Gakuen Alice

Mikan Sakura is a normal 10-year-old girl. Optimistic, energetic, and overall a very sweet child, Mikan is the complete opposite of the aloof, intelligent, and somewhat cold-hearted, Hotaru Imai. Despite their glaring differences, the two girls have been best friends for a very long time. So when Hotaru suddenly transfers to Alice Academy, a prestigious school in the city, her best friend is devastated—especially when she hears of the horrible rumors regarding the academy's harsh treatment of students. Beset with worry, Mikan runs away to see her best friend!

Upon her arrival, Mikan learns of "Alices," individuals gifted with various supernatural abilities, and that the school is an institution built by the government to train and protect them. Discovering that she has her own unique powers, Mikan enrolls in the academy, and, after a lot of trouble, finally reunites with Hotaru.

Gakuen Alice is a heartwarming comedy that follows Mikan and her friends' adventures in the academy, as well as their attempt to uncover the mysteries surrounding the problematic, fire-wielding student Natsume Hyuuga.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hyuuga, Natsume Main

Park, Romi Japanese

Sakura, Mikan Main

Ueda, Kana Japanese

Imai, Hotaru Main

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Nogi, Ruka Main

Yasuda, Miwa Japanese

Andou, Tsubasa Supporting

Naruse, Makoto Japanese

Anjo, Narumi Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Bear, Mr. Supporting

Nojima, Hirofumi Japanese

Hijiri, Youichi Supporting

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Harada, Misaki Supporting

Inoue, Marina Japanese

Persona Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Iwakami, Atsuhiro Producer

Sakuma, Takashi Producer

Yokoyama, Shuko Assistant Producer

Oomori, Takahiro Director, Storyboard

Reviews

May 9, 2021

OtakuSenpaiiiii

Recommended

I have seen a lot of school anime in my life time and I don't think most of them come close to being as good as Gakuen Alice

A total of 5 things make Gakuen Alice stand out above the rest

Handling A large cast of characters

Most super power school anime struggle with the characterization of many characters, there's two major reasons why; when the writers make template for these characters they get attached to their characters and when tasked with writing those characters into the story, they fail to convey the character's personality properly because they've already do it in their heads, the second thing is ... dividing attention between the large cast. depending on the type of story you want to tell how you divide the attention is important, In romance anime, the focus is split between 2 main characters and about 4 side characters, in shounens focus is given to so many characters, in One piece characters get developed then they leave the story so dealing with those characters is simple. In MHA for example, since most of the characters dwell in a school and can't leave, the writer has to constantly be thinking of new ways to make those characters fun, what failed My hero academia however, is the addition of other schools. How are you going to add new characters when you haven't finished developing the characters you had first.

Gakuen Alice was sort of in a hard place, the writer couldn't make the character leave the story after their arcs like in One piece so that was a problem, and just like in My hero academia the characters are in a school, how was Gakuen Alice going to deal with these problems?

- One of the ways it dealt with these problems was restricting access from the outside world entirely, creating a secret society, by doing this, the writer limits characters from entering the story focuses on developing those characters the story has.

-Students of different Divisions, Elementary, Middle school and High school wear different colours and uniforms that allow me to tell them apart, it's very important because Milan is going to spend about 6 years in the school and we sort of need to be able to tell divisions apart.

- Giving characters One dimensional personalities then slowly building on them as the story progressed was neat, this way the writer can flesh out as many characters she wants because they have some basic trait viewers or readers remember them by Many of the characters are introduced this way, they seem pretty basic but each time we meet them we learn something new about them, the characters became so complex without me even noticing. This kept the story fresh. Anime examples would be Hotaru, Permy, Natsume, Ruka, Narumi, since the anime wasn't adapted fully I didn't see all the characters get fleshed out. so I read the manga

-When New characters get added into the story they are anchored to pre-existing characters that were already in the story and If they aren't anchored, they come into the story with new information as well, so their introductions give me something new. Tsubasa is introduced in episode 6 and I found out new information about the 4 Alice types, In episode 7 Hijiri Yoichi is introduced into the story, anchored to Natsume, plus I found out about Central town, and dangerous Alice abilities. Hotaru's brother is introduced in episode 17 and gave me information about how some kids grow up with their parents and how cruel Alice academy could be. IT's a great way to always have characters involved in the story somehow.

Handling the school aspect really well

Gakuen Alice doesn't really try to be something it's not, it could've focused on the gritty Idea of children being trapped and manipulated by adults like in promised Neverland but it didn't. it goes for a more realistic approach, It's a story about a "child" trying to live life to the fullest in a school. but because the school is a secret society and it's governed by rules, that aspect sort of elevates the boring school setting and makes their slice of life episodic adventures more fun

The most important rules are

No.1: Students are allowed very little contact with the outside world once they are found out to be Alice users. this helps contain the secrecy.

