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Alice was a typical young girl--hopelessly in love and bored, until she follows a magical rabbit that literally changes the course of her life. Alice Seno seems like a normal girl in high school. She's a bit shy, she has a crush on a boy name Kyo, and she has a pretty older sister, Mayura, who is more popular than she is - especially with Kyou. Pretty normal stuff, until one day when, walking down the street, Alice hears strange voices instructing her to save a rabbit from being run over by show more a car. Alice's brave act almost costs her her life, but the handsome Kyo saves her. Meanwhile, it seems the rabbit is no ordinary bunny, but a magical entity with great powers. Before she can figure out what's going on, the rabbit vanishes, only to reappear as a beam of light with a strange message just for Alice. show lessTags
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(originally written for Anime on DVD)
The story kicks off with Alice doing e-mail via her cell phone. We don't know who she's writing, but she's asked if there's someone special in their life. There is?an upperclassman in her high school named Kyo. However, her older sister Mayura also has a crush on him.
This takes us down a journey where Alice and Mayura are pitted against each other. Mayura is the very pretty older sister and life pretty much revolves around her. However, Mayura doesn't come across as stuck up and at one point you can tell that in a way she doesn't think it's fair that her parents constantly doting on her prevents Alice from getting what she wants.
Alice, on the other hand, isn't like Miaka or Aya from Watase's previous show more works. She's shy and quiet and is willing to do anything to please people including submerge her feelings for Kyo in order to allow Mayura a chance for happiness and to go out with a boy her sister sets her up with who tries to force himself on her.
But what changes in the middle of all of this is that Alice comes across a rabbit out in the middle of traffic. After saving the rabbit, Kyo winds up saving her from the traffic. The rabbit leaves, but then Kyo becomes obsessed with finding the animal. What the rabbit has left behind was a bracelet. Shortly thereafter, Alice encounters the rabbit again, who transforms into an extremely cute rabbit girl and calls herself Nyozuka. She said that the symbol on Alice's bracelet is for the word "courage," the 19th of the sacred Lotis Words.
According to Nyozuka, "Words can save people?or they can hurt people." When Alice's true feelings come rushing out her in a verbal attack on her sister, they have the power to make Mayura disappear. Now it's up to Alice to learn the Lotis Words and gain their power in order to find her sister and bring her back.
This manga is in a way Yu Watase's reaction to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Her author notes are very revealing about the origin of the series and how the power of words and communications drive events rather than violence. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of this series and seeing how this concept develops. As the youngest sister myself, I find Alice very easy to identify with and found Mayura and Kyo to be very endearing themselves. Like Alice, I've found myself in situations where I've said something I wish I could take back. I think many people have and that's where many people will be able to connect with this series. Highly recommended. show less
The story kicks off with Alice doing e-mail via her cell phone. We don't know who she's writing, but she's asked if there's someone special in their life. There is?an upperclassman in her high school named Kyo. However, her older sister Mayura also has a crush on him.
This takes us down a journey where Alice and Mayura are pitted against each other. Mayura is the very pretty older sister and life pretty much revolves around her. However, Mayura doesn't come across as stuck up and at one point you can tell that in a way she doesn't think it's fair that her parents constantly doting on her prevents Alice from getting what she wants.
Alice, on the other hand, isn't like Miaka or Aya from Watase's previous show more works. She's shy and quiet and is willing to do anything to please people including submerge her feelings for Kyo in order to allow Mayura a chance for happiness and to go out with a boy her sister sets her up with who tries to force himself on her.
But what changes in the middle of all of this is that Alice comes across a rabbit out in the middle of traffic. After saving the rabbit, Kyo winds up saving her from the traffic. The rabbit leaves, but then Kyo becomes obsessed with finding the animal. What the rabbit has left behind was a bracelet. Shortly thereafter, Alice encounters the rabbit again, who transforms into an extremely cute rabbit girl and calls herself Nyozuka. She said that the symbol on Alice's bracelet is for the word "courage," the 19th of the sacred Lotis Words.
According to Nyozuka, "Words can save people?or they can hurt people." When Alice's true feelings come rushing out her in a verbal attack on her sister, they have the power to make Mayura disappear. Now it's up to Alice to learn the Lotis Words and gain their power in order to find her sister and bring her back.
This manga is in a way Yu Watase's reaction to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Her author notes are very revealing about the origin of the series and how the power of words and communications drive events rather than violence. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of this series and seeing how this concept develops. As the youngest sister myself, I find Alice very easy to identify with and found Mayura and Kyo to be very endearing themselves. Like Alice, I've found myself in situations where I've said something I wish I could take back. I think many people have and that's where many people will be able to connect with this series. Highly recommended. show less
This review was originally written for the website ListerX.com, which is now defunct. It can also be found on my blog, The Graphic Librarian.
