Introduction
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]
Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Jastereich
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 ofte…
Read at the sourceOtakuSenpaiiiii
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 m…
Read at the sourceeednamoj
Gakuen Alice.... oh where do I begin. For starters, this is my all-time favorite manga. The manga is amazing; I've loved it for the 10+ years I've been obsessed with it. From the point where only 40 chapters were released.
But this isn't the manga, obviously.
The anime starts out promising. It follows the manga pretty dedicatedly until the last episode. There are even a couple changes in the anime that I love. For example, in Central Town Arc, Mikan gives the last howalon to Natsume in the anime, instead of Narumi.
In fact, from episodes 1 to 25, I was over the moon. The anime was AMAZING, they left little out. The build-up was great. There were a couple tiny things here or there that I missed, but in general it was close-to-perfect.
I mean, the relationship between Hotaru and Mika…
Read at the sourceayamiren
I first discovered this through the manga. i thought nothing of it but read it regardless. At first, I thought it was just a girl with a childish dream or whatsoever, but I was incredibly wrong. If you haven't read it, I recommend it to all of you!
So, after knowing it has an anime adaptation of it, I instantly watched it. The story actually followed the manga quite well, though it lacks in the art it was still decent. The anime only covers the surface of this deep dive. Each character all have their own story and it's beautiful how these kids mature overtime and help each other to form an unbreakable bond. I always cried every time I come back to read it because the story was so heartbreaking to see.
So do give this anime (and manga) a chance! You won't regret this.
Read at the sourceAoiKoke
I thought this was such a cute anime! (Spoiler free and quick summary at the end if you cbf reading my rant)
The Good:
The characters are great, there's lots of characters with distinctive personalities (they are more stereotypical but you get moments where they break this and are more realistic for most of them) and you can see how their backstories, friends, experiences and Alice's effect this. Although Mikan could be somewhat annoying at times, I loved the heart and determination.
I also loved that despite trying really hard, there were multiple times where she struggled and/or failed, it wasn't pushing the unrealistic 'you can do anything with willpower' but it pushed that trying your best is the best you can do. Mikan's final episode message is also super cute and I think it shows…
Read at the sourceemmy621
Disclaimer: This is more of a sum of my thoughts on certain areas of this anime. There were a few things in this show that frustrated me so much that I just had to write it down. I will not be going over areas like art or sound (both mediocre) but more the premise and the characters. Also, this is not going to be a professional 'review' so do not take it too seriously!
I want to start off by saying I overall enjoyed this anime because it is just a simple anime that people of all ages can enjoy. I would have given it a 7 but the ending was very disappointing so here's the 6 it earned from me.
However...
I MUST discuss why it made me so angry to write a review for it.
Gakuen Alice takes place at Alice Academy which can only be described as Hell. The abuse these children go through is n…
Read at the sourcePrimo_27
Story: Throughout the anime there isn’t really much of a story since it's mostly different events happening in each episode. But there are some episodes that are 2-3 episodes of story. Those stories I find are really important to future character development.
Art: As expected of an anime that was made in the early 2000s, the art design was so so. All the characters no matter how old they were or whether they were male or female, they all had large eyes. You really can’t blame the animators because of the lack of technology at the time. Otherwise the art design is that at the point where you can’t stand it.
Sound: The music that is played matched perfectly with each scene. Since Gakuen Alice is pretty much a slice of life, it’s best to play music that isn’t dramatic but at the same time n…
Read at the source5feet-of-anxiety
Though I loved the manga growing up the anime left me disappointed. The adaptation was faithful for the most part but the hurried, half-assed excuse for an ending that shows how abruptly they cancelled the production of this show is incredibly disappointing. If you are looking for the story and characters that the anime promises then I highly recommend reading the manga. Though, on it's own I cannot say this is a particularly good anime I am satisfied with the parts that did make it to adaptation. I am incredibly grateful that the genie scene was adapted and faithfully at that. But of course that scene is just as great within the manga so maybe go read that instead.
Read at the sourcesadmeme
This review is coming from someone who has read nearly all the manga and watched the anime.
I DO RECOMMEND READING THE MANGA AFTER WATCHING THE ANIME AS IT GIVES SO MUCH MORE DEPTH TO THE STORY. THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE ANIME AS A STANDALONE SERIES IS NOT GOOD.
Story: 6/10
In relativity to the manga the story within the anime definitely isn't good. However, even as its own unit, the story of the Gakuen Alice anime isn't that good either. It has a storyline; it's not like a monster of the day story that has no character development ever, but it does have a lot of meaningless parts of the show (that aren't anime-original). I think it's mostly due to the fact that the anime was short and wasn't able to get into the really gritty stuff that it lacks so much of the story component.
Art: 7/…
Read at the sourcejuju20x5
i Love watching anime. everytime i finish watching 1 complete series of anime, i will search for a new 1. I probably have seen over thousand anime. and its kinda hard to find really interesting 1.
I believe this anime is a HIDDEN gem. LOL. The storyline pretty Interesting. it takes me 3 episode to fall in love with this "Alice Academy". i love the face mimic(art) of main Character (Mikan Sakura) and i found its funny, silly,adorable and cute.
My first impression for tis anime actually is not tat good cos tis anime label as pg13 which mean its for kids. But the storyline really surprise me cos its much better than most of adult-like anime outside there.
As a conlusion,This is
Really Awesome anime tat you should not miss watching until the last episode.=)
Read at the sourceaiYuki
*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 lit…
Read at the sourceB3astpwn
I Laughed, Cried, Wanted something (or someone) to Hug, And episode after episode, i could not wait until i saw the next.
Gakuen Alice is true-ly a masterpiece.