No.2: Students are ranked using a star system that ranks them on their grades and behavior, because their alices are something they cannot control. There are 4 levels, students with a principal star are the best students and are also rare, then come the three star students, followed by two star students, one star students and lastly No star students. The star ranking system also determines how you are treated, how much allowance you get, how much work you have to do, the room you get and the food you eat. How hard you work correlates with the rewards you get, making Alice academy function like the real world but instead of dealing with the whole world, the writer gets to deal with only a small portion of it.

No.3: There are 4 Alice types, Latent type: Alices that are common and are easier to deal with, then we have Technical type Alices: Alices that reveal themselves through hard work, like paintings that come to life, or sewing a bear that comes to life. The somatic type use manipulation on living things, e.g, controlling animals, or people, manipulating your body to run faster, then the special class, a class of people who's abilities don't fit into the other categories and are considered weird. there is a secret category though, the dangerous Alice ability class, so far Yoichi who commands evil spirits, Natsume, a fire user and Persona, a man who kills what he touches have been shown. By categorizing students' powers there is some sort of order.

No.4: Elementary students and middle school students of the different types have joint classes once a week, this helps younger students learn from their seniors. Mikan is in the special class. So she joins the special class with special class Middle school students.

No.5: The person who scores the highest on their test is allowed to go home and visit their family, otherwise they are allowed to send letters to their families and get letters back.

No.6: Students are allowed to buy resources and get necessities at central town, with the money they get from their star allowance.

No:7: the festivals.

these rules give it an edge because we get so many fun interactions out of them, like Mikan struggling to enjoy life to the fullest being a No star, or her truing to earn money, the festivals they have most of the time, because they are a rich school.

Since it's mainly a slice of life story that focuses on their life at school, the students don't really have a goal, they do want to go back home but only one person can so they gave up trying, the rules allow them to aim for something, like getting a 3 star rank to get a better room or allowance.

Handling 5 genres at once

Gakuen Alice at most is a show about Mikan trying to make the best of her situation, mixed in with comedy, romance, Slice of life, school, and of course tragedy and all these genres are done realistically and not in an over the top way.

Comedy is very subjective and what makes me laugh might not make you laugh so I can't say much about that.

The romance aspect is very subtle especially in the beginning, it does become more as Mikan grows older. It doesn't overshadow everything else.

The slice of life aspect is very mellow and chill, just students enjoying life, having episodic misadventures that do affect the overall story and the characters, I'm always kept guessing, what will happen next?

The tragic aspect is children having to grow up without the love of parents. it's not really over dramatic except in Natsume's case but that's because he's a child who's forced to deal with the fact that his Alice killed a lot of people. Most of the children are home sick and before Mikan arrives they are in deep despair. Mikan herself does experience homesickness but she tries her hardest to become optimistic. Most of the children have been raised by the academy and have lost their sense of wonder, Mikan was raised as a normal child so it's only natural for her to be extremely optimistic. Together they all sort of help each other, Mikan learns not to be too trusting of others, whereas the other students adopt her optimism.

It's really sad that this show didn't get the greatest anime adaptation nor a complete one, don't get me wrong, I love the voice acting, I love the music, I think it fits well with the classical look the academy was going for and I can watch bad animation as long as it's in color and it's not Bad CGI, I just think when My hero academia and literally any romance anime get great adaptations, Gakuen Alice didn't get that, IT DESERVES A RE ADAPTATION WITH THE COMPLETE SOURCE MATERIAL.... but Eh.. the manga is great.

It's an 8.5 anime looking at it objectively but a 10/10 for my personal enjoyment

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Dec 5, 2023

MizuhoKamui

Mixed Feelings

Gakuen Alice is one of the first dozen shows I used to watch as a kid on TV. I remember loving it so much, but when I watched it properly as an adult much later, It was entertaining but okay at best.

My main issue is the plot. It is not very sophisticated and falls somewhere between a coherent storyline and a series of random events. This results in a winding story with no real focus. It occasionally moves towards plot advancement, but much momentum is lost by going off on tangents. While these tangents contain some of the anime's most enjoyable moments, they serve to ... slow down the main story. The humor in the series can be hit or miss. When it works, it's creative, original, and whimsical, with understated wit and perfect timing. However, it doesn't always work out so well. The show often uses humor to lighten serious scenes, but it can be too reckless, and the wild slapstick doesn't always work. This type of humor also makes Mikan seem invincible, which takes away from the tension in moments of danger. Despite these flaws, Gakuen Alice's character interactions are interesting. The individual protagonists are great, but the friendships and interactions within the cast are what keep the show running smoothly. The setting of Gakuen Alice is also unique and interesting. The Alice Academy is a small world, but it's imaginative and detailed. Mikan's unfamiliarity with her surroundings is used to educate the viewer about the show's universe at a good pace.

