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Feb 7, 2022

My Review of Marmalade Boy

How did I get into this anime? I’ve heard of the title several decades past and put it on the back-back-back burner for God-knows how long.

So Miki Koishikawa is a relatively normal high school student. Has friends, loving parents, and loves to play tennis. Let’s drop the mic here!

Her world is turned upside-down when her parents decide to get a divorce. But wait, it gets better! Her parents announce they’re going to remarry to another couple that’s also getting a divorce. But because these parents don’t hate each other to live separately, these two couples are going to buy a big house and live together under one roof. Okay, these parents are total swingers and I can’t help but think they went to a few-too many “Key Parties” in their past. But wait, it gets better! The other couple in this mess has a son named Yuu Matsura. And wouldn’t you know it, Miki thought from the get-go that Yuu was kinda cute and they end up…uh-oh!

Surprise Incest!

In this surprisingly 75 episode series, we see a lot go down with this particular couple as there is a lot to cover. This story covers a lot involving the main characters and their love lives. And it gives you what you would expect including love triangles, petty fights that go nowhere, long-distance relationships, and of course hiding the fact you’re in a relationship from your parents because his parents are her parents now!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: This was originally licensed by Tokyopop. That is kind of a rarity as we all know the ups and downs of that particular distributor. But long story short, this is currently under the licensing of Discotek. Better yet, while I was viewing this, Crunchyroll decided to be kind and stream the series on their site (sub only). The dub had many recognizable voices from folks stationed in L.A. So we get to hear from Michelle Ruff, Yuri Lowenthal, Carrie Savage, and the late Michael Lindsay. The sub version of course has several folks I’m familiar with like Ryoutarou Okiayu, Aya Hisakawa, Akira Ishida, Junichi Kanemaru…

Wait…did I just say Junichi Kanemaru! Holy rare items! The voice of Harley from Pokemon! FUCKING HARLEY! Before I turn into a screaming/fainting goat, here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Yuu is played by Ryoutarou Okiayu (known for Scar on FMA, Shigure on Fruits Basket, Akio on Clannad, Byakuya on Bleach, Tiger’s Eye on Sailor Moon SuperS, Mr. K on Gravitation, and Igor on Blue Exorcist)

*Miki is played by Mariko Kouda (known for Sakura on Pokemon, Yuri on Dirty Pair Flash, Kaya on One Piece, Nayuki on Kanon, and Juri on Vampire Knight)

ENGLISH CAST: *Yuu is played by Michael Lindsay (known for Urahara on Bleach, Kankurou on Naruto, Tamaki on Code Geass, and Joe on Digimon) [R.I.P]

*Miki is played by Michelle Ruff (known for Luna on Sailor Moon [redub], Nagato on Haruhi Suzumiya, Tsukasa on Lucky Star, Anri on Durarara, Euphemia on Code Geass, Sinon on SAO, and Chii on Chobits)

DISLIKED CHARACTER: In other words, which relationship road-block did I despise the most? There were quite a few people after both Miki and Yuu throughout the series run. And despite the many reservations I have involving with this ship and will glare at their relationship with a surprise incest hate going on, I didn’t want to see these two go out with the worst person.

Honestly, I thought I would be putting Ginta and Arimi up here. Both of them supremely got on my nerves in the first arc of the series. Particularly Ginta with the way he did Miki wrong in middle school and again by stealing a kiss from her. Jinny in the NY arc really aggravated me, but not as much as I thought she would.

But then you have Suzu and Kei. These two characters just wouldn’t stop! Suzu would deliberately invite Yuu over or involve him in some stupid activity to get close to him and make Miki jealous. And Kei straight-up lied to Miki about having her medallion for almost 10 episodes. After all that shit, I thought there was no way in hell dude was ever going to get with Miki, even if she and Yuu broke up. Never say never! She goes out with him. What the fuck, Miki? I know he got a little better after the dishonesty Kei brought about, but still. I did however feel sorry for Kei and lost stamina in my hatred for this kid. I knew he was going to be the rebound guy and that he still stood no chance of being with Miki in the long-run.

