, also known as ''Alice Academy'' or ''Alice School'', is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Tachibana Higuchi is a Japanese manga artist known for her works of ''Gakuen Alice'' and '' Portrait of M and N''. In year 1996, she first made her professional debut in ''Bessatsu Hana to Yume'' 5th issue, entitled . With an interview with Tokyopop she gave a ...

, serialized in the shōjo manga magazine ''

Hana to Yume , also known as , is a semi-monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Hakusensha on the 5th and 20th of every month. The magazine is B5-size, and always comes with or free supplements, such as drama CDs, pencil boards (shitajiki), manga ...

'' from 2003 to 2013. It was adapted into an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series produced by

Aniplex is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both ''Fullm ...

and

Group TAC was a Japanese animation and computer graphics studio located in Shibuya, Tokyo, and founded in 1968 from former Mushi Pro staff. They worked on movies, videos, TV shows, and commercials, and contributed to all stages of the process, including p ...

which originally premiered on

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

BS-2. It spanned twenty-six episodes that aired between October 30, 2004 and May 14, 2005. The anime was translated and dubbed into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by the anime television network

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...

and broadcast on networks throughout

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. At

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

2008,

The Right Stuf International Right Stuf Inc. (formerly known as The Right Stuf International Inc.) is an American video publisher and distributor of video programming that specializes in Asian entertainment (anime and live action films). The company since 2022 is owned by ...

announced that its Nozomi Entertainment division had licensed ''Gakuen Alice'' for the North American market. In 2015, a spin-off called , was started. It takes place a few months from the end of ''Gakuen Alice'', and features a new set of characters. The plot follows Andou Hikari, who is searching for her brother, who was taken away when she was a child due to his having an Alice. She eventually takes advantage of a one in a lifetime opportunity, for normal people to join an Alice music academy, hoping to find her brother.

Plot

Mikan Sakura grew up with her grandfather in the Japanese countryside. When her best friend, Hotaru Imai, transfers to a prestigious school in Tokyo, Mikan follows her. The school is actually an elite Academy for gifted people with "Alices," an ability that is unique depending on the individual being. Once Mikan arrives at the gates of the school, she encounters an Alice teacher named Narumi, gets enrolled due to a series of events, and is told that she possesses a rare Alice. Despite her initial view of the so-called greatness to the school, Mikan slowly discovers that beneath the grand facade of the Academy, there is a never-ending stream of lies and buried secrets. The school's increasingly manipulative and sinister actions towards her make it a dangerous place to be. Little does Mikan know that her enrollment in Alice Academy set the gears in motion to an even greater tragedy. As she discovers the reality of the "Alices", she also unfolds her heritage and how it is connected to the academy. As the mystery of the academy draws her into an endless pit of misery and series of trials to survive, she also discovers how the strength of friendship is important to her and guides her to her destiny.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by

, the chapters of ''Gakuen Alice'' are published in the Japanese manga anthology ''

'' by

Hakusensha is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company mainly publishes manga magazines and is involved in series' productions in their games, original video animation, music, and their animated TV ...

and are collected in ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

''. Thirty One volumes have been released as of March 2013. ''Gakuen Alice'' was licensed for an English-language release in North America by

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...

before the company shut down. Sixteen volumes were published. This title is currently available to be licensed. The manga is also licensed for a Spanish and German-language release

Anime

A 26-episode anime television series directed by

Takahiro Omori (born June 25, 1965) is a Japanese animator, storyboard writer, and director. He has directed many anime series, including ''Fancy Lala'', ''Koi Kaze'', ''Gakuen Alice'', ''Hell Girl'', ''Natsume's Book of Friends'', ''Baccano!'', ''Durarara!!'' ...

aired from October 20, 2004 to May 14, 2005. The series uses two pieces of theme music. The opening theme, "Pikapika no Taiyou" (Shining Sun), is performed by

Kana Ueda is a Japanese voice actress and singer represented by I'm Enterprise.Doi, Hitoshi"Ueda Kana" ''Seiyuu Database''. June 11, 2010Archivedby WebCite July 6, 2010. She is a graduate of Kobe College's department of General Culture. She is best known ...

, the protagonist's voice actress. The ending theme, "Shiawase no Niji" (Rainbow of Happiness), is performed by Kana Ueda and

Rie Kugimiya is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is best known for her voice performances in anime, which include Alphonse Elric in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' series, Kiana in ''Honkai Impact 3rd'', Kagura in ''Gin Tama'', and Happy in ''Fairy Tail ...

. The entire series was released as a five DVD Japanese language only set in North America on July 7, 2009.

Fanbooks

An official fanbook (Volume 7.5) was published in March 2005. Data in the first official fanbook is accurate up to Volume 7 of the series. A special fanbook titled ''Gakuen Alice SP Fanbook'' released as a furoku in ''Hana to Yume'' magazine. A second official fanbook (Volume 25.5) was published in September 2011. Data in the second fanbook is accurate up to Volume 25 of the series. An official illustrated fan book (artbook) was released in May 2007. Another illustrated book (ehon) was released in October 2011.

CDs

A soundtrack for the series was released on March 2, 2005. A single of the opening theme and ending theme were also released. Three

drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s were broadcast on a

web radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

. On January 18, 2006,

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

released the first drama CD.

Video games

''Gakuen Alice ~Kira Kira Memory Kiss~'' was released on June 22, 2006, for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

in Japan. There is also a

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

game that has also only been released in Japan called ''Gakuen Alice ~Doki Doki Fushigi Taiken~''. On April 19, 2007, a Nintendo DS game called ''Gakuen Alice: Waku Waku Happy Friends'' was released in Japan.

Reception

The manga had over 7 million copies in print as of 2013.

References

External links

Aniplex's official website for ''Gakuen Alice''

NHK's official website on Gakuen Alice

Animax India's official website for ''Gakuen Alice''

Official Gakuen Alice ~Kira Kira Memory Kiss~ Playstation 2 Game Homepage

Official website for ''Gakuen Alice''
at Enoki Films
Right Stuf/Nozomi's Official ''Gakuen Alice'' Website
* {{Group TAC 2003 manga 2004 anime television series debuts 2005 Japanese television series endings Anime series based on manga Aniplex Game Boy Advance games Group TAC Hakusensha franchises Hakusensha manga Japan-exclusive video games NHK original programming PlayStation 2 games Shōjo manga Tokyopop titles Video games developed in Japan