Maria-sama ga Miteru

Maria-sama ga Miteru:  B+

It's interesting watching a series with a strong leaning towards French (a language I'm familiar with) that's actually in Japanese (another language I'm familiar with).  Maria-sama ga Miteru would be best translated as "Lady Mary is Watching," specifically referring the Virgin Mary, and further to a particular statue of the Virgin Mary on the grounds of the school at which most of the story takes place.

Marimite (as it is often abbreviated) is shojo, a series for girls, and focuses on the student council of Lillian Girls' School, in particular the High School division (there's also a lower and middle school, and a university, but the series revolves around the girls in the high school).  Lillian has a tradition of girls adopting members of younger grades as 'petite soeurs' (little sisters), a bond of friendship sealed by the older sister giving a rosary to the younger one, who will, eventually, pass it on to another, meaning that most of the girls have two sisters, total.

Our main character, one Fukuzawa Yumi, is approached by a member of the Student Council ("the Yamayurikai") named Ogasawara Sachiko, to become her petite soeur.  Yumi greatly admires Sachiko, but is hesitant at first, and that caution forms the basis for the first arc.  The series, over thus far four seasons, covers about two years of time but isn't quite slice-of-life, there is definite progress of relationships and situations, and that progress is important to the series as a whole.

I first picked it up because my very favorite favorite voice actress, Kana Ueda, voices Yumi, in addition to the stellar support of Mamiko Noto and Rie Kugimiya, which, living up to my expectations, would be a joy to listen to even if the story weren't as well-designed and generally enjoyable as it is.

Compared to the majority of series I watch, there is no fan service in Marimite, understandably, given the target audience.  More interestingly, it occurred to me that the majority of the conflict in Marimite revolves around misunderstanding and generally incorrect assumptions, which, unlike most series I see lately, are not pointed out immediately as being wrong: the tension arises not from the embarrassment of demonstrated error, but from the confusion of uncertainty.  Really, a bit of insight into the teenage mind is all it takes to unravel the troubles that plague the girls, but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of watching events unfold.

Marimite has no action to speak of, and if you're not interested in recalling high school in all its emotional awkwardness, you won't enjoy Maria-sama ga Miteru.  But if you're looking for a series that's not trying to sell you on anything other than very romantic friendships between girls, you'll get a lot of mileage out of it.