Suzu on the other hand, fuck the bitch! Especially after the ski-trip episode! Suzu almost killed Miki. Okay, Arimi might have stolen a kiss from Yuu. Jinny might have lied about sleeping with Yuu. But Suzu almost committed negligent homicide. Fuck her! So yeah, Suzu is my least favorite character on Marmalade Boy.

SHIPPING: Okay…this might take a while, but I want to cover everything as much as humanly possible. And if you don’t want to be spoiled by what I say, probably don’t watch the eye-catches in every episode. They kinda show who’s supposed to be with who.

*Yuu x Miki: Ah shit, here we go again! As if I haven’t written enough opinions on shipping couples that are step-siblings recently. Despite my prejudice against surprise incest ships, this one is the least infuriating of the ones I’ve watched in the last two years. This ship has gone through its share of drama. Yuu had several girls interfere with his relationship with Miki. And Miki had her fair share as well, including a rebound boyfriend. But no matter what, they always found their way back to each other. I shouldn’t hate this ship. I should shake my head with those parents of Miki and Yuu’s. Good God, I thought I’ve heard it all!

*Miki x Ginta: So Ginta was a boy that Miki had a crush on a few years prior to the story. But dumbass Ginta read Miki’s love letter out loud to a bunch of friends and that soured their friendship (which was a misunderstanding). They eventually reached a mature level of casually speaking to each other again in later years. But this gets ugly again when Ginta gets jealous over Yuu and steals a kiss from Miki. Who do you think you are, Dio Brando? Not only that but Ginta does some ugly methods in order to win Miki’s heart including be in a sham relationship with Arimi (Yuu’s former girlfriend). It was at this point of the series that I despised Ginta and hoped he would never find happiness. But thankfully, that hatred passed.

*Yuu x Arimi: Yuu also had a romantic past. But in this case, Arimi had the crush and begged Yuu to date her for three months. And they had fun during those three months. It’s just that Yuu sees Arimi as more of a friend. But Arimi still has it strong for Yuu and ends up trying to make him jealous by dating another boy. That went over as well as a lead balloon.

*Ginta x Arimi: This ship actually started out being a fake relationship. So almost on the same level as what you saw in the anime Toradora. Both of them had feelings for other people, but of course neither of them had any chance with Miki or Yuu. Ginta already dug his grave years ago when he read Miki’s love letter publicly and Yuu had no interest in Arimi even when they were dating. So these two ended up together in an attempt to make their crushes jealous! But it wasn’t really smooth sailing as Arimi is quite popular around her school. She has a lot of fanboys including Ginta’s loud and annoying cousin.

Oh yeah, Ginta’s loud and annoying cousin. I don’t care for him.

*Meiko x Namura-sensei: There will be plenty of episodes involving this ship. They are no threat to Miki and Yuu’s relationship. Meiko is Miki’s best friend and Na-chan is their teacher. It’s just that every now and then we take a detour into “Meiko: The Miniseries”.

Oh man, I thought the surprise incest was enough. Now we get a student/teacher relationship. By the looks of it, this does seem non-sexual and both are consenting (so no one was taken advantage). It’s just that this is VERY taboo. It especially gets dangerous when Na-chan ends up as Meiko’s homeroom teacher and they couldn’t see each other out in the open anymore. Oh, did I forget to mention this relationship kinda started when Meiko was in middle school. Silly me! Have fun with that tidbit. Then it gets crazier when this relationship is found out and ultimatums are put on both of them. I’m not as bitchy about these sorts of relationships and again I point out other controversial student/teacher relationships that raise an eyebrow like Sakura’s parents on Cardcaptor Sakura or Tohru’s parents on Fruits Basket. But I do see Meiko as the successful story that Natsuo from Domestic Girlfriend could learn from.

At least she didn’t have a child with Satoshi and leave him for Na-chan!

*Meiko x Satoshi: And here we have a Johnny-Come-Lately/Rebound! Meiko’s heart still belongs to Na-chan, yet Satoshi persists Meiko at every opportunity. Now there were some moments where it felt like Meiko was going to cave in and start falling for Satoshi. And he has been very supportive of her writing, even if he entered her story in a contest without her consent. He does care for her.

