Mimiko's review of Maria-sama ga Miteru

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Gokigenyou! Just a simple opinion from someone who watched Maria-sama ga Miteru a little over a year ago and doesn’t have the freshest memory of every single element. An opinion from someone who has never written a review in her life, so I apologize in advance. Considering that this is a work from the early 2000s, I’d say Marimite manages to capture the calmness of its time, and that is very important to truly enjoy its episodes. This is not an anime for someone who wants a new event every two minutes. It’s not for TikTokers. It’s a serene anime that made me want to have afternoon tea, eat cookies and, above all, made me want to become a more elegant woman. It can make you laugh, but at the same time, it has enough depth to make you want to cry. It is a school anime where you can almost feel like you’re living through the routine of being a student again, with the slow pace and small discoveries that come with that stage of life. I had never watched shoujo-ai before. In Marimite, it's left open for the viewer to decide whether the love between the girls is something fraternal or romantic, and I think that makes the anime more democratic. Some people will say they were just very close friends. https://youtu.be/LiehPEGUiX4?list=RDLiehPEGUiX4&t=8 They were just good friends, your honor. I personally don’t feel sexual attraction toward women. Even so, I ended up getting emotionally invested in the story and eventually shipping some of the couples because their relationships were simply cute. But I wouldn’t say that should stop anyone from watching it. After all, because it is a work centered around women, from a feminine perspective and very little, dare I say almost no male presence, we get an opportunity that isn’t particularly common: to explore female characters without sexualizing them. Putting all that aside, for these reasons I would rate the anime 4/5★ because it is not a universally appealing anime. I’m not measuring only its quality, but also how broadly I would recommend it. And no, I’m not taking a point away because it is shoujo-ai, but because not everyone will watch it with the calm mindset the story requires. *** From this point on, I may get a little carried away, so spoiler warning. *** My first chronological memory is of the girls being in a school with an aesthetic rigor that almost feels like a ballet lesson. Except instead of watching the arch of their pointed feet, we watch Sachiko adjusting the ribbon on Yumi’s uniform, and that gesture already captures the subtlety of the anime. Portraying teenagers, the characters are still immature, they have insecurities, and they are learning how to relate to one another. This is where some of the most beautiful dynamics of the story live, precisely because their reactions feel so human. The school system, where an older girl can take a younger girl under her wing and become her onee-sama, something like a mentor, made me incredibly jealous. Both girls end up benefiting from the relationship, and I spent the entire anime thinking about how magical it would have been to have an experience like that. This dynamic ends up going beyond the fiction itself and teaches the viewer about patience, respect, loyalty, companionship, responsibility, and love. But I wouldn’t say everything is roses, and it’s funny to say that since roses are actually pretty important to the plot. The thorns are very noticeable. The misunderstandings bring a lot of realism, with conflicts that can happen in similar ways irl. They end up teaching us about understanding different perspectives and realizing how emotions can take over in those moments. The art and character designs in Marimite are beautiful and delicate. The animation, on the other hand, is quite simple. There are very few scenes with lots of elaborate frames per second, but I would say they make good use of that simplicity to benefit the storytelling. There are fewer distractions, and even though I don’t speak Japanese and have to divide my attention with the subtitles, there is still plenty of time to notice the details: how the roses in the decorations change depending on which characters are the focus of the episode, the captivating scenery with its “Japanese-European” aesthetic, but especially the characters themselves: their touches, their posture, and, above all, their eyes. Without much effort, it’s easy to understand what they are feeling through the way their eyes are portrayed. Sometimes, even through silence. A few elements really stuck with me: 1) Social inequality is portrayed in a way that feels very true to reality. We see it through Sachiko’s perspective, which is funny but also introduces us to the concept: wearing jeans and eating fast food for the first time, wondering "where's the cutlery?!" On the other side, we see it through Yumi, who has to experience what it feels like not to belong to the same social reality as her friend, and not only because of their circumstances, but also because of the people who make their relationship more difficult. (Without overexplaining or going into too much detail, I’ll just say: Touko, I hate you. I’m glad Sachiko’s grandmother loved hearing her singing. I’m not Yumi’s biggest fan, but I would never forgive them if they had mistreated her in that situation) 2) Just like in real life, all the calmness of the anime doesn’t prepare you for the passage of time. While we’re enjoying the anime, we suddenly realize that the older students are graduating, and the entire dynamic changes. Not only because the girls who remain now take on new roles and the responsibilities that come with them, but because we end up mourning the end of that stage of life alongside them. The girls who graduated become supporting characters. They show up once a year, if that. 3) The characters’ voices are almost always velvety, and the romance follows that same approach: it is not a love that screams. It doesn’t need to rely on obvious visual cues, like kisses or simple “daisukiiiii,” to show how much they love each other. One of the most beautiful declarations of love was Sachiko saying that she would recognize Yumi no matter what, even if she were wearing a costume. And it doesn’t stop at words, she actually proves it, giving us one of the cutest hugs I’ve ever seen in anime. Although my favorite characters are the ones from the Rosa Gigantea group, the highlights that stayed with me most strongly are from the protagonists, Rosa Chinensis. Besides the costume scene, Sachiko’s love is beautifully represented when she eats Yumi’s horrible chocolates and pretends they taste great. On the other hand, we get Yumi’s suffering when she believes Sachiko is avoiding her. The way they make the viewer believe in the rejection as well deserves special recognition in this review. There was no way I couldn’t cry alongside Yumi after the situation was intensified by the loss of the umbrella that belonged to her grandfather. With that, I would finish by saying that Marimite is an anime to watch without any great expectations, because it will slowly win you over. And I’ll repeat what I said earlier: if what you want right now is an anime with a fast-paced story, this may not be the right time to watch Marimite. But if you’re in the mood for less intensity and more depth, make yourself a cup of tea and give it a chance without hesitation!