Yet another entry in the "My magical girl show can't be this dark" series of shows, with a heavy focus on the importance of family and what it means to be human. I have to give credit where credit is due even if this still feels kind of like a stamp-out riding on Madoka's wave: this show is smarter and more heartfelt than it seems from the outset. Our main characters form a very non-traditional but believable family dynamic. Sana in particular has the trait of complete honesty through total ignorance that never fails to be endearing, while Zouroku's dedication to serving as the family figurehead and protector despite his age is also a joy to watch. For every gruesome or dark moment (and there are a LOT), there is a heartwarming one to balance it out.

Unfortunately this is where a lot of the non-aesthetic positives end. The show suffers from a clean line narrative split, having two separate "mini-seasons". While this isn't inherently a negative, the pacing issues and changes in overall tone are stark and off-putting. In the first half, the plot screams by with heavy doses of action, while the second half grinds to a halt and focuses more on cute family moments with sprinklings of existential dread until the very end. Throughout both halves, there are major issues with character motivations with almost every major character outside the first half's main antagonist and Sana herself. Zouroku's drive to do anything seems to come from nowhere other than that he hates "crooked stuff", and the goals of the two seemingly warring factions and their underlings are seemingly nonexistent. Sanae is also particularly useless other than to provide a motherly figure for Sana while still creating a more "broken" (and therefore predisposed to greater view sympathy) family structure, and could likely be completely removed without consequence. Overall, the show really can't seem to decide if it really wants to get dark or if wants to be a cute comedy that just plays with trend of dark magical girl shows. The whole package would have been much stronger if it could have decided, and kept an already shorter series to one narrative arc.

When it comes to the visuals, J.C. Staff did about as good as a job as they normally do, albeit with some really, REALLY terrible CGI in the early episodes (that car chase still gives me nightmares). The character designs can't really decide if they want to Madoka or Alien Nine, sort of skirting the line and not being particularly powerful in either way. If I had to give any major aesthetic props to the series, it would be the first half's fight scenes, the second half's Wonderland sections, and the general effect composting for Dreams of Alice powers. Audio is good but doesn't have any standout tracks or moments, and does its job well enough. VA for Zouroku is really the only standout out of the bunch, with the rest being your usual smattering of anime tropes and typical voices.

For me, Alice and Zouroku really aired at a poor time to make much of an impact. At this same time it was airing, I was in the progress of rewatching Madoka + Rebellion, and I couldn't help but compare the effectiveness of this sort of "cute plus dread" vibe that they both sort of give off. Alice and Zouroku is much more muted in this, and focuses a lot more on the importance and signifigance of family, but that sort of "this is cute but something is wrong" feeling is always there. If you're someone that prefers something that really tries to play both sides, then this series might be better for you, but as someone who would rather watch two series that went harder in one way or the other, I can't really wholeheartedly recommend it.