She did give in every now and then to her confused emotions with Satoshi. Hey, she even gave up a kiss too. But she will never be over Na-chan. This ship was a whirlwind of emotion, especially when Meiko sees Na-chan again and she tries to get back with him. Na-chan turns the tables by telling Meiko he doesn’t love her and that he’s now in a committed relationship with their teacher Miss Ryoko. But that was a lie. Na-chan loves Meiko and just used Miss Ryoko as an excuse. Did I mention Miss Ryoko loves Na-chan too? Feel like I should have mentioned that. Thankfully, Na-chan and Meiko end up realizing they love each other too much to let the other one go. Fuck all, fuck the families, fuck what society thinks, we’re engaged. Apologies to Miss Ryoko and Satoshi who are now in Dumps-ville!

Let’s get away from the Meiko drama. In the second arc to this story, we ease away from the drama that consisted of characters like Arimi, Ginta, and even Satoshi. However, more love rivals come into play, especially after Yuu and Miki hook up.

Now that Ginta is out of the picture and has hooked up with Arimi, you’d think it’d be smooth sailing for Miki, right? Hell no! Miki gets a part-time job and works with a boy named Kei. Kei eventually gets the hots for Miki but knows she’s off-limits as she has a boyfriend. What does Kei do? Hold onto Miki’s memento from Yuu and lie about it for several episodes. This guy really put unnecessary strains on Miki and her relationship with Yuu to a point where Miki is hiding stuff from Yuu. Thankfully, this didn’t cause as much damage as I thought and Miki x Yuu is back in business. While Kei has accepted that Miki loves Yuu, he will be back to get her!

Yuu on the other hand had to deal with an annoying little princess by the name of Suzu. After meeting Suzu, I gotta say this girl is persistent. She would always drive him and Miki away from each other or try to drive a wedge between them. Suzu would do everything in her power to have Yuu over at her home. But Yuu has his priorities straight about why he’s over there. Suzu’s father wants Yuu to tutor her and Yuu wants to learn from Suzu’s father to further his interest in architecture. Priorities! Still doesn’t stop Suzu from being an annoying nuisance. And did I mention the almost negligent homicide incident? I’m never going to be over that!

There was also another girl. But you can’t really hate this girl like Suzu. Let’s talk about Ann! She is actually a really good competitor for Yuu’s heart and I can see how Miki could be intimidated by her. A sickly girl with a bad heart whom Yuu has known since childhood! Oh fuck yeah! Ann doesn’t mind being second place in Yuu’s heart actually. She sees that the two love each other and Ann stows her feelings to the side.

…

I suppose I should talk about this stuff as well.

So when Yuu moved to NY, there was a lot of fighting for people’s love in the big apple and in Japan. Yuu and Miki still love each other despite the long distance relationship. However Miki is being hounded by Kei (AGAIN) and the student exchange boy Michael. Meanwhile, Yuu is being pursued by a girl named Jinny. And Jinny is being pursued by a guy named Brian (the brother of student exchange boy Michael). Problem is, Jinny has no interest in Brian and only has eyes for Yuu until she totally fucks it up with him. But then Miss Priss over here gets jealous when another friend, Bill, gets friendly with Yuu’s long-time friend Ann. But then Jinny ends up with Bill. And Brian settles for forever-friend-zoned Doris.

I hope you all followed that NY drama because I don’t feel like going over that web of shit again. Oh wait.

Miki and Kei hooked up too. Don’t worry, it didn’t last.

THESE PARENTS, I TELL YA: Miki and Yuu’s parents are a trip! They tell their kids everything at the last, possible minute. They spring on the most messed-up surprises on them and expect them to just go with the flow. Yeah, I’m slightly with Miki when it comes to the parents remarrying each other. I’m glad they still have a relationship that they still like each other even though they’re divorcing. But for fuck’s sake, you cannot expect anyone to smile and go with the flow when they suddenly tell you that the parents you’ve known your whole life divorces on the fly and trades partners with another couple. But it isn’t just that one thing! Miki and Yuu’s parents constantly drop news on them at the very last minute (especially with Miki).

Why are you moving furniture?

