Alice in Bishounen-Land is the tale of a hapless teen ager who gets sucked into an idol game with ambiguous rules and a team of comically quirky misfits.

Pity Alice - she's no sooner seen a broadcast about girls going missing all over Tokyo before her friend Tamami gets a text invite to a new game that pulls her into the phone! In Alice's attempts to save her, she also gets sucked in, and now she's stuck in the world of <i>Love Color School Stars</i>, quite possibly the worst phone-based otome game every written. If she wants to get back to the real world, she'll have to win the game by raising a top idol group, and too bad if she's not interested. So Alice quickly grabs five guys from the huge selection screen and dives in...

...with a half-dog who comes with his own dogsitter, a giant, a 41-year-old who reversed his time to his cutest point and then froze it, a ghost, and a guy who's eight inches tall. Also she's up against Tamami, who has gone into full otaku mode and has zero intention of ever leaving the game world again. It's a candy colored hell for non-gamer Alice.

It's also <i>really</i> funny - the volume is a pitch-perfect send-up of otome game and gacha game tropes, one of the characters keeps pixilating when he's trying to get her to spend real-world money for in-game money, the much-vaunted CG is pathetic, and Alice can't help noticing how very, very badly the whole thing is written. Simply put, this is a deliberately insane take on the isekai story and otome games and I can't wait to read another volume.

*Note: may be funnier if you've played your share of badly written cash-grab mobile games.

loved! so so much. thank you to Netgalley and publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book, in exchange for a review

Firstly, I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of the book. This review is based on my personal opinion and enjoyment of the book.

A young girl named Tamami gets the chosen as one of the top idol fangirls in the country, and gets sucked into an idol game. Her best friend Alice is with her when this happens, and tries to rescue Tamami, getting herself sucked into the game too. The only way out is to beat the game, so now Alice must choose five guys to be in her idol group, and get them into the top idol group tier within three months, all while not knowing what she's doing and competing against Tamami, who I think will be like a final boss maybe? Alice's picks are a mixed bag: a 400+ year old ghost of an assassinated prince, a 59' tall gentle giant, an 18" tall tsundere dude, a half-dog, half-human, and a "little-kid teacher" type who is in his 40s but looks like he's about 10. Will she be able to turn this bunch of guys into a top tier idol group when she's such a newb?
The premise is decent and has potential, but this first volume is a bit lackluster. Alice does get some growth, but not much depth, and the idol boys are flat as pancakes (which, to be fair, might be the point, they are game characters). At this point, I will read the next volume to see if the story picks up, but that's due in part to already having the DRC for it. I wouldn't exactly recommend this series, but II wouldn't say to avoid it either, if it sounds like something you'd like.

#AliceinBishounenLandVolume1 #NetGalley

Rating: 3 🌟
First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude to Netgalley and Tokyopop for providing me with an e-ARC of this manga.
Summary: Alice Kagami is a typical high school student who is perplexed by her classmate Tamami's infatuation with idol games. Isn't there more to life than attractive virtual boys, dating simulators, and mini-games? But then Tamami is "selected" as one of the country's top idol fangirls and is sucked into the game — and poor Alice is drawn in as well!
How is a total idol game beginner going to lead them to the top, coping with mismatched members of her idol group and lots of pressure to spend real money on gachas?

This manga's intro, which emphasized the topic of virtual games, was intriguing. The main character in the original Alice in Wonderland gets lost in a fantasy world, while here the main character gets lost in a gaming world and meets a variety of characters. You know, it's cool, but as the manga progressed, I lost the excitement I had when I first started reading it. Aside from that, the art style just was stunning.

What the heck did I just read. Alice in Bishounen (Beautiful Boy) Land is a graphic novel about being sucked into a video game. This is a role playing game where a real person becomes a producer and must get their Idol team to be number one to be get back out into the real world. This book is all over the place. The main character Alice even admits that the story is all over the place, as she is actually a player in the story and just as clueless as the reader. Over all I am not impressed. This has been done better by Skeleton Knight in Another World and by Fairy Tale Battle Royal. I barely understand the idea of idol, in my head they are like a US boy band like Back Street Boys or NSync. Neither of which I was ever into. Can I see others liking this book and continuing the series, sure….just not me. No thank you. Interesting concept but lack luster completion.

