Been watching and reading Gakuen Alice, Alice Academy, this week... Picked up the anime last month but watched it again lately...
The story revolves around a girl, Sakura Mikan, and her friends who have this ability called Alices that allows them to do stuff. That was brief haha. For example, Mikan's best friend Hotaru has the alice that allows her to build really amazing electronical stuff. Another friend and love interest Ruka, has the ability to attract and communicate with animals. And finally, Mikan's rival/partner/love interest, Natsume has a fire alice that allows him to control and use fire. Mikan has a very special nullification alice which allows her to control or nullify other alices.
So anyway, it's just about them... But I feel that, personally, the story is very much driven by Mikan's and Natsume's story while the others are just supporting characters.
Mikan's story deals much with her alice and her background. Her mother who had abandoned her, was also an alice user but has joined this group that wants to bring down the school because the school is, in actuality, using the students to do their dirty work of killing ppl etc etc... and this is where the plot intertwines with Natsume's predicament which is the most complex among all the characters. He is a slave to the higher powers of the school that is shrouded in this cynical plot we still don't know how far the evil goes. He is used by the school to do really terrible mission and he does it to protect Ruka (his best friend) and his sister (but now actually he's trying to protect everyone).
But anyway, the story is quite complex and really dark sometimes coz Natsume's story is damn tragic sometimes.
BUT OF COZ. THIS IS A SHOUJO GIRL MANGA! SO THERE'S ALWAYS A NICE LOVE STORY THERE!! MUAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAH!!!
TOUGH LOVE IS THE BEST LOVE... NOTTTTTTTTT...
So actually, I read it coz of the really sweet "love" story between Mikan and Natsume.
Because Natsume has to act tough and cool all the time, he rarely shows his true feelings towards Mikan.
At the begining (and even till now abit), of coz, Natsume show's his feelings towards Mikan by insulting her, calling her names, degrading her, teasing her, hitting her, torturing her, ignoring her, etc etc... you get the picture...
However, as the story progress, you see Natsume softening up to Mikan... Especially after the first Leo Arc where he gets kidnapped and Mikan comes to rescue him.
From then, I feel, it was a progression of their "relationship". Of coz it's not a typical shoujo type where suddenly love blossoms but actually, it's like a really bumpy progress punctuated with really lovely moments where Natsume lets his guard down and reveals a glimps of his feelings to Mikan.... before burning her with fire again the next moment!!
However, the parts I really like are the parts where Natsume shows his "affection" towards Mikan. Unlike the usual Shoujo manga, their "relationship" progress are few and far between but all REALLY intense and sweet...
Of coz I like the chapter where Natsume and Mikan kissed... hehe.. But I also liked the chapter where Mikan ran back to prevent Natsume from blowing himself up in the Leo chapter.
I liked chapter 54 and 55 when Natsume and Mikan get stuck together. I also really like the Alice festival chapters when Natsume "wins" Mikan as a slave. On that note, Natsume's birthday chapter was nice also.... I also REALLY REALLY liked chapter 72 alot where Mikan actually gave Natsume her Alice stone because she thought he would need her ability the most, and Natsume secretly gives her his alice stone... awww how sweet.
HOWEVER, things are not so simple of course, because this "love" story is not just riddled with love that cannot be expressed, but it's also a love triangle. Because BOTH Natsume and RUKA has feelings for Mikan... And Natsume and Ruka are really really really bonded best friends who would die for each other..... But... I suppose their attraction to Mikan it's not so simple as just love because they both see her as their light... Especially for Natsume, she saves him from who he is.... I thought it was really sweet in the RPG chapter where everybody is shunning Natsume and whispering around him and then Mikan pops up and excitedly greets him... unaware, not caring what others say about Natsume or how he usually is towards people...
So, Mikan, well..... Well... I think she feels something for Ruka... But I think her feelings for Natsume are more intense but because of his "mixed" actions, she cannot understand him and is often left totally confused... And I suppose, because Natsume gets into WAYYYYY MOREEE dangerous situations than Ruka ever does, it seems that Mikan has a greater desire to want to help Natsume... and she always gets quite worried about him.
ALSO, it has not been like a TOTAL progress in their "relationship" whatsoever...
Because now in the current chapters, due to circumstances that Natsume is in, he cannot allow Mikan close to him. There's also a new girl character who is with the bad guys of the school threatening Natsume. So because of these circumstance, Natsume often has to avoid or totally treat Mikan like shit and hurt her though it hurts him to hurt her. It's all to protect Mikan, I suppose.
I think like at the starting, Natsume and Mikan's relationship was like totally love/hate.. Natsume being annoyed at Mikan. So they never work out Then he softens up... Towards the middle, you see him change and he begins to get drawn to Mikan and starts developing feelings for her.... around chapters 30+ and finally actually you can see it already it's quite obvious he likes her around 50+ chapter till finally chapter 72... All the way till chapter 72, he still witholds from showing her his feelings.... I would think.... BUTTTT, i dunno i find it significant at 72 when they exchange alice stones coz you can really see Natsume change in how he feels towards Mikan... You know he likes her and probably he wouldn't mind being nice to her (but not entirely I THINK! haha).... BUTTTT this is when CIRCUMSTANCES come in to MAKE HIM not be able to show his feelings when finally he wants to show it!!! DAMN.
