Marmalade Boy

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Marmalade Boy

Cover of the first volume of the original Japanese manga release
ママレード・ボーイ
(Mamarēdo Bōi)
Genre Romantic comedy
Manga
Author Wataru Yoshizumi
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
English publisher Flag of the United States Tokyopop
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Ribon Magazine
Original run May 1992 – October 1995
Volumes 8
TV anime
Director Akinori Yabe
Studio Flag of Japan Toei Animation
Network Flag of Japan Asahi Broadcasting Corporation,Fuji TV
Original run March 13, 1994 – September 3, 1995
Episodes 76
Animated film
Director Akinori Yabe
Studio Toei Animation
Released March 4, 1995
Runtime 26 minutes
Light novel
Author Yumi Kageyama
Illustrator Wataru Yoshizumi
Publisher Shueisha
Demographic Female
Publishing label Cobalt Bunko
Published July 1994 – March 1996
Volumes 10
Game
Developer Bandai
Publisher Bandai
Genre Dating simulation
Platform Game Boy, Super Famicom
Released January 1, 1995 (Game Boy)
April 21, 1995 (Super Famicom)

Marmalade Boy (ママレード・ボーイ Mamarēdo Bōi?) is a shōjo manga by Wataru Yoshizumi. It was published by Shueisha in the magazine Ribon from May 1992 to October 1995 and collected in eight tankobon volumes. The series was adapted by Toei Animation as a 76-episode anime television series which aired on TV Asahi and Fuji TV in 1994 to 1995. This was followed by a prequel theatrical anime movie in 1995. The series was also adapted as a 30-episode live-action television series (Chinese: 橘子醬男孩; pinyin: Júzǐjiāng Nánhái) broadcast in Taiwan in 2002.

The manga was published in English by Tokyopop, which also licensed the anime series. Tokyopop has since lost the license to the manga, and to the first twenty-four episodes of the manga, leaving the releases out of print.

Contents

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 focus of the series series, many of the supporting characters are also well-developed.[1]

Miki Koishikawa (小石川 光希 Koishikawa Miki?) is a cheerful, friendly, outspoken, and good-hearted high school girl. Miki had her heart broken in junior high by her best male friend Ginta, and while she got over it and was able to become friends with him again, she also showed no interest in moving on to someone else. When she was in high school, her parents returned from a trip to Hawaii and announced they were going to swap spouses with another couple. The Matsuura's had a son Miki's age named Yuu. The two families decided to share a house together. While having to get used to her strange new family, Miki also found herself falling in love with her stepbrother. Voiced by: Mariko Kouda (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)

Yuu Matsuura (松浦 遊 Matsuura Yū?) is smart and naturally athletic, able to excel in many sports. Personality wise, he is much the opposite of Miki, being more detached, less emotional, and less open about his feelings than Miki. Miki calls him "Marmalade Boy" because she thinks he is sweet on the outside but bitter inside, while he admires Miki's ability to clearly express her emotions. After their families move in together, Yuu falls in love with Miki while dealing with his own private demons regarding his birth. Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (Japanese), Michael Lindsay (English)

[edit] Production

When Wataru Yoshizumi first started planning Marmalade Boy, with Miki, Yuu, Ginta, and Meiko all the opposite genders of what they ended up being in the final versions. The original Miki looked similar to Yuu's final appearance, while Yuu was an attractive girl with long black hair and a "devilish" and "unpredictable" personality. Yoshizumi notes several reasons behind the changes. Part of the reason was that it was a request from the Ribon publishers, who wanted a female as the central character as the story was going to be included in a "Mother's Day" set with magnets featuring the characters. Her associate editor also expressed concerns that a male hero would be a "sissy" when written about by a female writer. Finally, Yoshizumi herself decided that she would go with a heroine rather than a hero as most of the Ribon readers are girls.[2]

In the original story, the title of Marmalade Boy was an indication of the hero Miki's cheerful, sweet, and naive nature. After redoing the concept, she wanted to keep the original title, changing its meaning to what is stated in the first volume, that Yuu "has lots of bitter its inside" him but people only see his sweet surface.[2][3]

The ending for the series was also very different from the final version. Ginta and Arimi were not going to be a couple in the original version, nor was Meiko going to be reunited with Namura. Yoshizumi originally intended for Miki and Yuu to truly be blood siblings, and thus have to break up. Afterwards, Ginta would comfort Miki and promising to wait for her to get over Yuu. Yuu and Meiko would have been shown meeting four years later, having both having failed in their previous relationships. The ending would have been more open ending so readers would have had to wonder what really would happen to everyone. However, as she was writing the third chapter, Yoshizumi became less certain of the ending, as it made Miki and Yuu's parents appear to be awful people for doing such a thing to their children. She also was concerned how readers would react, and her own feelings of "emptiness" at the sad ending. Her editor agreed that the ending would be bad, so she changed it to the happier one now found in the series.[4]

[edit] Reception

The English translation of the manga was favorably reviewed by Anime News Network, calling it a classic lighthearted shōjo romance that's sweet and endearing and compulsively readable.[1]

 Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.


