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Alternative Titles

Japanese: ARISA 〈アリサ〉

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 12

Chapters: 48

Status: Finished

Published: Dec 29, 2008 to Aug 3, 2012

Genres: Drama, Mystery

Themes: Psychological, School

Demographic: Shoujo

Serialization: Nakayoshi

Authors: Ando, Natsumi (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.57¹ (scored by 8,354 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #2519²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1056

Members: 17,739

Favorites: 369

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Reviews

Filtered Results: 19 / 21

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Filter Preliminary Spoiler

Sep 12, 2009

Faeverily

Recommended

Preliminary (8/48 chp)

This manga is new, so I'll update this review later when I have more material to work with...

So far, the story has developed pretty quickly. We know that there are two twin sisters named Uehara Tsubasa and Sonoda Arisa. At first the series seems like a typical shoujo cutesy manga, but turns out to be a psychological detective-mystery. ARISA at times has charm, appeal, and comedy but also manages to send a chill down your spine. It definitely has a dark undertone and hidden meaning to it. The plotline captures interest and is pretty original. I admit I got sucked more and more into the ...

Apr 4, 2009

noobzilla

Recommended

Preliminary (3/48 chp)

Though this seems like a "i love my sister so much" type of mushy shoujo manga, it is actually dark and sinister. The protagonist in trying to live the life of her sister is thrown into a strange classroom with creepy classmates that are all too perfect. She has no one she can trust or rely on, even the ones that seem trustworthy might turn out to be her worst enemy. So far it feels like a horror movie... I cant comment on the romance yet but in terms of mystery i will say that this is recommended

Jan 4, 2015

_mahoushoujos_

Recommended

Wow. What a ride.

I always found myself fascinated with the premise of this manga even before I began reading it, because it had the "psychological" and "shoujo" tags on MyAnimeList but not a tag for romance, despite the girly art. That, along with various recommendations online for this manga really got me intrigued, and I ended up speeding through Arisa in a couple of days.

The story of Arisa was never a simple shoujo school romcom. From the very beginning, a mystery is presented in the form of Arisa's attempted suicide and Tsubasa's resulting desire to find out why her twin tried to kill herself. ... The subsequent twists and turns shape this manga into a very interesting psychological thriller, albeit involving middle school kids. Now, I'm not going to pretend that Arisa's story didn't have flaws. I won't doubt that many people will pick up on various plot holes and bullshit moments in this manga. However, I found myself so engrossed in the story that I overlooked a lot of these finer details, and I feel that anyone else who gets really into this manga like I did will probably experience the same thing. Arisa is also not your typical shoujo manga, as it relies on mystery and suspense rather than romance to advance the story. The demographic may be shoujo, but much of the drama in Arisa focuses on non-romantic elements.

One of the main reasons I was able to forgive some of the plot conveniences in Arisa was because I was so invested in the characters. Tsubasa really is an endearing lead, and I loved that no matter how tough things got for her, she would always get right back up and try to fix things. She was such a refreshing change from the average helpless shoujo protagonist, and in some ways I disliked Arisa (the character) because she reflected the latter archetype a lot more. There were times when the characters' motives were rather far-fetched, to the point of being ridiculous for a bunch of 13-14 year old kids. But that didn't hinder my enjoyment of the manga, and there were numerous moments in Arisa (the manga) that were genuinely mature and insightful.

Arisa has absolutely gorgeous artwork, if you enjoy very girly shoujo-styled artwork. The lines are crisp and clean, and the female characters' eyes are all sparkly and huge. I especially loved how the mangaka drew the sisters' hair, as it was always portrayed to be perfect and flowing regardless of the situation they were in. I didn't really care for the male character designs, but I probably would have found them attractive if I was a bit younger. Also the mangaka likes to feature Arisa (the sister) and Tsubasa in various outfits and hairstyles on the covers and on the pages before the manga, which was really beautiful. The only small gripe I have with the art in Arisa is when certain characters would make evil faces, as these were always overly twisted and hideous for a bunch of middle school kids. But then again, Arisa isn't exactly perfect in its realism (or lack thereof), which I will get to a bit later.