This manga is absolutely not for me. Alice is a high school student and one day, she and her friend Tamami are sent in the otome game Tamami loves. When they arrive, they both have to select five idols and make them the best. Alice, of course, has no idea how to play and pick random ones.
The five chosen idols and very different and weird. I didn’t get attached to any character, in fact, I thought all of them were incredibly flat and annoying. Moreover, this series is supposed to be in ust two volumes but I don’t see how it can end with only one more volume without being very rushed. Yeah, no, it didn’t work for me. In fact, it’s my first time giving such a low rating to a book.
I have no idea to who I would recommend this, maybe if you enjoy the kind of manga that’s a bit “what the f*ck”.
1/5

Alice in Bishounen-Land Vol. 1 is a twist on the popular reincarnated-into-a-game manga, as it isn't reincarnation. Instead, the leading character (and thus readers) are transported into an idol game, where they have to successfully create a top band to find their freedom.

Alice is not a fan of idol games, to be clear. Nor is she all that fussed about K-Pop, if she's being brutally honest here. So imagine her surprise when she winds up stuck in a game where she has to create the best band to get out.

You see, it's Alice's best friend, Tamami, that loves this sort of thing, which is the whole reason why Alice is here in the first place. How will she do this when she has absolutely no idea what she is doing?

I went into Alice in Bishounen-Land Vol. 1 with pretty high hopes. I love these transported-into-game stories, and this one seemed to have a really fun twist, especially with the added twists of K-Pop band building and an unwilling contestant (Alice).

However, I really struggled to get into this one. I think the biggest problem for me was Alice herself. I didn't like her. She was super judgmental of her friend's passions and not afraid to speak against them.

This created a sour introduction into the plot and world, making it harder for me to root for Alice and her mission. Though admittedly, I did appreciate seeing her have to work her way from the ground up when it comes to understanding this world – the world she so quickly put her best friend down for liking.

People who adore this genre, virtual gaming, and friendship drama would potentially really enjoy this read.

Alice in Bishounen-Land is quite heavy, but still weirdly entertaining. Alice Kagami is your typical high school girl, who's friend Tamami is obsessed over idol games. Alice doesn't really get the whole thing, but that doesn't prevent her from being sucked into a game with Tamami. Inside the game she needs to be a producer to an idol group and win games in order to get back to the real world, but sadly so her opponent is Tamami, who actually knows how to play... The whole thing is quite absurd and I liked how the manga points our odd things and centers the humor around it. Like the outfits and whatnot. Also, Alice is great as she just doesn't still get it and she's so normal.

The art isn't all that amazing though and the panels are so packed. There's too much text and mostly it's just talking heads, which is a shame. The series is only two books long, so no wonder Kawata needs to get everything into these. But, Alice in Bishounen-Land isn't all that bad and the humor works. I especially love how it points out stuff from games such as in-game purchases and whatnot. Still, less is more I'd say.

As someone knee-deep with Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage at the moment, I can see the appeal of gacha games. However, as someone knee-deep with Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage, I can also see the potential of spending a ton. Luckily, Alice in Bishounen-Land is a quirky romantic-comedy that’s parodies the greedy nature of gacha games. It’s a fun first volume that I’d definitely take out my wallet to read more!
After being roped into a friend’s gacha obsession, Alice Kagami is transported into the world of Love Color School Stars. Her friend Tamami is ready to lose herself with idol management, but Alice just wants to leave. In order to find a way out of the game, she has to manage a team of beautiful boys to perform well. However, due to her inexperience, she picks a ragtag group of five guys, each with their different quirks. From a half-man/half-dog hybrid to a very tiny hothead, Alice will need to do her best while spending as little money as possible!
The best part of this manga is it never takes itself seriously. The protagonist is basically Beauty from Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, a down-to-earth girl that reacts to the world around her with confusion. Each of the idol characters are unconventional yet gel together as a group. Alice’s friend/rival Tamami is also hilariously evil, taking her gacha obsession to an absurd degree. The characters are silly, and it’s just a fun time in general.
What I also love about Alice in Bishounen-Land is the fact that it lampoons gacha games every chance it gets. From hilariously under-leveled and cheesy-looking equipment to nonsensical affinity side episodes, it’s all parodied. Poor Alice gets the brunt of this money-grubbing scheme, and it never failed to make me laugh. You might be disappointed if you’re looking for a shojo story, but regardless, it’s a great comedy.
It might not be the strongest romance story, but Alice in Bishounen-Land is a wonderful comedy manga. It has a crazy cast and a crazier premise, all wrapped up in some fun gacha-type antics. I seriously can’t wait for the next volume!

This manga had every video game player’s fantasy of being dragged into the video game and becoming one of the main players. I liked the twist that this followed someone who wasn’t into the game so everything was as new to her as it was to the reader.

