Maria-sama ga Miteru

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maria-sama ga Miteru
マリア様がみてる (Maria-sama ga Miteru)
Genre	Yuri,[1] Esu[2]
Novel
Authored by	Konno Oyuki
Publisher	Shueisha Tokyopop
Publish date	24 April 1998 -
No. of volumes	29
Manga
Authored by	Konno Oyuki (story) Nagasawa Satoru (art)
Publisher	Shueisha Tokyopop
Serialized in	Margaret
Original run	2003 –
No. of volumes	7
TV anime : Maria-sama Ga Miteru
Directed by	Yukihiro Matsushita
Studio	Studio Deen
Network	TV Tokyo, Animax Animax ABS-CBN
Original run	7 January 2004 – 31 March 2004
No. of episodes	13
TV anime : Maria-sama Ga Miteru ~Haru~
Directed by	Yukihiro Matsushita
Studio	Studio Deen
Network	TV Tokyo, Animax Animax
Original run	4 July 2004 – 9 September 2004
No. of episodes	13
OVA: Maria-sama Ga Miteru (3rd season)
Directed by	Yukihiro Matsushita
Studio	Studio Deen
No. of episodes	5
Released	29 November 2006 - 25 July 2007
Runtime	50 minutes
Other
Short stories Maria-sama ni wa Naisho (omake) Drama CDs, OST, Image Albums Internet radio

Maria-sama ga Miteru (マリア様がみてる, Maria-sama ga Miteru^? lit. approx. The Virgin Mary is Watching, also known as Maria Watches Over Us; often shortened to Marimite マリみて) is an on-going series of light novels by Oyuki Konno. The plot revolves around the lives and relationships of the student council of a Catholic girl's high school. The story has been adapted into a manga series by illustrator Satoru Nagasawa, a two-season shōjo anime series, and a series of drama CDs. A third season of the anime is currently being released as an OVA series.

Two of five OVAs have currently been released. The third OVA will be released on March 28th 2007, the fourth on May 30th 2007, and the fifth on July 25th, 2007.

Contents 1 History 2 Story and setting 3 Characters 3.1 Chinensis family 3.2 Gigantea family 3.3 Foetida family 3.4 In Sachiko's year 3.5 In Yumi's year 3.6 In the year below Yumi 3.7 Two years below Yumi 3.8 Others 4 The Yamayurikai 4.1 First Year 4.2 Second Year (Haru) 5 Trivia 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

In February 1997, Oyuki Konno, who was already an established author, (having won prizes in 1993 for the series of novels Yume no Miya) published in Cobalt magazine a short story called Maria-sama ga Miteru, that told of the experiences of preparatory students in an austere, elegant school called Lillian School for Young Ladies. The success of this story in the magazine inspired Konno to turn the story into a series of novels.

Thus, on May 10, 1998, the first volume of Maria-sama ga Miteru was published, with additional illustrations from Hibiki Reine, an artist who specializes in shojo. This volume is the true beginning of the Maria-sama ga Miteru story. (The short story of 1997 was republished in the ninth volume, in 2001.)

In February 2003, with already more than twelve volumes published, Oyuki began to publish short stories in Cobalt Magazine, as well as continuing work on the light novels. Towards the end of 2003, the adaptation of the novel series to anime was announced - a season of thirteen episodes to run from January until March 2004, produced by Studio Deen; also, in February 2004 a manga adaptation was to be launched, drawn by Satoru Nagasawa. Given the success of the first season of the series, and the fact that this season only covered to the sixth volume, it was decided to launch, between July and September of that same year, the second season of anime - ~Haru~, with thirteen episodes and with the same personnel that worked in the first season. Haru would cover to volume eleven of the novels.

Additionally in 2004, there began to be a more commercial character to the series with the publication of drama CDs of the series, using as voices the same voice actors of the anime series. Also in 2004, an omake was made that appeared in the DVD of the anime series, called Maria-sama ni wa Naisho マリア様にはないしょ Keep it secret from the Virgin Mary!). Maria-sama ni wa Naisho was a brief animated parody of the anime series, which were mostly faked "outtakes". Additionally in 2004 the OSTs of the two seasons were published with the aid of musical duo ALI PROJECT.

