It was never really my intention to read or watch Gakuen Alice, but while searching for characters Romi Paku voiced, I found out that Natsume was voiced by her so I gave it a go. I didn't know what to expect, so when I finally started watching it, I was surprised and here's why:

Story:
The beginning of the story is simple and very shojou-like where a young female protagonist discovers she had magical powers and attended a new school (sort of like Kamichama Karin). To be honest, if I wasn't kept slightly entertained by the anime, I would've put the manga down imediately. The story remains simple for about 4 volumes and then the plot starts to thicken and darken. At this point, it starts to become more like a 12-13+ manga, unlike the anime, which was aimed at a younger audience. The story has a nice balance of 'happy' and 'sad' moments, leaving hooked and wanting to read more. The parts of the story which really stuck with me were the relationships between Mikan and her friends. As the story progresses through the darker arcs, you begin to symphathise with them and understand their feelings (I cried during one part). The story has everything - romance, comedy, betrayal, fighting - you name it and it has it, which is one of the reasons why I continued reading it. So overall, if you can muster enough motivation to read past volume 4, the story is worth reading through and is very well thought out (to the point where it starts to become unpredictable).

Art:
The art at the beginning (as with most mangas) isn't as good as the art in the later volumes. However, as you read through you begin to realise that each character is growing and this is clearly shown in the art. For exaple, if you compare the art of chater 1 to chapter 140, you can see that each character has grown and they start to look more middle school-like. The expressions are drawn really well (although the tears can be too thick.)

Character:
Ah, the characters. This'll take a while. Each character plays an important part in the manga. I won't go into detail with Mikan since she's the protagonist, but the more I read, the more I believe that Mikan is growing up. She goes through a lot throughout the story and soon starts to think for herself instead of being the spoilt girl she was at the beginningof the story. Hotaru, Mikan's best friend, doesn't really chage much in attitude, but as the story progresses, she becomes more open to her feelings and sharing her ideas with others. Ruka - you can't help but feel sorry for him - is a great asset to Natsume as a best friend as Natsume only tells Ruka about his thoughts and feelings. In a way, he was able to help Natsume out of the darkness. And Natsume, being the main male character, has one of those close-to-darkness stories enveloping him. Natsume changes the most in the series and I becomes probably the most noble character. His character changes drastically, but he doesn't turn into one of those who-blush-whenever-they-see-the-girl-they-love types (like Syaoran) and its quite surprising what he decides to do and how he does it. He is one of those characters who you can't help but want to root for. Anyways, many character's pasts are revealed, leading to character development and there is a wide range of different characters, both good and bad.

Enjoyment:
I enjoyed reading Gakuen Alice very much. The comedy was hilarious is some places and the gets really interesting. Each character, with their own unique personality, makes this manga enjoyable (especially when Tsubasa teases Ruka and Natsume~)

Overall:
Need you ask? Although I wasn't very satisfied with how the anime turned out, I can say with certainty that the manga is worth reading. To really feel for the characters you have to read it slowly and with feeling. The art is not the best, but very good nonetheless. Characters are lovely and entertaining. Story is one of the best and most indepth out there. I would recommend this to any shojo manga lover as well as those who like stories with a lot of turmoil.