Marmalade Boy

Marmalade Boy

Story and art by: Wataru Yoshizumi

Licensed by: Tokyopop (although license has expire)

If your typical TV soap opera ever become an anime or manga, it'd be something like Marmalade Boy.

Miki Koishikawa is your typical teen.  She's friendly, cheerful, maybe a little dense at times, but she means well.  One day, her crazy parents tell her that they're getting a divorce and they're swapping partners with a couple they met in Hawaii on vacation!  Miki is totally against it, like any normal teen would be.  Then Miki meets the Matsuura's, including their son Yuu, who Miki soon develops a crush for.  Miki soon realizes that this is what their parents want, so she reluctantly agrees to go along with the insanity.  They all agree to live in a big house together as one big family.

As Miki finds her feelings develop for Yuu, her old love Ginta comes into the picture.  Soon he is professing his love to Miki as well.  Miki had feelings for Ginta in the past, but was rejected by Ginta.  Or was she?  Things just get more complicated when Arimi, Yuu's ex-girlfriend, shows up and is determined to get Yuu back.

Marmalade Boy is a wonderful story filled with a great cast of characters.  While the stories may seem to be a bit cliché at times, it's never dull or repeats itself.  Some may be a bit concerned by the relationship between Miki and Yuu and being step-siblings, but its handled in a way which is not offending.

The artwork is simply gorgeous.  I've always like Yoshizumi-san's art style.  While it originally appeared in a shoujo magazine (Ribbon), it's not really what I would call traditional shoujo style artwork.  backgrounds are really well detailed. 

The story is simply wonderful, it does get a bit 'soap-opera' style at times, but it's still a quite enjoyable read.  The characters are really down to earth, they are not some type of dreamy characters with outrageous stories.  These are characters and situations that you can relate to quite easily.  And that alone makes it worthwhile.

In conclusion, If you like your stories with a great cast of characters, lots of drama, splashes of humor, and a fun story, you should definately check out the 8 volume Marmalade Boy.

Final Grade---A-