Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
vinsentru74
This is a review for all 4 seasons.
It really feels like it’s missing a fifth season. Overall, the anime is profoundly soul-soothing.
All the heroines are different, vivid, and each has her own problems, but at their core they are all very good people. Everything they do is driven by love. Yes, platonic love, but no less real because of that.
On the younger sisters’ side, this love is built on admiration for their elders and a striving toward an ideal; on the older sisters’ side, it comes from having once been in the same position themselves and from a deep understanding of their younger sisters. All of this is further shaped by Japanese politeness and restraint.
As a result, you get wonderful and very different pairs. But these relationships are not static—they are constantly developin…
Read at the sourcedecaol
It's good, but it's too slow. The lovers are treated like best friends, even though one of them is already engaged. 💀
Initially, I thought it looked so much like my dear brother. During the first episode, I became confused because it seemed like I had already seen it before. It's almost identical. Hopefully, the rest of the story will develop differently.
The characters are quite basic. I mean, there's the sweet girl, the cold one, the tomboy – and that's it.
I'm looking forward to the next season to see what more can happen, but I'm only watching because it's a classic in sapphic anime.
Read at the sourceOneFaintingRobin
This is going to be a quick one, a little pit-stop as I finish the first season. I'll shy away from story details for now, because there's still so much to go. That said, 13 episodes in, this is definitely shaping up to be a gentle but incredibly satisfying series.
Part of it is the smaller details. There's a stiltedness to the dialogue and the general tone of conversations, which sounds like a criticism but in reality is the opposite; the stuffiness makes the show feel tonally akin to the writing of authors like Jane Austen, who I love. Absolutely, a queer-as-hell Austen-esque story is hitting the right beats for me.
It's story has definitely been on the simpler side; it hasn't pulled too much in the way of big twists, and while I think it would be entirely unfair to say that the show…
Read at the sourceThe_Namer
This review covers all four seasons.
In this catholic school GL romance, girls in the higher years each 'adopt' a girl from a lower year as their soeur, their sister. The greatest prestige comes from being made the little sister of a member of the student council, since that's seen as a fast-track to membership in the council and grants access to the mansion on school grounds that acts as the student council room. There are a lot of strong personalities on the council when Yumi starts as a first year, and she soon gets caught up in a whirlwind of conflicting agendas and jealousy when Sachiko, one of the student council members, offers to be her big sister on the day they meet.
This show came from the tail end of the Class S era of GL, when it often wasn't made explicit whether the feelin…
Read at the sourceJustykanna
Not sure what's with me watching older titles lately, but hey, finding quality in old content is something every anime fan loves to do!
Story & Characters: Maria Watches Over Us is based around Lillian Girls' Academy, a very catholic school. Since I have no knowledge of how these are typically run in Canada, I'm kind of going based on what the anime portrays and explains to us to be true. However, one such thing they seem to have here is having an older student proclaim a younger one to be their "soeur", which roughly translates to sister. This means that the older one would be somewhat of a mentor to that student. This creates a bit of a forced storyline in that we need to have a certain number of students that need to interact with others and on paper, I actually like this. It creates m…
Read at the sourceAlijulhocoe
"Aqui é um lugar para donzelas". Esta frase resume bem o ambiente do anime. A dinâmica entre as personagens é consistente e elas são bem carismáticas. Essa primeira temporada foca em nos apresentar as personalidades de cada uma e seus dilemas, sendo bem envolvente suas preocupações e especificidades. Quando comecei este anime não estava com grandes expectativas, mas me surpreendi. Não se assustem com o estúdio responsável pela produção (estúdio Deen) porque com certeza, essa temporada de Marimite, até agora, é o melhor trabalho deles -ainda não assisti as outras.
English version:
"Here is a place for maidens." This sentence sums up the anime environment well. The dynamic between the characters is consistent and they are very charismatic. This first season focuses on introducing us to ea…
Read at the sourceEcheyakee
FYI, I will be talking in regards to the entire series, not just the first season.
Where do I even start this? Do I talk about finding this series by pure accident, as a result of confusing Shoujo and Shoujo Ai genres? Or my usual dislike of old series? Do I talk about the staples of yuri, how catholic high school is a frequent setting, and senpai-kohai relationships are almost expected?
None of that really matters. I've started the series with no expectations, over a decade after it was made, and it completely took over my attention. I found the setting to be charmingly quaint, characters to be alien but sincere, and story unsurprising but gripping.
