MariMite: Vacation of the Lambs

Notebook display still fubar but rewatching the MariMite OVA has lifted my grumpiness enough to post on it. Firstly, Erica Friedman's notes on the novel really helped me to understand the raw and to enjoy the story so much more. Okazu is THE ultimate yuri anime/manga blog.

There are probably going to quite a few Hannibal Lecter jokes about the title of this OVA but the lambs come off pretty well. I've often wondered at how I've been able to enjoy the first and second seasons even though I disliked Sachiko (though I could understand why Yumi adored her). I was really a little worried about how I would have approached this Sei Satou-less anime but Sachiko has grown as a character.

It also helped that she looks a lot less evil (compared to her fugly eyes in season one). I was pretty shocked to discover that her seiyuu was none other than Miki Itou who voices Asa Shigure in SHUFFLE! I only realized this when listening to MariMite soundstage clips and scratched my head at how Sachiko sounded weirdly Asa-like. Apparently, Itou's Asa voice is much closer to her natural voice. As a result, even more kudoes to her for voicing Sachiko so effectively - just listening her speak makes me mindful of my posture.

Really nice to see Yumi x Sachiko move beyond Yumi angst and Sachiko insensitivity. There's still bits of it, like how Yumi's fleeting dismay and puzzlement by Sachiko's question of whether she wants any one to join them at the summer house - 'I'm not good enough, on my own, for my Oneesama?' vs 'Sooo jealous of Sei's rapport with my imouto' respectively. Excellent teamwork during their showdown at Great Grandma's birthday party and then Sachiko teasing Yumi about her loach scooping performance at the conclusion. Youthful innocence and great-grandmotherly curmundgeon triumph over spoilt rich biatches. Huzzah.

I was a tad disappointed that the bits in the novel that didn't make it into the OVA. E.g., Mrs Fukuzawa's 'marrying off' Yumi to Sachiko which I found hysterically funny. Looks like some things in Lilian don't change across generations. Oh, I did think it was a pity that Sachiko didn't shag Yumi senseless now that they've finally established a sort of steady state and plenty of privacy but not at all surprising. And for that kind of thing we do have StoPani. LOL

MariMite 13

Yumi's panic turns out to be much ado about nothing but given it's her first date I was disinclined to be overly harsh on her. After last episode's tutoring of Sachiko in the ways of window shopping and fast food, she now takes the lead in helping Sachiko purchase rustic peasant clothes known as "blue jeans" while Shimako and Yoshino come to a typically enigmatic White Rose mutual understanding and Yoshino finds the resolve not to be Buffalo Bill. The series ends on an appropriately sweet note over tea and cake for Yumi, Sachiko, Yoshino, Tsutako and Minako, a tender reunion between Shimako and Sei as well as a typically emotional exchange between Yoshino and Rei.

MariMite 12

Anxious about her Sunday date with Sachiko, Yumi tries to get advice from her fellow petit soeurs but Shimako is on tenderhooks about her date with Shizuka while Yoshino is all insane jealousy about Rei's date with Chisato. There's some humour as Lillian Newspaper Club head, Minako and photographer Tsutako try to tail the daters and run into Yoshino. The episode ends on note of tensions: Yoshino has just spotted Chisato glomping Rei's arm, Shimako's unease has peaked with their arrival back at the empty Lillian while Yumi thinks that Sachiko has walked out on their date and, by extension, her.

MariMite 11

It's Christmas and Sei reminisces about the events of a year ago. Essentially it's a fairly simple tragic story of forbidden love. Girl meets girl. They fall in love and become completely absorbed with each other to the detriment of everything else. However one discovers that the other is going to become a nun and that their love is, afterall, not going to last forever. After attempting to break up, their irresistable mutual attraction leads to a desperate plan to run away. In the end, one is stood up while the other goes far away - the former realizes that there are those around her who care for her as well. Back in the present, Sei and the rest of the Yamayurikai prepare to celebrate Christmas and Sei's birthday.

This is probably the favourite episode for the legions of Sei fans (shout out to Mangaminx!) because it shows so many sides of Sei: disillusioned, madly in love, deeply passionate, contented yet yearning, annoyed, angry, heartbroken, impulsive, having an epiphany - all of which undergrid her current state of uber-coolness.

