Alice 19th

From Open Encyclopedia

Alice 19th (ありす19th; Arisu Naintīnsu) is a manga written by Yū Watase, creator of the popular manga series Ceres: Celestial Legend and Fushigi Yūgi, all three of which were serialized in the weekly manga magazine Shōjo Comic.

Much like her previous works, it is a shōjo manga; appealing to the female readers with a heroine who must face down great odds and survive in a world that is much harsher than it ought to be. Yet unlike her previous works which were strongly influenced by Chinese culture and history, Alice 19th has a distinctly Western feel to it.

It is currently being released in English format by Viz Communications. There are 7 volumes total in the series which is published in the traditional right-to-left format with foot-noted sound effects.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Plot
2 Characters
3 List of Lotis Words
4 List of Maram Words
5 External links

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Plot

The story follows Alice Seno, a 15 year old girl forever shadowed by her older sister Mayura who is good at everything she does. At school she is known as "Mayura's little sister" and is relentlessly tormented by the older girls who know that Alice is too meek to fight back. Additionally, Alice harbors a deep affection for Kyou Wakamiya, a handsome upperclassman who is on the archery team with Mayura.

On the way to school one day, Alice rescues a white rabbit from the road despite the danger to herself, is rescued by Kyou and receives a bracelet with a single red stone. But the rabbit she saves is no ordinary rabbit. She reveals her true form to Alice and introduces herself as Nyozeka. Alice is told that she is destined to become a Lotis Master. The Lotis Masters use the power of words and communication to enter the Inner Heart of others. It is a powerful ability to be used carefully as Alice soon finds out.

Using the power of the Lotis Words, which reveal themselves to be in the form of runes, Alice accidentally makes her older sister disappear during a dispute over Kyou whom Mayura had begun dating. Alice then must use the Lotis Words to try and bring her sister back from the dark. She is joined by Kyou who proves to have the Lotis powers as well and by Frey, another Lotis master who had trained with the masters and arrives with the intention to marry Alice. Unfortunately, Mayura has been taken by the power of the Maram Words, the dark reflection of the Lotis Words. Their only hope lies in Alice and Kyou becoming the legendary Neo-Masters to discover the lost Lotis Word and forever destroy the Maram.

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Characters

Alice Seno - 15 year old Alice becomes a Lotis Master when she saves Nyozeka from the middle of the road, using the Lotis Word for courage. She likes Kyou quite a lot but can never muster the courage to tell that to him. She is very quiet and doesn't have many friends so she e-mails a lot on her cell phone to people she doesn't know all that well.

Mayura Seno - Alice's "perfect" older sister is pretty and good at everything she does. She is on the archery team with Kyou and excels in school. Perhaps her only flaw is her allergies towards animals. She also loves Kyou, but unlike Alice was able to tell him and dates him. When she vanishes, the hatred in her heart makes her an easy target for the power of the Maram Words.

Kyou Wakamiya - Kyou is in the same grade as Mayura. His hobbies include reading, calligraphy and archery. An orphan, he lives with his aunt and uncle and helps in their Western-style cafe. His father was an abusive drunk and Kyou fears that someday he will be like that too. This fear is added too when it is revealed that in 7th grade Kyou nearly killed another boy by strangling him. He dates Mayura because he doesn't like to deny people and later must deal with budding feelings for Alice. He ultimately joins Alice as a Lotis Master in the quest to save Mayura.

Frey Weilhausen - Frey is a Lotis Master who studied with the great Masters. He arrives at the end of Volume 1 when he announces that he is going to marry Alice, much to her dismay. At first he hides from Kyou and Alice the truth of his training and the legend of the Neo-Masters. He is a persistent play-boy who is likely to flirt with any girl who catches his eye. Yet under all this hides a more serious person who knows a lot more about the Lotis Words than he lets on.

Nyozeka - The rabbit that Alice saves at the beginning of the series turns out to be a spirit-rabbit who then becomes Alice's guide to the Lotis power. She has 3 forms. The first is that of a white rabbit with an elaborate collar. She also has a more anthropomorphic form dressed in ritual robes. Her 3rd form is the one she takes when Alice must go out in public with her. The shape looks a lot like a round makeup mirror, albeit in the shape of a little rabbit head.

Christopher William Orson Andrew Roland XIII - Chris is a Lotis Master from Great Britain. He joins Alice and Kyou and helps them train with the intention of defeating the Maram Masters. He is quite serious, stern, and mature... except whenever desserts are concerned. Like the other characters, he has a dark secret.

Mei Ling Bai - The stylish Mei Ling comes from Shanghai, China. A Lotis Master like Chris, she intends to help Alice and Kyou to defeat the Maram. While she lived alone in Shanghai, she had plenty of female friends to keep her company. Possessing a strong sense of justice, she is an expert in Tai Chi Quan ("supreme ultimate fist", a form of moving meditation).

Billy McDowell - Hailing from the United States, Billy, like Chris, a Lotis Master intending to help Alice and Kyou beat the Maram. A postman from a small quiet town, he loves a good fight and is also very kind and generous.

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