I don't really have any issues with he show, apart from one ark that felt a bit forced, and lack of proper ending. It's just so delightf…
Read at the sourcetheDangerJack
First off, I'd like to start by saying this series (all four seasons) is one of my all-time favorite anime to watch. By the time I've written this, I've gone through a full viewing of this series at least 6 times, read the manga and started on a translated version of the light novels the series is based on. If you knew me personally, all of that would probably blow your mind simply because it doesn't fit my normal viewing patterns (I tend to go for beautifully animated flashy action in mostly male-oriented stories with big plot advancements and good guy vs. bad guy narratives). To say that this series is a giant leap for me is an understatement.
But I'm a sucker for character-driven narrative, and while Maria-sama ga Miteru (MgM) lacks most of what I crave, what it delivers in character d…
Read at the sourcecaptjoe213
(updated 9/19/18 for format and slight content revision)
(updated 10/14/19 for section addition)
Hi! Welcome to another of Robert's Too Late Reviews! First of note, this will be dealing with pretty much the first season with some slight commentary on later seasons' content. A more complete review, including all 4 seasons, is in the works. This was one of the first 'yuri' type animes I watched, and the first fully subbed version I really leaned into. Now I'm not hard to please when it comes to yuri anime, but Marimite (as it is often abbreviated) just blew my hair back! Its a safe bet that Marimite is going on the RTLR wall, now read on to find out how many spots this anime fills! Let's get into what makes this anime so very special.
Story: 10
The story is a HUGE factor in this anime. It…
Read at the sourceGeddon616
So what is there to say about this fun , peacfull yet in a way kinda strange anime. Strange not because its Shoujo ai or anything like that but strange because it makes that funny lovely imagination goes wild.
The story was one of the things that really grabbed me and wanted to test out to see how it was to watch. It has its typical stages one might say but the anime is great in the way it tells the story between the different characters in a perfect stable way. It doesnt jump around it just stays the way it is explaining things that you might have wondered about in the beginning.
I like the pure music that this anime is created around. It fits it to a teeth and you just want to relax as you listen to it while you still follow the story.
Yumi is who i would consider the main characte…
Read at the sourceLux_24
I was very curios about this series because many people was talking about it so last two days ago i watched the first season and got addicted to it the next day i downloaded all episodes from season 2-4 and still haven't got enough of it. Well many people say its just your normal yuri anime, but it isn't they focus on each characters relationships and well the situations are very exciting. It became one of my favorites. (Attention to those who are going to watch it---- DON'T STOP OR DROP IT) -----make sure that you are going to watch it till the end.
Read at the sourceMk-the-potato
I am a proud shoujo-ai lover...And as I was searching for anime of this genre to watch, I found "Maria-sama ga miteru"
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I don't really know how to start or what to say (its kinda late so that's not really helping...xD).
I am going to be straightforward with my thoughts.
Maria-sama ga miteru, has a simple main story, that goes in much depth. That is one of the things I admire about this anime. Although it could have been like the many slice-of-life, school comedies, it covered many issues. It doesn't only talk deeply about love...It talks about religion, friendship, depression, trust, growing up and soooo many other things. It gets very emotional...To…
Read at the sourcehazeltons
Review free of spoilers.
The daily life of the students of Lilian Girls' Academy. That's about all this show is about, and yet it absorbs you into its world and doesn't let you go, but don't be fooled, even though it's addicting, it is still slow paced and very dramatic, if you rush things you might get bored. Try watching only a few episodes a day, that way it'll maintain your interest and you won't get tired of it. Savor it slowly.
Every episode you learn something new about one of the characters, even if it's only an supporting character that only appears in a couple of episodes, you still get to know everything about them, how they are involved with each other and the situation they are at. You get to like all the characters.
Just like in real life, Maria-sama ga Miteru has sad, happy…
Read at the sourcedoc_awesome
"Maria-sama ga Miteru" is a sweet and enjoyable shoujo. For a shoujo it's surprisingly undramatic, but this means it lacks melodrama too, so no deathbed love stories or over the top villainous girls.
As yuri sorts of shoujos go, it's more realistic and less silly than "Strawberry Panic" but not quite the "these are real girls" experience of Aoi Hana. There's a good deal of silliness here, but it's presented in a natural enough way. It helps that the central character Yumi is likeable enough, and doesn't come off entirely as a Mary Jane sort, a Little Miss Perfect without any personality.
