Mikan Sakura

] In 2005 Anime Grand Prix, Mikan was in 45th place in the Favorite Female Category. In all the contests, Mikan is the the only Gakuen Alice character present.

Name

Her first name, nihongo|"Mikan"|"蜜柑", means "mandarin oranges" in Japanese, which also corresponds to her Alice Stone color.

It was her father who suggested this name. Furthermore, Yuka's name contained a kanji that means "citrus".

Background

Mikan Sakura, a 10-year old outspoken girl, is the protagonist of the story. She used to live with her grandfather in the country.

When she was in fourth grade, Hotaru transferred to her school from the city and had a hard time fitting in with the others due to her being a genius. At first, Mikan didn't really want to be friends with Hotaru, but when they entered a dance and singing competition and won it together she decided to be Hotaru's best friend. They became famous in their neighborhood. From then on, she cared deeply about Hotaru and they were both as close as sisters, even though their personalities are the exact opposite. When she heard that her school was going to be demolished, she led a protest to stop it, since it contained so many memories. However, no one joined her. (This section is elaborated in the anime more than in the manga.)

She was shocked to hear that Hotaru was moving back to the city to go to an academy for young "geniuses" like her. She was horrified when she learned that the academy was an all-in-one escalator school where the students would not allowed to see their parents until they graduated. When she heard rumors that students were like slaves in Alice Academy (which she felt was a possibility, since they gave money to parents for sending their children to the school), Mikan left her grandfather and her home to go after Hotaru by herself.

She was then accepted to Alice Academy by Narumi and could attend Alice Academy with Hotaru and many other children with extraordinary powers. The Alice Academy is a school for children with special powers known as "Alices" (Hotaru has the Alice of Invention). While she makes friends later on, she is initially accepted with skepticism by her classmates, with whom friendship she has to win as an "entrance exam" into the Academy. This is emphasized even more by the fact that she does not initially know what her Alice is. There was a challenge "offered" by Natsume, that if she went on a trip to the Northern woods and if she survived all of the horrors inside, they would accept her and she would be officially entered into the academy. Mikan managed to complete it after help from Hotaru, Iinchou, and Ruka, the latter being forced into assisting them while at the same time she finds out that she has the Nullification Alice, which nullifies all other Alices. Thrown together with several confident classmates who have already been in the system for a while, she asks what the audience would—"How are people with Alices different? We are all human, aren't we?"

She was originally a "No Star" (the lowest rank in the Academy's star-ranking system), but moved on to being a "One Star" after her combined effort with Sumire and rescuing (more or less) Natsume from Reo.

A lot of people were doubtful of her at first, however, with her cheerfulness and charms, Mikan eventually gains a lot of friends and admirers in the academy. Mikan is also famous in the academy for being Natsume's partner and for her rare Nullification Alice.

Mikan is kept under keen observation by the Academy, because of her two Alices and the fact that she is the daughter of Yuka Azumi, who is a member of the "Z" Organization. The Elementary Division Principal (shortened to ESP by fans) is interested in her and her Alices, and even sent Luna Koizumi to watch over Mikan. Despite Luna's threats, Mikan still retains her cheerfulness and closeness to others, except, unfortunately, with Natsume.

She is given the title "Goddess of Victory" by the other students, because she is the main reason why her team won in the sports festival. And after all the bad rumors, which was started by Luna, had cleared up, many students become a lot closer to her. However, they started treating Natsume indifferently. Even the ones who used to follow Natsume now admire and listen to Mikan."Alice Academy" Manga Chapter 89]

Later on, Mikan can use her Stealing Alice efficiently. She knows about her Alice and uses it to heal Narumi-sensei, and she agrees to keep it a secret."Alice Academy" Manga Chapter 92] Under the order of the Elementary Principal, students began to force her to steal their alices (chasing her around) as a rumor spreads that whoever forces her to show her Alice can move up one star rank."Alice Academy" Manga Chapter 93]

Mikan does not know Natsume knows about her Alice. Also, she became very close with Bear, since while she was being chased by the middle schoolers, Bear wanted her to steal his soul and return it to Kaname, thinking it would heal him. But when he was injured, Mikan felt so sorry and she fixed him, and if she hadn't cared so much, he wouldn't have been able to move as he did now. So they became much closer, where Bear settles down into Mikan, even when Tsubasa isn't around.