The best thing about this show is its great characters. This is not because they are unique but they are written with such precision that it's impossible not to be drawn in. The characters are relatable, and their traits are executed with charm and skill, such as Sumire's insecurity hidden behind her arrogance. I like Mika a lot. She is enthusiastic and brave and clearly understands right and wrong. These traits are usually seen in the main characters in any other Shoujo or Shounen show. Still, here, they are combined with humor, like her tendency to give lame comebacks when outwitted, which makes her an endearing protagonist. I also like the friendship between Mikan and Hotaru, which is a touching highlight and constantly evolves.

The animation in the show was good, but it had some areas that could have been improved. The colors were mostly vibrant, but sometimes they were dull. The characters were drawn well, but there were some inconsistencies, like changing eye colors or odd expressions. However, the characters were cute and suited the show.

The OST is memorable, well-written, and used masterfully. It adds excitement to dramatic moments and complements emotional scenes. The soundtrack is so well done that even mundane events like walking down a hallway feel atmospheric.

Overall, it's a decent watch, mostly due to the character interactions being the show's highlight, making up for its stuttering narrative and erratic humor. The individual protagonists are excellent, and the friendships that develop within the cast keep the show running smoothly.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Apr 1, 2016

aiYuki

Not Recommended

*NO SPOILERS*

Gakuen Alice, or Alice Academy is an anime that was adapted from the same name manga. But in this review I will only concentrate on the anime with just a few digressions on the manga that will help me complete my review.

1.) STORY (6/10)
I don't want to include the story summarie here because there is already a synopisi written up there. But all in all, if you watch this anime, the story is going to be interesting and easy to follow. It's a typical "going to a school were everybody has magic powers" story and "being the special girl in school, that is somehow ... connect to everything" story. The only problem here is that it was poorly done and badly brought to us. The real and whole story of this anime that was adapted from the manga is actually great, but the anime had to little episodes to even get to the interesting parts and sadly, no season two. There was no plot twist or any actually good plot development. The story was going to nowhere and also, I kinda got the feelings that the last episode wasn't planed and thought through. It seemed to me like it was put there just so they could finish the anime, so they came up with something in a minute.

2.) ART (4/10)
This anime was made in 2004 so it's not like they could make anything special with the art, but at that time, there where many others animes that had better art and animations. The characters where badly drawn and had wierd facial features and the animation was kinda slow and "not realistic" if when can say it like that in the anime world. Somtimes it seemd like they were to lazy to add more animations.

3.) SOUND (7/10)
The music and the soundtracks were good and they fit to the anime and the situations in which were they played. The opening song was cute and catchy. But when it comes to sound, I also like to talk about the voice actors which have an important roles in animes. In Gakuen Alice the voice actors were good and they were in good sync with the characters making the whole image of them seem more real. Their acting was good and they've done a good job.

4.) CHARACTERS
Even though they are a lot of animes that have around 30 episode and succede in making us love the characters in so little time, Gakuen Alice just didn't do that for me. I think this anime was to short to represent the whole story and make us familiar with them by showing us their good and bad sides, making us feel something for them. We have the main character that's a typical cute and silliy girl that has strong feelings for her friends. By her side is a typical girl with a cold expresion and a high intelligence, but who has a warm heart. And then we have a typical bad boy and a good boy as his best friend. Every type of character like this is alreday known to the anime world, but still, other animes take this kind of characters, develop them and give them a good background story and more features to make them seem like real persons. Now, Gakuen Alice was on a good way. The story slowly continuted to grow and went on, and I got to know more about the characters, but then the anime stopped. So, none of the characters actually grew up or changed something about them.

5.) ENJOYMENT (3/10)
For me, I didn't enjoy the anime. Now, there are a few reasons why is that so. First of all, I read the manga and Gakuen Alice is my favorite manga so far. I just love it and it means a lot to me. So probably, I expected a lot from the anime and I didn't get what I wanted. Secondly, when the art is not good, I just can't enjoy an anime, unless the story is REALLY good. Now, because here, the story wasn't brought out well to us, I just couldn't enjoy this anime. And also, knowing that there is no season 2 and that there are only 26 episode to this great story, I felt depressed and disappointed, so even if there was a part that I like, I just didn't feel it.

6.) OVERALL (+MANGA) (4/10)
If you read the manga and you like it, don't watch this anime. But if you didn't read the manga, you could enjoy this anime. All in all, it kinda was cute and interesting to watch. Still, I can't give it a bigger grade. It isn't an anime for me and my taste even though I loved the manga.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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