Gakuen Alice (学園アリス/Alice Academy) is a story about Sakura Mikan, a ten-year-old girl. When she finds out that her best friend, Imai Hotaru, is transferring to a prestigious school in Tokyo, she gets upset; even more so when she only receives one letter from Hotaru after six months. However, rumors begin to circulate. They say that the school Hotaru is attending is a school for “Alice” geniuses and that the students there are treated as if they’re in prison. Mikan then overhears a conversation between Hotaru’s mom and the principal and discovers that the reason Hotaru chose to transfer was to save the school. Since you get money for enrolling in the academy, she used the money to stop the school from shutting down. Shocked, Mikan decides that there’s only one thing she has to do – go to Tokyo and find her best friend!

Let’s just say that she’s in for a big surprise.