Gakuen Alice or Alice Academy is the story of a 10-year old girl, Mikan Sakura, who is devastated when her best friend, Hotaru Imai, transfers to a special school for "genius" kids in Tokyo. Mikan runs away from home to seek out her dear friend, and soon finds that the school Hotaru transferred to, Alice Academy, is specifically for children who have special powers called "Alices". After a teacher at Alice Academy, Narumi, discovers that Mikan has a unique Alice, she is admitted into the school. The story is primarily about Mikan and her experiences at the academy.
In the story there are many types of Alices. The five main types of Alices are:
Potential Types - Alices that are super powers (flying, mind reader, illusion, etc)
Technology Types - Alices that are based on technology and research fields
Physical Types - Alices based on the body of humans, animals, and other living things;
Special Ability Types - Alices that don't exactly fit in the three types of Alices above; and
Dangerous Types - Alices that may be one of the above but are considered dangerous.
Every Alice is of one of four shapes, that specify how much of it can be used and how often.
Childhood Alice: They start out as an Alice but grow up to be an ordinary adult.
Diffuse: The Alice is always available, but at a relatively low power level.
Intermittent: The Alice can only be used for a short period at any time, but at a relatively high power level.
Limitless: The Alice can be used as often and as much as desired, but each use impacts against the user's own life and can kill them if overused.
Characters...
Students B-Class
Sakura Mikan
The protagonist of the story. She is an energetic, good-natured girl, but time and again, her clumsiness lands her into trouble. She is an orphan who used to live with her grandfather in the country. When she was in second grade, Hotaru transferred to her school from the city and had a hard time fitting in with the others due to her being a genius. At first, Mikan didn't really want to be friends with Hotaru, but when they entered a dance competition and won it together she decided to be Hotaru's best friend. From then on, she cared deeply about Hotaru and they were both as close as sisters, even though their personalities are the exact opposite. When she heard that her school was going to be demolished, she led a protest to stop it, since it contained so much memories of her and Hotaru. However, no one joined her. (This section is elaborated in the anime more than in the manga.)
She was shocked to hear that Hotaru was moving back to the city to go to an academy for young 'geniuses' like her. When she heard rumors that students were like slaves in Alice Academy (which, she felt, was a possibility since they gave money to parents for sending their children to the school), Mikan left her grandfather and her home to go after Hotaru by herself. She was then accepted to Alice Academy by Narumi-sensei and could attend Alice Academy with Hotaru and many other children with extraordinary powers. While she makes friends later on, she is initially accepted with skepticism by her classmates, with whom friendship she was to win as an "entrance exam" into the Academy. This is emphasised all the more by the fact that she does not initially know what her Alice is. Thrown together with several confident classmates who have already been in the system for a while, she asks what the audience would -- "How are people with Alices different? We are all human, aren't we?" While she is below average in academics and the school's star ranking system, she has strong willpower and a happy-go-lucky attitude. Her "Alice," or magical ability, is the power to nullify the Alice of others, which is the reason why the Academy administration keeps an eye on her. Seems to be a very up-an-at-it person, much to annoyance of her down-to-earth friend, Hotaru. She's the only girl that Natsume called by her first name. She was originally a 'No Star'(the lowest rank in the academy's star-ranking system), but moved on to being a 'One Star' after her combined effort with Sumire rescued (more or less) Natsume from Reo.
Imai Hotaru
Mikan's best friend. She is extremely intelligent and rational. During the story, though she may appear to be rather cold and indifferent on the surface, it is apparent that she genuinely cares for Mikan. Her keen observations of Mikan's mistakes and shortcomings leaves others wondering if they are really best friends. Although she was raised by her parents and is a super-genius, she is a bit mean, especially towards Mikan. She assumes a big-sister role to Mikan and is sometimes the voice of reason to her. Her Alice is that of Invention, and during her time at the country with Mikan and her grandfather, she created many strange but useful inventions, often made to look like animals. She went to Alice Academy partly because they gave out money and she wanted to pay her old school's dues so it wouldn't be demolished. As an Alice, her parents were state-bound to enrol her in the Academy. So to an extent, they probably got tired of evading the government, too. She wanted to go for the position of 'Honor Roll Student' so she could go home to visit Mikan and her parents.