I think it's ultimately a nice balance. It's amusing and funny but you don't find yourself rolling your eyes at unbelievable characters and goofy melodrama. There are deep friendships and light romance…
Read at the sourceWeirdHeather
This review covers the entire series, which consists of four seasons. The style and quality are reasonably consistent throughout the series, so separate reviews for each season would be largely redundant.
"Maria-sama ga Miteru" is unique and fascinating in many ways. It has many layers of meaning, and it lends itself well to critical analysis and repeated viewings. This series is not likely to appeal to everybody. It is slow-moving, emotional, and highly melodramatic at times. It is also designed for a female demographic, so although I am sure men can enjoy it, it lacks the fan service and overt sexuality that appeal to a certain subset of the male demographic. However, anyone who enjoys coming of age stories, deep and detailed characterization, and compelling cultural commentary should c…
Read at the sourceSnakeskins
I'm really not sure what to say about this. I saw the first few episodes and made the decision that I wasn't going to spend anymore time on it because I was bored by them, but then I really wanted to see what happened after that so I watched a few more and figured that I would give it until episode four. Somewhere along the line however, I was so entranced by the show that I had to see the rest.
Story: In an all girls catholic university girls pick "sisters" from the class(es) below them and this symbolic relationship is the focal point of the show. In addition the three girls chosen to be the student council are given titles named after roses(the red, white, and yellow roses in this case) and traditionally being the sister of one of these girls is a great honor, and comes with certain pr…
Read at the sourcedecoration_cake
Note: This review is for all the Mari-sama ga Miteru anime.
Maria-sama ga Miteru- 8
Maria-sama ga Miteru: Haru- 9
Maria-sama ga Miteru 3rd- 8
Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th- 8
I thought the first season was good but wasn’t entirely impressed by it. Luckily, the second season (my favorite) blew me away and I can now safely say that this show is definitely worth a watch. The first series is somewhat slower and quieter than the rest, but it is a nice change of pace from “typical” anime. Don’t let the strange French titles scare you off, it is confusing at first, but it gets easier to understand with each episode.
The characterization is excellent and each character has their own unique personality. You won’t be annoyed about any stereotypical characters in this show because there aren’t any! Yo…
Read at the sourceFaylicia
Story:
The story was interesting and intriguing especially the first episodes. It's interesting to see how the relationships between the girls in Lillian develop and their bonds become stronger. Also their innocent and platonic relationships are interesting as well as mysterious or even confusing. The most interesting part was the main story which was about Yumi and Sachiko and their relationship. Actually the first season it mostly about how Yumi feels really insecure as Sachiko's petit soeur and about how Sachiko feels confused with Yumi's behavior. Generally, after the first part and some few other short stories, the series revolve around the event of St.Valentine's day. It can get a bit more dramatic than what it actually would in most cases in real life, but that's what makes interest…
Read at the sourceJolon
I began Maria-sama ga Miteru with only Strawberry Panic! as my previous yuri experience.
Compared to Strawberry Panic!, the characters are better fleshed out, there is no pandering, and it isn't a cheesy melodrama. But I found myself preferring Strawberry Panic!, an anime I did not especially love. I was so confused by this, I had to make a review to search for a reason why.
The characters are the strongest point of the show, followed by the plot. Both feel especially real, and there is bound to be a character or two you like. For me, that was Yoshino, a sickly and misunderstood girl who struggles to overcome perceptions that she is a gentle flower, and Rosa Gigantea Sei, the most extroverted of the characters, who I thought had the most character development.
I might honestly call th…
Read at the sourceDorothea
Story 6/10
This was a slice-of-life anime with very light shoujo-ai elements. It reminded me of Haibane Renmei in terms of how uneventful the plot really was. Even the climactic moments weren't especially emotional or intense. A "peak" in the storytelling might be a scene where Sachiko speaks sharply to Yumi and Yumi cries. The story therefore wasn't exactly bad, as it would have been if there had been plot holes or unresolved subplots. However, it also wasn't very engaging. Yumi and Sachiko, the main characters, more or less got along throughout, and there were no especially troublesome characters on the side to cause any real conflict.
Art 7/10
The art is a little old-fashioned now, but the character design was quite pretty. I wasn't especially moved by any particular image, but it's an…
Read at the source