Because of her Stealing-Alice, Mikan is transferred to the Dangerous Ability. The Elementary Division Principal explains to her that having the Stealing Alice, they made a mistake in which class she was placed. Inside the principal's room she brawls with Luna, resulting in Luna's Alice being stolen.

Mikan is called by the Elementary Principal as his "precious 'favorite"'. She is actually related to the High School Principal, which turns out to be her uncle and the older brother of her real father.

In order to get away from the Elementary Principal, Narumi tells her that they are going to escape in the academy because it will be dangerous for her to stay there (because of her stealing alice), but she was sad because she doesn't want to leave her best friend Hotaru, her other friends and Natsume."Alice Academy" Manga Chapter 97]

Character

Mikan is an extremely cute, energetic, and a good-natured girl, but her clumsiness leads her to trouble most of the time. While she is average in academics and the school's star ranking system (at the start of the series), she has a strong willpower and a happy-go-lucky attitude. Her mottos, "Never Lose!" and "Never Give Up!" have carried her through countless trials in her life in the Academy.

She is also good at sports and an excellent runner. Her best subjects are PE and Home Economics and her talents include singing, dancing, and playing the recorder. She never backs down an argument, especially against Natsume, and she stands up for others. She is very clueless when it comes to love and romance. She is even oblivious to the romantic feelings of Natsume and Ruka for her. Her optimistic and innocent character allows her to befriend everybody, whether they are rivals or strangers. Her charms has managed to turn a lot of students into friends and even admirers. Although she is sweet, she can be scary when angry and tempted.

Even though bad things happen to her, she still always manages to smile, which annoyed Natsume a lot at first. She always tries to make the best out of a bad situation. She does not think twice when helping other people, even though she will be the one who will suffer the consequences. She is a very selfless and other-centered person. She is also friendly by nature and has grown to love the Academy, despite its dark secrets. She has the talent of making other people happy.

Mikan is a hard worker and once she sets her mind on something, she never stops until she achieves it. Often she can be clever and mature when needed. She can come up with good ideas. An example of this is the RPG system she suggested for the Special Ability Class and with the sports festival. Though she tends to brood over things, she can be perceptive in critical situations.

Relationships

Hotaru Imai

Mikan and Hotaru are best friends, meeting randomly for the first time in the 2nd grade. They get into fights sometimes, and Hotaru does not think twice in hitting her with one of her inventions. Hotaru, despite being cold and rational, cares for Mikan deeply and she likes seeing her smile. After arriving at the Academy, Mikan manages to get to meet Hotaru, who turns out to be one of the representatives to show her around around the school. Hotaru was very surprised to see Mikan and wondered why she was in the Academy. She seemed to distant herself from Mikan at first. Mikan is confused at this and wonders why her friend isn't happy to see her. It is soon revealed by Iinchō that Hotaru was trying to get into the "Honor Student Award", so she could visit her friends and parents back home, including Mikan. Upon meeting her older and much colder brother, Hotaru realizes that Mikan is the person who will help her stop becoming like Subaru.

Hotaru happens to know Natsume and Ruka's feelings for Mikan, but she keeps quiet about it. She also knows who Mikan is falling for. Hotaru can be very protective of Mikan and she just enjoys teasing, or more accurately, torturing Mikan's many admirers, namely Natsume and mostly Ruka.

While running away from the Principal and Persona, Hotaru and the rest of class B came to help, but Mikan did not want to leave Hotaru. Hotaru told her to run and that she promises that she will see her afterwards.

Natsume Hyūga

On Mikan's first day in the Academy, Natsume Hyūga pinned her down on the couch and asked for her identity. But she panicked and refused to tell him who she was. Natsume saw her underwear when her skirt fell off as she ran towards Narumi-sensei. In the manga, he actually stole her underwear. This was when he started calling her "Polka-dots".

She used to hate Natsume a lot, because of his attitude, but she later grows to care about Natsume and constantly worries about him. She also saved Natsume from the Anti-Alice Organization with the combined effort of Sumire.

During the episode "Last Dance", she invited Natsume for a dance, but he brushed her off and started insulting her. Mikan got fed up and complained about why he can't just call her by name. Without a warning, Natsume called her by her name for the first time, which surprised Mikan and made her blush. She is the only girl that Natsume calls by the first name besides his little sister.

During the Z Arc, Mikan got a taste of what Natsume's life at the academy is like. She realizes exactly how dangerous Natsume's missions are, and when Natsume says that he will protect her, she declines and states that she wants to be his strength.