During 2005, there was not another anime series. Nevertheless, more volumes of novels, more short stories, CD dramas and new manga volumes continued to be released. In that year there were more releases of commercial products such as three CDs of Image Albums and various merchandise. Towards the end of 2005, "Project Maria 2006" was announced, and a publicity campaign was run to publicise the new series to come in 2006. Thus, at the beginning of 2006, Internet radio shows began starring the voice actors of the anime series, commenting with news of the series and other funny situations out of the main plot of the novel. In August 2006, the third anime series was announced to be presented in OVA format. It would take place just after the second season, and with the same voice actors. The OVA series will be aired in Japan between November 2006 and July 2007.

In May 2006 it was announced officially that the anime series had been licensed in Spain for dubbing, by Jonu Media. The manga has been licensed and officially translated in Germany, under the name Rosen unter Marias Obhut.^[3] This translates to "Roses under Mary's care", and the Latin names for the Roses are removed, in favour of simply using the colour of the rose. (See The Yamayurikai.) The light novel series is also being translated into German under the same name.^[4]

The complete series, including each season, is set to be translated and dubbed into English for broadcast across its English language networks across Southeast Asia by the anime satellite TV network Animax from March 2007, set to be the series' first English language television premiere.^[5]

[edit] Story and setting

The story revolves around the students of the Lillian Catholic school for girls (私立リリアン女学園, Shiritsu Ririan Jogakuen^?).

The story of Maria-sama ga Miteru can be considered character-driven, focusing on interactions between the characters rather than any sort of ongoing plot or goal to attain. One reviewer has even called it "pure shoujo" due to its character-driven storylines.^[6] One notable aspect is the occasional use of French (it is in fact subtitled La Vierge Marie vous regarde, "The Virgin Mary is watching you"), although one need not be fluent in French to understand the story.

The school, which is depicted as having been founded in 1902 in Musashino, Tokyo, is depicted as an elegant, clean, pure and very prestigious school. Among the facilities of Lillian, aside from the classrooms, there is a church, a greenhouse, a kendo dojo, an auditorium, a park, and the Mansion of the Roses, where the Yamayurikai meet. The students are very respectable and in good standing. The uniform at the school is a long, dark green sailor fuku with a white collar.

The Lillian Girls' School is based on a real school in Nishi-tokyo known as the Musashino Jyoshi Gakuin (Musashino School for Girls). Although it is a private school, it is not a Catholic but a Buddhist school. The author Konno Oyuki graduated from a Catholic kindergarten and Musashino Joshi-Gakuin. It is not strange for most Japanese if a person has gone to schools of different religions. The Lillian Girls school uses the lily symbolism as the white lily is the flower of the Virgin Mary. The white lily is a Christian symbol of virginity and purity, as well as a minor reference to Yuri.

At Lillian Girls school, there is a tradition known as the Soeur System (sœur being French for "sister"), in which a second- or third-year student, the grande sœur ("big sister"), will give her rosary to a junior student, the petite sœur ("little sister"), and promise to look after them and guide them. One reviewer has said that this 'gratuitous' use of French titles is distracting.^[7] At the start of the story, new first-year student Yumi Fukuzawa is suddenly approached by the seemingly-cold second-year student Sachiko Ogasawara to be her petite sœur.

The story often has some strong elements of romance between female characters; the use of lilies reinforces this in subtext, as do the names of the student council and of the school itself.^[7] (See the etymology of yuri for details.) It is only explicit about this sort of relationship once (in flashback), but many of the sisters have relationships that go beyond simple friendship — though not quite so far as to suggest romance between any of the primary characters (although the omake on the anime series' DVD release does, if only in jest). Nonetheless, this has not stopped fans of the show and dōjinshi creators from attempting to elaborate on these relationships as such: frequently, any artwork of the series is often placed in the yuri sections of image boards. The Marimite novels, anime and manga series have an enormous yuri fandom as well.

