age. Her upbringing was solely focused on research and academic performance; until she met Aruto she had only one other known friend. Later in the series she loses her powers, but agrees to still help Aruto from the outside. Her key sword has the power of Wind.

Akane

A young girl who accidentally wandered into the world of Alice users because of a terrible sense of direction. Akane should actually be fighting in the Anderson user world. Apparently, Akane hates Alice and wanted to make Alices (Alice users) "pretty" by burning them. The reason why she hates Alice is because in the past, a young lady taught Akane about Alice. However, that same lady was having a relationship with Akane's father. Akane's father then left Akane's real mother, or her birth mother. Her key sword has the power of Fire.

Asuka Suwa

Deviating away from the bunny girl costume, Asuka and her Key Sword are decorated in feathers after transforming. She is shown to be stronger than most of the other Alice Users. Kirika was defeated by Asuka and her story taken after having to live through the most traumatic experience of her life. In fact, Asuka's specialty attack is incapacitating her opponents by forcing them to relive horrible or powerful memories by using a feather which is shot into their chest.

She is shown for the first time after Kiraha wakes up from an implied erotic dream involving her brother, from the rooftops. Asuka was able to witness the dream as she comments on Kiraha. The next day she introduces herself to the group at school and requests to join them after explaining the she is also an Alice User.

Asuka is the most cunning of the group, her goal was to take all their stories from the beginning. Kirika was the only one to suspect her intentions.

Releases

Collecting a story:
Door of heart. Door of Secret. Open by this key. Show all the stories within!

Another version: Door of the heart, door of secrets, open by my inner key! Reveal thy story!

Arisu's Release:
My heart's key. Mirror's key. Ride the flow of story. Release your power!

Kisa's Release:
My heart's key. Key of Water. Find the stories. Release now!

Kirika's Release:
My key, the Key of the Wind. Ride on the melody of the story and release thy power.

External links

• Official website
• Anisearch.de page for Kagihime Monogatari Eikyuu Alice Rondo