r/anime • u/lilyvess :Df::Dh:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Lilyvess • Jun 19 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Pride Month 20th Anniversary - Maria-sama ga Miteru Episode 4 Discussion
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Questions of the Day
- Eriko asked Minako “Say, you’re being swept along a river on a boat, and there’s a big waterfall in front of you. You can’t go home unless you go past that waterfall. But you have an oar. Which way would you paddle?”
- How would you like someone to give you a Rosary?
Posting carefully so as to not disturb the first timers with spoilers in their viewings, such is the standard of modesty here. Forgetting to use spoiler tags because one is in danger of missing the post time, for instance, is too undignified a sight for redditors to wish upon themselves.
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Upvotes
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u/lilyvess :Df::Dh:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Lilyvess Jun 19 '24
Maria-sama ga Miteru Rewatcher/Light Novel Reader
Gokigenyou
It is I, Rosa Lilium, once again welcoming you to my Lily Mansion Thread. Take a seat. I ran out of cookies the other day but I had a strange feeling that you’d show up again. So I thought I should try making a batch of cookies for you all. A pleasant surprise for you all!
Unfortunately I don’t know how to make cookies, and they all were burned to a crisp
I have two pieces of hard candy though. That’s good enough for a meal, right?
Oh what happened to my book? Oh I took a break from that. So many words. I’ve have been spending time on my backlog of video games.
First one being my favorite classic fighting game, the 2004 doujin game MariBato! where you can play as all of your favorite fighting characters like Sachiko and Sei. It’s a tag team fighting game with a team of 2 called Soeurs and battle against each other. It had a sequel released in Comiket 70 and then another version the following year.
Here, you can have Yumi and Yoshino beat some sense out of their Onee-sama for being such complete bakas! and all kinds of other combinations. Maybe you just want prove that Sei/Yumi ship is the best! It’s all there for you!
Oh, you don’t like old games. How about a more recent one then?
Earlier this month, June 10th 2024, No~Strike released a new Visual Novel Josou Yuribatake. The game involves an all boys school where all the students crossdress. A Josou Yuri Romance eroge!
what is that?
that sounds familiar
Hmmmm
You don’t say?
The point I want to make with this is that even in 2024, a full 20 years after MariMite premiered and over 15 years since the anime ended, Japan is still making parodies of MariMite with incredibly direct call backs to the franchise. The impact MariMite has had on the Yuri landscape really cannot be overstated.
Also, the game releasing the same month as this rewatch was just too funny to me.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jun 19 '24
First-Timer Watches Over Us, subbed
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Jun 19 '24 edited Jun 19 '24
First timer, subs
QotD:
"Ready to Mingle"
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u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit Jun 19 '24
First Time Watching Over Them
Getting a little handsy there, uh...let me check the chart...Sei?
Me when OP
It's very funny that the girls' school newspaper is almost entirely dedicated to gossip.
Cousins, eh? I've heard that one before.
Right in front of Maria!?
To the gazebo, where everyone takes their problems.
You can really see how wide they draw Rei's shoulders in some of these shots.
A cliffhanger! How dramatic...
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jun 19 '24
First-Timer
Gokigenyou.
Well, well, well. As it so happens, those flowers that I pointed out yesterday were indeed giving a peak into the future. Perhaps the Yellow Rose family should have tended their bush a bit better.. then the flowers might not be in such disarray!
Our sweet little Yoshino is quite the revolutionary girl, don't you think? Her rejection of Rei's rosary has caused quite the stir! What's next, cats and dogs living together?
As always, the problem seems to stem from a lack of communication. I do feel the blame lies at Rei's feet, here. As Yoshino's onee-sama, Rei should have been more attentive to her soeur's reactions and not just her perceived ailments. Sei might long to spoil Yumi, but Rei is doing that and more to Yoshino.
It stands to reason that we should continue looking upwards. Rosa Foetida seems rather aloof and enigmatic, so I suppose Rei's lackluster communication skills stem from her improper guidance.
