Alice the 101st

http://www.otakunovideo.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/alice101st1-213x300.jpg

Artist/Writer: Chigusa Kawai

Published in: 2007 (Japan), 2010 (America)

American Publisher: Tokyopop

Genres: College / drama / pretty boys

Premise: Against all odds, a boy with a great musical talent but almost no technical skill is accepted into a prestigious musical academy

Manga Review (Volume 1)
Show x Show: It's High School Musical meets CLAMP

Length: 200-ish pages

Volumes: Up to 4 in Japan (and ongoing); only this one has been released over here.

Is there a story? Yeah, though the manga doesn't really establish one until the end of this volume.

Is it yaoi? No.

Is it shonen-ai? Not really. There's a bisexual older classmate who jokingly hits on the main character, and almost all the rest of the cast are pretty boys, but other than that nobody's developed any crushes on anyone yet.

So why is it marked for ages 16+? I have no idea. There's nothing objectionable here. Maybe later volumes have troublesome content.

How much happens in this volume? It's setup. Kawai establishes the cast, their troubles, and their basic rivalries.

Do I need a music degree to understand it? There are a lot of references to advanced musical notation and such, but it's not vital for understanding the story itself.

How's the art? Very shiny. Like Gundam Wing on crack.

'''Can I show it to my Mom? '''She'll probably be turned off by the "humorous" advances of the older classmate, but at least it's about music.

Can I show it to my kid brother? Nah. He'd be bored.

Can I show it to a non-manga fan? Probably not. There are too many chibis and sparklies.

'''How's the dialogue? '''It works, and different characters have different styles to them, but otherwise it's unremarkable.

'''Does it have any memorable moments? '''Only one, and it's the Big Reveal of the volume. It was very clear that it was going to happen.

Availability: Volume 1 has been released by Digital Manga Publishing, with volume 2 on the way. Currently in stock at Amazon.com.