For me, Arisa (the manga) was love at first sight. Everything from the perfect girly art style to the psychological exploration of its characters was exactly what I wanted from this manga. Arisa isn't deep or complex, but it's interesting and immensely enjoyable. I loved reading this manga, and that's why I've rated it so high and why I now have Arisa added to my favorites on MAL.

However, I understand that Arisa may not be for everyone. In many ways, Arisa is a rather unrealistic portrayal of middle school life. Some of the characters' actions in this manga would seem drastic even for adults. But in a sense, Arisa does touch on many aspects of human nature, just in a very melodramatic fashion. For example, the idea of "groupthink" and the diffusion of responsibility that often occurs in preteen and teen social groups was over-exaggerated to extremes in Arisa, but the manga was highly effective at conveying the message that young people need to think for themselves and take responsibility for their own actions.

Overall, I think Arisa is a very good manga when you simply enjoy the story for what it is and don't try to pick apart every little plot device in the story. I would definitely recommend Arisa to shoujo fans, but I would also like to recommend this manga to fans of mystery and psychological thrillers who would like something lighter but in the same vein. Of course, that isn't to say Arisa is light and happy. In fact, much of the story is quite dark. But if the summary (and this review) has you thinking that Arisa might be a good read for you, then I would go ahead and start reading. Hopefully, you'll be sucked into this story as I have been for the past few days.

Jul 25, 2011

Moon_Light

Recommended

Preliminary (20/48 chp)

I was surprised that summaries everywhere don’t say the whole plot. Leaves you wondering what the heck it can possibly be about (left me wondering), which can result in some reviews not making sense (including my own).
Arisa is about secrecy, lies, friendship, trust, and bullying. What makes this one special? The only thing that kept me reading this manga is trying to untangle the “who.” Who is responsible for everything that is going on. It might help if you know more of the plot. At the risk of not making sense I feel like I have to shed a little more light on ... the plot.

Due to her parents divorce, Tsubasa and Arisa both grew apart, so after months of exchanging letters they finally decide to meet. Tsubasa, who is awed at her twin’s sister Arisa’s perfect life jumps at the chance to experience life as Arisa for one day. How can they look so alike but be completely different? Not only is Arisa more gentle as opposed to the “delinquent” Tsubasa, she is also more popular. Her school life is just the best according to Tsubasa.

After Arisa tries to commit suicide right in front of her eyes, Tsubasa decides to become Arisa in order to find out what drove her sweet younger sister to kill herself. Everything points to Arisa’s school. Turns out there are dark secrets there, and a note left in Arisa’s locker calling her a “traitor” starts Tsubasa’s story in understanding Arisa.

[Mild Spoilers] and what they don’t tell you.
After her sister’s close call with death, Tsubasa can’t understand what could have happened to Arisa. Under the pretense that she is Arisa and has lost some of her most recent memories she stays in her sister's school and uses her sleuthing skills to detangle the mystery that was Arisa. After days and days of searching all she has to show for it is a reserved boy who everyone in class avoids. That is until that week’s “King Time” arrives. A game that involves everyone making a wish to the King and only one gets chosen. The one wish which is chosen will come true. They ALWAYS come true.

That’s the real mystery of this manga, figuring out who King really is. Because as they say, it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt.
What really bothered me is that it was all child’s play to me. I mean, I’m a skeptic. I don’t believe at all that King is an almighty deity, so why not give a wish he really can’t grant, like world peace? Then he’d be declared a failure and the students wouldn’t believe in him…but again, that is just one girls opinions and since the idea of King reminded me of, a small, tiny almost inexistent amount, of Lelouch. But then it went again before it could take form because King is/was just a kids game in the grand scheme of things. So far.
I did think the darkness of bullying was grasped well here and with more than one character, we see how trapped they felt and how far they felt the had tog o to make it stop.