So because of all these, Natsume really can't be with Mikan as much as he wants to and needs to. And he is forced to express his regret, his apologies and most of all his feelings towards Mikan in secret and indirect ways. He has to hide behind a mask and silently confess his feelings to Mikan in chapter 84, hide behind the mask again to hold onto her to show her his true feelings and not what he was forced to say and show in chapter 86, and while pretending to be someone else, he silently hold Mikan's hand in gentle assurance to her of his true feelings. All these, he also has to do in silence and restriction WHILE looking at Ruka having a good relationship with Mikan, and WHILE he is putting his life in danger being a slave to the school by doing their dirty work.
It's REALLY REALLY REALLY so sad, Natsume can't be with Mikan like he wants to. It's so sad he has to hurt her and be hurt. It's so sad he can't say or express to Mikan how he really feels. And on top of all that, he has to watch from afar and protect the happiness of others all on his own and face such darkness all alone...
It's not just the really intense chapters like 84, 86 and 91 where Natsume is forced to confess his true feelings to Mikan in such hidden and restricted ways, but also chapters like the Valentine's Day chapter when Ruka and Mikan is alone in the classroom and Mikan gives Ruka chocolates and says he's the first one to accept it. After Ruka leaves, Mikan accidentally drops a pack of her chocolates on the floor as she is leaving the room. Natsume comes down from the ceiling where he's been hiding and overhearing Mikan and Ruka's conversation picks up the chocolates and eats it. I thought it was so damn sad because he never gets to share sweet moments like Ruka does with Mikan. But in his heart he really wants to. And in the end, he always does it or shows it all alone...
MANNNNNNNN IT'S GETTING SO TERRIBLE!!! I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSE TO BE A GIRL MANGA??????????????? ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO ADD TO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY IS IT SO DARK?????
Anyway, I hope that Luna bitch that's been tearing Mikan and Natsume apart would dissapear SOON. Damn she's already been around for 10 chapters!! It's time for her to be DISPATCHED!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, but i really like the parts that are so damn sweet because it's so damn sad...
I really liked chapter 46 (i think it was 46)... when Natsume, Ruka and Tsubaki was in fight and Mikan comes in... She is attacked when Natsume protects her with his fire and gets hurt in the process... Mikan sees him hurt but still fighting so strongly against the formidable opponent... THEN at that moment seeing him there, she finally understands the life Natsume lives and how different it was from their lives... and she understood the darkness he had to bear that made him how he was always so moody and silent and angry. Then she stands up and tells him that he doesn't need to protect her and she will protect herself. She tells her that she will help him. She tells him she will stand by him and use their alice together. (Remember her's is a nullifying alice that can protect Natsume from getting hurt by his own alice or by overusing his own alice) And she tells him that he shouldn't be the only one getting hurt all the time. He looks so touched by her words... because I suppose, this is the first time, someone was there with him to fight, and he didn't have to fight alone.... HOW SWEET~!!!!!!!!!
I think though Natsume is always so moody, Mikan is confused about him and Ruka is obviously the better choice but yet..... I think, the "preference" is leaning more and more towards Natsume, even though it's not expressed so much...
ALSO COZ... You can see from the mangaka setting up the situations... hahahaha... I feel that Ruka is there to make things abit more complicated, but if there was a "main" "love" plot here she is looking to develop, it would be Natsume and Mikan.
This is because everytime Ruka poses a challenge to Natsume (in regards to Mikan), Natsume will always get the opportunity to do that thing with Mikan in the end. Things like first kisses, Natsume got it first... though Ruka was the one who kissed mikan on the cheeks first (natsume got the really juicy REAL one muahahaha), also like the valentine's day chocolates, also like Mikan getting stuck with Natsume, Natsume and Mikan wanting to protect one another, Natsume calling out Mikan's name when she fell and Mikan calling his name, Mikan is the ONLY GIRL that Natsume calls by name, Natsume calls Mikan by her first name while Ruka calls her by her surname... ANDDD... actually, the mangaka makes alot of times when both Natsume and Mikan had some really close (and explict!!!) moments.... MUAHAHAHAHHAHA... dude they slept together, what can i say??? wth... i thought it was suppose to be elementary school comic???
Can tell wan la when a mangaka is thinking of which pairing more!!
Sigh i wish they'd remove the love-triangle soon... REMOVE LUNA TOO. REMOVE HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT HER GONE GONE GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, i wonder if Natsume is dying also, coz apprently he DOES have the type of alice that in exchange for unlimited power and use, the lifespan of the user decreases.... I wonder in the end if maybe Mikan would use her Stealing Alice to free Natsume from his bondage and in turn, save his life...
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