Maria-sama ga Miteru: 3 Series, 3 Days

Gokigenyou~ After four and a half years I have finally jumped onto the Marimite bandwagon and watched the entire anime within the span of a few days. My conclusion: Pure Awesome. Marimite is quite possibly my favorite shoujo series ever; it is heavily character-based and lacks the sexual aspects that many seinen yuri series tend to have (I’m looking at you Strawberry Panic!). I really fell in love with the characters over the course of the three series and now I am greatly looking forward to the fourth one.

Since Marimite is not currently airing, the rest of my post will be a summary of what I think about the everyone in the Yamayurikai. Spoilers for those who haven’t watched/read.

Foetida family
Torii Eriko
Eriko is not onscreen much so I didn’t build up as much of a liking to her as the others. That’s not to say I didn’t like her or whatever. She’s a pretty dependable and talented character but her interest in weird things is what really endears me to her. It lead her to do such things as choose Rei to be her soeur and to propose to that one teacher who likes dinosaurs. I wonder if she will make any surprise appearances in the fourth series.

Hasekura Rei
At first I wasn’t really impressed by Rei when she was first introduced because I thought that she was just the “bishounen” in the group (please excuse my lack of knowledge on correct terminology). However as the series progressed it became apparent how delicate she really is despite her outward appearance. I liked seeing her physical qualities like her strength juxtaposed against her feminine inner side.

Shimazu Yoshino
Like Rei, I initially thought that Yoshino was the weak one in the pair. I was pleasantly surprised again and again at how aggressive she can really be. She’s a good deal shorter than Rei but Yoshino never backs down until she gets what she wants. This often leads to rocky situations between the two but I really enjoyed seeing Yoshino grow as person. She’s definitely my favorite Foetida.

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Chinensis family
Mizuno Youko
Yet again like Eriko, Mizuno doesn’t really show up much throughout the series but she plays a pretty important role. Her cunning playfulness is what leads Yumi to become Sachiko’s petite soeur. Probably the most memorable thing about Youko is her strong relationship with her petite soeur. When graduation approaches she worries about Sachiko and even asks Yumi to support Sachiko in her absence. Now that Yumi is continually supporting Sachiko, I’m not sure if it is necessary for Youko to appear in the fourth series.

Ogasawara Sachiko
Sachiko is outwardly cold and stern so I initially did not like her too much. As the story progressed however, I began to open up to her more as her insecurities became more apparent. She may seem mean at times but down inside she really is a kind and caring person. Despite seeming prim and proper at first, Sachiko can be pretty childish and awkward at times too. It’s always amusing to see her switching roles with Yumi and having her be the one being taught how to act. It always seems like she is being cared for by everyone.

Fukuzawa Yumi
Yumi is at the beginning the timid one who is often at a lost for words so I really connected with her immediately. Yumi experiences a good deal of change over the course of the story and becomes more outspoken and confident. She’s always helping everyone else, though she may not exactly know the right course of action. Unfortunately for her, her eagerness makes her easily tricked into doing weird dances and crying but of course that’s why she is my favorite Chinesis.

Matsudaira Touko & Hosokawa Kanako
I wasn’t really sure where to put these two since they are not officially part of the Yamayurikai though they are both candidates for Yumi’s petite soeur. Touko is much more vocal and energetic than her cousin which can make her seem like a bit of a snob. However she is rather dependable and caring once you get past her rough edges as can be seen when she warns Yumi during her stay at Sachiko’s summer residence. Kanako however is the opposite and appears outwardly nice and hardworking. She always seems eager to please Yumi except in matters regarding the opposite gender in which case she becomes quite disagreeable and aggressive. No matter who ultimately wins out, I expect the “loser” to become Yoshino’s petite soeur. My bet is that Kanako will win.

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Gigantea family
Satou Sei
Where do I start about Sei? She is probably my favorite character in the entire series. I was initially drawn to her playful, laid back nature which she always seems to show off when teasing Yumi. She pretty much does whatever she wants though it often irritates others especially Sachiko. Despite not being the main family, Sei and the rest of the Gigantea family received quite a bit of screen time and character development. Of course I was okay with this since they are my favorite family after all. I especially love the back story involving Sei’s former lover which I really connected with. Overall I am impressed with her character and hope to see her make more appearances and provide her support to everyone else.

Toudou Shimako
Shimako probably represents the ideal of what a girl should be; smart, proper and beautiful. She’s quite quiet and gentle most of the time choosing not to display her strong resolve. Like her big and little sisters, she likes to keep to herself hiding secrets like her Buddhist lineage. She also continues the unwritten tradition of the Gigantea family–being indecisive in finding a soeur. Along with Yumi, Sei and Yoshino, Shimako is one of my favorite characters.

Nijou Noriko
Noriko was probably most important in showing the Gigantea family way of doing things. Like Sei and Shimako before her, Noriko did not initially want to join the Yamayurikai and was content with helping out Shimako. She did not even want to go to Lilian and felt like some sort of outsider until she met Shimako. With Shimako, Noriko could be herself and reveal that she was actually Buddhist and not Catholic. I really want to see how her relationship with Shimako develops.

With that I end my summary and opinions about the main characters of Marimite. I really can’t wait for the fourth series. Now to find some scans of the light novels.