Gakuen Alice

Gakuen Alice, I prefer the manga rather than the anime because it conveys the message better.

What makes this a good manga is the steady character development, you can see this by the thoughts and actions of the characters and even the art style, those who have seen the manga could tell the art style from chapter 1 to chapter 110 looks different.

Another point that makes this a good manga is the plot itself, it's original and heartwarming, it's morals are about friendship, changes, family etc.

The problem with this manga is that since this is a romance, shoujo etc. It can get a bit cheesy and predictable. The characters are also a bit generic, Natsume, for example, is your typical tsundere and Mikan is you happy, happy character.

But regardless this manga is one of my favorite, it conveys a special message in the end and has many twists.

I love this manga, and will most probably read it again in 2 years time...

The story was literally amazing; it is inspired and one the rare heart warming ones where you can relate to the characters, also there were some arcs that I really liked, like the Hanahime Den Arc; you actually saw what kind of character Natsume and Hotaru were, when they stood up for Mikan. xD

I love the art as well, it is not overly detailed, and very simple. Just that sometimes you notice a strange ring shadow around their mouths...? (Maybe it's just me)

I especially enjoyed reading each character; for Mikan, she follows the typical naïve girl plot that most shoujos have, but not the type where you can get annoyed at. She's also one that grows to be mature, but she is in general a very brave, cute, comical and inspiring character.
It was also nice the way the author displayed Natsume; a cool, unapproachable guy that doesn't seem to care about anything, let alone anyone but as the story goes on, you can tell how much he loves Mikan, as well as for the people around him. (I might start crying now...! T.T)

As for Ruka-Pyon and Hotaru, you can tell that Hotaru sincerely cares about Mikan, especially near the ending. She's also displayed in a very comical way, with all her gadgets, hehehe. Ruka-Pyon, especially, was one of my favourite characters, although he was kind of a minor character, he still tried his best to support his friends and connected with a lot of readers' hearts. (Probably because he's cute as a rabbit! xD)

Despite being a long manga of 180 chapters, it was totally worth reading, there were a lot of feels, ships, but to experience the actual enjoyment I think you actually have to read it for yourself, as words aren't enough to compare.

Overall, I don't regret reading this manga, seeing as it was far better than the anime, you could see the development of each character slowly maturing each chapter, and it was nice to see that Natsume and Mikan could be together.
One thing I would say though, the ending was a bit... Crap. A lot of people say that they hate the ending, and personally, I don't hate it, even though it was a bit lacking. But I don't really see how you could improve the ending; it was left on a cliff hanger, imagine they found Hotaru, and had a happy reunion, would that have been better? Maybe, maybe not, but still I really loved this manga; the 180 chapters are worth the read, I would also read it again in 2 years, and definitely recommend it to readers that enjoy Romance, Drama, Shoujo and Comedy with a touch of Mystery, Action, and Psychological bits here and there.

Ahhh, Gakuen Alice. One of my first manga series.

Let's start off with the bare-bones: little Mikan Sakura is a 5th grader with a serious girl-crush on her best friend, Hotaru. Naturally, when Hotaru is accepted into a school for "geniuses" away from the serenity of their rural life, Mikan is crushed and vows to follow her friend to the super-school at any cost. After a little fun and adventure, our heroine realizes the school - called Alice Academy (or "Gakuen Alice" for the average Japanophile) - is actually a program for children with special, unique powers called Alices. Hotaru has one, and what's more-- Mikan has one, too! And so starts the girl's journey in Alice Academy.

While the initial plot of GA is a little cliche - school-aged children with powers, no wai!1!! - it's still clever and cute. There's a heavy dose of lightheared humor, but also a little angst, drama, and romance for the well-rounded reader. The Alices are interesting and really inciting... I'm not the only reader who wishes they had one, right!? Anywho-- don't expect any heavy plot lines or epic fights. It's just not the type of thing to suit this manga.

