Shoujo anime and manga is not something that I find myself very interested in. It's not that I hate romantic comedies and love stories, but most of the time it feels like I could just find a real movie to watch and it would feel more realistic than the likes of say, Love Hina. With that aside, I was introduced to a very unique romance series known as Marmalade Boy by a friend. Now there are few times when I've actually felt a substantial amount of emotions from an anime series, and Marmalade Boy was one of these times. This anime series is actually one of my favorites as far as Shoujo goes. With that said, when I spotted the manga on a bookstore shelf there was no way I could resist picking up at least one volume. As it turns out, the manga is even better than the anime (though that's barely possible given how much I loved the TV series). Marmalade Boy may just be a love story at heart, but it's certainly one of the best ones I've seen.

For such a quality and entertaining series, it really boggles the mind why Marmalade Boy isn't so popular over in the US, whereas love stories with less substance get more attention. One interesting aspect of Marmalade Boy is the fact that it doesn't rely on fanservice (as far too many anime/manga series do nowadays). Marmalade Boy Volume One isn't too deep, and may seem like a soap opera at times, but it's far less generic than you'd expect, especially considering the weird circumstances and basic situation that this series offers. Love may be the main focus of the story overall, but it's certainly not the only theme that's explored. Part of the fun of this volume is watching the main character Miki attempting to adjust to each new situation, especially the first one which is definitely a doozy of a change for her. If you're a fan of love stories and manga, than it'll be difficult to not enjoy this unique title. Though the scenario may seem a little unbelievable, it's easy to relate to many of the emotions from most of the characters.

It may be a little difficult to give manga a chance (even as an anime fan it felt a little strange to get adjusted to reading the stories), but this would be a perfect starting place for reading manga if you're a fan of shoujo. Though it tends to get a little cutetsy at certain points (being cute is something tolerable, and Marmalade Boy Volume One never overdoes it) it's a great love story at heart. This series isn't incredibly big on comedy, and what's there is pretty subtle. This makes it easier to take this series more seriously as a love story, rather than going the typical route which relies on being over the top and putting the female characters constantly into sexual situations. The humor is used in a more realistic fashion too, which makes for an overall more enjoyable experience than I'm accustomed to with most romantic comedy stories. I might even be so bold as to recommend this volume of Marmalade Boy to non anime fans who are interested in the medium.

Story
Miki Koishikawa knows that her family is a little on the strange side, with somewhat crazy antics. She's their only child, but that changes after they go on a vacation and return home with the most unexpected news you could imagine. It turns out that the two parents had met with another couple, and strangely enough the two couples realized that they didn't love their spouses in a passionate type way, and so they decided to swap spouses permanetly. As expected from most teens, Miki verbally announces just how stupid she sees this, and she decides that she will never accept this new family arrangement. She gets even more angry and flustered when she learns that they've decided upon one of the stangest living arrangements since the Brady Bunch. It turns out that the two families will be living in a larger house together, and that the other family has a son that's close to her age. Expecting and hoping for him to be an ally in opposing this, she's very disappointed when he completely accepts his parent's decision. She's all by herself in opposing the ridiculous new family arrangement.

Even after the family move is complete, Miki continues opposing her parent's decision. At first sight she thinks the other couples' son, Yuu is an attractive guy. After getting to know him a little better she finds that he constantly picks on her and teases her. She is extremely disappointed to find that he has transferred to her school, and he quickly becomes one of the most popular guys in the school. What's more is that rumors are starting to spread about the two being romantically involved, and Yuu doesn't hesitate to tell classmates that he and Miki are living together in the same house. This doesn't settle too well with her best male friend Ginta begins seeing the two together he seems a little jealous even though he rejected Miki's love years ago when she worked up the courage to tell him that she liked him. And then there's the parents in the overly weird family who warn their children that if Yuu and Miki fall in love it will only serve to complicate their family matters even moreso than they have already been.

As far as illustrations go, Wataru Yoshizumi did a very good job with an older style of manga drawings. The character designs are very quirky in nature, and this adds a lot of character to each of the people in the story, though Miki's character benefits the most from this artistic style. I also like the design of Yuu's character, who seems really laid back and calm at all times. This also makes the character seem very unpredictable because he doesn't seem to have as many facial expressions as the other characters, though this seems beneficial to him also. Expressions are a very strong part of this manga volume and one you'll be seeing a lot of is Miki's embarrassed face. The backgrounds are well done enough too, with much attention paid to detail, especially in some outdoor scenes. Overall this is a very good looking manga series.

Somehow I was able to connect more with these characters than in most other series. I think it's mainly related to the emotions of Miki, with her family problems and troubles in her love life. Another character I found particularly easy to relate to was Ginta, and it's odd because I can't recall that I've ever been in a situation like his. The strengths I felt from this series came often in how I could relate to emotions, and this may be this manga's strongest point. Though it may at first seem that the complete focus of this series is directly related to Miki's feelings about her messed up family situation, this proves to be untrue later on and focuses more on her love life and relationships with friends. The sheer amount of emotion pouring from this series is what first got me, but still has me addicted to it.

Final Recommendation
Marmalade Boy is in my opinion easily one of the greatest shoujo stories, and series ever. It would be in your best interests to check it out.

Recommended: Yes