Cover
Okay, first things first - what was VIZ thinking?! Why in the world did they decide a gray background looked better than the original beige? The gray looks absolutely terrible in contrast with the pink. However, other than that, the cover is fairly nice. The art style is very reminiscent of Alphonse Mucha, especially in the decorated background, but there's also some nice Celtic influences, as well. The font chosen for the title suits the image nicely, flowing across the page in a lovely imitation of Alice's Lotis Master costume. The back cover, though serviceable, is far from impressive, with show more a repeat of both the title and a cut-out of Alice from the front. Unfortunately, the cut-out has been poorly edited, appearing rough around the edges, something that could be easily fixed with a little Photoshop work.
Artwork
What can I say? The artwork is classic Watase - beautiful characters, excellent proportions, and a flair for the dramatic. Of course, it's fairly common knowledge that Watase doesn't really like to do backgrounds, yet somehow she still manages to make each page interesting by filling them with other things that define the scene such as flowers, speed lines, clouds, and various other patterns. However, it's important to note that when Watase does draw a real background, it's done with a wonderful amount of detail. Something else I really like about this manga-ka's work is her ability to convey emotion, to physically show what a character is feeling instead of just having the character say what they feel. And then, of course, there's the characters themselves. The girls are adorable, the guys are about as beautiful as they can get (without being girls themselves), and everyone is posed and positioned perfectly in nearly every panel. Of course, I've always been a huge fan of Watase's art, so I may be a bit more biased than normal.
Plot
**Possible Spoilers Warning**
The plot starts off being very classic - two sisters as different as night and day, but both in love with the same guy. It immediately brings to mind at least a dozen other similarly cliched stories. However, Watase quickly puts a supernatural spin on things that will be sure to keep you reading. The story opens with an introduction to our main characters, Alice and her bug sister, Mayura. We first find Alice asleep and dreaming about Kyo, a boy she cares about but is too shy to actually talk to. Thanks to the dream she's running late and it's on her way to school that things begin to happen. Just like Lewis Carroll's similarly named character, Alice Seno's adventure begins with a strange white rabbit, which she tries to rescue from the middle of a busy street. However, she's not fast enough and winds up having to be rescued herself - by none other than her crush, Kyo Wakamiya!
Of course, it's obvious from the start that there's something odd about the fluffy white bunny, which is sporting a rather unique collar but it escapes before Alice can get a good look at it. Besides, Alice is far more concerned with the fact that her sister has just asked Kyo to be her boyfriend. She wants to tell Kyo how she feels as well, but her shyness and fear keep holding her back. Suddenly the rabbit reappears and changes into an adorable little girl with bunny ears. The girl proclaims herself to by Nyozeka and she tries to explain that Alice is a Lotis Master, someone capable of using Words of Power, but Alice thinks she's hallucinating and decides to ignore Nyozeka's wild story. Besides, her life life is already complicated enough as it is - Kyo has agreed to date Mayura and it's all because Alice told him to make up his mind.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Alice, Mayura has discovered a photo of Kyo under her sister's pillow and decides to set Alice up with Tatsuya, a friend from school (which turns out to be a very bad idea.) Although Alice agrees to go out with him, it's only to take her mind off of Kyo, and Tatsuya only has one thing on his mind. Fortunately Kyo shows up at just the right moment, but from there things just seem to go from bad to worse. Alice and Mayura get into a fight at home over Kyo and Alice unknowingly uses a Word of Power on her sister, causing her to literally disappear. Mayura is sent into a void and somehow manages to find herself at Kyo's house. It quickly becomes obvious that although he cares for her, he doesn't love her. Mayura realizes this just as Alice comes running through the rain looking for her. However, by the time Alice reaches the door, Mayura has disappeared again. Tired and completely engulfed in guilt by what she's done, Alice faints dead away on Kyo's floor. When she awakens, she discovers she's been unconscious for two days and Mayura still hasn't come home. Alice now has no choice but to enlist Nyozeka's help. When she returns to school, Tatsuya accuses her of using Mayura's disappearance to get close to Kyo. According to Nyozeka, Words of Darkness have taken over Tatsuya's soul and Alice must use her newfound powers to free him, receiving some extra help from an unexpected source. Could there be another Lotis Master?
There's also a very small illustration gallery at the end with two black and white images, one of Alice and one of Mayura, each in lovely lolita-esque dresses. It's a shame they're not in color; they'd look so much better.
Content Warnings
Language = I didn't notice any bad language while reading it, but there might have been one or two that I didn't notice.