The art design of the anime series is very flowing and sometimes of questionable quality.^[6][7] The color palette is significantly muted, taking advantage of the lesser palettes of fall and winter (such as yellowing ginkgo leaves and snow on the ground) to present a very minimal palette of colors. This is in sharp contrast to many other anime titles, like the bright and vivid Revolutionary Girl Utena, a show that Marimite is frequently compared and contrasted to because of their similar elegant natures revolving around school relationships. Another anime that Marimite is compared to is Oniisama e..., but Marimite is much less dramatic.^[8] One reviewer has suggested that Maria-sama ga Miteru's "reduced capacity for epic drama" is due to the lack of malicious characters.^[6] Newer anime titles that Marimite is compared to include Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru and Strawberry Panic!.^[9][10]

The musical choices of Maria-sama ga Miteru are generally classical music -inspired.^[6][7] A song that is often referred to in the anime is Maria-sama no kokoro, or "The Virgin Mary's Heart". In the context of the series, Maria-sama no kokoro is a children’s song taught to the students at Lillian.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Chinensis family

Yumi Fukuzawa (福沢 祐巳, Fukuzawa Yumi^?) (voiced by Kana Ueda)

The lead character of the show, Yumi is bashful beyond words, very timid and unsure of herself. She likes Sachiko very much but constantly wonders why Sachiko shows an interest in her. Other characters often comment on how her emotions 'show on her face'.

Sachiko Ogasawara (小笠原 祥子, Ogasawara Sachiko^?) (voiced by Miki Ito)

Prim and elegant, Sachiko has a rough side and a very sweet side. She is very jealous over Yumi and cares deeply about her. Sachiko is slated to marry her cousin/fiancé Suguru after she graduates. This has caused her some distress since, although she initially cared deeply for him, he did not reciprocate and they now have a complicated relationship. Sometimes, Yumi must teach Sachiko how to live informally, for example, helping her select her first pair of jeans.^[11] Despite her sometimes stern appearance, Sachiko has her own share of insecurities regarding her relationship with Yumi, not to mention emotional insecurities rising from her home life; both her father and grandfather openly have mistresses, unabashedly dividing their time between home and the mistresses.

Yōko Mizuno (水野 蓉子, Mizuno Yōko^?) (voiced by Emi Shinohara)

Calm and reserved, but usually with a smirk on her face, Yōko is Sachiko's grande sœur. As the nearly indisputable leader of the Yamayurikai during her time as Rosa Chinensis, she played a major role in maintaining stability in its sometimes unstable environment. Though usually cool and refined, she was also known to have a fun side. Additionally, it has been implied that she may have had feelings for Sei Satō.^[12] Her dream was to see the Rose Mansion filled with ordinary students before she graduated.^[13]

[edit] Gigantea family

Shimako Tōdō (藤堂 志摩子, Tōdō Shimako^?) (voiced by Mamiko Noto)

Prim, proper and very beautiful, Shimako is the most admired of the first-years. She is the petite sœur of Satō Sei at the beginning of the story and later her successor. Underneath Shimako's quiet, mannerly exterior lies a surprisingly strong resolve. However, Shimako is perhaps the most gentle of the three girls of her year in the Yamayurikai.

Sei Satō (佐藤 聖, Satō Sei^?) (voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi)

The exact opposite of most of the characters in the show: loud, rough-around-the-edges, she loves doing what she can to push other peoples' buttons. However, Sei is one of the wisest and caring characters on the show. Though seeming to have a playful and laid-back attitude, Sei has experienced many tragedies in her life, especially in her second year. After leaving Lillian, Sei studies English and American Literature.

Former Rosa Gigantea (Satou Sei's Onee-sama) (voiced by Minami Takayama)

Sei's Onee-sama is not given a name, but appears in flashbacks. Sei depended on her a lot, and she graduated from Lillian wishing Sei to find a good petite sœur.

