Book Review: “I Am Alice: Body Swap In Wonderland Vol. 3 by Ayumi Kanou & Visualworks

Warning: If you have not read any of the manga in the “I Am Alice: Body Swap in Wonderland” series (especially Volume 3 since this is the one I’m reviewing this time), please go and read them first before reading this review to avoid spoilers.

I’m back with a review of the final book in the “I Am Alice: Body Swap in Wonderland” manga series! I already reviewed the first two in the series, so I figured I might as well pick up the last one and give that a review also. Here’s a summary of Volume 3 so we have an idea of what it’s about:

“Alice, Makoto, and their Wonderland companions finally make it to the palace of the King of Hearts, only to be flung far away by the King’s magic. Makoto and the Hatter will have to fight their way back through a tangled maze of illusions set up by the devious Jabberwock. To make matters worse, the Hatter’s life depends on Makoto successfully solving the labyrinth. Meanwhile, Alice, the White Rabbit, and the rest try to unravel the King of Hearts’ secret in time to save their companions—and all of Wonderland—in the conclusion to this body-swapping fantasy.”

Plot Development: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I do admit the end was little anti-climatic when it turned out that Alice and Makoto were entirely unable to get back home, thanks to the King of Hearts destroying the portal. However, it was good to see that Wonderland is finally at relative peace and that things are not as war-like as they were.

What I didn’t like in this volume, however, was that there seemed to be a bit of a plothole with the Jabberwock character (who happens to be a drug dealer in this series) regarding the scene when he overhears the Queen of Hearts talking to Gryphon during the last part of one of the chapters and plans to use it to his advantage. The Jabberwock is never seen again in the rest of the book, and so it created a loose end that wasn’t exactly completed in the series. Thankfully, this is the only plothole this series has.

Character Development: 5 out of 5 stars

I thought it was interesting to see Makoto and Hatter’s journey together throughout the manga in the attempt to reunite with their friends after the King of Hearts separated them from the others with magic. Makoto gets a lot of growth, coming to terms with his feelings about where he belongs and who he truly is as a person. In terms of the relationship the Hatter and Makoto have with each other, it felt fitting that the Hatter did truly love Makoto for who they were in terms of his inner traits. It didn’t matter to the Hatter that Makoto was stuck in a girl’s body. He loved Makoto for who he was as a person, and that was really sweet to see.

Worldbuilding Development: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I liked the addition of the Queen of Hearts who turns out to be the King of Hearts’ older sister, and the Gryphon finally arrives in the series outside of a flashback. Despite how brief their appearances were in this volume, they helped to carry the plot and flesh out a little more worldbuilding to the end, which was nice.

The artwork in the manga was just as good as the second one in the series, and the full-page spread of Makoto going and punching the King of Hearts was especially fun to look at.

Overall, I’m rating this manga 4.5 out of 5 stars!

This is mainly for the one glaringly obvious plothole, but otherwise it was a rather suitable ending to the series! I would definitely recommend reading the whole series if you’re into something a bit on the lighthearted side.

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