Hello folks supperdorkyyy here I want to address myself as Di here at anilist. As my favourite anime of all times I thought: Why not write my first ever review about it? 220http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/gakuenalice/images/d/da/Wahtchgakuenaliceposteracade3.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20081213185418 Our main characters from left to right: Natsume Hyuuga Hotaru Imai Ruka Nogi and Mikan Sakura Before we start I want to give you guys an overview of the anime. Basically it revolves around our protagonist Mikan Sakura and her journey as an Alice student at Alice Academy a.k.a Gakuen Alice. Shes 10 years old an orphan a countrybumpkin and best friend of Hotaru Imai. One day Hotaru suddenly transfers from their local school to the prestigious school of geniuses Alice Academy. This marks the beginning of our adventure in the world of Alices with Mikan. Together we will experience the friendships trials and tribulations of Mikan as she tries to adjust and settle down in the Academy. Just a little background about the Academy it is a school in Tokyo Japan for children born with Alices. When a child is found to posses an Alice they would try to bring the child to this school. Students of Alice Academy may not leave until graduation or if they no longer have their Alice. They may write letters but letters leaving and coming to Alice Academy are screened upon receiving and prior to sending. The school also gives money to the parents of the students who attend the school. At this point I bet youre a little bit confused. Di kept on talking about Alice here Alice there... What is an Alice? Well let me tell you what it is it is the term used in the world of Alice Academy describing people who have special abilities. Jesus when are you actually starting the review Di? You already wrote a wall of texts Okay okay.. well start. Impatient fools Lets talk about the story in a nutshell Mikan follows her best friend to Alice Academy found out she possesses a unique Alice meets the moody Natsume Hyuuga and his best friend Ruka Nogi managed to make him her enemy on her first day of school Natsume then tries to make Mikan life a living hell in return and the story goes on..wait what thats it? No no no hahaha I think I got you guys there. Lets talk honesty here the plot is very generic it revolves around friendship. Theres a lot out there. You must be thinking why should I watch Alice Academy? Ill tell you why well duh because its generic thats why you need to watch and read the series. You can pretty much predict the direction the animes heading. I bet you predicted what Ive just said. However let me guys tell you theres more to it than meets the eye. Despite Mikans initial view of the socalled greatness of the school she slowly finds out that beneath the grand facade of the Academy there is a neverending stream of lies and buried secrets. The schools increasingly manipulative and sinister actions towards her make it a dangerous place to be. Little does she know her enrolment in the school set the gears in motion to an even greater tragedy. Intriguing? Read the manga I like the story even though its generic. It made me laugh cry annoyed mixed emotions throughout my journey. Simply the best shoujo anime out there You guys should definitely watch it and read it wouldnt disappoint you. If that didnt make you want to watch the anime or even read the manga lets talk about the characters. Mikan is an optimistic cute athletic and goodnatured girl but her clumsiness lands her into trouble. She is a cheerful and energetic person much to the annoyance of her mellowheaded best friend Hotaru. Shes your typical female protagonist. Most of the time I find her idiotic and annoying nonetheless very much likeable character. In terms of personality Mikan is a goodnatured and caring towards her friends. Her clumsiness may lead her to trouble most of the time but she has a very determined spirit. Her mottoes Never Lose and Never Give up have carried her through countless trials in her life in the academy. Hotaru is intelligent logical extremely rational and has a foul mouth and shes also quiet when everyone in her class is so noisy. She also can come across as rather detached and downright threatening when she wants to. She is rather rude and though she appears civil she is actually a very lazy person and really needed money to make a new inventions so that it can do the work for her. As a business minded person Hotaru loves making money and often results to extortion to get what she wants. She is particularly protective of her best friend Mikan and enjoys torturing her many admirers especially Ruka and Natsume. I find her one of the most complex character throughout the series. We have similar personalities so I can relate to her the most. Shes my favourite character Gives love to Hotaru. Natsume comes off as cold and easily angered but his attitude is mostly a facade. He wishes to get involved with no one and vice versa. Natsume is protective of his friends and family and he is willing to suffer for them and sacrifice his life and freedom so that they wont get hurt. Talk about being a masochist doesnt it get any better? First we have Mikan the klutz Hotaru the blackmailer now we have Natsume the masochist. Natusme hates the academy and wishes to escape to live peacefully with those he cares for the most. He is very perverted for his age. Who doesnt like a perverted male lead? Ruka is a little nicer and can be considered more bearable than his best friend Natsume. While Natsume is cold and distant Ruka is warm and pleasant to people. Like Natsume his classmates see him as serious and cool but Ruka really isnt that type. He is an animal lover. He is a very loyal friend especially to Natsume and later Mikan. Ruka knows of Natsumes sacrifices and feels helpless that he cannot help his friend. I find him a very weak character compared to others. Very passive he did play a vital part at the last arc of the manga. Youll meet a lot of interesting characters in the world of Alices and youll certaintly find your own personal favourite characters just like I did. Lastly I want to talk about the visuals and art style. Its definitely not the most visually appealing anime and manga out there but it does wonders. Dont be put off by it the series is definitely worth your time well written story. I find the visuals and art style appealing and suit the setting quite well. It utilises the use bright bold colours well Overall a very vibrant world. The main setting of the anime and manga pivots around the Academy. Its a damn big world for our characters to explore. I once dreamt of: whats it like to be in Mikans position or the students? Its quite exciting for me maybe not so much for the characters as theyre quite young living in the Academy. But I as an 18 years old a first year university student it is I can almost imagine what it is like living on your own. What do you guys think? Fun isnt it? 220http://orig03.deviantart.net/7c58/f/2015/230/4/9/academymapbyacademiarobotd969gx5.jpg 220http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/gakuenalice/images/4/49/GakuenAliceMap.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100514223313 Have I convinced you guys enough to watch and read the manga? If not well too bad youre missing out If yes watch anime first then read manga for a better experience.