| Gakuen Alice | |
The cover of the first volume of Gakuen Alice as published by Hakusensha featuring Mikan Sakura |
|
| 学園アリス (Gakuen Arisu) |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy, Supernatural, Romantic |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Tachibana Higuchi |
| Published by | Hakusensha |
| English publisher | Tokyopop |
| Demographic | Shōjo |
| Magazine | Hana to Yume |
| Original run | 19 February 2003 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 25 |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Takahiro Omori |
| Music by | Makoto Yoshimori |
| Studio | Group TAC, Aniplex |
| Licensed by | Nozomi Entertainment |
| Network | NHK BS-2 |
| Original run | 30 October 2004 – 14 May 2005 |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Game | |
| Gakuen Alice ~Doki Doki Fushigi Taiken~ | |
| Developer | Kids Station |
| Publisher | Kids Station |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Rating | CERO: All Ages |
| Platform | Game Boy Advance |
| Released | November 18, 2004 |
| Game | |
| Gakuen Alice ~Kira Kira Memory Kiss~ | |
| Developer | Kids Station |
| Publisher | Kids Station |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Rating | CERO: 12 and up |
| Platform | PlayStation 2 |
| Released | February 10, 2006 |
| Game | |
| Gakuen Alice: Waku Waku Happy Friends | |
| Developer | Kids Station |
| Publisher | Kids Station |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Rating | CERO: All Ages |
| Platform | Nintendo DS |
| Released | April 19, 2007 |
Gakuen Alice (学園アリス Gakuen Arisu), also known as Alice Academy or Alice School, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tachibana Higuchi, currently being serialized in the shōjo manga magazine Hana to Yume. It was adapted into an anime series produced by Aniplex and Group TAC which originally premiered on NHK BS-2. It spanned twenty-six episodes, between October 30, 2004, and May 14, 2005. The anime was translated and dubbed into English by the anime television network Animax and broadcast on networks throughout Asia. At Anime Expo 2008, The Right Stuf International announced that its Nozomi Entertainment division had licensed Gakuen Alice for the North American market.
Contents |
Mikan Sakura is an orphaned ten-year-old that lives in a small town in the remote countryside. Her best friend Hotaru starts to attend a prodigy school in Tokyo and uses the money she collects to save their school from closing down. Soon, Mikan runs away from home and follows her, and she finds Hotaru in Alice Academy, a school for children with special powers called Alices. She is discovered by Narumi, a teacher, and is identified as a holder of the rare Nullification Alice. Her friendship with Hotaru is rekindled, but she quickly becomes disliked by her classmates. However, her classmates are eventually won over by her warm and optimistic demeanor. She meets Natsume Hyuga, a boy with a powerful Fire Alice who is abused by the academy. Although she becomes rivals with Natsume, they grow close to each other and fall in love. Her happy adventures in the academy come to an end when she discovers that the Elementary School Principal is not well-meaning at all and is out to get not only her but her family and friends.
The anime episodes are similar to the first 28 manga chapters, but some events are changed or combined. There are events after the Alice Festival added in that did not occur in the manga. The manga's darker tones (graphic violence, blood scenes, and the deaths of Yuka and Izumi) are left out in the anime to suit younger viewers. Characters in the anime may have different hair and eye color than their manga counterparts. The anime series leaves the love triangle between Mikan, Ruka, and Natsume unresolved; Mikan remains oblivious to their feelings. The mystery of Mikan's parents and family history, along with others' past, remains unrevealed. In the first episode, she does not catch a taxi to Alice Academy, nor does everyone know about Alices in the anime. The anime has Reo as the antagonist while the manga has the Elementary Principle. The anime does not reveal the intents of the Elementary Principal or other antagonists.
The Gakuen Alice is located somewhere in Tokyo, across from a huge gorilla billboard in the anime. The school grounds contain three levels of education (elementary through senior high), dormitories for the different sections, a hospital, the main building, and the central town, where shops managed by Alice-bearing artisans sell goods produced with the help of their Alices.
Four forests surround the grounds. The Northern Woods are the most visited and is home to "Mr. Bear," an animated doll made by an alice at the school.
