• Amaterasu •

Kyrose · Fri Dec 08, 2006 6:51 pm Ichigo Mashimaro - (EN)

Fear the Cute!

Ichigo Mashimaro is yet *another* one of Dengeki's too-cute for words series with some yuri in it.

By the time I got around to reading the current chapter of this manga in April's Dengeki Daioh, my teeth fairly ached with sweet and cute overload. So I put on my grumpiest face and prepared to HATE this manga with all my heart.

I failed.

It was a horrible failure, too - half a dozen pages into it, I was giggling like a moron. Giggling. Me. It was embarrassing.

Basically, Ichigo Mashimaro is the story of a bunch of cute girls, being really cute and doing really cute things cutely. By all rights it should be abysmal. Only, it's not. But as far as I can see, it's not like there's a plot, either.

Itoh Nobue is a young woman who lives with her much younger sister, Chika. I was *shocked* to find out that Nobue is supposed to be 20 years old. To say that this art style is loli isn't at all fair to the artist - it's just an insanely cute and minimalist art style, with no real reference to real body types. But still...20? And a chain smoker.

Chika, who is 11 or so, has a bunch of friends who come over alot and play, including Matsuoka Miu - a born troublemaker who is in love with Nobue. So there's your yuri.

An anime for this series is slated to start shortly - early next month - so we'll get to see if that particular relationship is carried over, but it's not like it could go anywhere anyway. We're basically talking schoolgirl crush on Miu's part.

I have not read any more than one single chapter of this particular series, but I have seen it bandied about on every single Japanese "yuri manga" list ever. So I can't tell you what happens - except for the synopsis of the one chapter I did read.

We come into the story to find that Sakuragi Matsuri (one of Chika's friends) is wearing a cute little bear or something outfit. Nobue comments how cute she looks, so Miu runs off and comes back with bunny ears to try and get praise from Nobue. Nobue says that the ears don't suit her, takes them off Miu and gives them to Coppola Ana, another of Chika's friends. At which *everyone* exclaims how adorable Ana looks.

Miu runs off and returns dressed as Dracula, bites Matsuri on the neck (which is just about where I gave up trying to hate the manga) and tries to scare the other girls. Chika, our hero, draws a cross to defeat Dracula, but Dracula seems unimpressed. Chika tries again - she goes to the kitchen and returns with garlic - only to find Miu sitting quietly, sans costume, playing a video game.

It would take a hardier person than me to actively hate this harmless piece of fluff. The "yuri" isn't much, but it's worth noting anyway and we'll have yet another entry to "The List" of yuri-flavored characters at Yuricon.

I'm not really sure how to rate this one - the art is basic, the story is almost non-existent and the cute characters just do cute stuff cutely.

I'll give it an overall 7 and see where it goes. :ok:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Introduction to the Anime~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ichigo Mashimaro is an anime focusing on the lives of four standard young girls, and a sixteen-year old high school student who takes pleasure in being with them, the sister of one of the girls. Naturally, the show is something of an acquired taste; the humour does not stream fast, and it lacks much in the way of happenings, not to mention the loli-ness of the show that can easily put some off (and, of course, attact others).

Taken as a show on its own merit, Ichigo Mashimoro is rather impressive, if not particularly outstanding. Nobue, a sixteen year old with a smoking habit, embittered by the happy couples of the world, who spends much of her time either taking money from her younger sister to buy cigarettes or furiously battling her sister’s friend Miu. She spends perhaps more time than is natural with the young girls, which leads me to believe she craves their innocence and youth. It’s amusing when she is infuriated, exasperated or embaressed, mainly the result of the infamous Miu’s plans.

The younger girls of the show fill in fairly typical roles, although they do tend to be rather good at them. Chika, Nobue’s sister, is hard-working and focused, and like her sister is often overwhelmed by the foolishness of events, although she is more intelligent than Nobue despite her age. Miu, their next door neighbour, could be Tomo mixed with Osaka from Azumanga Daioh at the age of 12. Much of the show’s humour is the result of her actions, and she embodies the bratty little kid who bemuses the rest of the cast with her behaviour. Frankly, Miu both annoys and amuses me in equal measure.

