Aloha Comics announced that they would be working with translator Suika for their English release of Kaleidoscope of Death, a fantasy thriller danmei by Xi Zi Xu, and teased that preorders would be live soon. [Source: Twitter/X]
Suika is an accomplished danmei translator whose catalog of work includes Heaven Official’s Blessing, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, To Rule in a Turbulent World, Joyful Reunion, and more. Many fans were pleased by the news and were happy to see the series in experienced and trusted hands. [Source: Twitter/X (replies)]
Aloha Comics’s license of Kaleidoscope of Death is a notable outlier to the rest of their catalog, given that it is a novel with no associated manhua/comic. The publisher is primarily known in the danmei community for their physical manhua and artbooks, so they are stepping into new territory with this project.
Aloha themselves seem eager to take the plunge and have been eagerly promoting their release on everything from social media to Times Square billboards (Source: Twitter/X). Depending on the release’s success, we may see more danmei novels from them in the future.
Kaleidoscope is also being released in English by publisher Rosmei, who have a license for distribution in the Singapore region. Aloha Comics’s license of Kaleidoscope is for a physical English release in the U.S., as per JJWXC’s Weibo page:
晋江签约作者西子绪（@无辣不欢西子绪 ）的作品《死亡万花筒》成功签约出版美国英文版实体书！
(TL: Kaleidoscope of Death, a series by Jinjiang author Xi Zi Xu, has been successfully licensed for physical publication in the United States!)
[Source: Weibo]
Many fans were pleased to see Aloha’s acquisition of the license, and expressed that it is a more widely accessible way for them to read and support the series in English. [Source: Twitter/X (replies)]
Kaleidoscope of Death
死亡万花筒
[Synopsis Provided by Rosmei:]
Open the wrong door… and you may never return.
One ordinary day, Lin Qiushi discovers a black door in the corridor outside his flat—a door that shouldn’t exist. When he steps through, he finds himself in a world governed by a deadly set of rules, where cryptic villagers speak in riddles, and the only way out is to take their obscure “tests”. The reward for passing: a key. The penalty for failure: death.
From haunted villages to blood-soaked puzzles, Lin must solve increasingly strange and grotesque mysteries just to live another day. But he’s not alone. Enter Ruan Nanzhu—gorgeous, enigmatic, and unexpectedly lethal—who shows up in his room one night and whisks him into a secretive organisation of seasoned door-crossers.
With each door they pass through, the truth behind the world grows darker, and the line between ally and monster begins to blur.
Grim, gripping, and laced with razor-sharp banter, Kaleidoscope of Death is a danmei survival thriller where logic is your only weapon, trust is your greatest gamble—and laughter might be your last defense.
Kaleidoscope of Death (死亡万花筒) is a danmei novel by Xi Zi Xu. It began serialization in 2018 and ran for 147 chapters. It is available to read in Chinese on JJWXC.
The series has received a live-action adaptation known as The Spirealm, as well as an audio drama adaptation.
You can learn more about Kaleidoscope of Death in the DanmeiNews catalog.
Source: Aloha Comics (Twitter/X)