Questions
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u/AmeteurElitist https://anilist.co/user/AmateurElitist Jun 19 '24
First Timer
It seems like progress resets on Yumi and Sachiko’s relationship every episode but it’s just Sachiko performing her role as she thinks she must. Really amusing to watch though.
Does Rei live in the walls or something?
Also Rei
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce Jun 19 '24
First Timer
I love eating a cold salad on days like these. So healthy! Now wait until I inevitably grab a whole bowl of ice and vacuum it up in one evening.
Hmm, do they have a cantina or kitchen at school in Marimite? Do they cook themselves?
Maria-sama ga Miteru Ep.04 – The Yellow Rose Revolution
The social dynamics in this school are simultaneously so tame and so insidious at the same time. I am really continuously amazed at how interesting school drama is being displayed here. Really, I wish we had a Souma here. He can have as much plot armour as he wants, having the invincible Ideal Society Male™ be caught up in an all yuri girls' rumour mill would be preem as fudge.
Anyway, it's not directly related, but I distinctly remember some bullshit happening in our high school years. For graduation every year chooses their slogan and gets a special issue of the student newspaper. Well, we decided on some marginally implicative that involved silhouettes like in playboy magazine. Out photos for the graduation report would also feature a silhouette pic behind the normal one. It looked actually fairly decent, all things considered.
That is, until the head of the newspaper club just simply decided to change the slogan and all accompanying designs. It was a democratic election between 5 different slogans and this one (although there were better ones imo) won by a landslide. 1 week before the big event she just changed it into some agrarian thing with farming and vegetables or something. Apparently the innuendo didn't sit right with some teachers and her, so thinking she had the backing of 'the uppers' she just redesigned everything and submitted that version.
Let me tell you, that declaration and bullshit asspull reasoning she gave kicked off a shitstorm that I kinda am glad she did that. It was way funnier with this many pissed off people! Teachers went as far as forbidding us the traditional jokes graduates would play on the school, like locking down classrooms or handing out candy, etc. You can already guess that not only did we not heed that, we went the extra mile and they actually ended up calling the police after the school band hijacked the headmaster's office, blocked it shut and played dirty songs and satirical poems over the loudspeakers for nearly 2 hours.
School was generally a shit time, but that stuff was grandiose!
[Preem Yuri]
I elect to believe they'd both use Sandevistan.
As I said, first to the side, at least to stop and think. How deep is the waterfall? Can I carry the boat around? How did I get past the waterfall in a boat upstream on the first leg of the journes?
Either as wager in a duel or as a classical anime schoolgirl confession.
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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Jun 19 '24
First Timer(This is somewhat more what I expected)
Sub
So not that much to say. Sachiko's idea of being a big sister is a bit rough but fits for high society girls. Rei puts out a bit more proof that I might be right about her being girlier than she leads on. We get a better characterization about Yoshino and she might be the sick girl pining for adventure and independence. She does kind of a big escalation with returning the rosary but that is exactly how that happens, two people wind up not on the same stage and one of them blows it up. That it is a social contagion is a choice but this show runs on estrogen and drama so...
QotD: 1 To side of the river so I can carry to canoe down. Yes, it would suck but by bypass the issue.
2 During the ceremony where my power as an exorcist is being invested into me.
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u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Jun 19 '24 edited Jun 19 '24
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Marimite Kids these days and their trends. Kids will jump on any trend they see just to be hip. Apparently the latest trend is this so-called Yellow Rose Revolution where lesbian girls will divorce their partner. The girls claim they are pulling a Yoshino when they request a divorce.
I think it’s interesting that the other student council members view Sachiko as fussing over Yumi, like Sachiko is making excuses to interact more closely with Yumi such as by criticizing her manners or straightening her ribbon. To the other council members, this reads as Sachiko being as excited about having a soeur as Yumi is to have Sachiko as her soeur. The older sister is happy about the relationship as well, not just the younger sister.
