I had originally planned to review this manga once it was over (which would’ve been in a a couple of volumes), but I re-decided because of the relatively small fan-base Gakuen Alice has conjured up in the past few years. I feel as if I should step in and give this manga some recognition it deserves. But first (before I get into the details), imagine that you’re a kid again. Except that in this new childhood, you’re given super powers (called "alices"), money, toys, and guess what? You never have to see your parents. It does sound enticing, let’s be honest, and even more so to our adult selves, but you really can’t help but see the possible effects this spoilt environment could have on a child, right? This is Gakuen Alice (lit. Alice Academy), and though I won’t say it’s the darkest long-running shoujo I’ve ever seen, I will say that it is the darkest long-running shoujo that I’m still following.

Mikan Sakura (the protagonist) is a Mary-Sue, without a doubt. She’s cheerful, cute, optimistic and energetic, and in the words of the mangaka, Higuchi Tachibana, she “forgets her worries quickly, and is very dependent on others”. (Even her name sounds like something out of a moe-generator!). Anyways, we first meet her on a quest to get in contact with her best friend, Hotaru, and after following her own life’s philosophy (“never give up!”) she manages to track her down in Tokyo. Mikan (a 10-year-old girl) then travels from her little village all the way to the city in hopes of reuniting with her friend.

And she does. She arrives at the gates of a place called Alice Academy. Then almost by “coincidence” (and I say this in hyphens for a very good reason), she meets a ill-tempered boy, Natsume, and gets enrolled into the academy through a series of coincidental events. In the beginning, Gakuen Alice begins as a very sweet and childish comedy, introducing Mikan Sakura to the world of alices. She plays dodge ball, she goes shopping, she laughs, and, of course, Mikan is occasionally homesick, and she cries.

If not for the occasional dark undertones so early on, we may believe that’s all G.A. has to offer (a heartwarming slice-of-life story about a simple girl). But starting as early as chapter 10, it becomes clear that “alices” play a much bigger part in the world (as well as Mikan’s ultimate destiny). The story then takes on a dark tone-shift every other arc until halfway through the manga; it is then when it stops becoming a sweet “feel-good” manga, and something more horrific for a ten-year-old to experience.

And that is Gakuen Alice.

The characters are good --they’re loveable, but ultimately, a bit flawed. Lots of the main characters are actually built on top of high school tropes (cold girl, bad boy, nice guy, etc. etc), and though they begin quite cliche, the mangaka, Higuchi Tachibana, provides a great back-story for them. The dark nature in some of them seem unconvincing for their age, but I don't imagine the story working any other way. Not only that, reasons for the character's motivations are established quite later on, which may provide a greater re-read value for the beginning. On the other hand, the side characters are completely original. Mikan's new friends aren't just some faceless girls (or guys) who chatter about games and love. Every single one of them have an interesting and fresh personality, and even though they are absolutely charming, they never outshine the flawed main characters.

(But seriously, it's a story about a bunch of 10-year-olds. Don't expect to find the meaning of life within them. This is a manga that was originally meant for kids/pre-teens, but as the years past, the Gakuen Alice fan base grew up, and Higuchi Tachibana slowly made the story more mature with each passing year. I would seriously not recommend this manga for a child to read. There are some really, really brutal parts in here.)

The plot of Gakuen Alice is hard to describe: it is mostly about Mikan's life in the academy, but it constantly switches between slice-of-life drama, and straight-up action. The shift between these two sub-genres isn't overpowering because, unlike most shoujos, Gakuen Alice actually has definable arcs. And as someone who has helped contribute to the official Gakuen Alice timeline, I have to say, the plot is pretty air-tight. There are few things that aren't explained clearly, and even then, they are negligible. As a result of that, the answer to some very important questions posed within the manga are weak, but not entirely implausible, and since this manga is fantasy, it's acceptable. And most surprisingly: lots of effort actually went into the creation of this manga. Some things are purposefully put into the beginning of G.A. just so that the mangaka could bring it back up 100 chapters later.

Oh, and I must say... the art. I don't personally rate on art, but I do feel that it needs to be talked about. At first, it starts out as a more childish version of the standard “shoujo-art style”. During the course of the series, however, it evolves into something a tad more unique, that is, up until the last 50 chapters or so. The art style seems to be devolving recently, and often looks lazily drawn. There seems to be no reason as to why it looks the way it does, so I suppose I can't say much more: it honestly looks like a typical shoujo.

Despite that criticism, Gakuen Alice is a very thrilling experience even to the most refined shoujo readers. It contains a lot of sub-genres within, ranging from young love to extreme turmoil. Furthermore, it does it within one completely static setting: the Academy. It manages to take a twist on a beloved shoujo set-up, and because of that, I'll be rounding it's 7.0 up to an 7.5 (good), with my overall rating as an 8.0. Go into Gakuen Alice expecting the best, and you'll come out mildly disturbed by the worst.

Gakuen Alice is certainly no overwhelming masterpiece, but it really does deserve all the praise it gets.

★★★★★★★★☆☆