We invited a foreign exchange student to live with us!

Why are you guys dressed up?

We’re going out for dinner! Have fun with the leftovers.

Why do you have all that luggage?

We’re going on a surprise honeymoon! Take care of the house while we’re gone.

These parents are so flighty I want to hate them on the same level as Brock’s parents from Pokemon. But there were certain moments in the anime that cause me to back off. One particular moment was when the school found out about the living arrangement with the mixed family and the vice principal got her panties in a bunch about how unorthodox this was. Yuu and Miki’s parents came in and told them that they love these kids and would do anything for them. But for real guys, stop springing surprise news on your kids.

MOVIE: I actually decided to watch the movie before viewing the television series. After the television run of Marmalade Boy, a 30 minute movie came out one year later. This movie showed us Yuu’s reaction to the news of his parents divorcing and remarrying another divorced couple since the series focused more on Miki’s reaction. Yu’s reaction was hard to tell since this boy really showed no big reaction to this news. Yuu’s got one hell of a poker face. But for most of the special, he ends up following this girl he catches a glimpse of. Only later does he realize that she has the same name as his soon-to-be step-sister.

ARCS: In an anime like this and at the time of its airing, you know they were going to cover quite a bit compared to animes of today. The fact that Marmalade Boy had a total of 76 episodes proves that this was full of love triangles and fillers. It felt like after 25 episodes or so, things change with something monumental happening with the main ship of Miki and Yuu.

The first part of this anime consisted of Yuu and Miki adjusting to life with a very unorthodox, mixed family and figuring out where Yuu and Miki were going to go with their romantic lives. Was Yuu going to go back out with his old girlfriend Arimi? Was Miki going to give Ginta a second chance after their turmoil in middle school? Can Yuu and Miki get together without a wave of disgusting looks from fans and others because of this borderline incest concept?

The second part of the anime consisted of several different characters wanting Yuu and/or Miki for something romantic. Characters like Suzu and Kei came to the picture and were dead-set on keeping Yuu and Miki away from each other. Suzu tried everything in her power to keep Yuu all to herself during study sessions and the like. Hell, there was an episode where she led Miki away from Yuu by having her go to a hard ski-slope during a snowstorm, almost killing her. Have I mentioned the negligent homicide yet to you all? I feel like I should! Kei lied to Miki on several occasions and held something important of hers just to get what he wanted. We also had another girl who was interested in Yuu, but Ann had other things to deal with like her health. But she doesn’t mind being second best girl to Miki.

The third part tests Yuu and Miki with having to deal with a long-distance relationship as Yuu is going to study abroad in New York for his final year of high school. And you all know that long-distance relationships can cause the likes of cheating, apathetic phone calls, and rebounds!

ENDING: Yuu moving to New York really put a major strain on his and Miki’s relationship. These two crazy kids missed each other, but as we all know, most long-distance relationships are doomed to fall apart. I mean, you’ve got Miki being pursued by her foreign-exchange friend Michael and former co-worker Kei. Meanwhile in America, Yuu is being pursued by a girl at his dorms named Jinny. And this bitch goes above and beyond to detour Miki away from Yuu by lying to her about sleeping with Yuu. I truly want to place blame on Jinny for Miki breaking up with Yuu, but let’s face it, Miki can’t live like this. Miki was literally at a breaking point when she made a surprise visit to NY and Jinny’s stupid comment about sleeping with him was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

In the aftermath of this breakup, Miki ends up taking comfort in Kei. This is what we call “the rebound”. It won’t last! But I think Kei knows that Miki’s not going to be his forever love. And this gets put to the test when Yuu comes back to Japan for summer break. No surprises that Miki breaks up with Kei and goes back to Yuu. Happily ever after right?! Not even close. Kei and Ann are left heartbroken (again). Then again, we went through the same shit when Meiko broke Satoshi’s heart and Na-chan did the same to Miss Ryoko. But then we got the biggest bombshell to date.

