Alice 19th, Vol. 7

ありす19th [Alice 19th] #7

by Yuu Watase

Alice is desperate to rescue her sister Mayura, who has been ensnared by the embodiment of evil called Darva. In defiance of Nyozeka's warnings, Alice and the other young Lotis Masters enter Darva's stronghold before having found the Lost Word. When Alice's true love, Kyo, comes under attack, it's up to Alice to save both him and Mayura with the power of the Lotis. When it seems that all hope is lost, Nyozeka makes a brave sacrifice to help Alice. You won't want to miss the powerful conclusion of Alice 19th!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Comics, Comics Manga

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2003

About the author

Yuu Watase (渡瀬悠宇) is a Japanese shoujo manga-ka. She is known for her works Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, Ceres: The Celestial Legend, Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend. She likes all music, except heavy metal and old traditional music.

She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" ("An Intrusion in Pajamas"), Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series. Because of her frequent use of beautiful male characters in her works, she is widely regarded in circles[which?] as a bishōnen manga artist.[citation needed] In October 2008, Watase began her first shōnen serialization, Arata: The Legend in Weekly Shōnen Sunday.
Her name is romanized as "Yû Watase" in earlier printings of Viz Media's publications of Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, and Ceres, The Celestial Legend, while in Viz Media's Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend her name is romanized as "Yuu Watase". In Chuang Yi's English-language versions of Fushigi Yugi (spelled without a macron or circumflex), her name is romanized as "Yu Watase".

Reviews

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel bad because, upon reread, this series feels so rushed in its last few volumes - but it’s still a nostalgic favorite of mine!!

[Ady Weasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finalmente el ultimo tomo de la historia.
En este podemos ver la batalla final contra Darva, los giros en la historia fueron fundamentales para permitir a los personajes crecer
.
Por un momento creí que la oscuridad conseguiría atraer a Kyo, pero lo bueno es que Alice estaba a su lado.
La redención de Mayura fue extraña, pero esperada, al final logró ver la verdad y alejar la oscuridad de su corazón.
Él Lotis Master tan esperado así como las palabras pérdidas por fin aparecieron.

Frei tuvo que partir hacia su país rompiéndome el corazón, lo bueno es que hasta el final nunca cambio.

La página final de la historia era tan esperada pues sabíamos que eso iba a pasar, y me encantó 😍. Por fin los sentimientos pudieron ser expresados.

La pequeña historia extra también está muy linda.

Creo que en esta historia podemos ver que las palabras tienen mucho poder.

[Noran Miss Pumkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing ending to a series that easily could have gone on to 20 plus great volumes--such a waste of great material/story lines.

[Koorihime-sama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought from Amazon, and I still own a copy.

APART OF THE GOODREADS 2012 READING CHALLENGE.

Review/Rating:

5 out of 5

Ease of Reading Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Plot: 5 out of 5
Art Touch-Up: 5 out of 5
Translation: 5 out of 5
Design: 5 out of 5

Darva has finally finished devouring Mayura. And now, without the Lost Words, Alice and Kyo must find a way to defeat Darva and bring Mayura back in one piece. However, what kind of price will they have to pay first?

Bunny Heart Short Story: Rakuen, a girl in ancient China, must deal with her aunt's and uncle's constant beatings. During a drought, she finds water, but she gives it to a little bunny. In order to pay Rakuen back for her kindness, Nyozeka teachers her one of the Lotis Words. However, when Rakuen falls into greed and darkness, Nyozeka will pay the price. Will Rakuen be able to find her way out of darkness and save Nyozeka?

The fight between Maram words and Lotis words has finally reached its climax. Most of your answers will be answered; so do not worry too much about having a lot of unanswered questions. ;) Also, you get some more information about Kyo's past, why the curse mark is still on him, and what he finally remembers about his father. I can't say that it was really surprising --- it's kind of predictable to see what kind of past Kyo has, if you look at his previous behavior. Anyways, another thing you get to learn is who was the person who first used the Lotis. Let's just say, he looks very yummy and cute. :D Also, you learn a little about Nyozeka and the truth behind the "power of words".

