title_name =
|
| |
Sachiko and Yumi, illustrated by Hibiki Reine
|
| |
250px
|
| |
マリア様がみてる
|
| |
The Virgin Mary is Watching
|
| |
Shōjo
|
Animanga/Anime| Information
|
'' (マリア様がみてる, lit. approx. ''The
Virgin Mary is Watching''; often shortened to ''Marimite'' マリみて) is an on-going series of
Novel s by
Oyuki Konno (The 24th volume was released on
March 31 ,
2006 ), which have been adapted into a
Manga series by illustrator
Satoru Nagasawa in 2003, and later into a two-season
Shōjo Anime series in 2004 (broadcast on
TV Tokyo ), as well as several drama
CDs . A third season was announced in November 2005, and this season will be released as an
OVA series starting in 2006.
The story revolves around the students of the Lillian
Catholic school for girls. It can be considered more character-driven, focusing on interactions between the characters rather than any sort of ongoing plot or goal to attain. 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 was founded in 1902 in
Musashino ,
Tokyo , is depicted as an elegant, clean, pure and very prestigious school. The students are very respectable and in good standing. At the 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. 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. (See fanart currently released, and ''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 of questionable quality. The color palette is significantly muted so far, 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.
; (福沢 祐巳) (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.
; (小笠原 祥子) (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.
; (水野 蓉子) (voiced by
Emi Shinohara ): Calm and reserved, but usually with a smirk on her face, Yōko is Sachiko's ''grande sœur.'' It has been largely implied and speculated that she may have had feelings for Satō Sei, as shown in the Marimite relationship chart.
; (藤堂 志摩子) (voiced by
Mamiko Noto ): Prim, proper and very beautiful, Shimako is the most admired of the first-years.
; (佐藤 聖) (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.
; (島津 由乃) (voiced by
Haruna Ikezawa ): 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 almost tomboyish, despite her sickly stature and beautiful good looks. In addition to being Rei's petite soeur, Yoshino is also her cousin and next-door neighbor.
; (支倉 令) (voiced by , but is obsessively caring about Yoshino and prefers the domestic arts, like
Cooking .
; (鳥居 江利子) (voiced by
Hitomi Nabatame ): Rei's ''grande sœur;'' one of the most well-respected of the Yamayurikai. She said once that she chose Rei as her soeur to see if anything interesting happens.
; (築山 美奈子) (voiced by , Lillian Kawaraban. She is very dedicated to her duty as president, and can at times give Yumi an uneasy feeling.
; (武嶋 蔦子) (voiced by er for the school's
Newspaper . She is always looking for the latest news about the Yamayurikai.
; (山口真美) (voiced by
Chiwa Saitō ): Another staff member of the newspaper team, Mami is also always looking for the latest scoop.
; (蟹名 静) (voiced by
Rino ): Also known as ''Rosa Canina'', she is the star singer of the school choir. She originally admired Sei, but later on it is shown that she has also found an interest in Sei's petite soeur, Shimako. She left Lillian at the end of her second year to pursue a singing career in Italy.
; (松平 瞳子) (voiced by
Kugimiya Rie ): A distant relative and fan of Sachiko, and an important character during the last few episodes of the 'Spring' season of the anime. She is a member of the Drama club, and nicknamed ''Mechanical Drill'' by Satou Sei.
; (細川 可南子) (not voiced): A big fan of Fukuzawa Yumi, who only made a brief cameo appearance in the second season of the anime. She is 178cm tall, and referred to by Marimite fans as ''Denpa''.
; (加東 景) (voiced by
Saiga Mitsuki ): Satō Sei's friend and course-mate at Lillian University.
; (有馬 菜々) (not voiced): A girl in her third year at Lillian Middle High School, and very likely to become Shimazu Yoshino's ''petite soeur''. Mistaken to be Yoshino's petite soeur by Eriko at a kendo tournament.
; (二条乃梨子) (voiced by
Kaori Shimizu ): Her fierce temper contradicts her calm exterior; She is Shimako's ''petite sœur;''.
; (桂) (voiced by
Noriko Shitaya ): A classmate of Fukuzawa Yumi at the 1st year. A member of tennis club.
; (久保 栞) (voiced by
Akiko Nakagawa ): Satō Sei's friend and Ogasawara Sachiko's classmate at the Ogasawara Sachiko's 1st year(=Satō Sei's 2nd year). She left Lillian in her first year to pursue her dream of becoming a nun.
Much of the story of ''Marimite'' revolves around the Yamayurikai (, "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). 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 fact is part of a subplot in the first season.
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.
There have been, to date, three
Video Game s created based on the series, all three
Dojin Soft . Developer
French-Bread has created two
Video Game s based on this series:
There is also a
2D Fighting Game , ''
Maribato ''.
- The Lillian Girls' School is based on a real school in Musashino known as the Musashino Joshi-Gakuin (''Musashino School for Girls''). Although it is a private school, it is not a Catholic or religious facility.
- The school is referred to as the "Lillian school", as the White Lily is the flower of the Virgin Mary. The white lily is a Christian symbol of Virginity and Purity .
;Official:
;Other:
