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Sometimes, words spoken are more powerful than what the speaker originally intended. Alice Seno realizes this when she wishes
her older sister to never show her face again. Now, her sister is immersed in the darkness of the Maram words,
lost to the real world. Alice must master the Lotis words - good encouraging words - together with her sister's crush Kyo in
order to save her sister.
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At a first glace, Yuu Watase's works are often too similar to differentiate. She packs the classic love story line, throws
in a little adventure and her trademark drawing style, and delivers a manga that will be sure to captivate readers. Yet
while each Watase story contains all of these components, her ability to reinvent her stories, particularly Alice 19th,
and create something new is remarkable.
We have your classic love triangle that immediately creates conflict. But the story is not about the protagonist summoning courage,
but rather about the reaction of the antagonist. After this revelation, other characters enter and set up interesting paths for
the story to take, and move it quite well while still staying in the main story line. Because Watase sticks to the plot, she doesn't
overload her reader with too much drama. Instead, she adds her sense of humor with little what-if snapshots on the side; comic
relief to draw the reader back and forth between the serious and comical aspects of the story. Yet the serious aspect of the manga
still packs a poignant message, one of tolerance, love, family, and morality, that struck me to the extent where I reanalyzed my behaviour.
The art of Alice 19th is beautiful, as to be expected with Yuu Watase. She puts her best into every scene and the work
flows easily like a movie. The only exception to this is that she puts detail everywhere, particularly in areas where one thinks
it unnecessary, like humorous side marks; however, her detailed art does not distract you from the story, so you still get the
full effect of the work.
Definitely, you should not let this series sit on the store shelves unread; it was a page-turner and had me waiting until the next
issue arrived. If you are getting tired of Watase's regular love stories, be open to this different twist on love, and you won't be
disappointed.
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