As I'm the first to give this review some love, have to state it's a great review, good job.
Maria-sama ga Miteru tv Review
Story & Characters
Maria-sama ga Miteru (and its sequel, Maria-sama ga Miteru - Haru) is set in Lillian High School, a conservative Catholic all girls' school and revolves mainly around the relationships between the students there.
The storyline of Marimite flows fairly smoothly, though certain episodes are reviews of past events and are not part of the timeflow of the main plotline, and can sometimes slightly confound the audience. However, it is not difficult to understand as many things are clarified as the story progresses.
The story of Marimite is touching, bittersweet and tugs at heartstrings. The way the characters and relationships are presented really involve the audience and sympathy, or even empathy, for the characters can definitely be felt, despite its yuri-theme.
The complex relationships and emotions of the characters are fascinating, skillfully and beautifully crafted and weaved, and well-developed. The characters also have very strong, interesting and unique personalities and behaviors, and their varying pasts, which created and crafted their personality and behavior, are suitably developed (and make sense).
In Marimite, no character is "useless" - each plays a vital role in its construction and each character is important and deep. There are no "surface characters" in Marimite which are just for show or just for filling in episodes.
Of course, despite the brilliant storyline, it still hints on yuri, and it is unsuitable for a strongly anti-yuri audience. Nevertheless, this is an anime worth watching, and unless you are strongly anti-yuri, you should try giving the first 3 episodes a shot.
Rating:
Art
The artwork style of Maria-sama ga Miteru is very beautiful, and most importantly, very <b>elegant</b>. The sophisticated artwork is balanced by an occassional super-deformity/chibi-ness but the style and quality remains fairly consistent throughout.
Unlike many animes which are very sexually appealing (large bouncing chests, short skirts, etc.), Marimite's artwork is very "clean", but very beautiful. The backgrounds are very beautifully drawn and the character designs befit their personalities. The artwork and the storyline are well-blended together and color is used effectively to add to atmospheres and to heighten tension and the audience's empathy for the characters.
Occassionally, there are rare inconsistencies and certain scenes are sometimes more "sloppily" drawn. Nevertheless, they do little to deter from the artwork's beauty. I think Maria-sama ga Miteru has one of the best artwork I have ever seen.
Rating:
Sound
The soundtrack of Maria-sama ga Miteru is as elegant, sophisticated and beautiful as it's artwork. The music is properly chosen and fits the setting immaculately. The background music is memorable and accentuates the atmosphere appropriately. The opening and ending songs are also very beautifully written and have a calm, soothing and almost "holy" effect (which is suitable, considering the setting).
The characters speak in a manner befitting of their status and their voices are both emotional and cold at the appropriate moments. The voice-acting (original Japanese) is superb.
The audible presentation of Maria-sama ga Miteru is excellent, and the music is superb.
Rating:
Presentation
The anime does well to simplify and condense the complicated storyline without losing the magnificence and charm of the various characters. It is enjoyable to watch and touching - I admit to crying through many of the episodes. Despite this, I do not find it depressing - it is often heart-wrenching but it is never dark, angry or sorrowful. Although I am not a yuri fan, I found myself sympathizing with Yumi (the main character) and feeling strongly for the different relationships in the show - that is how touching the anime is.
The storyline is also unique and original. Although in some ways it seems to have the typical stereotypes that make up a storyline - a bubbly, clueless-seeming main character, a cold, beautiful character who is actually kind inside, and an extroverted, somewhat groper-like character who actually has a painful past - the way they are presented makes the audience forget the stereotypical mold they have and focus on the deeper emotions they have for each other.
There is a lot of tension and mystery in Marimite, but it is nicely balanced with the occassional throw of humor and relaxation. In the end,tensions and mysteries are resolved and the audience is able to feel relieved. Despite this, Marimite is memorable and not easily forgotten. I don't think I will ever be able to forget the strong empathy I felt when Yumi and Sachiko were in a misunderstanding...
I believe any fan of pure, unadultered love and romance would find this series worthwhile.
Rating:
Final Verdict
8.6667 (very good)
Reviewed by IllusionistAria, Apr 05, 2005
Comments
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UberDog Mar 23, 2015
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