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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
not Watase's best...however..., November 1, 2005
This is another series by manga expert Yu Watase, and it marks a departure for her in a number of ways. Stylistically it is similarly executed to "Ayashi no Ceres" or "Fushigi Yugi: Mysterious Play" but at the core it is very different.
The story centers around a young Japanese girl named Alice who (oddly enough) one day finds a rabbit in the middle of a busy intersection. Concerned for it's welfare, she boldly runs out to the middle of the street to save it only to be nearly hit by oncoming traffic as well. To her surprise she is aided by fellow high school member Kyo Wakamiya, an upper classman whom Alice has been lusting after since she first saw him in her older sister Mayura's archery class... problem is that she is not the only one to fall prey to Kyo's understated charms, her sister also has a thing for him. The real problem lies in the fact that Alice is a very shy girl, not one prone to saying what she wants or feels, so when her sister steps in and gives Kyo a present for his seventeenth birthday, along with pledging her love to him, Alice stands by in private, agonizing suffering, and not only accepts that they will be a couple but also encourages Kyo to accept Mayura's love. Seeing as how Mayura is a beauty and freely goes after what she wants, Alice figures she has no chance.
Sounds like a typical love story Shojo doesn't it? I assure you, that is only the beginning. It quickly becomes apparent to Alice that the rabbit she had saved is no ordinary leveret. When Alice first rescues it the rabbit leaves behind a bracelet with a glowing jewel on it and disappears. Kyo helps her look for it for a few days, and manages to find it, but by this time Alice has already discovered the rabbit's true nature. She is actually a shape shifting creature named Nyozeka, a creature determined to teach Alice the ways of the Lotis Master. A Lotis Master is one whom masters the use of words for magical usage, more or less. Nyozeka, in her true form, appears as a partial rabbit young girl, a sight that astounds and confuses Alice when she first sees her. The other forms she takes is an ordinary rabbit and a small ball of fluff with rabbit ears large enough to fit into Alice's pocket. At first Alice resists this creature, especially when Kyo and Mayura get together and she is left to deal with her unrequited love, but an incident caused by Alice that results in Mayura's disappearance encourages the young heroine to undertake the journey to become a Lotis Master. There is also the issue of a young man named Tatsuya Matsujo (also a member of the archery club) who Mayura sets up with Alice before she disappears. He becomes insanely jealous of her friendship with Kyo and attempts to force himself upon Alice. Tatsuya shows up periodically pursuing Alice, claiming she is "his girl" and must do what he says. So, of course, there is a love triangle (rectangle, in this case) but it is not just typical Shojo manga, and it seems like it is only going to get more interesting.
Kyo has a secret that reveals itself in the end of the first volume, and Alice must find her sister. Is it enough of a plot to keep me reading? Definitely. Is it as good as other Watase works... I'm not sure about that. For one thing, the illustrations in the other series are tighter and much better executed. The illustrations here do not have as much body to them. Another slight flaw comes with Nyozeka, but that just may be a personal preference of mine. I don't tend to incline to stories with animal like creatures helping out the protagonists to discover things about themselves or to reach a higher plain of existence... unless it's "Donny Darko" (which coincidentally also had a rabbit fiend helping him along, for those of you who have not seen it yet). This is just an inclination isolated to me though, I'm sure many people will find this right up their alley. One other thing I noticed is that Alice just seems so under developed and young... I know that's the point, that she develop through the series, but she just did not seem to have that inner strength from the get go that, say, Miaka from "Fushigi Yugi" or Aya from "Ayashi no Ceres" started out with. I know she will develop as a result from her adventures, but to me she just seems so...young. Perhaps it is unfair to compare this piece solely against previous series that Watase has created, but seeing as how I loved both of those series, and I was looking forward to this, I can't feel that this just falls a little short of that perfect curve. It is, however, a worthwhile read, as it still has an interesting plotline around certain characters, but for me it is not the pinnacle of Watase's work. It might be better as an animated series than a serialized manga. That being said, I think it deserves a rating of 4 stars, just because of these slight imperfections.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Alice 19th-read and reviewed by a twelve year old girl..., June 17, 2005
A Kid's Review
Alice 19th was the first manga I had ever read, my friend let me lend it from her and I loved it! It's about a high school freshman girl named Alice Seno, she has an older sister named Mayura who is pretty and popular, while Alice is just sort of plain and shy... Alice has a crush on Kyo, a very brave (And cute I might add.) boy who is her sisters age, and sadly her sister has a crush on him too. But it's not all normal like that-I'm a reviewer, and meh job is too REVIEW- So continuing...
There is PLENTY of magic in this book...(TONS in the series.) When Alice magicly hears voices telling her not to save a bunny who is in the middle of an intersection, and she does it anyway, she learns that the bunny is really a magic bunny named Neozecka. When Neozecka tells Alice that she is a Lotis Master, it turns her life upside down...and her sister I might say...
Ok, on with my darned reviewer lecture again, I'm the reviewer-and I am going to tell you that this series is not all perfect, clean, and innocent. I really must say that this book is more for teens...even if I'm not a teen...(Baaaaad me.) The first book is really clean, but as the books continue there are quite a few 'bad' words. Not VERY bad ones though, just slight. I must warn though-in the fifth book, Mayura goes naked for about five pages or so but she was only naked because she ment to take a bath. One things I also like about this series and that I have seen in other manga is that this book lacks in 'gory' pictures...so it's kinda hard to get grossed out.
There are good things though-the pictures are cute and incredible, and hilariously funny. So many great expressions from peeved to jolly-good-happy. There is also quite alot of humer too; lots of it...and me being the weird one likes dat. ^^ Although if you are really into romance you might get annoyed, the author somtimes ruins a good moment by humor. Oh well, me no care! There are also quite a few kissin' scenes, some people get annoyed and/or grossed out by those but that's another thing that does not bother me... heh, heh.
Happy reading ^__^ I hoped this review helped you!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yû Watase's greatest work yet, December 9, 2003
Alice 19th Volume One was the most enjoyable Shôjo series I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The art is improved from Ceres, and is very beautiful. It draws in a bit of the Magical Girl genre, but not too much. It has a bit of a western feel to it, making it much different than Watase-san's previous works. The characters all look different, and seem more like real people, unlike in Fushigi Yuugi. The storyline is decent, and very original. Watase-san throws in comedy when also being serious at the same time, and shows things from two different points of view. The translation is good, and one of VIZ's best, in my opinion. This is an enjoyable series for both Guys and girls, and is recomended.Koenma
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by Yuu Watase
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