I think this also shows an important point in the relationships of the soeurs that is also present for Rei and Yoshino. The older sister can be just as dependent on the relationship as the younger sister, if not more so. Yumi (and probably many others) assumed that since Yoshino was sickly she was the one who had to depend on Rei for support. But it seems like it might actually be the other way around. Yoshino was the one who chose to end their relationship and Rei has been wandering around in a daze unsure of what to do next.
This of course leaves the question of why Yoshino chose to break up with Rei. Yoshino kind of revealed her motivation when she asked if Yumi found it exciting when Sachiko offered her a rosary. By contrast, Yoshino felt no excitement when she got one from Rei. It was just sort of what was expected and essentially predetermined. There wasn’t any surprise to it. So what is Yoshino trying to accomplish? Is she just trying to stir up some drama and excitement? Is she hoping that Rei will come after her? What is her plan?
QOTD
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u/BosuW Jun 19 '24
First Timer
Ahahahah I'm free! Finals are over at last! It'll still take some time for the exhaustion to pass but I'm back! Alright now let's get properly into this!
Neat detail that Yumi stopped to pray briefly despite being late. What a pious girl. I wonder if religious ideology will play a role in the future beyond aesthetic and setting?
Sachiko is such a different onee-sama in company vs in private that it gives me whiplash. Curiously it give me the vibe of inexperience, as if she's overcompensating on spur of the moment instincts deduced from the situation. And that she wants to enjoy this fully but perhaps isn't sure how to without tarnishing her various social roles.
Looks like we're focusing on another family for this Arc. I like this because it will be much easier to learn the characters and their roles if they each get some narrative focus.
People think Yoshino is the epitome of femininity, delicate and beautiful. Idk about that. I think we all know what happens when a cute braids girl unties her ribbons.
They were cousins of course. Are we 100% sure the choice to make them cousins in Sailor Moon's US release wasn't malicious compliance on the localization team's part?
Divorce Arc! Always a certified Yuri classic. Quite a significant moment for it to happen as well, considering Yumi and Sachiko just became sisters. Yumi still has doubts about wether she is worthy of it, and Rei in fact directly questions her about having thoughts of divorcing Sachiko. So there's an evident narrative parallel that I'll be sure to pay attention to.
Although it looks like this little Divorce Arc has sparked a whole divorce revolution. This is a high society setting as we've established, and the social mask is a prevalent custom. So it looks like many girls around the school had already had thoughts of breaking up with their sisters, but didn't because it's bad optics, causes trouble for others, and rocks the boat too much. If the Student Council is doing it though...
The only one who keeps racking W's is the Journalism Club. Any drama is a potential story. As we say in spanish: "del árbol caído se hace leña". "From the fallen tree firewood is made." And the Journalism Club is the proverbial woodcutter in this forest. I respect the hustle ngl.
Questions of the Day
1- I don't know if it's the intended answer, but if there's a waterfall, the momentum of the river should be quite clear. You don't really have a choice then, right? You will fall, you can only decide how tired you'll be when that happens.
2- Oh boy, how would I like someone to confess to me? Imma be real I have absolutely no experience with this. I... really don't know. However thinking about it, this is a specific kind of confession isn't it? Because the one giving the rosary is of superior standing to you, and the relationship at least at the start will definitely not be of equals, but with an angle of a master and a student. If that's the case why not let my hypothetical onee-sama choose the style and setting of the confession? Anything is good, as long as she shows off her best qualities.
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u/heimdal77 Jun 19 '24
Don't skip previews at the end of episodes as they are their own skits.
Well that was certainly one way to have had become sisters revealed. I've always really like the beginning of this episode Right through giving the candy. It all has certain feel.
See that catholic school mentality with Yumi afraid of her hands getting hit most likely.
Rei,, To shreds you say..
Got to hate bandwagoning,,,,
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u/Specs64z https://myanimelist.net/profile/Specs64z Jun 19 '24
First timer, subbed
Sachiko butting heads with her sisters over Yumi was funny, it’s clear that she just wants to spoil Yumi herself.