She also tends to be fairly "sassy" through the variety of things she either does to bully Mikan, or punish others who bully her. She has some goofy points, though; her constant eating habits and her greedy side that causes her make inventions such as those that need a toll payment. Hotaru breaks the fourth wall by teaching the audience about her inventions. The other characters see her explaining her inventions to apparently no one. She has the same Alice as a middle school boy, although he is a 'Two Star' and she is a 'Three Star' (the second-highest star rank in the Academy, next to 'Specials' like Natsume). She also has an older brother who is one of the "principal students" or student council president of the middle school division. She also knows that both Natsume and Ruka have crushes on Mikan. An enterprising student, she is not above blackmail, most particularly of Ruka -- she takes pictures of him showing his gentler side, probably to cater to the girls (and some guys) in the school, who would buy them. She does not only take photos of him, though -- when a returning alumni and current famous actor, Reo, shows up, she makes sure she is at a vantage point to get good photos. She complains that the effect is, however, rather ruined when Mikan somehow falls into Reo's path. She is an unwilling (neutral) member of the "3 geeky sisters" composed of Anna, Nonoko, and her.
Hyuuga Natsume
a genius and ditches class frequently throughout the story. He is thoroughly unhappy with the school, and is suspicious of the intentions of adults. It seems that he is involved in top-secret missions for the academy. He is paired up as Mikan's "partner" by the their mostly-absent class teacher, Narumi. He possesses the Alice of Fire, and is classified into the Dangerous ability type. Generally moody and silent, but seems to have softened only to Mikan. He also has feelings for her, and this is evident when he throws an apple at Mikan's head on the stage, when she was about to kiss Ruka for the play. This is Natsume's first real sign he likes Mikan. Later on, in episode 20 of the anime, during the "Last Dance", Natsume notices that his friend Ruka likes Mikan, so being the good friend that he is, he pushed Ruka towards Mikan and left the two behind. His past remains veiled, although during the anime, there are hints that his family perished in a fire that burned down the village, which may have been due to Natsume's fire Alice. In the manga, through Ruka's narration, however, the fire that burned the entire village was caused by his sister, who had the same fire Alice, but he took the rap for her. His father was injured in this incident, but not seriously. Throughout the story, he constantly suffers from conscience pangs, and seems to be in a dilemma being concerned with the danger he puts people close to him in (Persona seems to threaten to harm his friends, and possibly his sister, currently kept captive by the man, if he neglects his duty of using his Alice for the Academy's business/political purposes.). A physical illness due to frequent use of his Alice also troubles him -- his Alice is of the Unlimited form, which drains his life span every time he uses it. Natsume kisses Mikan on the lips in volume 9 of the manga, during the Christmas party.
Nogi Ruka
Natsume's childhood friend and often referred by Mikan throughout the story as "Ruka-pyon". He has a gentle and pleasant personality that balances out that of Natsume's. His animal pheromone Alice allows him to get cozy with animals, a fact that he is embarrassed about and is often blackmailed over -- Hotaru has pictures taken of him showing his affinity towards animals and him wearing girl's clothes. Despite this, he often carries a rabbit with him. Also has affections for Mikan proven when he was ready to get kissed by her in a play although he usually stays away from girls. (In the manga, this seems to have been a last-minute change to the script done by Narumi-sensei; Ruka seems more confused than expectant in this scene.) The kissing scene was ended, however, when an apple thrown by Natsume comes into play. After the play, it was evident that he wanted to be Mikan's "Last Dance" partner but he was too shy to ask her. The upperclass girls who were jealous of Mikan didn't help at all, either, but Mikan and Ruka did end up dancing some time during the festival. In the manga, Ruka only kisses Mikan once on the cheek.
Shoda Sumire
Sumire is the self-declared president of the Natsume and Ruka fanclub. She has a dog-cat Alice which gives her enhanced smell and hearing capabilities, as well as making her sprout cat whiskers and dog ears and promoting the desire to walk on all fours. Her brother is also known as 'seaweed head (Hair?)' by Mikan. To the viewer she seems to be the biggest fan-girl.
Tobita Yuu
Yuu is the class representative, known as "Iinch--" by the majority of the class. He has the Alice of Illusion, and frequently helps Mikan out by getting information about the school.
Teachers!!!
Narumi
Homeroom teacher of Mikan's class. He teaches Japanese and often deals with Natsume when he gets in trouble or tries to break out. He has the human pheromone alice; he can make older people do what he wants, but children pass out. Mikan calls Narumi "father" because she misses her grandfather but Narumi is too young to be a "grandfather" so Narumi ask Mikan to call him "father" instead. Later in the manga, it is found that he harbored unrequited feelings for Mikan's mother and also proven that he is not Mikan's father but he made a promise to Mikan's mother that he will take care of Mikan during her stay in the Academy. When he was a student at Alice Academy, he did jobs for the academy like Natsume. He was the upperclassman that Reo looked up to.
