Gakuen Alice



Gakuen Alice is an anime and manga centering around 10-year-old Mikan Sakura, who is dismayed when her best friend Hotaru is transferred away to a boarding school for genius students. When she learns that Hotaru is not allowed to visit or write back home, Mikan becomes suspicious, and travels alone to the school to investigate. She discovers that Hotaru is attending Alice Academy, a school specifically for children with special powers called Alices. Mikan meets a teacher named Narumi who says that Mikan herself has an Alice, and he requests to have her enrolled.

Though Mikan is bullied by the other students and some of the faculty, and often abandoned by Hotaru, she loves her new home at Alice Academy and remains optimistic about her life there. But as time goes on, she learns sinister secrets and meets people who suggest the school may not be as benevolent as she originally believed.

Based on the Shojo Manga of the same name, which is still running and has much Backstory yet to be resolved.

Spoilers abound, so tread carefully. -

Provides examples of:

 * Absurdly Powerful Student Council - The good type.
 * Academy of Adventure - Of course.
 * Accidental Kiss - . Consider this also a First Kiss.
 * Alice Allusion`
 * All of the Other Reindeer - Mikan, especially in the beginning.
 * Ambiguously Gay - Rui.
 * Amplifier Artifact - The Alice stone Tonouchi gave Mikan before they went into the wormhole to chase after Z, as amplification is his power.
 * Anti-Magic - Mikan's nullification Alice.
 * The Atoner -
 * Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other - . Also Yuka and Yukihira way back when.
 * Bait and Switch Lesbians - In a way, in that Mikan's feelings for Hotaru get downplayed immensely in the course of the series, which is ironic, considering they were her motivation for entering Alice Academy in the first place.
 * Ironically enough, while Mikan's feelings are played down- Hotaru's are played up- while distant at the beginning, Hotaru shows real differences at these pages. *Clicking the links may give some spoilers- so be warned.
 * Baka - Mikan shouts this a lot, especially at Natsume (though more for his jerkass-y attitude than being an actual idiot). Hotaru does it to a lot of people (with inventions made for that purpose), especially Mikan. Others do it to others. In fact, many characters get called this at some point except those who are just not fit for the word.
 * Bare Your Midriff - Mikan (10 years old) has a midriff-baring cheerleader's costume in the OP, and bared it again in a I Dream of Jeannie-style costume for the School Festival.
 * Battle Aura
 * Beauty, Brains, and Brawn - Male and female trios in the picture above. (They even match left to right.)
 * Betty and Veronica - Luca (the Betty) and Natsume (the Veronica) have feelings for Mikan (the Archie). She eventually.
 * Big Brother Instinct - Natsume to Aoi. Also to Youichi, for that matter.
 * Also,  We also find out that   but had to act indifferent to them because of the events at the academy.
 * Most of the male characters from the Special Class are this way to Mikan, including Tonouchi and Tsubasa.
 * Bishonen- This is a Shojo series after all.
 * Blithe Spirit - Mikan. She doesn't quite agree with the ideology of most other students. Though at first she is bullied for this, her cheerfulness becomes indispensable to the other characters, later described as 'the light' for many characters. This personality of hers also makes darker characters' lives better, even helping them revert to the good side (e.g. ).
 * Also  (Cool Teacher variant) who played the role in the previous generation.
 * Blue with Shock
 * Book Dumb - Mikan, who is quite clever and resourceful outside of class. Sometimes.
 * Boarding School
 * Break His Heart to Save Him - Yes, this Trope seems to plague these two. Let's see:
 * Natsume does this to Mikan at one point before the Z Arc once Persona drops the "kitten of a different color" being in danger.
 * Mikan does it to Natsume at the Sports Festival once she tells Natsume that him worrying about her was troublesome when he asked what was wrong. This was because
 * Natsume does it again by coldly telling everyone that Mikan wasn't his concern and it wasn't theirs either after she almost dropped to her death in the Cheer competition. Though somewhat unintentionally as Mikan overheard him. This was because  He makes up for this later when he
 * Butt Monkey - Mikan and Tsubasa. Tsubasa gets it a little worse since most of the kids bullying him are four to eleven years younger than him. Later, most of the bullying goes to Tonouchi, who is again bullied by his juniors, though he is the oldest in the Special Class.
 * Camp Straight - Narumiiiiiii.
 * Carrying the Antidote - Yuka carried the cure for Hotaru in the Z arc.
 * Catgirl- Sumire's Alice, with some dog thrown in for good measure.
 * Caught in the Rain -.
 * Chekhov's Gun - The Healing Alice stone Natsume always wears was originally given to.