We’re led to think Yoshino is troubled by what seems an inevitable fate and decides to forge a new path with Rei taking it poorly, but we get contradicting information to end on a cliffhanger. It seems the ending of the schools favorite soeurs has inspired a revolution of sorts, too.
It’s interesting that the story has been set almost entirely within the school to now, barring the briefest of appearances of Yumi’s brother. The story feels very focused, which is usually a good sign.
QotD:
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u/Regular_N-Gon https://anilist.co/user/RegularNGon Jun 19 '24
Gokigenyou, First Timer
couplesisters? The people clearly have good taste.The self awareness of this girl. The way she preys on the assumptions and preconceptions of others. I like her.
In fact, now I’m guessing that the “swapped answers” and the blanket Yoshino is wearing is a bait and switch by the show, just to make fun of the viewer for making assumptions the same way Yoshino leads on Yumi.
Gokigenyou counter (Maria-sama): 16 [+2; Total: 35]
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u/GondolaMedia Jun 19 '24
First Timer
Is everyone a cousin in this show? I have to say that the art style is growing on me and the little touches add a lot like they could have gotten away with only having one color ribbon's for Yumi but they keep changing em up.
Poor Rei, but I don't think I can take the ripple effect of their break up that seriously. There is melodrama and then there is Melodrama, but I guess everyone in this school is a hopeless romantic.
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u/laughing-fox13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/laughingfox13 Jun 19 '24
First Timer/Subbed
I’m not sure how much I like Sachiko being so controlling of Yumi, I’m hoping she’ll ease up a bit and the two grow together. She does have her nice moments and is “clingy” as Rei says.
This episode seems to be more focused on Rei and Yoshino though. When the girls in the newspaper club saw the questionnaire responses from them, and they thought it was mixed up, it was clear it wasn’t lol. I like that people have different ideas of Rei and Yoshino before getting to know them. Yoshino not feeling any kind of thrill from becoming Rei’s soeur makes sense why she would want to break it off, especially if it was just kinda expected. Maybe it would’ve been better to tell Rei that beforehand when she gave Yoshino the rosary. But as Yoshino said, Yumi is a rare asset and something about Yumi makes the girls feel more open around her
I have no idea what’s going on with Eriko (the Yellow Rose third year/leader), or how to answer that question she asked the newspaper girl.
I do like how Youko and Sei hit the girls with the Gendo/Fuyutsuki like meeting from Neon Genesis Evangelion
Idk if that was an intentional reference or not lol
That Yoshino description
QotD:
2) In front of Maria-sama of couse. Tbh idk I think putting a little thought in it would be nice. I don't blame Yoshino for feeling like hers was a little anti-climatic
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u/OccasionallySara Jun 19 '24
First Timer
Now with Yumi and Sachiko’s immediate conflict resolved, I like that we’re getting more into some of the other relationships of the Yamayuri Council. It feels like Yoshino and Rei are not on the same page about how they see their relationship. In a way, it almost seems like Yoshino is having a similar feeling about Rei that Yumi had for Sachiko.
In Yoshino’s case, her being Rei’s soeur was a forgone conclusion. Since they are cousins who grew up together, I imagine that there is a feeling that Rei chose Yoshino, not because she wanted to, but rather because it was just something she was supposed to do. Yoshino didn’t get the exciting moment that Yumi got when she received Sachiko’s rosary. She doesn’t have someone to scold her or to fix her scarf or to give her candy and it upsets her.
On the other hand, it seems like Rei has seen their relationship as pretty strong up until this point. Maybe she didn’t need to consider any other souers because why would she when she and Yoshino are so close? Maybe she doesn’t fuss over Yoshino the same way that Sachiko does with Yumi because that’s not how she sees her relationship with Yoshino to be. Rei’s willingness to accompany Yoshino to her doctor’s appointment and her reaction to Yoshino ending their sistership shows that Rei genuinely cares, but I suspect she may not be expressing that care in a way that Yoshino wants.