That also kind of hindered my enjoyment because there was a lot of info dumping and some of it was quite confusing. I think future volumes will be more fun once we’re into the groove of the game more. But overall, this first volume was a fun introduction to the game and to the myriad of unique characters!

3/5⭐️

Okay this is interesting, not being very into dating simulators i still found them kinda entertaining. I See how the author played with the name Alice and the rabbit from Alice in wonderland. I think it is a very interesting first volume especially when it shows how pushy the mobile games are on pay to win situations like this!

Video review on 20th of February : https://youtu.be/uQlgnfdH0Xg

This manga made me have a mix of opinions. It was funny but the story plot could not really keep me going. I enjoyed the implementation of Alice in Wonderland vibes but I did not really enjoy the whole story...

Uh, it wasn't terrible, it just wasn't my favorite.

The characters were intersting, but the story itself wasn't all that interesting to me, and was struggling to keep my attention. There are a lot of people who would love this book, so I would suggest you at least try to give it a read through. Especially as it's not a long book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tokyopop for allowing me to read a copy of this

When I first started reading this I thought "wow this seems kinda dumb" and eventually I realized.. it IS dumb. But also kinda funny. This manga makes fun of some game stereotypes in otome games and others like it, especially mobile games. There were so many things that didn't make sense, and our poor MC Alice had to deal with all these strange plot-twists and ridiculous shenanigans. Example of shenanigans coming up... Alice has to create an idol group with a handful of guys, and these are the guys on her team:
- A boy who is a gentle giant (he can't be inside the building with the others because he is the same size as the building)
- A 40-something year old teacher who looks like a 10 year old
- A teeny tiny guy who can sit in your hand/pocket etc. but who is very aggressive about everything
- A guy who is half-dog (he has a guy holding his leash at all times....)
- And a guy who is literally dead. He is the ghost of some prince, and sometimes his physical form disappears for x amount of time

Rating: about 3.5/4 stars

Girls have been going missing and no one knows what is happening to them. One of which ends up being Alice by mistake, as she tries to save her friend from being sucked into a otome game. In order to go back home they must be a producer and get their idol group to the top.
Alice has no idea what she is doing and requests to have other characters that work well with Kensuke (ends up being half dog). She soon discovers who all the members of her idol group are. Most of them are considered rare with a range from eight-inch boy, half dog, spirit, and giant.
The first couple chapters she learns about the game and plays through "episodes". Volume 1 ended with us wanting to know what gold gatcha character she pulled.

Honestly, there is potential but there is definitely times I feel something is missing. I think as the series goes on she will level up her relationships with each member but we don't get to see her actively trying to level up the relations with the walking home after school other than with Kensuke right now. Although with Otome games, there is usually a favorite to level up. I did find it kinda funny though when the leader tried wrestling her even though he is eight inches.

I love the idea of this manga! A playful interpretation of the traditional Alice In Wonderland that, instead of a rabbit hole, takes our heroine into an online simulator. It felt unique and interesting. And, while the color pages engaged me right off, I quickly lost interest in this story.

The characters were flat and the story moved in what felt like too many directions. Alice has the potential to be a very strong protagonist but needs greater support from the other characters. I think adding some elements that mirror the Wonderland story would also make this book stronger.

I imagine there is an audience of otome games that would love this book and, perhaps, that is the intended audience. I could see that demographic really enjoying the vapid male characters and connection to pop music.

I received a copy of this manga through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I expected this to be a typical reverse harem manga with a computer game plot (something between shoujo and shounen?🤔). Perhaps some sweet romance and many pretty boys, some awkward moments and something overall not that special. 🙃
Well, we have pretty boys and there’s five of them… and they are so not what you expect…But I can’t say a lot more without spoiling, let’s just say that I chuckled quite a lot and it was a really very hilarious manga!😆
And I absolutely loved Alice and her snarky commentary which reflected my own thoughts so well. 😃
I had a good time with this manga and would love to read the next volume as well!😊

I cannot believe how much I disliked this one. I’m so terribly disappointed, which is saying a lot because I generally like most manga and/or graphic novels. But this one is just sorely lacking. I gave one star because the art isn’t horrible.

The plot (I use the term plot loosely) is basically a girl and her “friend” get sucked into a game. The game is boring, the characters are all flat and not very likeable, and I’m afraid there aren’t many redeeming qualities. The book even constantly states that the plot is confusing and terrible, so really there’s not much more that I need to say. It’s just not great.

I’m sad to say that I definitely do not recommend this and I, in fact, recommend you steer clear. Especially if you like Alice in Wonderland, btw… just saying.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tokyopop, and Yushi Kawata for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion.