Gakuen Alice (学園アリス), also known as Alice Academy or Alice School, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tachibana Higuchi, serialized in the manga magazine Hana to Yume from issue 19 of 2002 to issue 14 of 2013. It was adapted into an anime series produced by Aniplex and Group TAC which originally premiered on NHK BS-2. It spanned twenty-six episodes that aired between October 30, 2004, and May 14, 2005. The anime was translated and dubbed into English by the anime television network Animax and broadcast on networks throughout Asia. At Anime Expo 2008, The Right Stuf International announced that its Nozomi Entertainment division had licensed Gakuen Alice for the North American market.
In 2015, a spin-off called Kageki no Kuni no Alice (歌劇の国のアリス), was started. It takes place a few months after the end of Gakuen Alice, and features a new set of characters. The plot follows Andou Hikari, who is searching for her brother, who was taken away when she was a child because he had an Alice. She eventually takes advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity, for normal people to join an Alice music academy, hoping to find her brother. Since its release, Gakuen Alice has gained cult hit status and is considered by critics to be one of the best in the magical girl genre.[1][2]