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daft27 · 2004-11-07, 14:09

Preview for Gakuen Alice ep1 originally published at:
http://daft27.fansub.tv/published.ph...akuen%20Alice/

Keywords: Cute, Shoujo, Magic, Elementary School, Silly

warning - this is being written at 6:30 AM and will probably be edited later

Judging from episode one, Gakuen Alice seems to be for a younger audience. The overuse of various anime expressions (depression, shock, etc) as well as the overly fast pace of progression in this story makes it seem like this series is geared towards people with extremely short attention spans. Just the themes listed alone indicate that this series is probably for children. As comedic and entertaining as this series might be, the sparse moments of seriousness in episode 1 definitely helps break up some of the insanity.

Plot:
Honestly, my Japanese is pretty terrible so if you just go visit the Gakuen Alice review on Jascii, I'm sure you'll get a more accurate description of what this series is about. All I can pick up is that Hotaru transferred to Mikan's school, Mikan and Hotaru became good friends and then Hotaru left for Gakuen Alice. Hotaru's favorite thing is nanotechnology and apparently of the whole world, she only likes herself. Well... I suppose I picked up more than that but most of the other stuff is probably irrelevant to the plot. Just take a look at the review on Jascii for more info: http://www.jascii.net/newanime/jasci...ascii_view=202

Animation:
One thing I noticed early on was that there are a quite a few sharp lines in this anime, but they seemed to go away pretty fast (by sharp lines, think of Aishiteruze Baby).They do use various blurring techniques to make things as well as some nice lighting techniques at times, so things do look good for Gakuen Alice animation wise. It looks pretty modern by my standards and modern is good in my opinion. (see screenshots) One of the things I don't like about the animation is that there is a lot of 'anime expressions' used. It's silly and works well in the beginning but after a while, you just get tired of it. I hope this doesn't become a trend and appear through the rest of the episodes.

Music & Seiyuus:
Perhaps I'm a bit picky but I don't really think the music used in this series is that good. Perhaps the op is a little bit catchy but aren't they normally catchy? Anyways, some of the voice actors don't really match the age of the characters they play. They sound as if they're closer to high school and older than elementary school. It doesn't bother me too much since sometimes some child-like voices that voice actors use can get annoying. Mikan is played by Ueda Kana, the voice actor for Yuki in Maria-sama ga Miteru, and Hotaru is played by Kugimiya Rie, the voice actor for Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist. I find it interesting how the voice actor for Hinata Natsume, a character from Gakuen Alice, is actually Paku Romi who voiced Edward Elric (another FMA character).

Other notables are:
Reo, voiced by Suzumura Ken’ichi. Also voiced Shin from Macross Zero, Kazuto from UFO Valkyrie Princess and Shiki from Shingetsutan Tsukihime.
Shoda Sumire, voiced by Saito Chiwa. Also voiced Izumi Neneko from DearS, Kojima Kirie from Girls Bravo, and Komachi from Samurai 7.

... there are more notable voice actors but perhaps I'll add them in some other time.

Recommendation
If you have time to spare and you want something silly, then I guess I could recommend this series as something to watch. However, I do think that there are better things this season to watch that have some of the elements and themes of this anime.

Screen caps

2004-11-07, 14:09	Link #1
daft27 Aim High, Fall Short Join Date: Oct 2004	Gakuen Alice Preview for Gakuen Alice ep1 originally published at: http://daft27.fansub.tv/published.ph...akuen%20Alice/ Keywords: Cute, Shoujo, Magic, Elementary School, Silly warning - this is being written at 6:30 AM and will probably be edited later Judging from episode one, Gakuen Alice seems to be for a younger audience. The overuse of various anime expressions (depression, shock, etc) as well as the overly fast pace of progression in this story makes it seem like this series is geared towards people with extremely short attention spans. Just the themes listed alone indicate that this series is probably for children. As comedic and entertaining as this series might be, the sparse moments of seriousness in episode 1 definitely helps break up some of the insanity. Plot: Honestly, my Japanese is pretty terrible so if you just go visit the Gakuen Alice review on Jascii, I'm sure you'll get a more accurate description of what this series is about. All I can pick up is that Hotaru transferred to Mikan's school, Mikan and Hotaru became good friends and then Hotaru left for Gakuen Alice. Hotaru's favorite thing is nanotechnology and apparently of the whole world, she only likes herself. Well... I suppose I picked up more than that but most of the other stuff is probably irrelevant to the plot. Just take a look at the review on Jascii for more info: http://www.jascii.net/newanime/jasci...ascii_view=202 Animation: One thing I noticed early on was that there are a quite a few sharp lines in this anime, but they seemed to go away pretty fast (by sharp lines, think of Aishiteruze Baby).They do use various blurring techniques to make things as well as some nice lighting techniques at times, so things do look good for Gakuen Alice animation wise. It looks pretty modern by my standards and modern is good in my opinion. (see screenshots) One of the things I don't like about the animation is that there is a lot of 'anime expressions' used. It's silly and works well in the beginning but after a while, you just get tired of it. I hope this doesn't become a trend and appear through the rest of the episodes. Music & Seiyuus: Perhaps I'm a bit picky but I don't really think the music used in this series is that good. Perhaps the op is a little bit catchy but aren't they normally catchy? Anyways, some of the voice actors don't really match the age of the characters they play. They sound as if they're closer to high school and older than elementary school. It doesn't bother me too much since sometimes some child-like voices that voice actors use can get annoying. Mikan is played by Ueda Kana, the voice actor for Yuki in Maria-sama ga Miteru, and Hotaru is played by Kugimiya Rie, the voice actor for Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist. I find it interesting how the voice actor for Hinata Natsume, a character from Gakuen Alice, is actually Paku Romi who voiced Edward Elric (another FMA character). Other notables are: Reo, voiced by Suzumura Ken’ichi. Also voiced Shin from Macross Zero, Kazuto from UFO Valkyrie Princess and Shiki from Shingetsutan Tsukihime. Shoda Sumire, voiced by Saito Chiwa. Also voiced Izumi Neneko from DearS, Kojima Kirie from Girls Bravo, and Komachi from Samurai 7. ... there are more notable voice actors but perhaps I'll add them in some other time. Recommendation If you have time to spare and you want something silly, then I guess I could recommend this series as something to watch. However, I do think that there are better things this season to watch that have some of the elements and themes of this anime. Screen caps Last edited by daft27; 2004-11-17 at 20:05.