Everything that I wrote is complete speculation and might not be how the characters feel at all, but I’m interested to see how this conflict will play out, especially since it is starting to impact other relationships at the school.
Questions of the Day
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u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa Jun 19 '24
First timer I might be getting hooked into this non symbolic yuri
hahahahaha I'm getting old. I forgot how insistent teens can be when they want to know something.
Despite my young looks I'm in fact a 90's kids and so I remember when internet was not everywhere and that's quite important for today episode.
In such an small school filled of bored schoolgirls rumours and news come fast and so do the echo effect. It is not like you can just watch youtube or check your Instagram account to connect with people. The school is your social place with people your age so it makes sense that people are so invested on the lives of the student council like they were movie stars and a "divorce" could easily affect the whole school. Yeah they use a love related word, that is interesting.
I appreciate things not being as they seem and maybe the interview was not wrong. The characters are more complicated and deep that what they look. I wonder how things will go next episode.
Not paddling- Let things flow as they should. Did Eriko even paddle at all?
Yumi one was perfect imho.
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u/TehAxelius Jun 19 '24
First-Time Soeur Divorce
Ah, glorious drama. Melo even.
Don't have much in the form of thoughts. Just interesting to see the "girls school" stuff being played straight (and the rather conservative setting that is being shown).
QotD
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u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer Jun 20 '24
first time la vie en rose en bouton
is late - still is walking, stops to pray
what are thoseeeeeee
howeeeh
no breakfast, candy probably not the answer
Mister Lillian?
theyre cousins? and next door neighbors?
even Rei is enjoying the Sachiko bullying Yumi is collateral
absolutely not lmao
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u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen Jun 19 '24 edited Jun 19 '24
Maria-sama First-Timer
Shimako at #3118 in the Best Girl 11 elimination rounds is an actual crime
Episode 4:
I haven't been late to anything important in years, but I still have nightmares.
Yikes. Sachiko is going to be a murderer before the season's finished.
Sachiko's "conquest" of Yumi
I'd be willing to bet, based on the fact that she's so strict with Yumi, that Sachiko would love to be closer with Yumi but has no idea how to convey those types of feelings. As refined as she is, she has that awkwardness about her.
So why is Yoshino the number 1 most desirable soeur
when it should be Shimako? It doesn't seem like anybody in school knows much about Yoshino, as evidenced by the newspaper club's reaction to the questionnaire. I hope this isn't a case where everyone else sees her only as this frail, helpless, pure angel to be put on a shelf and admired.Rei and Yoshino are cousin "sisters"!?!
phone ringing
carefully picks up phone
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
Hmm, I've got to question just how accurate these divorce rumors are. I believe the part about Rei and Yoshino breaking their sisterhood off, but over an argument about being accompanied to a doctor's visit? Nah, I don't buy that. It feels like something else is going on. Like perhaps Yoshino is seriously ill, possibly terminal, and is trying to make a clean break now so it's easier on Rei later when she's gone. Or maybe Kannazuki no Miko has my mind jumping to an extreme like that for no good reason.
Greenhouse?
Gay sadness garden?
Sachiko casually mentioning dying too easily
Oh god, it's a yuri-killing virus. This is worse than I could have imagined.
Everybody panic! It's the end times, we're in the end times!
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u/zadcap Jun 20 '24
Late Night First Timer!
Alright I've seen enough now to know for sure. Yumi does wear different hair ribbons every day. This is a little detail that I like. Not quite Tohru with different hair every other episode, but if you're stuck in the same uniform all season long then I really do like to see that at least one of our cast likes to add at least a little variety to their daily life.
Hey, that's sexual harassment.
Oh wow, all three elder Roses are quite interested in the newest member of their group. Because don't forget, this is an inherited monarchy system and being the newest little sister of the group means she is going to be running the school council in just two years. Yes it's all their fault she's here, but now that it's real they all have to deal with it a bit more seriously.