Art is... well, it's a downside. The 13 year old girl I used to be certainly fell in love with it, but looking back the style is pretty hardcore shojo. The eyes are bigger than saucers, and I think I will vomit if I see another kid with a head as big as half their body. It's not that it's terrible - in fact, it's well drawn and nice for the easygoing fluff of the story - but readers who are used to more realistic styles will be in for a shock.

While I do enjoy most of the characters in GA, it would be a crime to rate this component higher than a 6 simply for our little Mikan. While she's cute and has her "flaws", she's got Mary Sue written right on her forehead. Orphan who realizes her parents were actually all-powerful and famous? Yes. Possesses one of the most rare and special Alices in the school? Yes. Liked by everyone, complete with a fair share of crushes? Yes. Will probably get in the pants of all 3 main male leads her age? Yes. Good-natured, never quick to anger, forever innocent? No.
... just kidding, yes.
The rest of the characters are sweet and likeable, my favourite being Tsubasa. Gotta love a boy with an appreciation for flair. But if you're anything like me, with a machine gun in the back of the truck for Mary-Sue hunting over the weekend, well... be warned.

Overall, GA is a pretty enjoyable series. It's definitely given me laughs, surprises, and lots of fun; I recommend it for the early-teenaged shojo lover -- anyone else might be a little too ill-prepared. If you like lighthearted plots with a boarding school setting, a large cast of cute characters, and that little extra bit of magic and mystery, this is a definite positive recommendation.

Very few mangas pull off the touching and funny at the same time, but watching Mikan grow from an immature slightly selfish little girl into a sacrificial loyal young woman does just that.
And the arc work shift of the characters growing is great. Most mangas just let their characters remain the same with simply a change in hairstyle at some points or the young characters of other mangas simply get taller and older all of the sudden.
But all the young characters grow older very slowly in Gakuen Alice. Its so gradual that by the end you become shock when you compare the first chapter and the last because you hardly even noticed the fact that they have all grown up.

There are several problems with it such as the repetitive nature of the story arcs, and slightly tiresome reoccurring themes. Also some of the Alice powers make absolutely no sense. But overall these complaints are inconsequential when compared with the positive attributes this manga has.

Overall the writing wasn't bad for the most part.
But I have a problem with the tone shift.
This review will be full of negative bias, I hate pointless angst.

The story starts like a slightly depressing but overall happy and funny story for kids, about determination and all that nice stuff.

But, later the action gets muddled, the story is increasingly filled with angst for the sake of angst (at times it feels like it makes no sense plot-wise and the plot gains nothing from it, just angst for the sake of angst)

This culminates with some particularly nasty and sort of cliche character death (which I sort of expected, but that didn't make me hate it any less)

After chapter 138 my enjoyment of this manga fell to 0 and now I feel defiled, dirty and disgusted.
I enjoy stories which fill me with happy feelings, I hate when a story fills me with resentment and urges for bodily harm done to the author.

There's nothing more to it, I simply hate this story now... I don't recommend it, unless you enjoy torturing little imaginary kids and character death.

As much as I'd like to, I'm unable to make myself rate this any higher. I wish I never read this manga, should have stayed with the anime.

This manga is a masterpiece.

The ending, however, left me feeling empty and unsatisfied.

But besides that, this manga will make you feel happy, sad, etc.. it's that good.

The characters are lovable. The development, just everything, is amazing. Also Mikan and Natsume are so kawaii lol. This manga could have you reading it over and over again and still manage to make you experience the same feels.

It manages to teach you life lessons. It points out important factors in life; friendship, death, love, etc. I love this manga so much..

If you're feeling decisive on reading this or not, give it a shot. Don't let anything stop you, because trust me, you're missing out on an amazing manga. It's too good that I honestly can't even put it in words.

Gakuen Alice is one of my favs my favorite characters are mikan and natsume they are the best but I hope that the ending ends well I am dieing to see it Ihope natsume and mikan end up together!!