 * Cerebus Syndrome - The manga, which takes a nosedive into serious angst around chapter 90.
 * Children Are Innocent
 * Chilly Reception - The way Mikan is treated by the other Academy kids upon arrival is brutal, including violence, invasion of privacy (the mind rider forcibly reads her thoughts) and Manipulative Bastard behavior on Natsume's part.
 * Class Representative - Tobita
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Mikan.
 * Collapsing Lair - The Z Arc.
 * Color Failure
 * Comm Links - Hotaru's panda earmuffs and much later, mushroom earplugs.
 * Compelling Voice - This is basically Reo's Alice. Also Narumi and anyone with a pheromone. Shizune has a sound pheromone that is similar.
 * Contrived Coincidence - The circumstances of Mikan getting into Alice Academy are a rather extreme example. Had the sequence of events all the way up to and including arriving at the gates of the school gone even slightly differently, the main plot would never have happened. Since Mikan's Alice is hard to detect, she wouldn't have ended up at the school at all unless she walked straight into it, which is exactly what she did.
 * Cool Teacher - Yukihira-sensei. Narumi-sensei fills the role for Mikan, but is more feared/suspected/ridiculed than loved by the other students.
 * Cross-Popping Veins
 * Crystal Ball - Serina-sensei.
 * Cruel Mercy -.
 * Curse - Rui's Alice. Also the reason why Tsubasa has the star-shaped mark under his eye as punishment for his misbehavior, called the "Mark of Obedience".
 * Death by Sex -, and immediately afterwards.
 * Death Is a Sad Thing - Mikan and others.
 * Delinquents - A lot of students, to their own classmates, were like this before Mikan came in. It's even said they didn't get along.
 * Determinator - Mikan, boy howdy!
 * Did Not Get the Girl - Oy, where to begin? ...
 * Do-Anything Robot - Penguin did this only when needed. For example, he vacuumed up the classroom and perhaps did other work. On the Z arc, the penguin pin Mikan got from Penguin in his handy-dandy pouch had served as a radar to find the others in the lair. Then his body was able to be flatten so he can get through the barricaded rocks and grab the fallen antidote successfully. Subverted only slightly because he causes more trouble than it's worth.
 * Dogged Nice Guy - Or girl: Mikan with regard to Hotaru.
 * Dope Slap - A more violent equivalent, and looking less lighthearted. Can happen to other characters rarely, and used as part of the comedy. Comes with a rare side of Paper Fan of Doom. But Mikan gets this SO much for her behavior, you have to wonder why she hasn't suffered severe head trauma. But that's Made of Iron for you.
 * Electric Torture - Jinno-sensei can do this. Good thing.
 * Elemental Powers - Some Alices fill this Trope. Few examples being:
 * Natsume, with the Alice of Fire
 * Nobara, with the Alice of Ice.
 * Jinno-sensei, with the Alice of Lightning. Or a derivation.
 * Hayate, with the Alice of Wind.
 * Misaki-sensei, with the Alice of Plants.
 * Elevator School
 * Embarrassing Nickname - Luu-chan for Luca in his home town.
 * Emotionless Girl - Hotaru
 * Even the Girls Want Her - Yuri, though justified with the (to her) unfortunate Alice she was graced with.
 * Everyone Can See It - Misaki and Tsubasa can get this.
 * Everyone Went to School Together - Considering that all people who have Alices will eventually go here unless the parents manage to escape it that long, this is more of an expected Trope. Since this is the only type of family they'll have for awhile, and the only kids they'll be spending their following years with until they're 20, minus the teachers, they're bound to know other Alices only. It is stated that because of this, most Alice children come from Alice parents who met in Alice Academy, and became a couple. Or had gotten married.
 * Everything's Better with Penguins - In the manga, it was a caring robot penguin simply named Penguin, who, despite being a machine, showed a plethora of emotions. Noted to be one of Hotaru's inventions made in the summer before Mikan came to the academy. The reason for its creation stems from one of Hotaru's many request letters, where a lonely 64 year old man whose daughter and son-in-law died asked for it, according to one of the fanbooks, with instructions to make it adorable, and able to give him strength (figuratively). However, it was returned because it pitifully missed her and kept crying, which made Hotaru bully it a lot. It appeared many times with the characters, and even joined (or rather, snuck in) Natsume, Mikan, Tsubasa, and Luca in their quest to retrieve Hotaru's medicine and Tobita's alice. But...
 * Which is even more of a Tear Jerker when you consider that Penguin was built with Mikan's personality, as a sign of how much Hotaru missed her friend.
 * Evil Versus Evil: The ESP versus the Anti-Alice Organization.
 * Expository Hairstyle Change - Izumi Yukihira changes his hairstyle from his bangs parted at the side, giving him a messy look (arguably the most preferred by fans), to then being parted in the middle, making it clean. Done because his older brother criticized it and he took it seriously. But this was to show a certain maturity or change within him when it came to his job.
 * Expy - Arguably, Hotaru, who looks a lot like the Hotaru from Sailor Moon (though Sailor Moon's Hotaru has a completely different personality).
 * Eyes Always Shut - Nodachi-sensei and the flying Alice guy. And random one time character Hoshino.
 * Eye Take
 * Face Fault
 * Facing the Bullets One-Liner -.
 * Fan Nickname - The Elementary School Principal is referred to by fans as the ESP or PSP (Primary School Principal) for short.
 * Fearless Fool - Yukihira-sensei. Twice. Second time...
 * Festival Episode
 * First-Name Basis - Something Natsume has a hard time with.
 * Freaky Friday Flip - This happens to Mikan, Hotaru, Natsume, Ruka, Sumire, Yuu, Mr. Bear, and Kokoroyomi.
 * Friend to All Children - Yukihira-sensei, and Narumi-sensei.
 * Friend to All Living Things - This is more or less Luca's Alice.
 * Gadgeteer Genius - Hotaru.
 * Gender Blender Name - In the manga, Narumi's first name is revealed to be Anju, which probably explains why he's never used it.
 * Give Her A Normal Life - . Unfortunately, or as predicted, didn't turn out as planned.
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom - Goes with the Battle Aura.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend- With some variations here and there, this is typically Misaki's response every time someone mentions her and Tsubasa as something else.
 * Green-Eyed Epiphany
 * Natsume ends up partners with Luna, which was her intention, as well as to make it appear as if they are being paired off romantically (the complete opposite in reality: Natsume hates her guts, and she does too). Despite that the reason for doing so is to protect her, this causes a slight distance between him and Mikan, who certainly feels the sting. Shocked the first time, asking him to be here on the Red Team with her on the Sports Festival later on, to even the "I don't care about them" denial in Chapter 85. Of course, no feelings are admitted or said...on Mikan's side.
 * Healing Hands - Subaru.
 * Her Heart Will Go On - Oh, and how..
 * Heroic Sacrifice - Happens a few times, most recently
 * Hidden Eyes
 * Holding Hands
 * Honest John's Dealership - Hotaru, to some extent.
 * Hot Dad -.
 * Hot Mom - Luca's mother AND Kaoru Hyuuga, who is Natsume's. And gee, would you look at their sons.
 * Hot for Student -
 * Hot Teacher - Yukihira- sensei, Misaki-sensei, Narumi-sensei...and if principals count too, most definitely and infinitely the high school one ).
 * Ho Yay - Mostly concentrated around Narumi and his pheromone Alice. The highlight was kissing Misaki-sensei (though there were other motives for that).
 * Rui to Tsubasa like wow, or any guy who might be pretty. That is, if you don't think he's rather vague in his preferences, if at all.
 * Yuri and her girls.
 * Ill Girl -  becomes one in the sixth volume of the manga, when she uses herself as a human shield for Mikan.
 * Important Haircut -.
 * Impossibly Delicious Food
 * Innocent Cohabitation - Natsume and Mikan do this once. Well, more like Natsume FORCES her to, despite that the effects of being stuck from the mochi Tsubasa spoiled wore off, much to her depression. Comes with 1/2 There Is Only One Bed and 1/2 Beautiful Dreamer (Natsume is the one sleeping), at that.
 * Hotaru and Luca as well, but they are honestly still stuck. It's also with Youichi.
 * Instant Fanclub - Natsume has one.
 * So does Yukihira-sensei - in the flashback arc of the manga
 * Is That Cute Kid Yours - And they're in elementary school.
 * I Will Protect Her - Natsume openly declares this about Mikan. Also applied to.
 * Jerkass Has a Point - Go Sumire!
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold - Natsume.
 * Kansai Regional Accent
 * Kimodameshi
 * Killed Off for Real -.
 * ...*sigh*.
 * Killer Rabbit - Bear. Just. Bear.
 * Last Kiss -.
 * Lethal Chef - Anna. The weird part is that it is her alice.
 * Light Is Good - Thrown around when referring to Mikan, who is often described as a light within the darkness, or a light found. Bright, with a strong heart, and helps bring happiness to those around her. More so when it comes to Natsume, who she "will save" - which was the sole reason why Narumi even partnered them up in the first place. . Also the children's light, that can't be muttered by the darkness, which is why there's a need to protect them so they won't pass through the pain that being under the ESP does. Light themes are used for other things as well.