[edit] Foetida family

Yoshino Shimazu (島津 由乃, Shimazu Yoshino^?) (voiced by Haruna Ikezawa)

In the beginning of the series, Yoshino is a girl who was very ill and cared for constantly by her grande sœur, Rei. Yoshino, however, is very independent and in some ways tomboyish, despite her sickly status and feminine appearance. After her heart surgery, she becomes more energetic through out the series. In addition to being Rei's petite sœur, Yoshino is also her cousin and next-door neighbor. Theirs is a somewhat rocky relationship, since Yoshino is eager to spread her wings, whereas Rei would like to protect her from the world's hardships.

Rei Hasekura (支倉 令, Hasekura Rei^?) (voiced by Shizuka Ito)

Rei, Yoshino's grande sœur, appears very tomboyish and 'bishounen' on the outside but is in fact quite gentle despite her appearances. Her favourite books are shoujo, her favourite word is ‘sincerity’ and her hobby is sightseeing. She is involved in kendo, but obsessively cares about Yoshino and prefers the domestic arts, like cooking.

Eriko Torii (鳥居 江利子, Torii Eriko^?) (voiced by Hitomi Nabatame)

Rei's grande sœur; one of the most well-respected of the Yamayurikai. She is very gifted and good at almost everything, although she is also enigmatic and eccentric. She has a large forehead, which Sei made fun of when they were young, which began their rivalry. She said once that she chose Rei as her sœur to see if anything interesting would happen. She often has friction with Yoshino, as the younger girl is jealous of her bond with Rei. Eriko has four older brothers. After leaving Lillian, she studies Arts. She hates the dentist above all else.

[edit] In Sachiko's year

Minako Tsukiyama (築山 美奈子, Tsukiyama Minako^?) (voiced by Yuko Kaida)

Both head editor and president for the school's newspaper, Lillian Kawaraban. She is very dedicated to her duty as president, and can at times give Yumi an uneasy feeling.

Shiori Kubo (久保 栞, Kubo Shiori^?) (voiced by Akiko Nakagawa)

Sei Satō's ex-lover and best friend who was Sachiko Ogasawara's classmate. Her parents died when she was young. She left Lillian in her first year to pursue her dream of becoming a nun, which broke Sei's heart.

Shizuka Kanina (蟹名 静, Kanina Shizuka^?) (voiced by Rino)

Also known as Rosa Canina (for the Dog Rose) she is the star singer of the school choir. She admired Sei, but later on it is shown that she has also found an interest in Sei's petite sœur, Shimako. She left Lillian at the end of her second year to pursue a singing career in Italy.

Mifuyu Uzawa (鵜沢 美冬, Uzawa Mifuyu^?) (voiced by Yuki Masuda)

Sachiko's classmate. She is shown as having a stalker-like attraction to Sachiko.^[14]

[edit] In Yumi's year

Mami Yamaguchi (山口 真美, Yamaguchi Mami^?) (voiced by Chiwa Saitō)

Another staff member of the newspaper team, and Minako's sometimes irreverent petite sœur. However, like Minako, Mami herself is also always looking for the latest scoop.

Tsutako Takeshima (武嶋 蔦子, Takeshima Tsutako^?) (voiced by Rina Satou)

Yumi's friend and avid photographer, she's part of the Photography Club and helps out sometimes for the school's newspaper. Never without her camera, she is always looking to capture the latest gossip about the Yamayurikai, and swears she can never be tied down to having a sœur of her own.

Katsura (桂, Katsura^?) (voiced by Noriko Shitaya)

A classmate of Yumi Fukuzawa. A member of the tennis club. Her family name is not given.

Chisato Tanuma (田沼 ちさと, Tanuma Chisato^?) (voiced by Mikako Takahashi)

She's part of the Kendo Club. She's an admirer of Rei Hasekura.