And for the short story, it was a pretty cute story about how Nyozeka before she met Alice. Oh, and I read somewhere, don't remember where, that Rakuen is an ancestor of Pai Mei Lin. So that was pretty interesting to learn too. :P Anyways, it was a pretty interesting read about how Nyozeka is still currently looking for the Legendary Neo-Masters. Also, Ryoko, the male, looks really cute. :D

The artwork still looks wonderful, and I love some of the scenes that were drawn. Some of my favorite scenes are the ones with all the kissing and hugs. :P And there is also another Frey and Kyo kiss, but it was hidden. But there is also a Frey and Alice kiss/peck. ;) A warning though, there is still partial nudity scenes (Mayura) again. xD For the short story, it was very cutely done. I especially love how the guy (Ryoko) was drawn. :P

Overall, it was a pretty sweet ending for this series. Also, the short story was a pretty good to read. :) And the artwork was still pretty good to look at. ;)

For VIZ's part in bringing this manga into English, they did a pretty good job. Their art-touchup is still noticeable, but it is much better than in the beginning of the series. Everything else, like translation, is still as good as it was in the beginning of the series.

[Krys · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a struggle to finish it and I skimmed it at the end. I wasn't as much of a fan of this series 10 years ago and I'm still not. I should have listened to that gut instinct and not reread/finished it. It was not one of Watase's better works.

[aagje ౨ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(ik wil eigenlijk 3,5 sterren geven) het oogt als een typische girly-cringy reeks maar het gaat ook over diepere menselijke thema’s zoals strijd tussen goed en kwaad, duisternis en licht, menselijke zwaktes maar ook moed. soms deed het me denken aan winx club hihi wat heel nostalgisch was.

In plaats van de duisternis te vernietigen, leren de personages deze te omhullen met moed en mededogen. ze worden sterker dankzij hun kwetsbaarheid en dat vond ik wel ontroerend 🧚🐇

— ik vind wel dat men de reeks nog veel meer had kunnen uitdiepen, 7 volumes is weinig D: het heeft nog veel meer potentie dan wat het is

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels like the more anime and manga I consume, the more comparisons I make... for the better, usually. Alice 19th gave me Persona games vibes (I don't play, but my fiance does), with a dash of Pretear. This is a sort of "magical girl" series in which the heroes go into the "inner hearts" of people's darkness and help purify it, through the power of words.

It paints both a literal and metaphorical picture of how words can leave a lingering effect, for better or for worse. Alice, our leading lady, is a timid, shy girl who feels forever trapped under her "perfect" older sister's, Mayura, shadow. Both girls fall for the same guy, Kyo, who is Mayura's friend and fellow archery club member, and Alice's "senpai," so it quickly becomes a typical "girl competition" situation, with unfortunate misogynistic tendencies.... But the series does a good job showing both girls' insecurities and feelings, as well as other characters, even if many (if not all) of the motives sound extremely petty and juvenile. (ie: "the person I like rejected me, how DARE they fall in love with someone else?! It's all THEIR fault!" .... ummm, how about it sucks to be rejected but that's their choice??? You shouldn't force your crush to like you back??? Ah, shoujo romance...)

I adore Yuu Watase's work, even with all the cliches and problematic tropes, because I really love her art style and how intense the emotions get. She doesn't hold back her punches, so it's remarkably easy to forget how silly the tropes are. It's one of the many powers that manga/anime has: if the art and emotions are strong enough, you find yourself not caring about things that normally annoy you (mostly). From start to finish, this series gave exactly what was expected: lots of angst, heartwarming fluff, romantic tension, Drama Drama Drama!, and of course, the powers of being a "Lotis Master." It's fun, imaginative, and another good slice of shoujo drama.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Que final!
Vaya que ha sido una verdadera travesía el que pasan nuestros protagonistas.
Más que buscar un poder más allá de los más poderosos Neo-Master, es una lucha contra su propia oscuridad.
Me gusta la última batalla, tuvo de todo e incluso fue doloroso ver como moría uno de mis personajes favoritos ( malditos, siempre hacen que nos encariñemos y luego los matan).

Ver a Alice pasar por ese sufrimiento, fue compartir sus emociones y hacernos uno sólo. De verdad me dolió verla tan desdichada.