Violence = Yes, but nothing too terribly graphic. Just people getting thrown into walls, etc.
Nudity = A couple of mildly suggestive images, but nothing eye-boggling.
Sexual Situations = Some mild innuendo, but nothing more than that.
Ratings
Cover - 7/10 - Aside from some technical issues, this is a fairly nice cover, but VIZ could still do better.
Artwork - 10/10 - What can I say? It's Yu Watase!
Plot - 8/10 - Aside from some minor cliches, this plot's start still has a lot of potential and I can't wait for the next one.
Overall - 9/10 - Another angst-filled Watase title, who could ask for more? Yes, I suppose I'm a bit biased... show less
Cover
Okay, first things first - what was VIZ thinking?! Why in the world did they decide a gray background looked better than the original beige? The gray looks absolutely terrible in contrast with the pink. However, other than that, the cover is fairly nice. The art style is very reminiscent of Alphonse Mucha, especially in the decorated background, but there's also some nice Celtic influences, as well. The font chosen for the title suits the image nicely, flowing across the page in a lovely imitation of Alice's Lotis Master costume. The back cover, though serviceable, is far from impressive, with show more a repeat of both the title and a cut-out of Alice from the front. Unfortunately, the cut-out has been poorly edited, appearing rough around the edges, something that could be easily fixed with a little Photoshop work.
Artwork
What can I say? The artwork is classic Watase - beautiful characters, excellent proportions, and a flair for the dramatic. Of course, it's fairly common knowledge that Watase doesn't really like to do backgrounds, yet somehow she still manages to make each page interesting by filling them with other things that define the scene such as flowers, speed lines, clouds, and various other patterns. However, it's important to note that when Watase does draw a real background, it's done with a wonderful amount of detail. Something else I really like about this manga-ka's work is her ability to convey emotion, to physically show what a character is feeling instead of just having the character say what they feel. And then, of course, there's the characters themselves. The girls are adorable, the guys are about as beautiful as they can get (without being girls themselves), and everyone is posed and positioned perfectly in nearly every panel. Of course, I've always been a huge fan of Watase's art, so I may be a bit more biased than normal.
Plot
**Possible Spoilers Warning**
The plot starts off being very classic - two sisters as different as night and day, but both in love with the same guy. It immediately brings to mind at least a dozen other similarly cliched stories. However, Watase quickly puts a supernatural spin on things that will be sure to keep you reading. The story opens with an introduction to our main characters, Alice and her bug sister, Mayura. We first find Alice asleep and dreaming about Kyo, a boy she cares about but is too shy to actually talk to. Thanks to the dream she's running late and it's on her way to school that things begin to happen. Just like Lewis Carroll's similarly named character, Alice Seno's adventure begins with a strange white rabbit, which she tries to rescue from the middle of a busy street. However, she's not fast enough and winds up having to be rescued herself - by none other than her crush, Kyo Wakamiya!
Of course, it's obvious from the start that there's something odd about the fluffy white bunny, which is sporting a rather unique collar but it escapes before Alice can get a good look at it. Besides, Alice is far more concerned with the fact that her sister has just asked Kyo to be her boyfriend. She wants to tell Kyo how she feels as well, but her shyness and fear keep holding her back. Suddenly the rabbit reappears and changes into an adorable little girl with bunny ears. The girl proclaims herself to by Nyozeka and she tries to explain that Alice is a Lotis Master, someone capable of using Words of Power, but Alice thinks she's hallucinating and decides to ignore Nyozeka's wild story. Besides, her life life is already complicated enough as it is - Kyo has agreed to date Mayura and it's all because Alice told him to make up his mind.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Alice, Mayura has discovered a photo of Kyo under her sister's pillow and decides to set Alice up with Tatsuya, a friend from school (which turns out to be a very bad idea.) Although Alice agrees to go out with him, it's only to take her mind off of Kyo, and Tatsuya only has one thing on his mind. Fortunately Kyo shows up at just the right moment, but from there things just seem to go from bad to worse. Alice and Mayura get into a fight at home over Kyo and Alice unknowingly uses a Word of Power on her sister, causing her to literally disappear. Mayura is sent into a void and somehow manages to find herself at Kyo's house. It quickly becomes obvious that although he cares for her, he doesn't love her. Mayura realizes this just as Alice comes running through the rain looking for her. However, by the time Alice reaches the door, Mayura has disappeared again. Tired and completely engulfed in guilt by what she's done, Alice faints dead away on Kyo's floor. When she awakens, she discovers she's been unconscious for two days and Mayura still hasn't come home. Alice now has no choice but to enlist Nyozeka's help. When she returns to school, Tatsuya accuses her of using Mayura's disappearance to get close to Kyo. According to Nyozeka, Words of Darkness have taken over Tatsuya's soul and Alice must use her newfound powers to free him, receiving some extra help from an unexpected source. Could there be another Lotis Master?
