this is one of my favorite anime's of all time. Maria sama ga miteru " the virgin mary is watching over us". is such a cute shoujo ai story that anyone would enjoy~
Genre: shoujo ai
date released 200-present
language- japanese (has also been dubbed to spanish and german)
fun fact: Spain was the first country to dubbed the anime and air it besides Japan.
History before the anime
In February 1997, Oyuki Konno, who was already an established author, (having won prizes in 1993 for the series of novels Yume no Miya) published in Cobalt magazine a short story called Maria-sama ga Miteru, that told of the experiences of preparatory students in an austere, elegant school called Lillian School for Young Ladies. The success of this story in the magazine inspired Konno to turn the story into a series of novels.
Thus, on May 10, 1998, the first volume of Maria-sama ga Miteru was published, with additional illustrations from Hibiki Reine, an artist who specializes in shojo. This volume is the true beginning of the Maria-sama ga Miteru story. (The short story of 1997 was republished in the ninth volume, in 2001.)
In February 2003, with already more than twelve volumes published, Oyuki began to publish short stories in Cobalt Magazine, as well as continuing work on the light novels. Towards the end of 2003, the adaptation of the novel series to anime was announced - a season of thirteen episodes to run from January until March 2004, produced by Studio Deen; also, in February 2004 a manga adaptation was to be launched, drawn by Satoru Nagasawa. Given the success of the first season of the series, and the fact that this season only covered to the sixth volume, it was decided to launch, between July and September of that same year, the second season of anime - ~Haru~, with thirteen episodes and with the same personnel that worked in the first season. Haru would cover to volume eleven of the novels.
Additionally in 2004, there began to be a more commercial character to the series with the publication of drama CDs of the series, using as voices the same voice actors of the anime series. Also in 2004, an omake was made that appeared in the DVD of the anime series, called Maria-sama ni wa Naisho マリア様にはないしょ Keep it secret from the Virgin Mary!). Maria-sama ni wa Naisho was a brief animated parody of the anime series, which were mostly faked "outtakes". Additionally in 2004 the OSTs of the two seasons were published with the aid of musical duo ALI PROJECT.
During 2005, there was not another anime series. Nevertheless, more volumes of novels, more short stories, CD dramas and new manga volumes continued to be released. In that year there were more releases of commercial products such as three CDs of Image Albums and various merchandise. Towards the end of 2005, "Project Maria 2006" was announced, and a publicity campaign was run to publicise the new series to come in 2006. Thus, at the beginning of 2006, Internet radio shows began starring the voice actors of the anime series, commenting with news of the series and other funny situations out of the main plot of the novel. In August 2006, the third anime series was announced to be presented in OVA format. It would take place just after the second season, and with the same voice actors. The OVA series will be aired in Japan between November 2006 and July 2007.
In May 2006 it was announced officially that the anime series had been licensed in Spain for dubbing, by Jonu Media. The manga has been licensed and officially translated in Germany, under the name Rosen unter Marias Obhut.[3] This translates to "Roses under Mary's care", and the Latin names for the Roses are removed, in favour of simply using the colour of the rose. (See The Yamayurikai.) The light novel series is also being translated into German under the same name.[4]
The complete series, including each season, has been translated and dubbed into English for broadcast across its English language networks across Southeast Asia by the anime satellite TV network Animax from March 2007, being the series' first English language television premiere.[5] Animax have also aired the series across its networks in Hong Kong and other regions.
Story of the Soeurs~~
The story revolves around the students of the Lillian Catholic school for girls (私立リリアン女学園, Shiritsu Ririan Jogakuen?).
The story of Maria-sama ga Miteru can be considered character-driven, focusing on interactions between the characters rather than any sort of ongoing plot or goal to attain. One reviewer has even called it "pure shoujo" due to its character-driven storylines.[6] 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 is depicted as having been founded in 1902 in Musashino, Tokyo, is depicted as an elegant, clean, pure and very prestigious school. Among the facilities of Lillian, aside from the classrooms, there is a church, a greenhouse, a kendo dojo, an auditorium, a park, and the Mansion of the Roses, where the Yamayurikai meet. The students are very respectable and in good standing. The uniform at the school is a long, dark green sailor fuku with a white collar.