Lo de Kyo y Alice ya era demasiado esperado, lo necesitaba ver con desesperación. Esa última página me encantó...finalmente obtuvimos una confesión por ambos lados que fue sellada con un beso.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sad to see this series end.. but at least it had a very good ending. Don't get me wrong, there were some serious cheese moments in here, but it was a great story, and definitely had me interested from volume 1.

[Heather Reads Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this series, I just wish there had been more of it. The ending seemed a bit rushed. D:

[Meghan Hatadis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish there was more to the series though, i cant believe they only made 7 :(

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for complete series



For the most of it, I think Alice 19th has missed its potential. It is a cute manga with a somewhat clichéd premise and it somehow manages to have as much going for it as it has going against it. There are two main plot points - one of our main character Alice being in love with the same boy her older sister loves, the other being somewhat reminiscent of magical girl series where the characters develop magical powers and must find lost magic words. Both of these plot lines intermingle of course and, paired with Watase's pretty art, this could make a solid sweet kind of manga that combines a bit of high school drama with light magical elements. The problem is, almost everything in this manga is underdeveloped or under-explained.

Let us start off with characters and relationships. Although I liked Alice and Kyo as characters, I don't think we got to see much development between the two. I can partially forgive this because it is clear that Alice has liked him well before the story begins. But this seems to be a general issue throughout the series. New characters are introduced but we rarely get the time to get to know much about them. Even Frey who is one of the more prominent characters never really gets explored. Yes, we get to see snippets of his past but somehow I never feel like we got to see what makes him tick, nor was it ever explained why he is looking for a bride. I also couldn't relate to why he likes Alice as there were never any significant scenes between them and, unlike Kyo, they didn't know each other previously.

This leaves us with the relationship between Alice and her sister Mayura. This is arguably the best developed relationship and I appreciate that. It's nice reading about sisterly bonds, even if these two are at odds for most of the story. I think their situation - magic aside - is pretty realistic of how even loving siblings can find themselves in an argument where they find it hard to forgive the other. Various flashbacks show that these two care a lot for each other so it keeps you rooting for them to find a way back to each other.

My biggest issue was the under-developed magic system. It is never really explained to a satisfactory level and is confusing at most. I understand that there are 24 words that the characters use in a form of magic. I can't say whether this magic system is based on any form of mythology or whether it is fully invented by Watase herself but I found myself just going with the flow rather than trying to make sense of how this magic works. What I found a little frustrating was that it is never explained why this book is titled Alice 19th (is perhaps the word for bravery - Alice's main word - the 19th of the 24? We're never shown a list or anything so I'm just guessing here) and we don't find out what the lost 24th word is either. Sure, Alice finds out and uses it at the end, but unless I missed something, I have no idea what word she used.

This manga series does leave a lot to be desired, and yet I can't find myself disliking it.

[Katja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice 19th was okay series but it skipped a lot it initially seemed to set up. Like in the beginning it seemed that Alice and Kyo would have much more work in learning the Lotis words and that the masters from different guilds would have actually some worth in the story, i.e. I think this was originally meant to be longer.

I think the final battle was good and how Alice and Kyo grew as persons during it. Frey, and Chris to a lesser extent, had weight in the story but Mei Lin and Billy didn't have anything meaningful to do, which is a shame. And regarding the words, first it was made a big deal how you can't just read a word and learn it that way but in the end that's how they tried to do it and finally learning all the words was thrown away altogether. These two things bothered me most in otherwise nice series which had some good core themes in it (like how everybody has some darkness in them but you have to learn to overcome it).

I liked Alice and Kyo and Mayura was interesting character, Frey was fun when he wasn't trying to force kisses on Alice (that trope/joke gets old really fast) and Nyozeka was a good mentor character.

I think the series didn't reach its potential and it had some tiring tropes thrown in but I liked some themes and art was nice, I especially appreciated Kyo's hair. Good hair.

[Nyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars
This is an amazing series and I highly recommend to anyone and everyone. Nyozeka is amazing and adorable and *sobs*. Kyo is passionate and loving and overcomes anything. Alice is kind and lovely and so wonderful. Billy is funny. Mei Lin is goregous. Chris is youthful. Frey is trusting and a great teacher. Mayura is beautiful inside and out. Amazing artwork, moving story, and great characters that prove that everyone is human. Overall, I am really sad it's over but every tale has a happy ending (most of the time at least).
BUT I KNOW WE'LL GROW STRONGER WITH EACH CRISIS WE FACE...SO THAT WE CAN EXPRESS OUR TRUE FEELINGS.

[Juan Carlos malik · Rating 5 out of 5]

ESTOS FASCINADO Y DEVASTADO AL MISMO TIEMPO, ESTOY TRISTE POR QUE NO TENÍA QUE HABER MUERTO, NOOOOOO.

En este tomo vamos a encontrar el desenlace de esta historia de fantasía y amor creados por YUU Watase y debe decir que me encanto el cierre.

¿Para qué leer Alice 19th?

1. La manera que te da el significado de los sentimientos y las palabras que usamos en nuestra vida, te llegan en lo mas profundo como persona y como lector.
2. Los personajes protagonicos crecieron de una manera considerable.
3. La pelea del final estuvo muy bien desarrollada con giros dramáticos y crueles.
4. Hubo una muerte que aún me sigue doliendo.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed rereading this series. I still really enjoy the overall themes in the story, about light and darkness, and the power of your words but also forgiveness and being able to grow from your mistakes.
I also love the art so much and love the covers and the title font and just in general the appearance of the series.
I also enjoy that this entire series is only 7 books, so it doesn't go on and on for forever, but is nicely contained within 7 volumes. Not that I don't like longer series, but the cost of each volume can really add up.

[Maru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creo que ha sido el colofón ideal para un manga cuya premisa me ha encantado (se basa en la historia de Alicia en el País de las Maravillas, pero dándole un vuelco mágico superinteresante) y que cuenta con unos dibujos de escenarios preciosos (lo cual suele ser el sello de Yuu Watase)

Alice es un personaje que evoluciona un montón a través de los tomos. La vemos crecer personalmente, así como en el desarrollo de los Lotis y en la manera de enfrentarse a los problemas.

Obviamente se la recomiendo a todos los fans de Yuu Watase y se convierte en uno de mis favoritos junto con Ayashi no Ceres y Fushigi Yûgi.

[Leetsu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume is crap

First of all it starts by justifiying domestic abuse with Kyo's mom saying that she and her son must take in all the abusive behavior from his father who is a man that's violent and alcoholic because otherwise he'd be alone like.... TF, well, then he deserves to be alone.

Second how easily it was to take Mayura out of Darva as if it was nothing I mean a little more of problems for the characters please.

Third, the love confession was sooo cringy without build up as if it weren't important at all.

However, the little spin off about Nyozeka was cool

[Taylor Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has claimed the title of one of my favorite manage. I love the theme to this series about the power of words. I was cheering for these characters and I love that Watase was able to show the flaws of her characters. I would say that my biggest complaint would be that our characters of Billy and pin are basically a the extraneous AI characters that you don't get to control in a video games. For all I know maybe Watase. This is the most shonin shojo I have read. Highly recommend it.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this ended. Kyō overcoming how he felt about his father, Frey dealing with the death of his cousin, it was just so well done for the ending. I'm so happy that Mayura survived and everything worked out. I am sad about Nyoseka though. She sacrificed herself to help Alice and her friends. While I am glad that things worked out, I love Nyoseka's character and I was really sad when it happened.

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trama carina e spiritualmente ben architettata ma allo stesso tempo anche molto troppo semplicistica e maliziosa nel finale che mi ha notevolmente deluso.

[Pixie 🍜 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I ugly cry? Yes

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda sad the series is finished. I liked this story quite a bit.

[kaitlphere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful and fast paced. I had hoped for more of a reunion between the sisters, but the end of the series was still satisfying. The "Bunny Heart" story at the end was very cute.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series with stunning illustrations.

[Karla V. H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonito para introducir a algunos lectores.

[Whitnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series. It dealt with depression in a very real way and it was a great, if obvious, ending.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything felt like it moved so fast this volume, or maybe I just didn't want it to end. I do wish for more life to life after defeating Darva, though. There was barely a hint of that.

[Mathilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much nostalgie

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I can’t recommend this series.