During the Christmas Party, she got kissed by Natsume on the lips twice, the first one being an accident, which called tooth kiss, that embarrassed her and that she refused to acknowledge it as a kiss. The second kiss on the Christmas party was after she cleaned up and went up a tree to clear her mind. But Natsume was on the tree. After much bickering on their kiss, Natsume kissed her for real to make it count, and left her in a state of shock. On her birthday she was forced to sleep with him together in his bed, because Natsume refused to let go of her hand after they got stuck due to the Mochi powder. (This was a Prank that Tsubasa did, the person who eats the mochi gets stuck to the person who made the mochi.)

In the recent chapters, Luna, the latest character introduced in the series and an antagonist, appeared and she is seen clinging to Natsume. When Natsume hangs out with Luna because he noticed that she was not normal, Mikan was irritated, but she didn't notice that Natsume was hanging out with her to protect Mikan. Luna's threats also have a big influence over Mikan, which is costing her her relationship with Natsume. Likewise, Natsume was threatened that he has to stay away from Mikan, even act as though he hates her again. However, he has twice worn a mask stolen from a middle schooler and shows, that he still cares about Mikan. Such as grabbing her hand in race borrowing race, which was to bring the person they like to the finish line and hugging her from behind after saying cruel things about her in public and to their friends.

Mikan has come to realize that Natsume is under the same circumstances that she is and she gets a great attitude boost afterwards. She feels guilty for feeling hurt by him as she thinks, "I believe in Natsume."

When Mikan arrived to her classroom after the sports festival, she saw Natsume sitting alone by a window. After first, she did not know how to react, it seemed as though he was isolating himself from everyone else. She told everyone that she believed in Natsume and that "The Natsume I know will never behave that way unless there is a reason to it." Mikan could not shake the feeling that Natsume was trying to erase himself from everyone's hearts and that he would be going somewhere far away.

Mikan continues to care and worry about Natsume. At the time she was handcuffed with Natsume, whom she thought was Mr. Bear inhabiting Natsume's body, she states that Natsume is very complicated. Mikan believed the Natsume didn't like her at all. Natsume held her hand, apparent that he loves her. This is when Mikan realized that it was not Mr. Bear she was talking to, but the true Natsume. When the cuffs broke, Mikan asked if Natsume was going to disappear from her without telling her. Natsume then replied that he will not.

Later, after Tsubasa was lost from his mission, Natsume visited Mikan in her room to comfort her. He told her not to cry, but Mikan replied that it is wrong not to cry. She also told him that she was crying not only for Tsubasa, but for his sake as well. Touched by her words, he hugged her before jumping out the window and promised her that he will find Tsubasa and more about her past.

After Mikan was forced to transfer into the Dangerous Abilities class, Luna attacked her to test her Alice in front of the principal. When Luna began to take things too far, Natsume stepped in and burned Luna's hair. Mikan was shocked as Natsume protected her.

The principal was also shocked by Natsumes appearance, stated that Natsume liked to play the the role of the knight in shining armor for Mikan. After calling him a foolish child Natsume told him to shut up and that he didn't care about the future they wanted. Natsume then said that he couldn't have the thoughts of the future because the woman he loved was sinking into the same darkness as he is in and that no matter what he would protect Mikan. He then grabbed her hand and began running away with her. Shocking Mikan that he just declared his love for her.

While running away, Natsume holds tightly onto Mikan's hand. He said that he wished he would become an adult right at that moment and with Mikan, run out of the Academy, and be together with her forever. To his surprise, Mikan replied in a light whisper. "Me, too."

Ruka Nogi

One of Mikan's admirers and good friend, Ruka is Natsume's childhood friend. She refers him as "Ruka-pyon" because he always carries a rabbit with him. "Pyon" literally means "hop" and is a very cutesy way for a girl to refer to her friends.

Mikan first met him when she was being pinned down by Natsume on the couch. His view of Mikan gradually improves, especially after the dodgeball game where he became one of the members of Mikan's team. Ruka had also helped her escape from the Academy so she could see her grandfather again.

In episode 20 of the anime Ruka danced with Mikan and later heard Natsume calling Mikan by name and he also noticed her blushing as she walked away. He afterwards becomes convinced that Mikan likes Natsume, how long he thinks that is unknown, since it doesn't seem apparent that he still believes that.