The Lillian Girls' School is based on a real school in Nishi-tokyo known as the Musashino Joshi Gakuin (Musashino School for Girls). Although it is a private school, it is not a Catholic but a Buddhist school. The author Konno Oyuki graduated from a Catholic kindergarten and Musashino Joshi-Gakuin. It is not strange for most Japanese if a person has gone to schools of different religions. The Lillian Girls school uses the lily symbolism as the white lily is the flower of the Virgin Mary. The white lily is a Christian symbol of virginity and purity, as well as a minor reference to Yuri.
At Lillian Girls 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. One reviewer has said that this 'gratuitous' use of French titles is distracting.[7] 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.[7] (See the etymology of yuri for details.) It is only explicit about this sort of relationship once (in flashback), but many of the sisters have relationships that go beyond simple friendship — though not quite so far as to suggest romance between any of the primary characters (although the omake on the anime series' DVD release does, if only in jest). Nonetheless, this has not stopped fans of the show and dōjinshi creators from attempting to elaborate on these relationships as such: frequently, 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 sometimes of questionable quality.[6][7] The color palette is significantly muted, 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. Another anime that Marimite is compared to is Oniisama e..., but Marimite is much less dramatic.[8] One reviewer has suggested that Maria-sama ga Miteru's "reduced capacity for epic drama" is due to the lack of malicious characters.[6] Newer anime titles that Marimite is compared to include Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru and Strawberry Panic!.[9][10]
The musical choices of Maria-sama ga Miteru are generally classical music -inspired.[6][7] A song that is often referred to in the anime is Maria-sama no kokoro, or "The Virgin Mary's Heart". In the context of the series, Maria-sama no kokoro is a children’s song taught to the students at Lillian
credits 2 wikipedia.com for the awesome review!!
posted by :Will
Labels: Anime, anime shoujo-ai kawaiiness
Imagine being abandoned by your birth parents because you were born with a deformed left arm, then being adopted by a loving father named Mana Walker, who dies and leaves you behind. While you mourn your dead father, an unusual man named the Millennium Earl approaches you and tells you that he can help you resurrect your father. You, being a child in grief, agree to the proposal and end up turning your father into an Akuma which is a mindless soldier that is doomed to follow the Earl's orders for all eternity. Your resurrected father then curses you by slicing through your left eye, leaving the mark of the Akuma also known as a "Pentacle". After this your disfigured left arm transforms into an anti-Akuma weapon which immediately and instinctively kills your beloved father. Because of the immense shock you received from killing your father, your hair turns snow white and you are left alone, confused, and broken. This is the story of Allen Walker, the exorcist.
After destroying his father, Allen comes across a general from the Black Order named, Cross Marian. Marian clarifies what Akuma are and how exactly they come to be. He also explains that a soul entrapped in an Akuma is trapped forever, and that the only way to save it is to exorcise it. Allen decides to become Cross' disciple and spends three years with him. Cross then sends Allen to the Black Order to become an official exorcist. The Black Order is a group of exorcists that are connected to the Vatican in Rome. Their primary purpose is to stop the Millennium Earl from destroying all humanity. The Earl believes he will cleanse the world by annihilating all humans, the way God did in Noah's great flood. The Exorcists are people who are gifted with the ability to use and control Innocence which is a weapon that was created in the past in order to fight against the Akuma and the Earl. There are supposedly 109 pieces of Innocence scattered around the world. The only way Innocence can evolve and become a weapon is by finding its compatible person.
The first time I encountered D.Gray-man was when a friend of mine let me borrow the manga. I didn't think too much of it after I read it. Later on I decided to watch the anime because the animation was awesome and I loved the music they chose for the opening and closing of the show. I have to say that the anime is easier to get into than the manga it's also a load of fun. The voice actors are great and the series moves on in a reasonable fashion. There are currently 37 episodes out now and it is still going. I recommend this anime to Gothic-like lovers and Shonen readers because this anime is dark but still fun and full of adventure and action. The plot thickens gradually and each episode is filled with exciting material. Allen is a very deep character with many layers, like an onion. He seems like a happy 15 year old kid but the more you watch the anime, the more you, as the viewer, understand his pain and his suffering. I am enjoying this anime very much. I give it three and a half stars out of five.
Written By: Amanda