 * Like an Old Married Couple - Misaki and Tsubasa. Not surprisingly.
 * Little Miss Snarker - Hotaru.
 * Locked in a Room - Mikan and Natsume, at the haunted house.
 * Long Lost Sibling - . The audience...didn't.
 * Lovable Alpha Bitch: Sumire, AKA Permy/Curly.
 * Love Confession - The first time, Natsume accidentally brought it upon himself. He took another student's - Kusami's - white punishment mask from the bench so he could hide, but naturally, this caused others to mistake him for said student. He had to take his place in the next Sports Festival challenge, which consists of getting a piece of paper, and randomly grabbing the person they truly feel fits the description personally to them that's written down on it (for example, "annoying co-worker"). Natsume was graced with the "person that I love". Forward to the fireworks that BRIGHTLY lit up what the paper said when he reached the finish line with Mikan on tow. He runs away after in an attempt not to be found out. Mikan suspects it was him due to the similarities regardless (and later on Natsume does something that confirms it to her), even after Luna covers it up.
 * . Though in both of these, we don't get a real reaction out of her. Yet.
 * Love Triangle - Guess which. Just guess. They fell under Type 3. As of recent chapters, however, Luca/Mikan/Natsume went up to Type 4 once . There's also the much smaller, which is Type 4 <-- even with Death of the Hypotenuse and Shiki added. In the present, there's another Type 3 with Shiki/Yuka/Narumi,.
 * The Luca/Mikan/Natsume triangle can become a Love Dodecahedron if you put Sumire and Hotaru into the mix.
 * Luminescent Blush
 * Made of Iron - Mikan, who can take amazing amounts of physical abuse.
 * Magic Skirt
 * Manipulative Bastard - ESP, or for once to say his real name, Principal Kuonji.
 * Mask Power - Persona, and Natsume when he's destroying things.
 * Meaningful Name - Yuri. She has a female pheromone Alice. Do the math.
 * Meganekko - Yuu Tobita is a 11 year old, male version of this trope.
 * Mega Manning - Using the Steal Alice to great effect.
 * The Messiah - Mikan.
 * Mind Control Device - Hotaru used this on Narumi once when he caught her and Mikan sneaking around.
 * Mind Control Eyes - Usually anyone under  Alice.
 * Mood Whiplash
 * The Mourning After - Gender Flipped..
 * Mundane Utility - The students have no problems to use their Alices for amusement, like at the School Festival.
 * Mythology Gag: At some point late in it,  in the manga, like he did in episode 25 of the anime. However,
 * Naive Newcomer: Mikan Sakura in the beginning of the series.
 * Nerd Glasses - Hayami, to enhance his already incredible eyesight.
 * "No Respect" Guy- Yuu Tobita.
 * No Sense of Personal Space - Sawajiri-sensei to Yukihira. For real.
 * Not What It Looks Like - Mikan and Natsume in the haunted mansion, when he lifted up her skirt and saw her panties, calling her "Strawberry". Naturally, she went over to attack him, but it turned rather unfortunate, and it left them in compromising positions. Cue the others appearing to watch it in time and Mikan panicking afterward.
 * Oblivious to Love - Mikan. Sometimes Misaki as well when it comes to Tsubasa...or is she really? Hmm.
 * Odd Friendship - Mikan and Hotaru. Even mentioned by some in the actual canon as well.
 * Odd-Shaped Panel
 * Older Than They Look - Kazu Yukihira and Hii-sama. And not to mention the ESP, whose age is a complete mystery.
 * Omake
 * Overtook the Manga - Which resulted in a Gecko Ending for the anime.
 * Parental Abandonment - Most of the story is about this, found in different variations:
 * Forced abandonment, the main reason as to why you'd want to avoid sending your Alice gifted kids there as much as possible. This is what happens to most kids, including Natsume.
 * Some kids agree to leave their families and go to the academy for various reasons, e.g. Hotaru (her parents were paid money which they used to save her village school on her request), Mikan (who unwittingly followed Hotaru to the school, leaving her grandfather behind).
 * Some kids were actually abandoned by their parents, e.g. Yuka, Persona (because of his dangerous Alice).
 * Please Wake Up -.
 * Put on a Bus - Amanatsu,in the anime.
 * The Power of Friendship
 * The Power of Love - Applies to Natsume's various sacrifices for Mikan.
