On June 6, 2026, a post on China's social media platform Xiaohongshu (RED) stating that "Japanese anime has many homages to 'Alice in Wonderland'" has become a hot topic among Chinese net users.

The poster wrote: "Recently, while watching the Japanese anime 'Gugure! Kokkuri-san,' I noticed that a certain episode was an homage to 'Alice in Wonderland.' While watching it, I remembered that 'Cardcaptor Sakura' and 'Ouran High School Host Club' also had similar developments. I haven't watched that many Japanese anime; at most, I can count them on both hands. Therefore, I feel like I encounter episodes themed around 'Alice in Wonderland' a bit more frequently than I should."

They added: "Actually, I haven't read 'Alice in Wonderland' yet. That's precisely why I became more interested in reading the original work. By the way, these homage episodes I mentioned are not just about wearing Alice-style costumes; the story itself is conscious of 'Alice in Wonderland.' To me, they feel like alternative 'IF' stories (stories depicting different developments or endings based on a 'what if' assumption) separate from the main story, and I don't think the connection to costumes is very significant."

In response to this post, Chinese net users commented, "Japanese people really love 'isekai' (other world) adventure stories, don't they?" and "I think it really suits Japanese tastes because it combines otherworldly adventure with a strange and mysterious worldview, and even Lolita fashion. Also, I heard a long time ago that 'Alice in Wonderland' came to Japan around the Meiji Restoration and was quite widely known at the time. It's also one of the famous works, isn't it?" and other voices pointed out its compatibility with Japanese preferences.

Furthermore, comments also appeared referring to the affinity with the worldview of the original work, such as: "The original work itself has an atmosphere like traveling in a dream, and the origins of each character are not explained in detail. Alice moves from place to place, but there's almost no descriptive text. That's why there are many un-depicted parts that can be freely interpreted, making it easy to incorporate settings for derivative works. I think it's a worldview that tends to become interesting no matter what you add to it." and "In a sense, it can be said to symbolize the very concept of 'fairy tale.' Moreover, because the work contains a wealth of elements, whether it's used as a reference for world-building or as a source for character design, a lot of inspiration can be gained."

Comments were also received, recalling childhood and speaking about the charm of the work, such as: "I also like drawing Alice motifs. I don't really know why myself (lol). When I was a child, I bought many different versions of Alice picture books and fairy tales." and "These settings are truly the best! Time and space changing, body size changing. Even before I read 'Alice in Wonderland,' I saw many such settings in anime. This yearning for such a fantastical world seems to have sprouted when I first saw such anime in elementary school." (Translation/Editing by Iwata)