[edit] In the year below Yumi

Touko Matsudaira (松平 瞳子, Matsudaira Touko^?) (voiced by Rie Kugimiya)

A distant relative and fan of Sachiko. She arrives at Lillian during Yumi's Second Year. Touko is a member of the Drama club, and nicknamed Mechanical Drill by Satou Sei for her corkscrew pigtails. In the beginning of her first year Touko causes some strain in the relationship between Yumi and Sachiko. However, it is apparent later on in the year that she may become Yumi's petite sœur.

Kanako Hosokawa (細川 可南子, Hosokawa Kanako^?) (voiced by Ami Koshimizu)

A big fan of Yumi Fukuzawa, who only made a brief cameo appearance in the second season of the anime. She is 178 cm tall, and referred to by Marimite fans as Denpa. She is presented as one of the girls who may become Yumi's petite sœur. She is introduced in the fourteenth novel, Suzukaze Satsusatsu.

Noriko Nijou (二条 乃梨子, Nijou Noriko^?) (voiced by Kaori Shimizu)

A young girl with a fascination with Buddhist statues and art. She enters Lillian Academy (a strictly Catholic institution) by mistake. She has a fierce temper that contradicts her calm exterior and becomes Shimako's petite sœur as Shimako enters her second year.

Hidemi Takachi (高知 日出実, Takachi Hidemi^?) (not voiced)

Another staff member of the newspaper team, and Mami's petite sœur.

Syouko Naitō (内藤 笙子, Naitō Syouko^?) (not voiced)

She's part of the Photography Club. She loves photography, and wanted to be part of the Yamayurikai because of the photos she saw of them. She becomes an admirer of Tsutako.^[15]

[edit] Two years below Yumi

Nana Arima (有馬 菜々, Arima Nana^?) (not voiced)

A girl in her third year at Lillian Middle High School, and very likely to become Shimazu Yoshino's petite sœur. Mistaken to be Yoshino's petite sœur by Eriko at a kendo tournament.

[edit] Others

Kei Katō (加東 景, Katō Kei^?) (voiced by Saiga Mitsuki)

Sei Satō's friend and course-mate at Lillian University.

Yumiko Ikegami (池上 弓子, Ikegami Yumiko^?) (voiced by Gara Takashima)

Landlord in lodging house of Kei Katō. A graduate of Lillian.

Saiko (彩子, Saiko^?) (voiced by Yoshiko Takemura)

Sachiko's grandmother. A graduate of Lillian. Her family name is not given.

Seiko Kasuga (春日 せい子, Kasuga Seiko^?) (voiced by Tomoko Miyadera)

A graduate of Lillian, she wrote the novel The Forest of Thorns under the pen name "Sei Suga". She was confused with Sei Satō by most of the students of Lillian, which caused an uproar.

Suguru Kashiwagi (柏木 優, Kashiwagi Suguru^?) (voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama, David Lee Mckinney (English)

The cousin and arranged fiancé of Sachiko; in order that a trusted man inherit the Ogasawara company, their engagement was arranged, although Sachiko detests it and denies that he is her fiancé. He is very arrogant, and especially disliked by Sei, but he has prestige in the Hanadera school since he is president of the Student Council there. He is gay, and has a crush on Yumi's brother, Yūki.

Yūki Fukuzawa (福沢 祐麒, Fukuzawa Yūki^?) (voiced by Mitsuhiro Ichiki)

The younger twin brother of Yumi (though both were born in the same year). He loves her very much and tries to help her in everything he can. He has good relations with the students of Lillian and is somewhat popular. At the beginning of the series, he did not empathize with Suguru, but Suguru invites Yuuki to stay over for new year’s in his house; subsequently Suguru begins to perturb Yuuki by giving him the nickname “Yukichi”. Yuuki becomes the president of the Student Council of Hanadera due to his neutral personality.

