Marmalade Boy - A bittersweet experience

After watching Kodomo no Omocha (aka Kodocha) I did a little research into the series and I found out that it was originally called 'Marmalade Boy on crack'. Of course, being a 1990s baby I was just about old enough to have heard of Marmalade Boy' as a TV series and to know that 'on crack' meant something hyperactive. So seeing as I had absolutely loved Kodocha (despite the fact that Sana's hyperactiveness pissed me off sometimes), I decided that I'd watch Marmalade Boy to see if it provided slightly more docile viewing. I am happy to say that it did.

While with Kodocha I spent most of the time frantically trying to turn down the volume whenever Sana had one of her fits, I found that I didn't need to do that with the protagonist of MB. As I first started watching MB in its English Dubbed form, I found that the character of Miki reminded me of someone. She was whiny, dependent, easily tricked and prone to slapping her love interest... This particular character mould reminded me of one of the series I have already reviewed and I found that she, like the protagonist of that series, was very much a marmite character. Yes, she reminded me of Himeno of Pretear.

Now, for those of you who are big fans of Miki, I apologise in advance. While I didn't mind Himeno, I found that Miki was almost unbearable. I have never heard a girl whine so much in my life; and I whine quite a lot myself. Not only that, but her constant paranoia pissed me off. You'd think that after all the times Yuu had proven himself to her she would have gotten it through her thick tomboyish skull that he was not going to end up cheating on her. However, I have to give kudos to the mangaka of the manga, she made a very believable character. While she was annoying and pathetic, I felt that she was truly realistic and I could tolerate her because of that.

As for the rest of the characters, I think my three favourites were Ginta, Arimi and Meiko. I liked Ginta because he's exactly the sort of boyfriend I'd like to have (screw Yuu, I can't deal with complicated guys), and I liked Arimi after she stopped being all sneaky and coniving. I most of all liked Meiko because she reminded me of myself. I won't go into why. But yeah, those three were my favourite characters by far; the rest just pissed me off most of the time. Sure, they're necessary for character development, but after a while it just started to annoy me. How many people want to get in the way of one couple?! It's flipping ridiculous.

The general story was quite repetitive and irritating after the first 50 or so episodes. The relationship between Yuu and Miki always seemed so precarious and after I while I just wanted to fast forward the episodes because of how tiresome it became. However, in general, the character developement was quite well done and the relationships between the main characters were complex enough for me to stay interested for the whole 76 episodes. I just wish they'd not put the whole America thing in there and just ended the series with the brother/sister thing in Japan, not America.

The art itself was kinda... well... crappy. The manga isn't bad, but the anime was terrible. Their figures reminded me of stick men and I thought that their legs would snap in half before of how ridiculously skinny they all looked. That and the clothes were like those of the 1980s, not the 1990s. The drawings were alright, but it was obvious that showing character emotions was a difficulty for the anime staff. There were only ever four expressions they could pull: blank, sad, happy or shocked. There was no inbetween. But, I guessed that I should expect that from an early 1990s anime.

The soundtrack was quite bland and generic, using the same songs over and over again. While it's okay some of the time, they should have maybe given things a bit more variety and not used the same two of three songs for every cliffhanger moment. And... oh god, I've got one of those fucking songs stuck in my head now.

Anyway, that's pretty much it for Marmalade boy. It's not bad, but it's not great. It had its uber-sweet moments, but it had its seriously low points that made me want to bash my head in. It's not that bad to watch just for japes, but it's not something I'd seriously recommend watching.

Sayonara for now!

Midori no Hibi - Seiji's Right Hand Girlfriend

Midori no Hibi is one of those rare anime that are a perfect blend of romance, action and comedy, with most of the emphasis on comedy.

We start the story as Sawamura Seiji laments over the fact that he has no girlfriend and that his only girlfriend is his right-hand. Rejected by twenty different girls and doomed to never have a girlfriend, Seiji curses his fighting reputation and finds his only solace in porn magazines and eating lots of food. However, this all changes when after a nap he wakes up to find that his 'Devil's Right Hand' is no longer a hand. It's now a girl. I'll leave you to imagine the hilarious situations that happen afterwards.

The storyline is generally quite straight forward and simple, mainly revolving around Midori and Seiji's developing relationship and their quest to find out a way to resolve the situation. While Seiji is eager to solve the problem and get on with his life, he is unaware and sometimes insensitive to the feelings of Midori, who is glad about the situation and isn't that eager to change things back. As the story progresses, you feel more and more sympathy for both of the main characters as their pasts are revealed and their relationship tested.

I think it was pretty fucking hilarious. While the humor is crude at times, it amused me greatly and I was glad that I downloaded it. I've even managed to sway some of my anti-anime friends into watching it because of how rip-roaringly funny it is. I think it blends slap-stick comedy and dry sarcasm perfectly, as well as balancing it out with the more serious scenes with Seiji and Midori.

The story is well paced and interesting once you get past the initial stupidity of the main concept (right hand girlfriend). The relationship between Midori and Seiji is absolutely adorable, and Midori herself is so cute that it makes me wish I had her for a younger sister. Seiji is pretty cold, though a bit dense sometimes and there were quite a few moments where I wanted to slap him to high heaven.

While I found that both of the main characters were likeable, I became quite irritated with some of the other characters, such as the stuck up class president who fancies Seiji after he saves her. She irritated me to no end as her love for Seiji seemed so... false. I think my second favourite character, after Midori, has to be Rin. Loud-mouthed, uncouth and debaucherous, the woman without shame was my favourite out of the supporting cast, mainly because she was such a larger-than-life character.

The art in the anime was okay. It wasn't brilliantly done and there were times when I thought the character expressions were a bit overdone, but it was decent and served its purpose, though I found that some of the designs of the characters reminded me greatly of other different characters that I've seen. But then again, that happens with most anime and manga, doesn't it?

Overall, it was an enjoyable series with a predictable, yet satisfying ending. While there are a lot of questions unanswered, they're the sort of questions you don't really need to know the answers to, so you're not left disappointed.

If you're ever bored, I thoroughly recommend this. It's not too taxing on your mind and all you have to do it sit back and enjoy it.