Back to sadmeme's Profile sadmeme's Profile

This review is coming from someone who has read nearly all the manga and watched the anime.
I DO RECOMMEND READING THE MANGA AFTER WATCHING THE ANIME AS IT GIVES SO MUCH MORE DEPTH TO THE STORY. THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE ANIME AS A STANDALONE SERIES IS NOT GOOD.

Story: 6/10
In relativity to the manga the story within the anime definitely isn't good. However, even as its own unit, the story of the Gakuen Alice anime isn't that good either. It has a storyline; it's not like a monster of the day story that has no character development ever, but it ... does have a lot of meaningless parts of the show (that aren't anime-original). I think it's mostly due to the fact that the anime was short and wasn't able to get into the really gritty stuff that it lacks so much of the story component.

Art: 7/10
I'm not a professional anime reviewer, so I can't critique the art in specific ways. The art is a bit old (in comparison to what we have now), but it gives the anime a campy feel and it doesn't take away from the story.

Sound: 9/10
I don't know exactly how to review sound, but the voice acting was good and the music was well-placed.

Character: 7/10
Ah. *Sighs heavily* This is where it gets tough for me to solely stick to the anime part of the story I'm reviewing. See, the anime does an okay job at characterization. It sticks to the model of the manga and gives all the characters their fair introduction scene. It doesn't take anything out really either. However, I just can't let go of the fact that they barely gave Natsume the redemption he deserved. Throughout the anime he stayed as just an unexplained 'bad' character, with only just a couple scenes that gave him a character besides his normal attitude. If you're not into dark stuff, this anime is a perfect way to learn the story and the characters without having to go through some of the heartbreaking scenes in the manga, just be aware that you may not get as well-rounded characters as you hope.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Despite all the things I said above (you can probably tell I'm pretty hung up on the fact that they didn't continue the anime), I really enjoyed it! It's a fun and cute anime, with a couple more serious scenes that remind you that the word they live in is actually pretty dangerous. It balances the comedy nicely, making it so that it's not overbearing (Mikan trying to gain an actual friendship with Hotaru is a running joke, though, so if you don't like those things be wary).

You can take into account the other reviews on here, but make sure that you don't come into this anime expecting much, or you'll be disappointed. If you've read the manga and are thinking of watching the anime, I have some things:
1) There are barely any inconsistencies in the story, even though it might jump around the manga a bit.
3) The atmosphere is nothing like the manga at all; imagine the atmosphere of the first 10-20 chapters, but for the entire anime. I'm assuming that wouldn't be a big deal, but as I've said before, only like 2 bad things happen in the entire anime.

I'm not a professional anime reviewer in any way, like I said before, so if my obsession with the manga vs anime aspect of the anime is bothering you, please take my opinion with a grain of salt and watch the show on your own discretion, not mine.