In the anime, the Academy has its own monetary system, the Rabbit (Rt), with one Rabbit equivalent to 100 yen. However, in the manga, the Academy uses yen as their primary currency.
Due to constant threat by kidnappers and slave traders, vocal and written communication is limited to within the Academy. The grounds are closely guarded, and heavy security and electrified fences deter students from attempting to leave.
High-scoring students in the Final Examinations receive perks such as free meal tickets, certifications, and money. These high-scoring students also qualify for a chance to receive the "Best Student Award," which allows the students to be permitted a week-long leave to go home to be with family.
Every Alice is categorized as one of four shapes, which specify how it manifests itself in the person.
A star-ranking is the evaluation system that the Academy uses to judge a student's schoolwork, Alice level and attitude. There are five rankings, which are indicated by the number of gold stars on a student's collar. The star ranking a student is given dictates their accommodations, their food, their allowances, their responsibilities, and their ability to graduate.
Each star ranking has its own monthly allowance rate:
Control devices are specially designed prevention devices made for a particular person. These devices are worn on the head, hand, or other body part and can emit tracking signals. Each kind of device has sealing abilities that lock a person's Alice within the device. Other control devices are used for punishment purposes or Alice interference, such as the Cat Mask worn by Hyuuga Natsume and the bracelet worn by Nodacchi. There are also earrings that cannot be taken off. If a person wearing one of these disobeys a higher-up, he or she is immediately punished with a pulsating electric shock throughout the body. When wearing a control mask normally, electric waves go through the head and cause the wearer to have a horrible headache. Only the one who has placed the control device on the wearer can remove the device.
Alice stones, are stones that contain a small, limited amount of Alice from the Alice maker. The stone will glow different colors depending on the Alice that the stone was made of. The person who receives the Alice stone will only be able to use it with a strong will power. When the user has an Alice that is compatible with the Alice stone, he or she is able to bring out more of the stone's power at one time. The power of the Alice stone decreases with use which is indicated by the fading of the stone color. The exchange of Alice stones between two people symbolizes that they are promised to each other, like promise rings.
Alice stones are created when an Alice concentrates his or her feelings and emotions and the outflow of Alice creates a stone. The only exception to this method is the Stealing Alice, in which the Alice is completely removed from the body of the original possessor.
The protagonist of the series. She is ten years old in the beginning and is currently twelve years old. She originally lived in the country with her adoptive grandfather until she left her home to search for her best friend, Hotaru, who had enrolled in Alice Academy. Mikan discovers that Alice Academy is a school for children with a unique ability called an "Alice". When she arrives at the academy, she does not believe that she is an Alice and had only came to see Hotaru again. However, Narumi, her teacher, believes that she is an Alice and has her enrolled into the school. She was accepted by her classmates with skepticism because she did not know what her Alice was at the time, but after a fight with Natsume, she finds out that she has the Nullification Alice. As the series progresses, she gains a lot of friends due to her cheerful and caring personality and becomes popular among her peers, despite her naivety and comical traits. Her friendship with Hotaru grows stronger, despite their constant fights. She is partners with Natsume, whom she constantly fights with but she later grows to care for him and falls in love with him. She was a No-Star at first because the teachers distrusted her, but she later becomes a Single Star. She also later finds out that she possess the Stealing Alice and partnered Insertion Alice. In chapter 101, she finds out that the High School Principal is her paternal uncle and her parents are Yuka Azumi, a member of Z who abandoned her as an infant to protect her from the academy and Izumi Yukihira, a teacher who was killed before she was born. She is the subject to unwanted attention from the Elementary School Principal, who wants her for her Stealing Alice. Though never specifically stated, it has been implied that her Alice shape is Intermittent.
Mikan's best friend. They met in the fourth grade when Hotaru transferred to Mikan's hometown and school. At first, Mikan did not like her due to her serious attitude. However, when they entered in a dance and singing contest together and won, Mikan decided to be her best friend, and were famous among their town. They fight constantly because of their opposing personalities. While Mikan is cheerful and outgoing, Hotaru is blunt and serious. Despite their frequent bickering, Mikan and Hotaru share a special bond that is as close as sisters. Hotaru does not think twice in hitting Mikan with one of her inventions, but she truly cares about her and likes seeing her smile, even to the point of making her cry because she thinks Mikan crying makes her smile cuter. She is the reason why Mikan came to the academy and is always defending her against bullies, even saying to them she is the only one allowed to make Mikan cry. She does have a sinister side by blackmailing other students with photos of them in embarrassing situations and selling them to her friends for money. She has a weird relationship with her older brother, Subaru, but she does love and care about him. She has the Invention Alice and is a Triple Star.
