Alice to Zouroku Anime Review: An Unlikely Duo's Supernatural Journey

Alice to Zouroku

“An Unlikely Duo's Supernatural Journey”

Has a kind-hearted stranger ever helped you out of a tough spot, even though it was none of their business? While it’s important to remember when to not pry into certain affairs, it’s also important to know when you ought to stand up for another and lend a helping hand when nobody else would. As long as the person is welcoming of the help, you know you’re on the right track most of the time.

As humans, we need to help each other and strive to do the right thing, even against many odds; these qualities are indicative of truly remarkable character and integrity. So the next time you see someone in need of help, do not wait for others to act; do something yourself!

"Alice to Zouroku," also known as “Alice & Zoroku," is a 12-episode TV anime series that aired from the 2nd of April until the 25th of June in spring 2017. It was produced by Bandai Visual, Lantis, Tokuma Shoten, Tokyo MX, Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures, and Sony PCL, licensed by Funimation, and brought to life by Studio J.C.Staff.

The main staff involved included Justin Cook, Matsukura Yuuji, Kaneko Hirotaka, and Makimoto Yuki as producers, and Katsushi Sakurabi as director. Featuring the genres of adventure and mystery, alongside the theme of Super Power, the series was targeted at the Seinen demographic and received a rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years of age or older. Each episode has a runtime of 23 minutes. With the exception of episode 1, which has a runtime of 44 minutes.

The series is based on the manga of the same name, which began publication on October 19, 2012, and is still ongoing. It features the genres of drama and supernatural and got serialized in Comic Ryu thanks to the work of author and artist Imai Tetsuya. Since July 3rd, 2017, Seven Seas Entertainment has been publishing the manga in English.

The story centers around the protagonist, Sana, who is far from a cute and ordinary little girl. As per the title of the series, she is in possession of a supernatural ability called "Alice's Dream," which lets her create almost anything from the confines of her imagination. She has a truly world-shaking ability, but all she knows is that she is a test subject at a certain laboratory.

Just like most children, Sana wishes to experience the outside world and manages to escape her “prison” of sorts, meeting a stubborn old florist named Zouroku Kashimura at a convenience store in the process. But things won’t be so easy for a girl in possession of such reality-breaking powers, and her pursuers catch up to her pretty fast, dragging Zouroku into the mess as well.

While most people would prefer not to get involved with such affairs, Zouroku proves to be far above them, choosing to get involved and extending a helping hand to the little girl. Fueled by his personal values and sense of justice, he ends up giving the pursuers a real piece of his mind, no less! Even after the mayhem, he offers Sana a place to stay and becomes an important figure in her life. Thus began this unlikely duo’s daily life, full of both struggles and wholesome moments!

We don’t have superpowers in real life, but if we did, what would you do with them? For example, if you had Sana’s ability to make anything out of nothing, employing only her mind, imagine the scale at which you could bring about change.

Using its modern fantasy approach, Alice to Zouroku shows how this little girl escapes captivity and meets a seemingly regular old man, who also has a mysterious past of his own. Sana’s ability to materialize objects out of thin air and perform inhuman feats makes it difficult for her to be a normal girl, but she slowly grows and adapts to her new life while we, the audience, learn more about her.

The show chooses to go back and forth between Supernatural Thriller and Slice of Life elements, so the first few episodes are pivotal in whether people keep watching or not. This is particularly distracting for people who come in expecting one genre, but I recommend sitting tight till it gets past that phase and hones in on its main focus: Sana.

Just as the title suggests, the best aspect of the show is the dynamic relationship between her and Zouroku, who have a father-daughter relationship, albeit a very rocky one at first. After all, neither of them are perfect and selfless beings; we see the old man wanting to be rid of her after realizing the havoc she can cause in his peaceful life. But as the episodes go on, he starts to accept and care for her, raising her to be a responsible person no less.

The way he slowly but surely taught valuable lessons, including how to use her powers responsibly and not be overly reliant on them, were highlights for me. As such, we see Sana undergoing realistic and meaningful growth both physically and mentally, eventually becoming fiercely protective of Zouroku as well. In the meantime, she also manages to make friends and understand the world around her better. Honestly, these aspects alone make this anime a tier above most and capable of standing upon its own unique merits.

It should be obvious by now that the story is character-driven and makes for a beautiful journey of development alongside Sana. The nature of this little girl’s ability makes it near-impossible for her to live a normal life, but she behaves like an average girl her age regardless. She is just “normal” enough to make friends, learn everyday tasks, navigate life, and remain curious about everything around her despite her godly powers.

We can clearly see this in how she interacts with people, goes to certain places, and spends her day; honestly, she is a great representation of how kids her age are. What’s more, her likable personality carries her more than her powers, allowing her to make friends and amend connections with former enemies like the siblings Hinagiri Asahi and Hinagiri Yonaga. Added to the mix is Sanae Kashimura, Zouroku's granddaughter, who lives with him following the deaths of her parents.

As she becomes the adoptive older sister of Sana, she becomes a very important part of Sana’s small but loving family. As the show progresses, we see how Sana even becomes highly protective of them, even when she is up against other powerful individuals. She displays very realistic anger and distress when they are in danger, and she is shown to be willing to go far to protect them. The remainder of the cast are just as meaningful, each playing an important part in Sana’s life and aiding her to grow in many ways.

The art and animation department does not lag far behind the story and characters. It excels at making the modern setting feel very real, all while drawing attention to the supernatural elements via neat aesthetics when they occur. But on the subject of character designs, they really haven’t done an impressive job; while they are not awful, they don’t look that beautiful or unique in any way.

The best example is Zouroku, who looks like a completely plain old man with non-distinctive features. While Sana stands out to an extent, most of the characters in the show look very boring and uninspiring. One could argue that they remained true to the art style of the source material, but a few improvements would’ve been quite welcome. In the realm of CGI, it can become weirdly distracting in the early episodes, but it isn't necessarily bad.

I must commend the creators for their excellent choreography, though, especially during tense action scenes, where the animation is quite clean to boot. They do a superb job of showcasing character abilities to their fullest, so props to that too.

The music and sound departments are equally well handled. The opening theme is "Wonder Drive" by ORESAMA, and the ending theme is "Chant (kotringo edition)" by toi toy toi, which are both likable thanks to their colorfulness and fantasy feel. The sheer range of the OSTs this show offers is amazing, including intense battle themes, eerie & suspenseful music, mysterious tunes, and lighthearted rhythms, all of which hit the nail on the head.

As you draw closer to the end, there’ll be more mysterious and dark music, hinting at what this show may have hidden in the closet. Either way, they all served to enhance each moment a lot, so hats off to the composers! In terms of voice acting, Oowada Hitomi’s performance as Sana is incredible, as she portrays this child character near-perfectly. The remainder of the cast did a great job too, so no complaints there.

Overall, “Alice to Zouroku” is an amazing piece of work that more people ought to experience. The creators have done an incredible job mixing all these genres together near-perfectly, culminating in a heartwarming and beautiful modern fantasy tale. This anime is truly something I can recommend to just about anyone because of its vibrant and well-developed cast of characters who excel at drawing mystique.