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REVIEW: Strawberry Marshmallow GN 5




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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 11:33 am Reply with quote
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the ones that really matter—like Nobue doing a flying kick to the very appropriate sound of "VIOLENCE!"—do get translated.

No, that was always like that. That was the speaking English chapter, remember?

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It would be easy to pin Strawberry Marshmallow's success on a single character and say, "Well, everyone thinks it's funny because Miu acts like a complete loony."…But she is nothing without other characters to interact with…

I don’t disagree, but the chapters of the volumes preceding this one were definitely highly Miu-centric…which is what makes this volume such a surprise, as Chika gets the better of Miu for once (and Nobue, too) and one chapter deliberately excludes Miu completely, having her sit motionless apart from the action the entire chapter. Barasui recognized the formula he had been using, and defied it for even more laughs. What skill!

An unusual thing about the series is that every character wears a unique outfit in every chapter, and occasionally several different ones! That’s totally unprecedented, if I’m not mistaken. I guess the idea is “cute girls wearing cute clothes”.

I’d like to mention page 93, though I have no way of illustrating it, which includes a somewhat unorthodox use of its panels, having a coherent up-down dimension as well as working if read from right-to-left, with some elements crossing over the panel borders. This kind of thing is pretty unusual for a Japanese comic, isn’t it?

I have one issue with the translation…several times the girls claim to be in middle school…but since they don’t wear uniforms, they’re clearly not. What gives?

The one negative thing I have to say is that Barasui can apparently only draw one head; a round, soft-looking babyface. The characters are distinguished by cranial gimmicks like Matsuri’s glasses and half-albino hair or Nobue’s jaded half-drooped eyelids(which is the only facial feature that separates her supposed adolescence from the pre-teen characters). The cardinal comics-illustrating sin of allowing mis-identification of a character is never threatened, so it’s a very minor complaint.

If you liked the manga, I also recommend the anime(currently a 12-episode TV series and a 3-episode OVA). It changes some things (Nobue is a million times nicer, and it’s a lot sappier), but if you don’t let that bother you, you’ll probably love it. I find it’s one of the few genuinely good adaptations of a manga(rather than a mere animation of one). It adds a good amount of actually funny original material, and slides in some new jokes into the manga stories it uses. Occasionally it muffs it (the first OVA’s version of the pudding chapter from volume 5 completely misses the mark), but it’s mostly good stuff. A second OVA is going to come out fairly soon.

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(-)No Volume 6 in sight ... not even in Japan.

Mad
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here-and-faraway



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1529
Location: Sunny California
PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:19 pm Reply with quote
This series is one of my guilty pleasures. It's just so gosh darn CUTE.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:47 pm Reply with quote
I find the anime pretty hilarious to watch. Maybe the manga is a good bet too
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6901
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:38 am Reply with quote
Man, I didn't even know this was out. Vol. 4 did seem a bit tired at times, but it didn't diminish my motivation to continue collecting the series.
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Miu is essentially Yotsuba Koiwai with fangs, a deranged child who perceives the world on her own terms and forces others to live in it.
I always thought she was the anime-female version of Calvin, of Calvin & Hobbes fame.
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Elfen Noir



Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Posts: 69
PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:16 am Reply with quote
I don't normally buy manga, but I love the anime so much that I bought this series and am absolutely delighted with it. I will continue to buy/follow it as long as they will continue it ... hopefully a long time! Great review and agree totally Very Happy
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Monster in a box



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Posts: 671
PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 4:49 pm Reply with quote
You mustn't call them moe.

...seriously.
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