There are a few characters in this one. Since it’s kind of like a guessing game of “who do you think King is,” that makes sense. To say the truth none of the characters were great or amazing. They were just ordinary in manga world.
You have:
The lovely and enigmatic Arisa. I have to say that she’s one of the characters we know very little about. I also feel for Tsubasa that she's learning the hard way , how little we know of the people close to us.
Sweet and brave Tsubasa with her fun nature and bad social skills. Not to mention her ability to surprise you by being kick-ass. It makes me feel better that Tsubasa is just as lost as we are in this manga. No idea what is going on that girl. But you have to hand it to her on the not giving up front.
The mysterious and aloof Manabe. Who could be son of The Dark Lord (referring to Voldemort) for all we know because we know next to nothing about him. Except that he has ulterior motives to everything. And lets be honest, since the beginning he’s sketchy.
There was one other character that his role is more or less a weird one seeing as he only appears sometimes and others he is nowhere to be seen. Making us wonder if the mangaka has plans for him in the future.

The art is really attractive. Just the way the characters are done shows that it took time and planning. Otherwise the making them look evil wouldn’t have been so convincing. Other than that Arisa and Tsubasa do look exactly the same except for tiny differences and the big difference that it their hair color. No flaws that I could see on the art section.

So far, “Arisa” is unfolding rather slowly, we still have no clue as to what’s next or going on. Hopefully there is new development in upcoming volumes. the plot is a little weak because of the whole lets suspect this person this volume/chapter but it's worth a read. I won’t lie I have suspected everyone at least once and even characters from other manga, like some characters from Doubt could be King. Weirder things have happened in the manga world that’s for sure.

Dec 3, 2011

Slumber

Recommended

Preliminary (28/48 chp)

I’ve read up to chapter 28 in Arisa, I’ll update my review when I pick this up again later.

I’ll spare you most of the details but the story starts off with Arisa and Tsubasa who are twins at different middle schools. Tsubasa takes Arisa’s place for a day and thinks her sister has the ideal life. After Tsubasa returns home from Arisa’s class, Arisa says’ her life isn’t actually so ideal. Tsubasa doesn’t know the secret in her class or even Arisa’s own secret. With that Arisa attempts suicide and falls out her bedroom window. Tsubasa is left to solve Arisa and class 2-B’s secret.

This ...

Jan 24, 2017

aguecheek

Mixed Feelings

Have you ever read a shoujo manga and thought "We should put these characters in a psychological thriller"? If so, Natsumi Andou has got your back.

First things first: This is not a romance. This is a story about a girl who loves her sister more than anything and also a thriller. It gets a little macabre. Not gory, but pretty horrible at times.

It's a thriller first and foremost, and that's where it excels. Characterization can be weird and arbitrary in the way people suddenly act illogically in a way that's convenient to the plot, and the author's prone to a lot of half-assed, unearned swipes ...

Jan 29, 2012

mb000123

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/48 chp)

Its a awesome story that will want to make you know more
At first it seems like a story that would be about twins getting closer to each other but later u find out that it's not at all like that but of mysterys
U will want to find out about "the secrets" and about "the kings true identity"
I recommend this to everyone
The art is great
This story will make u mant to read more and more it will get u exited at some part and at others u will be shocked

Sep 3, 2009

Hikari0Kakashi

Recommended

Preliminary (8/48 chp)

When i saw the cover of this manga, it looked like regluar romance to me. with two sister and boy trouble. but no. i was wrong. its a physicoligial manga that had me thinking a whole lot. i didnt want to stop reading, but now i have to wait for the next chapter.i keep egging for more and when i read i cant seem to keep my eyes from it.I havent seen much romance yet, but i can start to see it. I really like this manga because its..not original. its something different that is also refreshing.

the story: 9 its good. but not ...

Dec 15, 2010

thelostone

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/48 chp)

This was a very unexpected manga. it starts out looking like your normal twins switch places and shenanigans ensue but it is that and ten times more. it turns into a high-grade mystery, with a story that is both interesting and seriously thought provoking.

Its definately something to give a try, especially if your into stories involving alot of twists and turns. I for one cant even speculate what the end outcome of this story will be, but im going to enjoy it till then.

Feb 4, 2019

LadyAxeFace

Recommended

Arisa is one of the very rare shoujo that is not a romance, rather it is a mystery thriller. The very fact that exists makes me happy, because there should be more variety in the types of manga targeted at women. Even better, this manga is also pretty well executed.

The premise is that a girl named Tsubasa has been separated from her twin Arisa for three years. When they are reunited, Arisa attempts suicide and ends up in a coma. Tsubasa decides to pose as her sister to unravel the mystery of why Arisa would attempt to kill herself.

While the manga isn't ...

Sep 4, 2012

YuMelon

Recommended

Preliminary (36/48 chp)

So.. I was browsing some kind of shoujou to read when i stumbled upon Arisa(though means of a photo on a facebook group)
I looked up the manga because i like the way the art was drawn. Thus the rating of 10/10 :D.
Read this manga in one night cause the story was different to most shoujous I'VE read 10/10, but different doesn't always mean good.
The way the story portrays each character and how much I WANT TO KILL ARISA AND HER BF.... Getting ahead of myself.. Anyway.. This story really toys with how you feel with each individual. thus the 10/10

Heres where things get ...

Mar 28, 2013

grsh

Recommended

I got shallowly interested in this manga because it has quite high of a rating here and decided to read it to fill my nothing to do moments. In the begining i thought it was a spinoff of that Erich Kastner novel about separated twins, but then it surprised me the realisation of genre (psychological, mystery) also the depiction in the undertone of the plot of the psychological group processes, group thinking.... yeah, social psychology stuff.

So the plot is interesting, kept my eyes glued to the pages, mystery was good and suspense, even made me do making my own theories who the ...

Nov 25, 2016

JinseiKuu

Recommended

This manga is unpredictable.

I read this when I was like 9 or 10 and it was amazing, it's a physiological manga.

It has many twists that make you flip, although this is a shoujo, I can see males enjoying this manga too (if they're not picky). This has VERY, VERY, VERY light romance.

It focuses on the plot rather than useless conversations or actions that don't contribute to the story. The art is beautiful and simplistic, the covers are wow.

In terms of character development, it progresses steadily. I gave an 8 as an enjoyment because I would have enjoyed some Tsubanabe, but I guess ...

Sep 1, 2022

Zia_Mikaela

Mixed Feelings

Ando Natsumi did her best, slowly unraveling the mystery behind this story, although some parts were laughable in comparison with other mangas who share the same genre. Her cutesy art style does not fit with the atmosphere she is trying so hard to deliver. Also, the stakes and conflicts in the first and middle parts were neglected which weakened the impact of the "many" pay-off scenes. While the mood build-up and the ambiance were a bit of a disappointment, the characters were decent enough for me to finish the manga.

Now, this is a // warning! // the ending is quite problematic. It left such a ...

Jan 22, 2018

SxMxB

Recommended

First time I read this I only got to chapter 12, cuz it was still ongoing and I hated waiting around for chapters. Today I saw that the manga had been completed and decided to pick it up again.

Story 7/10: The plot is great, a sister trying to commit suicide while her twin sister is left in shock with questions as to why she would do it. There's a lot of mystery and the pure and kind girl Tsubasa claims Arisa to be, seems to carry a dark secret.

Art 8/10: The art is very good, a lot of details, beautiful characters, and the mangaka ...

May 24, 2020

brucelce

Recommended

Arisa was the first manga I ever read. Now, after having read many more shoujos and other genres, I can genuinely say that this is a solid piece of work. While the pacing in the beginning is way too rushed, this issue improves much more in the later volumes. But this manga's standout feature is definitely its premise. Never have I read a concept so creative and intricately woven and developed. Although I do think it would have heavily benefited if it was targeted towards an older audience to develop its darker themes, this story is such a fresh breath of air for shoujo. Additionally, ...

Jun 21, 2017

NiniAlex

Recommended

So Arisa is one of my favorite anime. At first is seems like it would be overly cutesy Shojo but quickly turns into a mystery story. The main plot of this anime is that Tsubasa and Arisa are twins that had been separated when they were little due to their parents divorce. After years of separation they decide to meet in secret - while this is happened Arisa commits suicide in front of Tsubasa (going into a comma) leaving only the clue of a note that she had gotten at school. Tsubasa decides to go into Arisa school to try and figure out why her ... sister would due something like this. The rest of the story is dedicated to figureing out the mystery and secrets behind Arisa school life and how things are not as happy as they appear.

