Allison 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 Allisonsound novel for the Nintendo DS which was released on December 7, 2006. A manga adaptation by Hiroki Haruse started serialization in the shōnen 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 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 bloodiest conflict yet began thirty-five years before the start of the story; both sides are so exhausted by the conflict that an uneasy armistice is signed after some five years of fighting. Aside from a brief conflict over the jurisdiction of the river, resulting in the formation of a buffer zone on either side, this peace has largely been unbroken. The east side of the world is known as Roxche, 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 Sou Beil, 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 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, 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. No one would believe him that the war between the countries could ever end, so no one listened to him. When the old man is abducted and taken over to Sou Beil, Allison and Wil steal an airplane and chase the abductors across the river into the next region. Fortunately, the two were raised as orphans by a woman who came from the West, and thus can speak both languages.
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 adaptationAllison & 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 from 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 shōnenmanga magazineDengeki 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' shōnen 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.
