Forum - View topicREVIEW: Gakuen Alice Sub.DVD
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nargun
Posts: 930 |
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The manga ran in Hana to Yume. Good children don't read Hana to Yume; they read that tasteful Shoujo Comic instead. |
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sunflower
 Posts: 1080 |
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This really isn't a children's series, even though the characters are kids. The series is quite dark, with layers being peeled away with every chapter. Sure, on the surface it's wacky, and has the sorts of trappings that children's series will, but I thought the anime captured the disturbing undercurrents pretty well that showed that there was more to this. The anime does stop before you get much of the back story, but I felt that it contained enough to make its point.
I would compare it to Fruits Basket frankly, in that it starts in a very light and misleading manner until you start to actually get to know the schoolchildren (who are like the Sohmas) and see what a hellish existence they live. Mikan is very much like Tohru Honda I think. I think fans of darker shoujo and josei would like this. |
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The Human Spider
Posts: 334 |
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The first time I saw this show I mistakently believed it might be based on a manga by the same person who did KODOCHA because the humor and visual style were so similar. I never thought the show "tried to hard"--my only real problem with it is the plotline with the Anti-Academy group is left unresolved and underexplained. And later when I read the manga I thought the anime's character designs were too round-looking.
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posterior_praiser
 Posts: 296 |
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I enjoyed this series. I think it has this interesting mix of a children's tale and something daker. It's like a messed up universe from a child's perspective. You see tonnes of cute, but there are also hints throughout the series that something deeper is going on. Something the childeren arent being told about. It's not really for little kids IMO. More like younger teens.
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Senna
 Posts: 99 Location: Somewhere, USA |
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Though I didn't finish watching this series (would like to, someday), I had one "?!" moment during the review:
Wait ... mecha? I remember Hotaru's inventions, but ... was there some giant robot that I missed? (Like I said, I didn't finish the series, and it's been a while.) If not, though, I think this word choice is a bit misleading. Other than that, the review seems like it pretty fairly captures the spirit of the show. |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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Yeah, this series was published in the same mag that did Angel Sanctuary. Which just shows how broad a range of series can somehow fall into a single demographic, at least in Japan. |
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-Jenny
 Posts: 4 |
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When I first started watching this show, I was expecting a kid series since all I heard was the complaint that a lack of dub would prevent the series from reaching it demographic. After I finished the series, it left me with a completely different impression. I have to agree with posterior_praiser's assessment. I felt it was a darker story being told through the eyes of the innocent.
Gakuen Alice was a very fun little show and I enjoyed it a lot. And Nozomi reminded me how much I appreciate "liner notes/translation notes" being put in an extra section on the DVD and NOT crammed into the subtitles or on the top of the screen during the episode.
Hotaru made a giant robot for the culture festival. I want to say there was more (and a battle/contest or something) during that same period, but I've slept since then and can't remember properly. |
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phoenixphire24
 Posts: 260 Location: SoCal |
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I completely agree. I love this show and, like Fruits Basket, it ended far too soon. I'm so glad I picked up the manga as well. The darker story lines are continuing to emerge and have kept me waiting eagerly for each volume. Of course there are lighter and sillier moments as well, but I think they mesh nicely with the idea that the school isn't what it seems. |
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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I watched an episode or two of this back in its fansub days, and I was actually repelled by the dark elements. The school is also a prison, and Mikan's friend is resigned to being taken from her parents by the government. Mikan is too naive to see what's going on and gleefully gets herself locked up, too. I felt that I was watching a child being taken advantage of with no exceptation that she'd ever wise up. It was creepy!
And the author said she felt like doing a happy series! What's her other stuff like? |
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Mistypearl
 Posts: 517 |
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She wrote the Portrait of S&M, which is dealing with a shallow self obsessed boy and a machostic girl if I can remember correctly. |
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Sentire
 Posts: 981 |
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Is it that this series has more complicated themes to appeal to the adult viewer, while still being appropriate and having appeal for young children? Or is it in fact inappropriate for young children and would not even appeal to them?
(edited for grammatical correction) |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor
 Posts: 2657 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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I think children would enjoy it without fully understanding some of the darker elements, a bit like the Harry Potter books.
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