Arisa

Alternative Titles

Japanese: ARISA 〈アリサ〉

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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: 7.56¹ (scored by 7,992 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #2357²

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

Popularity: #951

Members: 16,931

Favorites: 373

Resources

Wikipedia

7.56

Ranked #2357Popularity #951Members 16,931

MangaNakayoshiAndo, Natsumi (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /12

Chapters: /48

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Available on Manga Store
Arisa
Volume 1
$10.99

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Synopsis

Tsubasa Uehara and Arisa Sonoda are identical twin sisters separated by their parents' divorce three years prior. Having only been able to communicate through secret letters, the two arrange to meet up with each other at a park in which they used to play. Nicknamed the "Demon Princess" of her middle school, the tomboyish Tsubasa struggles to get along with the other students in her class. In contrast, the feminine Arisa is the perfect class representative who achieves good grades and has many friends. Learning of her twin sister’s envy, Arisa proposes to Tsubasa that she attend school in her place.

Upon returning from school that day, Tsubasa recounts how amazing her experience was to Arisa, who is horrified to learn that she is still jealous of her life. Telling her sister that she knows nothing about her classmates' secrets nor her own, Arisa attempts suicide in front of Tsubasa's eyes. Determined to uncover the truth behind Arisa's suffering, Tsubasa decides to go undercover to find out.

Now posing as Arisa, Tsubasa witnesses her very first "King Time"—an event that takes place every Friday during fourth period where a wish of Arisa's classmates is randomly granted. Believing the occasion to be a strange joke, Tsubasa does not take it seriously until someone is hurt in the process. Seeing the extent to which the "King" will go to fulfill these requests, Tsubasa must uncover the King's identity and how all of this involves her beloved twin sister.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Arisa's first volume was placed on the 2011 "Great Graphic Novels for Teens" list by the Young Adult Library Services Association. The manga's second, fifth, and sixth volumes each placed on the New York Times Bestseller list for manga.

The series was published in English by Kodansha Comics USA from December 15, 2012 to January 21, 2014. It has also been published in Chinese by Sharp Point Press and in German by Carlsen Comics.

More characters
Characters

Uehara, Tsubasa

Main

Sonoda, Arisa

Main

Manabe, Akira

Supporting

Kudou, Rei

Supporting

Takagi, Mariko

Supporting

Mochizuki, Shizuka

Supporting

Utagawa, Takeru

Supporting

Yamashita, Midori

Supporting

More reviewsReviews

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.

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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 ...

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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 ...

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Poll: Arisa Chapter 44 Discussion Stark700 - Apr 13, 2013	17 replies	by Briquet »» Jan 22, 10:15 AM
Poll: Arisa Chapter 43 Discussion Stark700 - Feb 21, 2013	7 replies	by Briquet »» Jan 22, 10:05 AM
Poll: Arisa Chapter 38 Discussion RainyYesterday - Oct 7, 2012	2 replies	by Briquet »» Jan 22, 9:36 AM
Who's the King? Annisa - May 26, 2009	15 replies	by wubaduckie »» Mar 24, 2017 8:21 AM
Poll: Arisa Chapter 32 Discussion MillaMaxwell - Jul 8, 2012	5 replies	by korn7809 »» Feb 4, 2014 12:18 PM

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