Misaki
A teacher of biology at the academy. Seems to be stoic in his expressions yet cares for the students. During his first meeting with Mikan, he helped her and introduced her to the academy. He has the alice to control plants, and is often annoyed by Narumi, who steals his 'bean whips'.
Yamada Serina
A mysterious teacher at the school. Almost always seen with her crystal ball. Especially since her alice is of 'sight' which enables her to see things happening anywhere at present time. She is seen often with Narumi.
Noda
He appears later in the series. He has the alice of time-travelling. Seems to like appearing out of nowhere. He is the moderator of the Special Abilities Classes. He often cannot control when he is going to disappear or appear. His ability control device is a bangle he wears on his wrist.
Jinno
Teaches math. A cold-hearted teacher who does not hesitate in using his alice of lightning to punish his students, he is least trustful of Mikan. He is the reason for Mikan's 'no star' rating in the beginning. In the end, he softened up and adapted Mr. Narumi's style of teaching. He may look tough but he gets scared by ghosts or haunted houses easily and releases a large amount of electricity in the process.
Persona
A mysterious teacher. Wears a mask at all times, in fact. Seems to be the source of much of Natsume's troubles. His Alice is making objects dissolve. There was only one time he was seen without his mask. He disguised himself as a substitute teacher in one of Natsume's exams to see who was the cause of Natsume's change (but he was found out easily by Natsume). Also wears a lot of ability control devices.
High School Students
Andou Tsubasa
A junior high school student who is one of the first persons to be kind to Mikan. Has the alice of manipulating shadows. Belongs to the Special Abilities Class with Mikan. They met when he saves her. He annoys Natsume because he is very close to Mikan. In the past, he caused trouble for the school so he was marked with a "Seal/Mark of Obedience" in the shape of a star on his left cheek. The only one who can remove it is the person who put it and he has to follow that person or else... He now behaves. Also, he may be one of the persons who really understand Natsume's rebellion against the academy and his wish of freedom.
Harada Misaki
A friend of Tsubasa and likes to pick on him a lot. She also belongs to the Special Abilities class and is one of the most normal looking people there. She has the doppelganger alice which can multiply herself into two or more. She is very up-beat. She danced with Tsubasa during the festival.
Sono Kaname
Tsubasa's best friend. Possesses the Alice of placing souls into stuffed animals (or making stuffed animals come to life). He has poor health and his usage of his Alice also affects his lifespan. Despite this, he still makes dolls for it's his way of proving to himself that he can make people happy (he was a very lonely kid with no friends due to his condition) and the dolls he made serve as "evidences of his existence."
Hijiri Yoichi
Attached to Natsume, but seems to dislike Mikan at first, later he is seen to grow very attached to Mikan and once even kissed her on her cheek. Has the alice of using bad spirits. He is a very bright three year old. Natsume likes him. He loves "Cloud puffs," the best selling candy in Central Town.
Azumi Yuka or refers as That Person
Sorry not a really clear pic of her...
A member of the Anti Alice who Mikan resembles. Azumi is Mikan's mother, who is referred to as 'That Person.' Reo obviously stays in contact with her as he says things like 'check her profile'. Azumi was a part of the Anti-Alice organization, and it is likely that Mikan is not her grandpa's relative. In the past, Noda-sensai accidentally went there and saw her carrying a baby, he never saw her face, but the baby was possibly Mikan Sakura. Azumi's Alice is supposedly a special alice, but 10 years ago it wasn't given a field, and her alice was to steal another persons alice and to convert it into a stone alice. Nothing else is known about her, but she is 29 years old, and most likely still alive.
Mr Bear
A mute teddy bear with a freedom-loving soul. Commonly referred to as "Bear." Despite its cute outward appearance, it is extremely short-tempered and as a result frequently lashes out his incredibly quick and heavy punches to any stranger that approaches him. It seems to enjoy beating up Mikan. Only listens to Kaname, its maker and Kaname's friend, Tsubasa Andou. Yuu best describes this creature as a 'homicidal stuffed animal'.
Piyo
The gigantic mutated chick under the care of the Elementary Class B students.
A Music Video I Made for Natsume n Mikan...hope u guys enjoy it!!
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