Ruka also kissed her but more modestly on the cheek. Throughout the series, Ruka becomes more committed to liking Mikan, but she remains oblivious of his feelings.

He told Natsume that he will "not lose", meaning Mikan's affections. In a fairly recent chapter Ruka and Natsume were pitted against each other in a race, and their eyes met they both looked away and thought, "I don't want to lose", which refers to both the race and their rivalry for Mikan. In that race Ruka won against Natsume and asked Mikan to eat lunch with him, Mikan readily agrees. She is surprised when their friends leave because they don't want to interfere with her "date" (Asking Mikan to lunch was like a love confession) with Ruka as Natsume watches from afar. Mikan also promised to exchange Alice Stones with Ruka even though at that time she didn't realize such an exchange symbolized "going steady".

Others

She also has innocent crushes on Tsubasa Andō and Kaname Sonō, who are in the upper years. She first met Tsubasa when he saved her from some middle school bullies. It is revealed that Tsubasa is actually her very first senpai. She describes him to be cool and someone with a face of a movie star. She usually clings to Tsubasa and finds comfort with him whenever she faces deep problems. Tsubasa is more like an older brother to Mikan, but he's also one of the reasons why Natsume gets jealous.

Narumi-sensei was the first one to discover Mikan's Alice and introduced her to the Academy. It is revealed that he fell in love with Mikan's mother, and he sometimes sees her in Mikan. After saving Mikan from kidnappers, Mikan innocently asked him if she could sleep with him. Of course, Narumi complied with her request. Mikan told him that she misses her grandfather and asked if she could call her grandfather. Narumi didn't like the idea, since he was just in his twenties, so he suggested being called father instead. Among all the teachers, Mikan is closest to Narumi.In chapter 97 after bringing Natsume and Mikan away from the Principal and Persona he asked Mikan if she wanted to live with him outside the academy because he couldn't watch Mikan grow up there. Leaving Mikan to think about it he left to by them some time so she could escape with Natsume.

Yū a.k.a. Iinchō, the class representative of the Elementary Class B, is one of Mikan's first friends in the Academy. According to the author, he has a crush on Mikan, although it is not really shown. He is always ready to help Mikan in almost anything.

Shūichi Sakurano and Subaru Imai were very close to Mikan's mother, Yuka Azumi, and because of that they swore to protect Mikan at all cost. They took the teacher training program to become teachers to stay in the academy to watch over Mikan.

Mikan has a good bond with almost everyone. She loves all her friends equally, as a part of her innocent personality.

Alice

Mikan's "Alice", or magical ability, is the Nullification Alice, which is the reason why the Academy administration keeps an eye on her, and also why she received a no star ranking at the start. Her Nullifying ability can cancel out any Alices that are cast upon her, preventing her from being affected, although it is not active all the time. It also makes her completely immune to Pheromone type Alices. Mikan's Nullification Alice is also able to project onto other people (shown when she stops Yuka Azumi from stealing Natsume's Alice from the other side of the room)"Alice Academy" Manga Volume 8] .

In the manga, it was shown that Mikan has a second Alice, which is revealed to be her mother's Alice. While the Nullification Alice cancels out any Alices, Mikan's Stealing-Alice has the ability to suck other people's Alices and turn them into Alice stones. This Alice also has the ability to put the stolen Alices in other people's body"Alice Academy" Manga Chapter 89] . Both the Nullification Alice and Stealing-Alice are considered to be rare and unique.

She is the daughter of Yuka Azumi, who has the Alice of stealing the Alice of others as demonstrated when she stole Iinchou's Alice, and an unknown teacher in the Academy (later revealed to be her father), who had the nullifying Alice that she also inherited. Most recently, it was revealed that Yuka Azumi had the Instant Teleportation in her former years, and, though it might have been in the fading-shape Alice, also gives Mikan a chance to have inherited that, too.

Mikan is able to draw out Persona's Alice from her body when she is attacked by him in the Hana Princess Arc, and turned it into a stone"Alice Academy" Manga Chapter 70] . The later chapters of the manga revealed that the Academy has watched out for her because they suspected she has two Alices, due to the fact that she is the daughter of two very "dangerous" people with Alice.

Because of her Stealing-Alice, she is transferred to the Dangerous Ability Class. She can use her Stealing-Alice efficiently and is able to use it against Luna. The principal calls her as his "precious favorite" and is highly interested in her and her Alice.

References