[edit] Media

[edit] Manga

Main article: List of Marmalade Boy chapters

Marmalade Boy was originally serialized in the shōjo magazine Ribon, starting with the May 1992 issue and ending in the October 1995 issue. The individual chapters were collected in eight collected volumes by Shueisha.[5][6] The first volume was released on December 12, 1992, with the final volume released February 20, 1996. Starting March 15, 2004, Shueisha began re-releasing the series in six special edition volumes, with the final one released August 11, 2004.[7]

The series was licensed for an English language release in North America by Tokyopop. The first volume was released on April 23, 2002, with volumes released every other month until August 5, 2003, when the eight and final volume was published.[8] It was one of the first manga properties that Tokyopop released in the original Japanese orientation, in which the book is read form right to left, and with the original sound effects left in place.[9] Tokyopop also serialized the chapters in their Smile manga anthology magazine.[10] As of January 2, 2006, all eight volumes are out of print as they could not renew the license after Shueisha became part-owner of Viz Media[11][12]

[edit] Novels

The final volume of original Japanese release of the Marmalade Boy Japanese light novels
The final volume of original Japanese release of the Marmalade Boy Japanese light novels

Marmalade Boy was adapted into a series of Japanese light novels by Yumi Kageyama, with Wataru Yoshizumi acting as illustrator. The ten volume series was published under Shueisha's Cobalt Bunko label from July 1994 through March 1996.[13]

# Original release date Original ISBN
1 July 1994 ISBN 4-08-611872-6
2 September 1994 ISBN 4-08-611893-9
3 November 1994 ISBN 4-08-614013-6
4 December 1994 ISBN 4-08-614033-0
5 March 1995 ISBN 4-08-614056-X
6 April 1995 ISBN 4-08-614073-X
7 July 1995 ISBN 4-08-614105-1
8 October 1995 ISBN 4-08-614124-8
9 December 1995 ISBN 4-08-614156-6
10 March 1996 ISBN 4-08-614176-0

[edit] Anime

 Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

Toei Animation adapted Marmalade Boy into a 76-episode anime television series which aired on TV Asahi and Fuji TV in 1994 to 1995. This was followed by a prequel theatrical anime movie in 1995. The anime series was licensed for Region 1 DVD release by Tokyopop, which released the series in four box sets. Tokyopop's license for the first twenty-four episodes has since expired, leaving the anime out of print.[14]

[edit] Movie

[edit] Art books

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

[edit] Games

A Marmalade Boy dating simulation video game was released by Bandai Entertainment for the Nintendo Game Boy system in Japan on January 1, 1995. Based on the manga, the game puts players in the role of Miki, who must try to win the heart of one of her three potential suitors from the series: Yuu, Ginta, or Kei.[15] It was released for the Super Famicom system on April 21, 1995.[16]

[edit] 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.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Jason Sondhi (2004-09-10). Review: Marmalade Boy Manga. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-01-25. “Marmalade Boy is a wholly engaging read that does not demand as much in terms of time or money as many longer shōjo titles. Yes, it is cliched, and yes, there is never any doubt in how the story will eventually turn out, but yes, you will enjoy following it nonetheless.”
  2. ^ a b Yoshizumi, Wataru (2003-08-05). "The Inside Story of Marmalade Boy", Marmalade Boy, Volume 8. Los Angeles, California: Tokyopop, pp. 172-175. ISBN 1-59182-192-4. OCLC 53040858. 
  3. ^ Yoshizumi, Wataru (2002-04-23). "Chapter 3", Marmalade Boy, Volume 1. Los Angeles, California: Tokyopop, pp. 93. ISBN 1-931514-54-2. OCLC 50194414. 
  4. ^ Yoshizumi, Wataru (2003-08-05). "The Inside Story of Marmalade Boy II", Marmalade Boy, Volume 8. Los Angeles, California: Tokyopop, pp. 176-179. ISBN 1-59182-192-4. OCLC 53040858. 
  5. ^ Marmalade Boy (manga). Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  6. ^ Original Marmalade Boy manga releases. Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  7. ^ Marmalade Boy Kanzenban Releases. Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  8. ^ Tokyopop Anime Announces Marmalade Boy and Brigadoon. Anime News Network (2002-02-13). Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  9. ^ Tokyopop Commits to Unflopped Manga. Anime News Network (2002-01-29). Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  10. ^ Tokyopop Plans Major Manga Expansion. ICv2 (2001-07-08). Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  11. ^ TOKYOPOP Inc. Out of Print Titles. Tokyopop. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  12. ^ Ahlstrom, Peter (2007-04-12). Ask the Editors: Manga from Ribon magazine?. Official Tokyopop forums. Tokyopop. Retrieved on 2008-04-11. “Unfortunately for us, Shueisha is one of the owners of VIZ, so VIZ gets almost all of the Shueisha manga. We published Kodocha and Marmalade Boy, but they didn't even let us renew those licenses and don't want to give us anything else anymore.”
  13. ^ Marmalade Boy novel listings. Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
  14. ^ Marmalade Boy 1-24, St. Tail's Anime Licenses Expire. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
  15. ^ Game Boy: Marmalade Boy. GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  16. ^ SNES: Marmalade Boy. GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.

[edit] External links