Marmalade Boy is the classic high school romance anime that everyone looks up to and tries to set the stand to be in my opinion. With its many episodes each character has a rich interweaving back-story that helps the main storyline progress in its own way. Today we look at this anime classic in detail.
Marmalade Boy is 76 episodes of pure joy, heartache, love and realizations for almost all the entire cast of characters in one way or another may it be the boy not getting the girl or vice versa. This anime originally debuted in America in 1988 it has been dubbed and released several times over the last two decades as various box sets. Soon there will be another re-release of the box set in America. The show was so good it was made into a live action movie.
The show has a large cast of characters who progress the storyline in one fashion or another the show is focused on two main characters. Miki Koishikawa a typical looking red head girl who is very supportive of her friends, outgoing and doesn't hold her emotions back, she is not your typical looking ultra beautiful girl she is plain and even so far to say tomboyish. She often gets emotional and assumes a lot about what is going on with her friends, events or anything that may impact her in some sort of way. She plays tennis on the Toyro high school team for club activates
Then you have Yuu Matsuura the main male character, Yuu has blonde hair and blue eyes he is every girls dream. He is naturally talented in sports and is the opposite of Miki he can stay cool under pressure and he doesn't show his emotions he is the rational thinker between the two. Yuu doesn't participate in any club activities.
The story starts out with Miki's parents returning from Hawaii they ask Miki to meet them in the kitchen to discuss something important. He parents explain that while on their trip they met a couple who each feel madly in love with the other and that they decided to remarry each other and the move into a house together so not to make things hard on the kids. Miki of course is shocked and in disbelief. Later that night they all attend a dinner to celebrate this new occasion where Miki meets Yuu who she find an instant attraction too.
Miki still in a state of disbelief angry makes a scene asking about her feelings and how that it's not fair for them to do such a crazy thing like remarry. Yuu tells her to sit down and that she's the only one having an issue with the events that are unfolding. The next day at school Miki is whacked in the face by a basketball she is sent to the nurse's office where she lies down. Yuu worried about her comes in checks on her and plant a kiss on her while she is pretending to be asleep.
So there you have it the start of the story, I could keep going but I want you to find out the magic of the show for yourself! The events that proceed that make up the show's storyline are several things. Firstly Yuu's and Miki's relationship at first it's a battle between Miki and herself and how she really feels about Yuu and another guy name Ginta. Ginta also plays on the Toryo high school tennis team and had a crush on Miki since Junior high. She battles her feelings for both Yuu and Ginta in a woe is me attitude because she knows that she will have to hurt someone's feelings and being the kind hearted person she is she doesn't want to do that.
Show then continues with Miki making her choice and the two lovers battling to keep their relationship a secret from their parents, past relationships, new relationships and various other characters in one way or another just to name a few. Although the cast being large and many characters are introduced though out the show there is a main staple of characters the show faces on each one brings something new and complex's the storyline.
What I found to be a downer for the show was the story got predictable and many times Miki was very over dramatic often she would see something or more she would assume something is happening that she had no control over. This was used many times in the basis of the storyline and after awhile you got used to seeing it and then made the outcomes pretty predictable. Yuu and Miki both have many life changing situations happen though out the course of the show and by the end they seem to be two totally different people then the beginning of the show.
The show itself dealt with many issues two of the main issues that come to mind are underage dating and marriage. Miki's best friend Meiko has a relationship with her teacher Na-chan the two are found out and many episodes are dedicated to their relationship. The other big issue I think was tackled was homo-sexuality none of the characters are openly gay but it is implied especially later on in the show. Often times speculation is used when trying to find out if it's really true. They also put in other smaller issues like living in a broken home with abusive parents and teenage sexuality.
The show itself relies on this large cast of characters to keep the show moving many times many times Miki's feelings or events are used to build an episode around also the writers seemed to re hash a lot of the characters in later episodes. Not that it was a bad thing but you think they'd have some of the issues dead and buried with the characters and the writers would re-earth them and bring them into a new light given the situations they were presented.
This became tiresome after awhile in my opinion and by the end your just wondering what's next what more could happen? This both helps the story and hurts it. The best part about the show I think is how each character both main and supporting characters got a rich deep back story and it wasn't pointless either in the end it all made a difference in the main storyline which was good and it was easy to get attached to characters in the story. Each character had its place in the show and that is always a good thing.
Over all I'd give this show 8 out of 10 the show starts off great with a lot of drama and suspense but after awhile it wears on you and the show starts to become predictable and the rehash of already used storylines also grows thin as the show journeys on. The show is just like a soap opera almost every episode will keep you coming back for more, the plot is filled with many twists and turns in this series so fasten your seat belts and prepare for the ride.
RATING: 8 / 10
PROS: The has numerous characters with detailed histories, emotions, ambitions and goals which give the story a lot of twists and different plots to work with. The show is fairly lengthy given the story enough time to wrap up all the loose ends.
CONS: Show becomes predictable and after awhile the same storylines get rehashed over again to make the show last longer instead of focusing on the main storyline many, many side stories are going
became desensitized to the blood and gore being displayed you got used to seeing it but the first few episode it is a huge statement and at first I thought the show would be a total gore fest just looking for shock value and that's it. The show is billed as the most disturbing anime to come out of Japan. But once the story started and it got more interesting as each episode passed the real meaning of the show started to sink in. It was very easy to get attached to the characters each character was given a decent amount of information on them in their past lives and the actions they did during the missions made them more enduring as the show went on. 