Some people drop the anime because of it's childish element. But let me say this once, IT. IS. NOT. CHILDISH. There are so many dark moments in this anime, that will honestly tear you to pieces and make you cry. If you have a heart that is, and I am pretty strong when it comes to that stuff, but this anime broke that barrier. On-wards to the Review!
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Story: 10/10
Honestly, what goes on in the first TWO episodes will probably make people drop this anime, but if you get past that...you'll love this anime. It has really dark spots in the anime, and really isn't meant towards the 'shoujo' group. It's towards everyone so if you're a…
Read at the sourceEle9
"Alice" is ability. People who have "alice" are gathered in Gakuen Alice for...various purpose. (I will not go into that, please enjoy the story)
After finishing both the manga and anime of GA, here is my review.
Gakuen Alice(GA) is a school themed comedic shoujo manga/anime. I'm not sure why it is not given the "mystery" genre but whatever. The cover of the anime and the name might fool you thinking that the story will be childish but in reality it isn't. The story is more interesting and...complicated than you can imagine. The characters are interesting with different alices/abilities. The characters are not over 9000 or I might say their abilities are quite weak. This makes the story very funny.
The anime version GA actually skipped quite alot of the darker part of the story and al…
Read at the sourceRURIchama
Gakuen Alice is one of the most well-known shoujo animes. Some people find it absolutely childish, but I think it's an anime everybody can enjoy. It was one of my very first animes to watch, and it has a very important place in my heart. Though, now that I look back, I realize that the anime's quality wasn't as good as the manga's.
Story:
The story department has the highest score for me. I personally find the story very unique and original. I haven't come across a similar plot line anywhere. As simple as that. It deserves a ten.
Art:
The art for me was quite ordinary. Sometimes I was quite annoyed by the characters' eyes, but I got used to it. I saw much worse art and animation, believe me. It passes. Eight.
Sound:
The sound didn't stand out much in this anime. The opening was qui…
Read at the sourceJulietteChan
Gakuen alice review - first off this anime was very good with nice side characters and okay animation. Given this is not one of the most recent animes the colors may seem a bit dull, or bland. The animation was good but nothing like outran high school host club for a comparison. When I fist started this anime I was excited because I was addicted to the manga for multiple reasons the main and side characters developed a ton with their personalities to their relationships. In the manga it also includes family backgrounds and side stories and relationships which was a good touch to the series. However the anime did not include much character development or bonds between the characters sure there were some but nothing like the manga. The anime also never included any past stories or explained…
Read at the sourceAnimeAwesomes117
Gakuen Alice is absolutely a classic! At first glance it seems very kiddish but not at all! It's a very sweet and light anime that is great. The characters are all unique and dynamic and the storyline is very different. I absolutely loved this anime. Although there should have been a bit more romance the anime was more generally about friendship but if thats not your cup of tea then its all right!
Read at the sourceBlue_Shadow
(6) Story- It wasn't all that good. I expected it to be better but there wasn't any romance which was quiet disappointing.In the manga it was much better so I do think that they should have put the romance in the anime too, that way they would get more viewers.
(7) Art- Art was pretty good
(6) Sound- no comment
(8) Character- I really liked the characters especially Hotaru. She was my favourite! The "cool" type. Mikan was great too, just that clumsy and stupid part of her annoyed me. Out of the male characters I really liked tsubasa. He seemed pretty cool.
(5) Enjoyment- I kinda enjoyed it but again, they really needed to put romance in the story T_T
(7) Overall- The manga was better ...
~Blue T.T (bad mood today T_T)
Read at the sourceMikashimotaku
Gakuen Alice was one of those animes I had always heard about, and I finally thought to myself, "I should probably get to watching." And I guess I can say I'm glad I watched it. It was pretty good, fluffy, cute, yet somewhat awkwardly dark.
Story: 7/10
Eh. The story was pretty good. I'm about 77 chapters into the manga, so I must say the anime follows the first 28 chapters of the manga really well. But then after episode 22, the anime takes a turn and completely veers away from the manga. I most likely conclude that this is because the anime was ending soon, and there was no way to cover everything the manga had to offer.
The anime is one of those that suffer from "kid friendliness". If you read the Gakuen Alice manga, the themes are much darker and much more consequential. But you kno…
Read at the sourceshintai88
I recently rewatched this in Cantonese. At first the dubbing choice was a bit odd, But then I remembered the orginal Japanese voices, and it was ok again.
Anyways what can I say. I only watched this once, so I was rewatching for the second time, and it was a lot better then I remembered.
The Characters in the anime are all unique, with their own unique Alice's (Supernatural powers or talents). But the setting of the anime was also in its own way Unique. A secluded School, with grounds that I swear would probably match Sanzennin Nagi's Estate.
I has some action moments, and hints to a darker plot, but over all it still quite childish but at the same time fun to watch. Mikan slowly matures, even though at the end she is still an idiot :P.
The jokes and gags are entertaining. Overall its…
Read at the sourceRoyalSmile
I don’t really like shoujo animes because I’m more mature for my age and I don’t have the patience for the girly naïve stuff. On the other hand, when I’m in a bad mood, crazy mood, or need to distract myself from all things serious, I love watching shoujo anime. So, now, cutting to the chase, I watched GA thinking that this will be incredibly lighthearted and fun. I was both right and wrong. Half of the time this is a typical shoujo anime, and then the other half of the time, it has mature circumstances. So it was actually kind of cool to have a shoujo anime with mature themes. I know that probably sounds contradicting and impossible, but it’s not, and I love it that aspect.
So, moving on, we have Mikan Sakura, the typical optimistic shoujo protagonist, who I actually didn’t mind that much…
Read at the source
