 OVERVIEW OF THE SERIES
(From his and
her perspectives)
His Perspective
Bruce: Marmalade Boy is a teen soap opera FULL of humor
and drama. As of the end of 3/95, 53 episodes had aired. The
show was renewed and is expected to run at least 76 episodes
- unusual for a shoujo show.
It has consistently been in the top 7 shows in the ratings, and
has been as high as #4. This is rather amazing considering that
it is a DAYTIME show and runs on Sunday mornings, the one day
when everyone is trying to sleep in.
In
the beginning it was aimed at preteen girls, but over time it
was gradually changed to accommodate a steadily enlarging adult
market (much like Sailor Moon). As of episode 32 a new ending
animation was begun. This was of OAV quality and, in our opinion,
was another sign of the shift toward an older audience.
Men
who like this show frequently say that they feel like there must
be something wrong with them because they are watching a "shoujo"
series and enjoying it immensely. I suspect that there is a very
valid reason why they enjoy it, and that is this:
This
is the ONLY TV show I have ever seen that ACCURATELY depicts
the feelings that people have about their families, friends,
and romantic interests. Questions are asked that everyone asks
themselves now and then, and the possibilities are honestly explored.
It is often done in a very humorous way, but no show that I have
ever seen before has done this
without distorting things with an overly male or female perspective.
This show is unique in that it honestly depicts the feelings
of both men and women.
The
families shown in this show are not typical of the Japanese.
Unlike Maison Ikkoku which shows lower middle class characters,
Marmalade Boy depicts the rich. There are two families (Miwa
and Akizuki) which are ultra-rich.
Over
time, commercials shifted too. Those featuring Marmalade Boy
merchandise at the beginning were mostly concerned with dolls
and items aimed at middle-school age girls. Later on, commercials
featuring high school age girls and cosmetics began to be run
as well.
As
distributors for several fan studios, we have had feedback about
many series, movies, and OAVs. The most enthusiastic responses,
from all over the country, have been to Marmalade Boy.
LDs
have been announced. 3 box sets, each of 25 episodes. Release
dates are: 7/95 9/95 12/95 Pre-orders only.
Her Perspective
Karen: Marmalade Boy fits into a category that would also
include Maison Ikkoku and Orange Road. All are romantic comedy
series. Each has it's own flavor and speed of action. Each is
good in its own way.
The
tempo of Marmalade Boy tends to run somewhere at the speed of
Star Wars, whereas the other two previously mentioned series
have a bit more mellowness. Observers of MB cannot afford to
leave the room at any time, too much can be missed. And the ending
of each episode tends to leave one dying for the next episode.
Maybe "dying" isn't a strong enough word!
Bruce is right, the response to Marmalade Boy has been enormous.
We understand that men, women, and hentais alike have been riveted!
The letters we've received have been appreciated.
Marmalade
Boy is my personal all time favorite show. The project to translate
the show originally occurred when Bruce took compassion on me.
He saw me sitting and watching MB in straight Japanese over and
over and over. I don't speak Japanese. (Well, a little now, not
then.)
Late
last year, I gave up my own hobby of 21 years, to devote myself
to this project. Our translator works for Bruce one day and myself
on another.
Each
translation takes a great deal of work on the part of the native
born Japanese translator and ourselves. For one reason, many
Japanese sayings do not translate straight across into our language.
In addition, native born Americans do not speak English exactly
the way the Japanese are taught to speak it. We're FAR less formal
for instance...using manyconjunctions and leaving out a lot of
words!
It
HAS been an interesting project.
The Series Overview From
His and Her Perspectives
Next....Characters
|