Allison (novel series)

is a Japanese light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa, with illustrations by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. There are three Allison novels, with the third split into two volumes, published by MediaWorks under their Dengeki Bunko label. The first novel was released on March 10, 2002, and the last novel was published on May 10, 2004. There is a follow-up series of light novels called Lillia and Treize which were released between March 2005 and April 2007. There is also an Allison sound novel for the Nintendo DS which was released on December 7, 2006. A manga adaptation by Hiroki Haruse started serialization in the shÃÂnen manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao! on July 27, 2007, also published by MediaWorks. The manga ended serialization in Dengeki Comic Gao! on January 27, 2008, but continued serialization in MediaWorks' seinen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh from March 21 to December 27, 2008. It was compiled in two volumes. An anime adaptation based on both the Allison and Lillia and Treize novels, known as Allison & Lillia, aired between April and October 2008.

Plot

Allison is an adventure series set in a world containing one continent (extending roughly from the Equator to 60 degrees North latitude) which is divided down the center by a towering mountain range and a huge river. The industry and technology of the world are roughly equivalent to Europe in the 1930s. Due to the geography, two cultures developed on either side of the divide, and at the time the story begins, the cultures have been at war on and off for hundreds of years. The east side of the world is known as , though formally the region's name is the Roxcheanuk Confederation. The entire region comprises sixteen countries which all speak a common language. The west side is known as , though formally the region's name is the Allied Kingdoms of Bezel Iltoa. The region comprises the two kingdoms of Bezel and Iltoa which both serve to bring together a small number of countries under a common language different than that of the eastern region. There are far more blond-haired people in the West than in the East.

At the beginning of the first novel, Allison, a pilot in the Roxche Air Force, has come to visit her childhood friend Wilhelm ("Wil" for short), who has remained at school over his summer break to continue his studies. While traveling in the countryside near the school, the two encounter an old man well known to Wil's schoolmates as a teller of tall tales. Nevertheless, he captures their interest with his talk about a "treasure" which, if found, is said to be able to put an end to the war.

Main characters

Allison Whittington

The series' main protagonist and namesake, Allison is a corporal in the Roxche Air Force. Sent to Future House when her father Oscar Whittington went into battle, the strong-willed, adventurous girl became unlikely friends with the quiet, bookish Wil, making him her "lackey" and getting the two of them into situations with a regularity that would earn them a reputation among the other children. Like Wil, Allison speaks Bezelese fluently, but already knew it when the two met, having learned it from her father. Though she and Wil now spend most of their time apart, they exchange letters frequently and Allison works to arrange meetings between them in often-convoluted ways.

Wilhelm "Wil" Schultz

The male protagonist of the series, Wil is a fifth-year student at the prestigious Rowe Sneum Upper School, where he is one of the top students. Abandoned by his parents at a young age, he grew up under the watchful eye of "granny" Corason Moot at Future House, where he learned Bezelese and gained an interest in the West. Upon Allison's arrival ten years ago, he became her semi-willing "lackey" almost immediately. Now seventeen, he splits his school holidays between on-campus study and his friend's family's palatial estate. Though he is exceptionally bright, Wil's financial situation is tenuous at best and his scholarship dictates that he cannot skip grades or graduate early. When Allison insists on one of their adventures, he relies on her, or his friend's, financial backing.

Carr Benedict

(Note: as a resident of Sou Beil, "Carr" is his surname and "Benedict" is his personal name.)

The third member of the core cast to appear, Benedict starts out in the series as a 24-year-old sublieutenant in the Sou Beil Air Force. Though an accomplished pilot, he is relegated to a mid-ranking soldier at a base of little note on the edge of the uninhabited Buffer Zone. With few duties of substance, he spends his time flirting with (and trying to pick up) the women of the base, which earns him the ire of his fellow male soldiers. He would even be relatively successful at it, if not for his potential dates discovering that he's asked out everyone else as well. In spite of this, he appears not to be a womanizer so much as genuinely interested in the women in his life, and unable to keep himself from acting on this impulse (albeit to a foolish degree). As a soldier, he is fiercely loyal to his comrades, but harbors a sense of justice that supersedes his official duties, leading him to disobey orders in favor of doing what he feels is right.

Media

Light novels

Allison began as a series of light novels written by Keiichi Sigsawa and drawn by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. The novels are published by MediaWorks under their Dengeki Bunko publishing label. There are three Allison novels, with the third split into two volumes. The first novel was released on March 10, 2002, and the final novel was published on May 10, 2004. The light novels have sold over one million copies. These novels were developed into the first thirteen episodes of the television adaptation Allison & Lillia.

Visual novel

A sound novel, with card game attributes, based on the series was released on December 7, 2006, in limited and regular editions by MediaWorks playable on the Nintendo DS. Allison is one of the few light novels originally published by MediaWorks that has been made into a sound novel under DS Dengeki Bunko, a section of MediaWorks which produces sound novels playable on the Nintendo DS based on light novels published under MediaWorks' Dengeki Bunko publishing label. Allison was the first game produced under DS Dengeki Bunko, and the only others include Baccano!, Inukami!, and Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu.

Manga

A manga adaptation started serialization in the Japanese shÃÂnen manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao! on July 27, 2007, published by MediaWorks. and ended on December 27, 2008. The manga takes its story from the light novels that preceded it, and is illustrated by Hiroki Haruse. The manga ended serialization in Dengeki Comic Gao! on January 27, 2008, but continued serialization in MediaWorks' shÃÂnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on March 21, 2008. The first bound volume was published by ASCII Media Works on April 26, 2008, under their Dengeki Comics label. Two volumes in total were published.