Sei Youko ‘Tied’
Mizuno Youko & Satou Sei
from Maria-sama ga Miteru (Maria Watches Over Us)
My favourite yuri couple - Rosa Chinensis, the lovely red rose, looks perfect with Rosa Gigantea, the dashing white rose.
I’m catching up with some yuri art, before going back to commissions.
August 16th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Thank you Mika ^_^
By the way, do you know this?
http://tinyurl.com/ksdhps
If you like Marimite anime’s dubbing actresses you do have to check it out. It’s a collection of the 6 most famous Christmas songs sung (in English !) by Yumi, Shimako, Noriko, Yoshino, Kanako, Touko (which means no third year).
1. JOY TO THE WORLD
2. Santa Claus Is Comming To Town
3. O Come All Ye Faithful
4. Silent Night
5. Angels We Have Heard On High
6. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
As you know, they won’t be heard in the actual anime, it’s “CD only” special.
Strongly recommended
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Heysa, thanks for the link. I haven’t heard of the Christmas ones (it’s been a while since I kept up with MariMite), but I’ve heard a bit of the ones where the different rose families sing their own kinda theme song. The seiyuus were very good (Japanese seiyuus are so talented *swoon*). I remember the Chinensis family’s theme was so elegant, and the Gigantea family’s theme was kinda fun xD
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PS. Shimako looks divine on that CD cover.
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August 15th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Thank you mika! ^^
To me, it’s quite difficult to state which friend couple is my favorite one, if we’re talking about the old ones I kind of love them all. Perhaps the main one (Yumi and Sachiko) is the one which moved me the most, yet I definitely love Shimako (who is voiced by the best living dubbing actress, Mamiko Noto) & Sei, and Shimako & Shizuka Kanina (a character I’d have loved to see much more) too. Among the old ones, the only one which didn’t steal my heart was the Yoshino & Rei one.
Among the new ones, it’s quite the opposite. The only one I’m going to like is the Touko & Yumi one, since I don’t like the other two new characters (Kanako and Noriko).
I’d like to say that I see Marimite as a story that resembles the perfection and the purity this world has lost (or never had). I can’t see any sex relationship (except for the one that Sei had in her first year) among the students, nor even kisses or sexual interest, nor even *I* want to be sexually attracted by them. What I see is the highest level of friendship and loyalty - which can be actually called “love” since there are many kind of love among the human beings - freezed in a perfect, noble and separate world. Marimite is the only series that can feed this kind of dream because it’s the only one to feature such relationships, so close to yuri yet not yuri at all.
Because of this, I don’t have “fantasy couples” to like since I have no fantasies at all.
I’m not that good at English so I can’t actually explain my thoughts the way I’d like, gomen ^^
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Shimako and Shizuka? I wouldn’t have guessed that, though they do have something special going. And it was lovely to see them meeting up in Italy. If only Sei wasn’t such a bad sport, then we’d have the White Roses altogether again (Shizuka is an honorary White Rose as far as I’m concerned). And yes, Shimako’s voice can make anyone melt.
Yumi and Sachiko complement each other well, and they do drive the story along. The new ones… I guess you either like them or you don’t. Some people say that moving on is a natural part of the cycles of things, and they can accept that. Some of us… just prefer to focus on the good times maybe lol.
I see what you mean about the subtle and natural elegance of the maidens at Lillian. Even the rebel-like Sei has a certain degree of composure and refinedness. Yumi would be like… actually, that’s what Strawberry Panic’s for. Yumi has a certain respectability that’s uncommon in that type of cute character if written by anyone else. The original novels are even more magical. Could you read them? Or do you collect them mainly.
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>The new ones… I guess you either like them or you don’t. Some people say that moving on is a natural part of the cycles of things, and they can accept that. Some of us… just prefer to focus on the good times maybe lol.
Well, usually I’m not that kind of man who likes to wallow in the past, actually I do like progress and new events. About Marimite, I was definitely able to accept new characters since every school year requires new first year students. Therefore I wouldn’t say I don’t like Noriko and Kanako just because of a matter of principle, I just thought they were kind of strange for the Lillian Jogakuen リリアン女学園 environment, and they have been introduced way too hurriedly.
For example, I think that Noriko and Kanako embody the rebel-like kind way more than what Sei does, and they lack the background and the extremely elegant manners shared by the other characters.
Because of this, I wasn’t moved by the “drama” concerning Kanako’s family problems, it was rushed and unexpected, therefore unrealistic being so melodramatic and out of the blue.
Yet I liked her kind of friend relationship with Yumi, because it helped Yumi’s growth. Perhaps we can say that if Yumi will be able to become strong enough to gain a sœur we sould thank Kanako too.
About Noriko, she appeared just when the story was strongly needing a new character. After Sei’s graduation, Shimako became the only Rosa Gigantea and even though she had no intimate friends she quickly discovered in a few days the perfect sœur she was unconsciously looking for.
This may look as a harsh review, but I’m spitting out such problems just because the topic came out. As I said before, I see Marimite as a round and complete work of art and even though I don’t love the new characters as much as I love the old ones, I don’t really dislike them. My opinion is softer than what this little review may have pointed out.
>I see what you mean about the subtle and natural elegance of the maidens at Lillian. [...]
Thank you, I’m glad you understood my humble thoughts.
>Could you read them? Or do you collect them mainly.
Up until now, I’ve studied Japanese for two years so I’m not (yet?) able to read books just by myself, but I can if using the dictionary.
Since I have exams to attend the next month I don’t have time to read them now (I bought them all just a few days ago), but I’ll surely do it after the exams.
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I do see your point. And it’s possible that the anime version makes it feel even more rushed - that generally happens when a novel gets made into anime. I’ve read a bit of the novel that’s been fan-translated into English, and they’re definitely a treat. Having seen the anime, the novel beautifully elaborates the details even more. Things like how Youko and Sachiko became soeurs, which was only hinted about in the anime. Good luck with your exams. The novels will be a lovely reward for you afterwards : )
August 13th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Nice one, kinenshisu’s dress is very well done and fits her just perfectly.
What can I say about marimite… perhaps the fact that I bought the japanese DVD boxes of the first two seasons for 20.000yen (the only japanese DVD I have) and all the 30+ novels may be enough.
I think that the first season is just pure perfection and brightness, perhaps the best anime series ever. So heartwarming, so refined, so… smooth, I can’t even find proper adjectives, and the opening song is just the perfect work of art to open such a story (seriously, how many time did I cry while listening to it?).
The second season, even keeping extremely high standards, goes down a little step if compared to the first one imho.
Unluckily, I also think that the third and the fourth seasons bring marimite into the world of the “very good japanese animation”, outside the world they were previously into (the “godlike japanese animation”). Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed and cried watching those ones too, but they were not “pure perfection” anymore, the indescribable sensation I felt while watching the first two seasons was something different.
Man… forgive me Mikazuki if I’ve stolen your time and blog space. I think I’m kind of off topic too. It’s just that… it’s not easy to find people who are fond of marimite ^^. Gomen ne!
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Gokigenyou! Your comment made my day — week, in fact. It’s great to know another avid MariMite fan. I understand all those things you said about Season 1. And even in the later Seasons, MariMite can still bring tears to my eyes. Oyuki-sensei is a master writer who can tug at people’s emotions, and has such a fine sense of observation.
Who is your favourite couple? I’m guessing Shimako and Sei for a conventional pair… but for some reason, Yumi and Shimako comes to mind for a unconventional one.
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