Ranked #70

Gakuen Alice (Manga)

Gakuen Alice might be a shoujo manga, but it is none like I have ever seen. The story is about a young girl named Mikan Sakura, who had never had a better friend than Hotaru Imai. But, when Hotaru is discovered to have a special ability called an 'Alice', she transfers to a private school named 'Gakuen Alice (Alice Academy)'. Hearing horrible rumors of that academy, Mikan runs away from home without telling her guardian, her grandfather (her parents are deceased and not much is known about them).

When she stood upon the gates of the academy, Mikan discovers she had an Alice as well, and is soon transferred to the academy! But, why is the academy so secretive? Why are the teachers and principal keeping such a close eye on her? And...could this somehow involve her mother?

This is a must-read-manga, for it perfectly blends comedy, mystery, and action all together with a hint of romance.

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Gakuen Alice, it's now one of them anime classics. Well, that's what I classify it as. I'm kind of surprised that not many people have reviewed this manga considering the anime was quite popular...

Well, the story is about a girl named Mikan Sakura who finds out her best friend Hotaru Imai has transferred to a 'genius school' called Gakuen Alice or Alice Academy. Desperate on not letting er friend go, she decides to run away from home and join her friend in this new school. Upon miraculously entering this school, she learns that it is a school for kids who have special powers called Alices.

Story: 9

I love the story. I found it very unique with these Alices and how the school has been categorised into different sections, depending on Alices. I have heard many times that the story gets dark. That's very true. As you go through the manga, you discover the secrets of this academy and how dark it really is. Yes Alices look fun to have but with an Alice comes responsibility.

Art: 9

The art is beautiful. Everyone is detailed though looks can sometimes be re-used. I loved how the festivals were drawn. Everything was bright and fun-looking. Not every manga details their festivals. As usual, there isn't much I am able to say about art.

Character: 9

Like the art, it is well done but can be re-used. I mean, if you look at Natsume and Ruka/Luca verse Hotaru and Mikan, you can see how both relationships are very similar, as are the characters. One is cold, the other is more innocent and nice.
Other than that little that one thing I love the characters! There are so many loveable characters in this manga like Natsume, Tsubasa and You-chan. Ruka is very special too. They all have their awsum quirks that make you love them. Natsume himself is very hard to replace. While waiting for a new chapter, I continuously try and find a substitute for him but no character so far is so cold yet very protective as him.
Everyone also develops. You see their emotions, it's not the same emotions throughout the whole series. Mikan, what I like about her is that she's dense but not too dense. I find that the main characters tend to be too too dense for my liking. Everyone goes through their tough times and you learn about what made them who they are now.

Enjoyment and Overall: 9

I love this series so so much. Everything about it is enjoyable. There's basically a bit of everything, action, adventure, romance, drama, supernatural... There are lots. I would increase the score to 10 but that depends if the ending impresses me or not. I'm hoping that it'll be very very satisfying! (: read more