There's also a very small illustration gallery at the end with two black and white images, one of Alice and one of Mayura, each in lovely lolita-esque dresses. It's a shame they're not in color; they'd look so much better.
Content Warnings
Language = I didn't notice any bad language while reading it, but there might have been one or two that I didn't notice.
Violence = Yes, but nothing too terribly graphic. Just people getting thrown into walls, etc.
Nudity = A couple of mildly suggestive images, but nothing eye-boggling.
Sexual Situations = Some mild innuendo, but nothing more than that.
Ratings
Cover - 7/10 - Aside from some technical issues, this is a fairly nice cover, but VIZ could still do better.
Artwork - 10/10 - What can I say? It's Yu Watase!
Plot - 8/10 - Aside from some minor cliches, this plot's start still has a lot of potential and I can't wait for the next one.
Overall - 9/10 - Another angst-filled Watase title, who could ask for more? Yes, I suppose I'm a bit biased... show less
I didn't expect much, but I actually really enjoyed it! The art isn't really my favorite style, but I still found myself admiring it. A few plot points are like, "what?" but you just kind of have to embrace it and roll with it. Most manga is that way, let's be honest.
Alice is a fun little main character, and I look forward to see what else she can do.
Alice is a fun little main character, and I look forward to see what else she can do.
Why this book deserves some attention:
- Alice 19th is a whimsical shojo romance that has many similarities to Alice in Wonderland.
- It’s a unique teen romance, but it also has lessons that can apply to life.
- It’s a silly novel. It was adventurous and funny! I always respond well to funny books, and there’s nothing wrong with silly if it’s entertaining. J
- It features a talking bunny. Nothing is better than bunnies that talk. . . except maybe talking cats. Maybe in the next volume!
One situation this – and all manga writers – need to work on:
THESE. DANG. CLIFFHANGERS. The only thing about manga that I hate is they always end in a cliffhanger! Well, not always, but Alice 19th Volume I sure does. >.>
I had a blast reading this show more book. It went by far too fast for my taste, and now I’m searching ebay for the entire series. Do you know how pricey manga gets? Ugh. Anyways, if you’re looking for fun, adventure, and romance, I’d say pick up this school-life shoujo and give it a whirl. :D
~ One Curvy Blogger
http://onecurvyblogger.com show less
- Alice 19th is a whimsical shojo romance that has many similarities to Alice in Wonderland.
- It’s a unique teen romance, but it also has lessons that can apply to life.
- It’s a silly novel. It was adventurous and funny! I always respond well to funny books, and there’s nothing wrong with silly if it’s entertaining. J
- It features a talking bunny. Nothing is better than bunnies that talk. . . except maybe talking cats. Maybe in the next volume!
One situation this – and all manga writers – need to work on:
THESE. DANG. CLIFFHANGERS. The only thing about manga that I hate is they always end in a cliffhanger! Well, not always, but Alice 19th Volume I sure does. >.>
I had a blast reading this show more book. It went by far too fast for my taste, and now I’m searching ebay for the entire series. Do you know how pricey manga gets? Ugh. Anyways, if you’re looking for fun, adventure, and romance, I’d say pick up this school-life shoujo and give it a whirl. :D
~ One Curvy Blogger
http://onecurvyblogger.com show less
This manga is about a shy girl who likes the same guy as her older sister. She accidentally uses a magical power that she didn't know that she has to make her sister disappear. Now it seems that she and the boy she likes will have to go on a journey to rescue her sister from a mysterious land of nothingness. Oh, and there is a magical bunny-girl that will serve as her guide. I did not like this manga. The dialogue is stilted and the plot and concept are extremely juvenile. The main character is also very annoying.
Hands down the greatest book I've ever read!
It's a wonderful romance, only with a slight twist. It also had a good balance of magic.
- Miranda C.
It's a wonderful romance, only with a slight twist. It also had a good balance of magic.
- Miranda C.
The plot was interesting, but most of the story was really confusing.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Alice 19th, Volume 1: The Lotis Master
- Original title
- ありす19th 1
Classifications
- Genres
- Graphic Novels & Comics, Teen
- DDC/MDS
- 741.5952 — Arts & recreation Drawing & decorative arts Drawing and drawings Comic books, graphic novels, fotonovelas, cartoons, caricatures, comic strips History, geographic treatment, biography Asian Japanese
- LCC
- PN6790 .J33 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Collections of general literature Comic books, strips, etc.
- BISAC
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- Reviews
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- Rating
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- UPCs
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