 * Power Nullifier - Leading to a Fridge Logic explanation for
 * To be fair, in the manga Narumi had much more valid reasoning.
 * To be even more fair, it seems likely that the lack of this in the anime is probably due to them having Overtook the Manga before the above spoiler got revealed.
 * He also had the valid reasoning that
 * Puppy Dog Eyes
 * Raised by Grandparents - Or can be seen as such to Mikan.
 * Red String of Fate - In the omake after Chapter 139 of the manga, baby Mikan and Natsume are briefly seen holding two ends of a (presumably) red string.
 * Relax-O-Vision
 * Remember the New Guy? - Hoshino from Chapter 76, who left that very same chapter.
 * The Reveal
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter - Penguin.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship - Mikan and Hotaru, though it is somewhat one-sided.
 * Occasionally requited however, especially in the festival dance episode.
 * Sadist Teacher - Jinno.
 * And in the manga, where he's one of the good guys and has been all along. But still sadistic.
 * Say It with Hearts - Narumi in the manga. Oh God, Narumi ♥. Rui is another one, only with Say It With Stars ★.
 * Sibling Rivalry - A very odd, sort of tension going on with  all the time. Though they really do care. In their special way.
 * School Festival
 * School Play
 * School Swimsuit
 * Shojo
 * Shapeshifting - Goshima, concerning his face. More or less his Alice. Along with a Shapeshifter Default Form.
 * Shipper on Deck - For a while, it seemed as though the whole "guardian angel" following liked pushing together... or maybe it was just because they supported the former because he Cannot Spit It Out and felt sorry for him.
 * Shy Blue-Haired Girl - Nobara.
 * Sitting on the Roof - Done by Mikan in the end.
 * Slapstick - And how!
 * Someone to Remember Him By - And after the tribulations,.
 * Spiritual Successor - The anime has a great deal in common with another shoujo from ten years prior, Kodocha, including but not limited to Mikan being practically a clone of that series' lead, Sana.
 * Split Personality - Nobara, in some form or another.
 * It's actually been revealed recently that they use Hypnotherapy to utilize her Alice since she refuses to hurt people with it.
 * Sprouting Ears - Very common in the manga.
 * Student Council President - Shuichi Sakurano. Succeeded by Hijiri Goshima.
 * Sugar and Ice Personality - Hotaru, with regard to Mikan's affection. And to Luca, for that matter (though it's debatable).
 * Super Senses - Hayami's Alices are Sight and Hearing.
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky - Eliminating the "tall", Natsume in the first half, but he changes slowly as he gets Character Development.
 * Tareme Eyes - Luca, Nobara, amd Hotaru.
 * Tears of Remorse - Little Rei (Persona) certainly spilled a lot of them in the Flashback arc after.
 * Tell Me About My Mother - . It was for   to choose the path for her future.
 * This Is Unforgivable! - Mikan says this a lot, but it ends up misunderstandings save one or two. However,.
 * The Cutie - Mikan, Luca, and Youichi.
 * Those Two Guys - Koko and Kitsuneme, as well as Nonoko and Anna for Mikan.
 * Time Master - Nodachi-sensei's Alice, basically.
 * Time Travel - A whole manga arc was based off this to learn of what happened in the past.
 * Together in Death -  reunites with her most beloved,.
 * Together Umbrella - In a chapter where the Special Abilities class find old photo albums when cleaning, they also find graffiti done by past students in a wall behind a cupboard.
 * And then
 * Took a Level In Badass - . And Mikan, when her friends are in any fatal danger.
 * Tragic Mistake -
 * Troubled but Cute - Natsume.
 * Tsurime Eyes - Natsume and Sumire.
 * Unspoken Plan
 * X Meets Y: This review described it as "Fruits Basket meets Harry Potter meets X-Men."
 * Watching Troy Burn -.
 * What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway? - Mikan gets teased for her Alice, which is not particularly flashy compared to other students'. It does, however, turn out to be extremely useful in the right situations.
 * Wizarding School
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid - Luna and Persona, before their Start of Darkness.
 * Took a Level In Badass - . And Mikan, when her friends are in any fatal danger.
 * Tragic Mistake -
 * Troubled but Cute - Natsume.
 * Tsurime Eyes - Natsume and Sumire.
 * Unspoken Plan
 * X Meets Y: This review described it as "Fruits Basket meets Harry Potter meets X-Men."
 * Watching Troy Burn -.
 * What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway? - Mikan gets teased for her Alice, which is not particularly flashy compared to other students'. It does, however, turn out to be extremely useful in the right situations.
 * Wizarding School
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid - Luna and Persona, before their Start of Darkness.