The male protagonist of the series. He is introduced on Mikan's first day at the academy, when he attempted to escape. Afterwards, he threatened Mikan with his Alice and took off her skirt (he took off her underwear in the manga), which only started a hate relationship between the two for a while. Before coming to the academy, Natsume lived with his father and younger sister because his mother died in a car accident when he was young. He arrived at the academy at age 8, along with Ruka, his best friend. He has the Fire Alice and is the only Special Star in the Elementary Branch. He is a smart student, but often ditches class. He is feared and hated by many students and teachers because of his Alice and rebellious attitude, and he knows the intents of adults. He has many followers and admirers because of his rebellious acts, but he barely acknowledges them. He is forced to do secret missions for the Elementary Principle because Persona held his sister, Aoi, captive in the academy. He also suffers from a physical illness related to his Limitless Alice form, that damages his body whenever he uses his Alice and frequently goes to the hospital. Although he is cold and quiet, he truly cares about his friends and wishes to protect them, especially Ruka and later Mikan. At first, he found Mikan annoying, but he later grows fond of her. He falls in love with her and becomes willing to sacrifice his life to protect her, and even proposed to her after switching Alice Stones.
Natsume's best friend. Natsume met him when they were eight years old, when Natsume moved into Ruka's town and enrolled in his school. They immediately became friends because they both have Alices and are targeted by the academy. He is a very loyal friend to Natsume and later to Mikan. He came to the academy with Natsume after Natsume was falsely blamed for setting their town on fire and witnessed Natsume cry. He tries to defend Natsume against people who pick on him and accuse him of bad things, even though he feels he is a burden to Natsume. Despite their different personalities, they are very good friends and get along. While Natsume is cold and rude, Ruka is warm and pleasant. He later becomes good friends with Mikan after spending time with her and develops a crush on her. He and Natsume have a friendly rivalry over her, but he eventually decides to let go of his feelings for her because he knows that Mikan and Natsume love each other and that Natsume needs her the most. He remains good friends with them and wishes them for the best. He has the Animal Pheromone Alice and is a Triple Star.
In the English-language release distributed in North America by Tokyopop, his name is romanized as Luca Nogi.
Written and illustrated by Tachibana Higuchi, the chapters of Gakuen Alice are published in the Japanese manga anthology Hana to Yume by Hakusensha and are collected in tankōbon. Twenty-four volumes have been released as of May 2011.[1]
Gakuen Alice was licensed for an English-language release in North America by Tokyopop before the company shut down. Sixteen volumes were published. This title is currently available to be licensed.[2]
The 26 episode anime version of Gakuen Alice was directed by Takahiro Omori. The episodes started airing in Japan on October 20, 2004, and ran until the finale on May 14, 2005.
The series uses two pieces of theme music. The opening theme, Pikapika no Taiyou (Shining Sun), is performed by Kana Ueda, the protagonist's voice actress. The ending theme, Shiawase no Niji (Rainbow of Happiness), is performed by Kana Ueda and Rie Kugimiya.
The entire series was released as a five DVD Japanese language only set in North America on July 7, 2009.
An official fanbook was published in May 2007.[3] There was also a special fanbook titled Pika Pika SP Fanbook released as a furoku in Hana to Yume magazine.
A soundtrack for the series was released on March 2, 2005.[3] A single of the opening theme and ending theme were also released.[4]
Three drama CDs were broadcast on a web radio. On January 18, 2006, Sony Music Entertainment released the first drama CD.[5][6][7]
Gakuen Alice ~Kira Kira Memory Kiss~ was released on June 22, 2006, for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. There is also a Game Boy Advance game that has also only been released in Japan called Gakuen Alice ~Doki Doki Fushigi Taiken~. On April 19, 2007, a Nintendo DS game called Gakuen Alice: Waku Waku Happy Friends was released in Japan.