Marmalade Boy

Marmalade Boy
ママレード・ボーイ (Marmalade Boy)
Demographic	Shōjo
Genre	Comedy, Romance
Manga
Author	Wataru Yoshizumi
Publisher	Shueisha
Other publishers: TOKYOPOP EMA Planeta DeAgostini
Serialized in	Ribon Magazine
Original run	May 1992 – October 1995
Volumes	8
TV anime
Director	Akinori Yabe
Studio	Toei Animation
Network	Asahi Broadcasting Corporation,Fuji TV
Other networks: Anime Selects TVE2 Etc...TV
Original run	13 March 1994 – 3 September 1995
Episodes	76
Movie: Marmalade Boy (Movie)
Director	Akinori Yabe
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	March 4 1995
Runtime	26 minutes
Game: Marmalade Boy
Developer	Bandai
Publisher	Bandai
Genre	Dating simulation
Platform	Super Famicom, Game Boy
Released	January 27 1995 (Game Boy) April 21 1995 (Super Famicom)

Marmalade Boy (ママレード・ボーイ, Mamarēdo Bōi^?) is a manga created by Wataru Yoshizumi and serialized in the monthly manga magazine Ribon by Shueisha. The manga was later adapted by Toei Animation into a 76-episode anime TV series which aired on the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, and Fuji TV. There was also a short animated movie (only slightly longer than a normal episode) produced in 1995, which was a sort of prequel to the series. Marmalade Boy was also made into a 30-episode live-action television series (Chinese: 橘子醬男孩; pinyin: Júzǐjiāng Nánhái) which aired in Taiwan. The manga is published in English by TOKYOPOP (now out-of-print), which has also released the anime in four box-sets in co-operation with Studio E. In terms of the series' anime and manga license, they have expired and Tokyopop will not renew these licenses, instead, FUNimation has picked up Tokyopop's anime line officially.

Plot

Miki Koishikawa's ordinary life as a high school junior is turned upside down when her parents suddenly announce that they are getting divorced in order to swap partners with a couple they met in Hawaii. They seek her approval of the shocking change, and at a dinner where Miki meets the other couple as well as their son Yuu, who is about her age, she reluctantly agrees to the arrangement. Yuu, while at first a jerk who takes every opportunity to make fun of Miki, turns out to be fun and attractive, and Miki finds herself falling for him. Little by little, she accepts her new family arrangement, and opens up to Yuu as they become friends. Miki and Yuu's relationship starts to become complicated because of the previous relationships that they have and develop with other characters. These include Miki's long time classmate and former crush, Ginta Suou, and Yuu's former girlfriend, Arimi Suzuki. A secondary subplot develops when Miki's best friend, Meiko Akizuki, herself starts to have her own problems because of the relationship she has gotten into with one of the teachers, Nachan. Throughout the series, Miki and Yuu's relationship is further developed and tried, influenced by other characters around them and the relationships that they develop with these characters.

Characters

Main article: List of Marmalade Boy Characters

The cast of Marmalade Boy is diverse, and largely defined by their relationships with Miki Koishikawa and Yuu Matsura. Although the relationship between these two protagonists is the primary one in the series, the supporting characters in particular are also well-developed. This applies to several of the anime-only characters as well.

Manga

A page from the Marmalade Boy manga, volume 1 (Japanese version)

Novels

The novels are written by Wataru Yoshizumi.

Japan

• Volume 1, ISBN 4-08-611872-6
• Volume 2, ISBN 4-08-611893-9
• Volume 3, ISBN 4-08-614013-6
• Volume 4, ISBN 4-08-614033-0
• Volume 5, ISBN 4-08-614056-X
• Volume 6, ISBN 4-08-614073-X
• Volume 7, ISBN 4-08-614105-1
• Volume 8, ISBN 4-08-614124-8
• Volume 9, ISBN 4-08-614156-6
• Volume 10, ISBN 4-08-614176-0

Art books

• Marmalade Boy: Koi no Style Book, ISBN
• Marmalade Boy: Yoshizumi Wataru Illust-shuu, ISBN 4-08-855091-9

Anime

Japanese Staff

• Original story: Wataru Yoshizumi
• Planning producers: Kōichirō Fujita (ABC), Yasuo Kameyama (Asatsu), Hiromi Seki (Toei Animation)
• Production managers: Yoshihiro Fujimoto, Atsunori Kazama
• Series composition: Aya Matsui
• Script writers: Aya Matsui, Yumi Kageyama, Genki Yoshimura, Atsushi Norō
• Character designer: Yoshihiko Umakoshi
• Art designer: Kunihiro Senda
• Music: Keiichi Oku
• Editor: Masaaki Hanai (TAVAC)
• Recording engineer: Kimitaka Kawasaki (TAVAC)
• Sound effects: Takahisa Ishino (Sound Ring)
• Recording studio: TAVAC
• Film development laboratory: Toei Chemical Industries
• Producers: Toshio Ōno (ABC), Kanako Arai (Asatsu), Munehisa Higuchi (Toei Animation)
• Series director: Akinori Yabe
• Production: ABC, Asatsu, Toei Animation

Live-action television series

In Taiwan, Marmalade Boy was made into a 30-episode live-action television series called 橘子醬男孩 (pinyin: Júzǐjiāng Nánhái). The series starred pop star Stella as Miki and F4 member Ken Zhu as Yuu; Stella also sang the theme song, "溫室的花 Wēnshì de Huā (Greenhouse Flower)". Although the basic premise was the same, it did not feature many of the characters of the anime, and the love triangles were considerably simplified.

Games

A Super Famicom game based on the anime was released in Japan in 1995. In the game, the player plays the role of Miki trying to win the heart of one of the three major male characters in the series (Yuu, Ginta and Kei). This game has been highly criticised as being a poor imitation copy of the famous Tokimeki Memorial series by Konami, however. A Game Boy title based on the series also exists. It did not get officially translated to English.

Cast Background

This series marked the debut of voice actress Sakura Tange, who would later become famous for her role as Sakura Kinomoto in Cardcaptor Sakura.

Behind The Scenes

It has been known to many old fans of Marmalade Boy that the anime staff had originally intended for Anju Kitahara and Namura Shinichi to die in the series. However Wataru Yoshizumi objected to it, believing that it will make the series too close to a tragedy. Eventually, the anime staff gave in and allowed the two characters to live: Namura married Meiko as she graduated high school and they went to live in Hiroshima, and Anju was left alone as she practised to become a famous violinist.

How The Title Came To Be

• Marmalade- Early in the manga, Miki compares Yuu to marmalade (in that they both look sweet, but are bitter inside).
• Boy- Originally (as seen at the end of the 8th manga), Miki was suppose to be a boy and Yuu was a girl. Even with the gender reversal, Wataru still prefered the title as is.

Connection With Other Manga

• Sana and Akito from Kodomo no Omocha look somewhat similar to Miki and Yuu (albeit younger versions of them).
• Some of the characters that appear in the third season are taken from Handsome na Kanojo, another Wataru Yoshizumi manga that ran from the late 1980s to early 1990s. An OVA based on the series was released in 1991.

External links

• Marmalade Boy page @ Toei Animation (in Japanese)