Story: 9
The story is interesting and has many twists. The story at first started out slowly and in my opinion is pretty well paced. You are introduced to alot of different elements and have to pay attention to details that might play an important part of the story later.
Although to be honest I wish the story went over what happened to some of the other side charters

Art: 7
The art for this anime is okay- the art style is along the lines of "cutesy". There are some good scenes and the drawing style is an interesting mix.

Charters: 9
Each charter that is introduced is very well rounded and interesting (in my opinion). You get to understanding there motives behind there actions and backstory.
Although there is arguably no charter growth for many of the main charters you do come to understand what drives them. There are a number of differnt charters although the main charter Tsubasa is interesting:
She is a 'delinquent" girl who is very honest, headstrong, loyal, and brave (although arguably not very bright). She adores her younger sister Arisa and is devastated about what happened along with determined to find out the truth.
There are a number of side charters that are all interesting in there own right. I enjoyed theses colorful characters.

Enjoyment: 8
Like I said before this is my of my favorites! Although It is well paced I do feel like it left some story elements unanswered about the fate of some of the charters. (in my opinion which really ruined the ending for me). Although the story did answer alot of the questions it left many more questions unanswered. Especially about the relationships between charters...

There are plenty of twist in this story as stated before and I enjoyed it alot (It is along the stories like "Rabbit Doubt"-although maybe not as bloody). The story overall has really little romance at all (which suprised me of a story that is suppose to be in the "shojo romance" genre). I would love is there was an afterstory- because I am honestly curious about the class afterwards (yes I know its tells us but I would like to see the class instead of them just telling us) and is Tsubasa ended up with Manabi (as Manabi seems to have romantic interests in Tsubasa but we do not know exactly how Tsubasa might feel for him)

Jun 8, 2022

Macchan01

Recommended

I really enjoyed the story and the psychological aspects of this manga. It's overall pretty dark for a shoujo manga, but I think that it makes it a better story. The characters are very well thought out, and in the end you can really see how their psychological trauma is affecting their actions.

The boyfriend of the main character being a manipulator because of his traumatic past, with many of the characters narratives focusing on child neglect such as one of the main characters, Arisa. Her mother would often neglect her and instead she turned to an emotionally unstable person, Midori, who also barely even had ...

Jul 25, 2016

taiyakicute

Recommended

It's cool to be different.

Arisa is definitely one of the most unique shoujo manga I have ever read. It's a psychological and mystery shoujo manga written by Natsumi Andou, a mangaka who is popularly known for the art of Kitchen Princess (one of my childhood faves 😄). I read some of Arisa a while back in my library/bookstore days, but never finished it. After seeing someone praise it online, I decided to pick it back up again. I'm really glad that I did!

I have to admit that at first, the story kind of creeped me out. The first time I read the manga was ... when I was in middle school, so I wasn't used to reading manga with dark elements in it. I didn't even read that far into it because it had just come out, but it scared me that there was an anonymous culprit (the "king") that could grant any wish, even if it meant hurting others. There seemed to be no limit to their power.

I find it really enjoyable now, however. The story is very intriguing and suspenseful so that you'll want to keep reading after every chapter to find out what happens next. There are also a fair amount of plot twists. In other words, it's a good mystery. I like how original the story is, too. I've never read anything like this before. Because a lot of shoujo is more like ordinary school life 😂.

The art is what you would expect in a shoujo manga with the big eyes. However, the mangaka does a good job with making it fit for a psychological manga by the way she draws people's facial expressions. The art is pretty, detailed and clean, which I like. She's also skilled at drawing hair. I thought the character designs were well-suited as well.

In terms of characters, I think the mangaka did a pretty good job with them. There is good character development in the manga. We see characters come to terms with what they're doing wrong, and we see other characters mature and become stronger. I mean, unless you're tired of having a headstrong and determined protagonist, there isn't really a problem with the characters.

However, I do kind of wish that the students in Arisa's class had more humanity and could think for themselves. They're all very blah as individuals. When it came to king time, they would be so caught up in it that they would act mindlessly. This is a psychological manga, though, so I don't know whether I should be complaining about that.

Overall, I found this manga enjoyable and would definitely recommend it! It's a good read whether you're a mystery lover or whether you're just looking for something different from a typical shoujo manga.