Around episode 24 or so, we learned that Yuu’s father was NOT his real father. And in that part of the story, Yuu thought that Satoshi’s father was his biological father. But it was later proven that he is not (no matter how much the two are heavily into architecture). Yuu comes across some pictures of his parents from the past that were very troubling. It turns out Yuu and Miki’s parents didn’t just randomly meet during a vacation in Hawaii. They actually have history. Jin’s arms around Yuu’s mother could only mean one logical explanation.

These parents are fucking swingers!

No, but seriously the incest aroma is coming in strong that Oreimo is saying “this stinks”.

So Yuu, not even a week after getting back with Miki breaks up with her, doesn’t tell her this revelation involving their parents, doesn’t even confront his parents and step-parents about this, and ditches her to go back to America.

Yuu, you punk-ass, pussy-ass bitch! Meiko should have slapped your brains out. Do you have any idea how many things Miki has been left out of involving her damn family? Those flakey parents don’t even tell their kids anything until the last minute. She should at least know that her father might have had relations with Yuu’s mother. Yes, this is a really fucked-up turn, but I think Yuu could have handled this better than he did. After Yuu broke things off with Miki, she decided to lock away all memories of Yuu, got a new look and put on a happy face. But she’s still huring inside. So she goes to NY to confront Yuu. Yuu FINALLY says they might be half-brother and sister and Miki ends up having a big enough meltdown that it involved the Manhattan police and a search team.

But after almost being stabbed in Harlem, Miki and Yuu don’t care if they’re related or not, they’ll be together forever. They’re fine with not having kids or not being legally married, they’ll stay together. And perfect timing, Miki and Yuu’s parents, along with Meiko and Satoshi came to NY to make sure Miki was found safe. So it’s time for Yuu to hammer his parents for hiding stuff from them. And here were the results of that!

Yes, these parents did know each other and dated one another in their college days. Yuu’s mother Chiyako in fact was impregnated by Miki’s father Jinn. However, they broke up and Chiyako wound up with Youji. But that baby was NOT Yuu. Chiyako suffered a miscarriage years before Yuu was born. Youji Matsura is Yuu’s father all along. Oh and all four parents know about Miki and Yuu’s relationship. Skeptical at first, but they’re okay by them being together.

And the happiness continues as we fast-forward to Na-chan and Meiko’s wedding. Ginta and Arimi are still on good footing. Miss Ryouko might find love in a new person. Suzu and Kei might be getting together. Same might be said about Michael and Ann. And then Yuu and Miki’s parents announce they’re expecting babies. THIS FAMILY IS INSANE! We end the series with a medley of the best and worst kisses, ending on Yuu and Miki kissing at their own wedding.

That was Marmalade Boy! It was as 90s as you could get with the vibrant colors, dramatic stings, romantic J-Pop playing in the background during the juicy moments, constant close-ups of peoples faces during the shocking moments, and riddled with heterosexual romances. I’ll be honest, there were times where I would completely forget that Miki and Yuu were step-brother and sister and would just go on and root for them. But then near the end of the series where we learn that there’s a good chance they might be blood-related, then I was ready to shove this ship in the trash. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

I can’t be the only person to say this but, I think Domestic Girlfriend took a lot of things from Marmalade Boy. Not straight-up plagiarized it, but was inspired by it. We had parents suddenly get remarried and the main character now has a brother, romantic happenings with the step-brother and sister, and of course a relationship between a student and teacher. But give Domestic Girlfriend some credit, the parents weren’t as fucking crazy as the ones in Marmalade Boy. I thought I felt sorry for Natsuo’s future kid. I saw some stuff involving Marmalade Boy’s sequel manga. That family tree grew and sprouted some confusing branches after Miki and Yuu’s step-siblings came into the picture.

If you are heavily into love-triangles of every form, check out Marmalade Boy. Every episode is now available on Crunchyroll (sub only).

Okay, what’s my next Nozomi Entertainment/Discotek/Animes made before Oct 1986?

Get ready to go back to the year 1983 with this one.

Cat’s Eye? Okay, let’s do it.

#anime review #marmalade boy #miki koishikawa #yuu matsura #meiko akizuki #satoshi miwa #kei tsuchiya #arimi suzuki #ginta suou #shinichi namura #jinny golding #anju kitahara #suzu sakuma

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