Matsuri is a year younger than the first two, and plays the part of the innocent and quiet girl. She also has a pet ferret. Finally, we have Ana-chan, the most novel cast member in the show. Rich and hailing from England, she constantly tries to bring attention and interest to herself by acting as British as possible. Sadly, her knowledge of Japanese culture and language surpasses that of many of her Japanese friends to the degree that her knowledge of english is woefully lacking. Ana makes for some of the show’s best scenes, as she throws around engrish with little success and tries to disguise her Japanese prowess.

The supporting characters are extremely minor and few in number, such as a meido-tinged café’s waitress, a gentle young lady who ends up caught up in a battle between Nobue and Miu, but special note must be given to the pair of teachers depicted in the show. Chi and Miu’s teacher is the only cast member to be able to fully handle her most annoying student, and does so by outwitting her in scenes that make Miu a little less annoying. Matsuri and Ana’s teacher, meanwhile, cannot bare to be in the same room as a particular student of his, and so repeatedly sends him out of the class throughout the series. It is only at the end that the boy stands up to this bullying, only to find the teacher leave the room instead. It’s little comedic touches like this that provide one of the main reasons to watch this show. They’re hardly laugh-out-loud humourous, but gently amusing, balanced between reality and a slight tinge of the surreal.

The stories depicted in the show either consist of the girls’ putting an end to the childish machinations of Miu, or show scenes from the everyday life of the characters with some supplementry humour. Due to this focus, the quality of events varies dramatically, from the vapid to the preeminent. At its worst, Ichigo Mashimaro decends into a sense of inactivity that lacks much to engage the viewer with, but when the series is moving smoothly it delivers small tales that are charming and enticing. It’s hard to be dazzled by this series, but it is easy to enjoy it, especially if one has a penchant for anime where little abnormal really happens over the course of twelve episodes.

Sasuke-kun · Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:00 pm

uuuuuuh.....thats a lot of kawaiiness O_O"

watched the first epi (cept 5mins were i had sound but no video cause my pc here **** around...). gotta say...maybe its a bit too much cute little girlyness for lil sasu oO" :icon_sasukeon5:

im pretty sure the manga got puplished in germany last year. they had a special called "rub the cover and it will smell like strawberries". my friend and me ended up standing in the bookstore rubbing and smelling the manga for 10 mins. couldnt smell any strawberries though... mustve looked quite funny :icon_swt8kcfs3:

Kyrose · Sun Dec 10, 2006 9:36 pm

Thats exactly the point of this anime, comedy and cuteness to the fullest extent. :wink:

Angel~Rose · Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:42 pm

Who do you think is the cutest among them?!

For me it's MATSURI when she is wearing the cat costume ( kawaii ) :oops:

Kyrose · Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:15 pm

Angel~Rose wrote: Who do you think is the cutest among them?!

For me it's MATSURI when she is wearing the cat costume ( kawaii ) :oops:

I completely agree with that. :no1:

Sasuke-kun · Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:19 pm

im not good in kawaii stuffs ><" maybe those girls r just...too little oO" i wonder how tall they r =O

Kyrose · Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:51 pm

About the same height as 8 year olds. :?

Sasuke-kun · Tue Feb 27, 2007 4:59 am

heres a little something i found in a figure shop =D

Kyrose · Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:44 pm

Sasuke-kun wrote: heres a little something i found in a figure shop =D

Cripes! That is too cute! You should've bought and gave one to me, sasuke! :pif:

Sasuke-kun · Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:08 pm

i bought a baby tank instead =D i think its called...yamarashi sensha something like taht

Kyrose · Sat Mar 03, 2007 4:46 pm

Sasuke-kun wrote: i bought a baby tank instead =D i think its called...yamarashi sensha something like taht

No Ichigo Mashimaro for me? Phmf! :pif:

Sasuke-kun · Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:52 am

u can buy them anytime when ur home in japan ><"

Kyrose · Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:22 am

Sasuke-kun wrote: u can buy them anytime when ur home in japan ><"

I think that is gonna take quite a bit of time. :roll:

Sasuke-kun · Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:13 am

y?? oO" every good sorted figure shop should have em