Erica's notes (Parts 1 and 2) which compare the third MariMite novel with the novel give an indication of the richness of the novel and also shows the additional depth of the anime's source material which was cut for various reasons e.g. Sei's teasing of Yumi (about being called in for their "illicit homosexual relationship") in front of a sizable number of first year students before entering the Student Guidance Room; Sei's realization that the Academy director was the only one who really understood her situation; the reason for the Suga Sei pseudonym and how Yumi managed to figure out the link to Kasuga Seiko herself; more background about Shiori's farewell letter to Sei etc. A very enlightening read which I felt really increased my appreciation of the MariMite universe.

Being one of a Sei fan, I've gone a bit overboard with the screencapping. (;^_^)

MariMite 10

Lillian is awash with rumours. Is Sei Satou the author of a scandalous new novel, The Forest of Thorns? Gnawed by curiosity, Yumi and Yoshino attempt to find out if Suga Sei is really Rosa Gigantea's pen name but those who know keep their lips sealed. There's some tension and drama when the Forest of Thorns becomes, briefly, a school disciplinary issue with the threat of expulsion for our favourite character. Yumi and Yoshino gradually realize that it is not merely the similarity of the names but also events in the novel and Sei's back story. Seeing their concern, Sei decides to tell them about how she loved and lost an angelic pure girl called Shiori Kubou.

MariMite 9

The episode starts with, what appears to be, a rather creepy Sachiko stalker, Mifuyu, thinking that is Yumi is Not Worthy and most of the episode is told from her point of view. In many ways, she is quite similar to Yumi - being an unremarkable girl of no special qualities who is a Sachiko fan. Only that she has had the akogare for Sachiko for yonks.

By chance, she had seen Sachiko hide her red card on the morning of the treasure hunt and nicked it. Overwhelmed with remorse later and realizing how her dishonesty would have poisoned the prize date, she tries to rebury the card but is interrupted by Yumi. Thus the mystery of the disappearing/reappearing card is solved. However, in the course of her interaction with Yumi, she realizes that Yumi is indeed special and right for Sachiko.

MariMite 8

Yumi flees to the greenhouse in tears but Sei-sama rides to the rescue, telling her that Sachiko was reacting to the parts of herself that she disliked and saw in Yumi and that a similar incident had taken place between Youko and Sachiko which eventually benefitted Sachiko.

The next day, the petite soeurs are handicapped by a five minute delay for the cardcaptoring treasure hunt and Yumi is dogged by a group who is tailing her. After finally managing to give them the slip, she realizes that the card should be in the greenhouse. Someone else is already there and the card isn't there. At the conclusion of the hunt, Shizuka has found Shimako's card (which will make for a most interesting date later) while Rei's card was found by Chisato Tanuma (leading to Rei-Yoshino fireworks for the rest of this season and the next). Sachiko's card mysteriously reappears at the roots of the rosa chinesis bush (but deeper than from where Sachiko had buried it) but Sachiko believes Yumi, excusing it as a trick of St Valentine's. They formally make up at the Rose Mansion and we conclude on a literally sweet moment as a mix-up occurs between the chocolates Yumi prepared for Sei and Sachiko.

MariMite 7

With the start of the Valentine's Day episode, Yumi tries but fails to get advice on chocolate giving from Yoshino (not good at making chocolate), Shimako (chocolates are not important), Tsutako (no younger or older soeur), Rei (way too good at making chocolate). While I was keenly aware that the Japanese interpretation of V-Day revolves around females giving chocolate to their loved one (and males returning the favour on White Day), it was still culturally disorientating to see girls stressing about gifts and events since for much of the rest of Mammon's earthly dominion, V-Day is manifestly a day to cause stress and wallet-is-cry for guys. On another level, it's girls who are stressing about V-Day with their beloved elder "sisters".

Yumi's troubles are compounded by her discovery that (1) Sachiko did not accept chocolates from anyone last year and (2) a half-day date with her precious Sachiko is up for grabs, potentially by someone else, as a result of the Newspaper Club's planned V-Day event.