[edit] The Yamayurikai

Much of the story of Marimite revolves around the Yamayurikai (山百合会 Japanese, lit. "Mountain Lily Club"), which acts as the student council. The Yamayurikai itself consists of three offices, named after roses: Rosa Foetida (ロサ・フェティダ), Rosa Gigantea (ロサ・ギガンティア), and Rosa Chinensis (ロサ・キネンシス).^[16] These are also referred to by their colours; the Yellow Rose (黄薔薇さま) is Rosa Foetida, the White Rose (白薔薇さま) is Rosa Gigantea, and the Red Rose (紅薔薇さま) is Rosa Chinensis.

A rose (薔薇さま, bara-sama; ロサ, rosa) is the most senior member of the Yamayurikai, although it is also possible to generally speak of all the members of the Yamayurikai as roses. A Rose makes the important decisions within this group, since she has control over the student council. the position lasts a scholastic year. The position is decided by an election. Any student can run to become a Rose, although the position is usually given to the en boutons.

The petite sœur of a Rosa is called an en bouton (薔薇のつぼみ, bara no tsubomi; アン・ブゥトン an būtun^[17]) (French, "in bud") — e.g., Rosa Chinensis en bouton — and is unofficially considered part of the Yamayurikai, as is the petite sœur of the en bouton (if she has one). The en boutons must be in a lower year than their oneesamas, and generally the en boutons make the Roses plans happen, like assistants. Although the offices of the Yamayurikai are traditionally passed to the en bouton on the graduation of the current holder, they are nonetheless elected offices which anyone may run for; this is part of a subplot in the first season.^[18]

The petite sœur of the en bouton is called en bouton petite sœur (薔薇のつぼみの妹, bara no tsubomi no imōto; アン・ブゥトン・プティ・スール, an būtun puti sūru) — e.g., Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite sœur —. She must be in a lower year than her oneesama and performs small duties, such as attending the Roses en bouton, cleaning the Rose Mansion, and making tea and snacks for the Yamayurikai. This lasts a school year, and the following year, when their oneesamas are elected, the petite sœurs become en boutons automatically.

The Rose Mansion (薔薇の館 Bara no Yakata) is the building where the Yamayurikai meets. Located within the school, it consists of two storeys; the second storey is where the meeting room is.

Most of the main characters are members of the Yamayurikai. The following table shows their titles and sœur relationships at the start of the story: each character is the grande sœur of the character below them, if any.

[edit] First Year

	Foetida	Chinensis	Gigantea
Rosa ~	Eriko Torii (3rd year)	Yōko Mizuno (3rd year)	Sei Satō (3rd year)
Rosa ~ en bouton	Rei Hasekura (2nd year)	Sachiko Ogasawara (2nd year)	Shimako Tōdō (1st year)
Rosa ~ en bouton petite sœur	Yoshino Shimazu (1st year)	Yumi Fukuzawa (1st year)	None

[edit] Second Year (Haru)

	Foetida	Chinensis	Gigantea
Rosa ~	Rei Hasekura (3rd year)	Sachiko Ogasawara (3rd year)	Shimako Tōdō (2nd year)
Rosa ~ en bouton	Yoshino Shimazu (2nd year)	Yumi Fukuzawa (2nd year)	Noriko Nijou (1st year)
Rosa ~ en bouton petite sœur	None	None	None

[edit] Trivia

• Gokigen'yō (ごきげんよう, Gokigen'yō^?) is a strictly formal and respectful greeting in Japanese, and is used both to greet and to farewell. By custom, this greeting is used often in the Lillian School; this has been one of the distinguishable and popular phrases of the series, and it is used to begin or to finish each volume.

[edit] See also

• Soeur System (Fictional, fan-based)
• List of Maria-sama ga Miteru media

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Official

• (Japanese) Official web site (Lillian Jogakuen)
• (Japanese) TV Tokyo's official web site (first season)
• (Japanese) TV Tokyo's official web site (second season)

Other

• Maria-sama ga Miteru Novel English Translation Project
• (Japanese) Yumi–chan no Ribbon, fall and spring - Yumi's ribbon database
• Animenewsnetwork page