AMAZING. This anime is fantastic. The only anime that has ever made me really laugh is Ouran High School Host Club, but Gakuen Alice is so clever that it definitely comes in second. Mikan is your typical happy-go-lucky over excited school girl, kind of like Usagi from Sailor Moon, except Mikan never complains and tries her hardest at everything. What's amazing is how she goes from one of the most hated kids in the entire school to one of the most loved. Her devotion to her friends is astonishing (although Hotaru, though she really cares about Mikan, gets very annoying and you get frustrated with Mikan for always being so dedicated to her). The characters are all fantastically done, not artwork wise I mean, but character wise. They all have so much depth, and change so much. It's almost more like a fairy tale at some points.
So yes, the artwork at first doesn't look fantastic. Mikan is not your typical super-cute sort of girl like in Kamichama Karin or even Mermaid Melody, but she has the best personality you'll ever see. So for any skeptics, I guarantee that you'll laugh and really enjoy this anime. I've never watched one so quickly, and I'm not even done yet. But it's fantastic! And the romance is great! FINALLY a love triangle, I get tired of two-sided love, and Mikan has two guys competing for her.
Please please watch this anime, it's so much better than you would think, and it makes you wish that you, too, had an Alice and could attend the school.