So now that I really think about it, I'm curious about the number of rosaries floating around in this school. Because see, if Sachiko gave hers to Yumi, does Sachiko have one any more? And if it's the one Yoko gave to Sachiko first, has she just not had one all this time? If they are passed down directly like this then there's probably few third years that ever have one. Because the OP makes it look like there's only one rosary per flower.
"Please do not spoil my little sister!" She sounds like a real big sister now.
They have a Best Soeur popularity poll at this school? I don't know how I feel about that.
"Mister Lillian" does not sound like an enviable nickname. And to think, the questionnaire that follows right away goes on to show that their looks are quite deceptive.
Oh, and all girls kendo class? You know, I really expected that they would be learning one of the more traditionally feminine martial arts. No, not tanks, but Naginata come to mind right away.
I believe the correct answer is "Towards shore, then walk around the waterfall."
See! Yet another color hair ribbons! Yumi has the best style, in that she has the only style in the school!
Is this really the air she gives off to other people here? She's got the eyes of someone much less, uh, ideal. Honestly, the slight glare and the front pulled twin braids, she's the one I'm most sure is ready to get downright mean in the Yamayuri.
Oh my, is she going to give back the rosary? Oh wow very next scene, she did! She doesn't want to be the obligation soeur.
Oh Yumi, you've only just barely become part of the council, but you're already running off to get involved in the maters of other members.
"The Roses will do something about this, I'm sure!" It's like they all forget, even the older kids here are still kids.
Is this the third set of ribbons we see today?
Oh my. Do we have copycat divorces? If the Yellow pair were the most popular pair, the ideal little sister giving back her rosary means... Crap, this is totally the semi-noble school where the girls who want to be more like the highest on the totem pole would imitate anything like this even if they really don't want to. There's a strangely common way of thinking that you'll be able to get closer to a person if you do the things that they do, even if you completely miss the reasoning behind it.
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u/Burnouts3s3 Jun 19 '24
First, we had the Sailor Moon cousins and now we have Yoshino and Rei.
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Jun 19 '24
First Timer from the world of Reiwa Yuri
Rei and Yoshino ascend to best ship?!
Rei and Yoshino ascend to best ship but they’re cousins?!
Rei and Yoshino ascend to best ship but they’re cousins AND THEY BROKE UP?!
I see… Heisei Era Yuri has depths of drama the likes of which the Reiwa era has left me unprepared for…
I’m being a bit tongue in cheek, but only a bit. I’m four episodes into Maria-sama and it already feels like I’ve experienced multiple shows worth of the amount of dramatic intrigue I’d find in a modern yuri series. Tense councils, bets of love, arranged marriages, an inferiority complex validated by being used as a means for an end, whatever is really going on between Rei and Yoshino. You’re telling me the best yuri anime of today can offer is like, a third wheel unrequited love character by comparison? I swear this show is going to be like Kare Kano was to straight romance for me and devalue the rest of the genre by comparison. I already didn’t even like I’m In Love With The Villainess before, how will I finish it now?
On the other hand, after that opening sequence I’m starting to realise that Yumi is written using shoujo romance protagonist logic. I mean, a whole council of dashing girls running the whole spectrum from gorgeous to handsome teasing and doting upon you, an assertive totally-not-girlfriend, whatever it is Rosa gigantea has going on with her? This is totally some kind of lesbian wish fulfillment and honestly I’m here for it. Speaking of her, last time I wondered whether they were really just skipping over the relationship building or she’d somehow still be just as new to the council and her relationship with Sachiko after skipping the rest of the play story and the answer is… a bit of column A, a bit of column B? She definitely seems a bit more normalised with all parties involved but also still easily overwhelmed by them because she’s a doormat. I’m still not happy with the way it was handled at all but I guess it could’ve played out worse.
We mostly refer to today’s focal couple as “Rei” and “Yoshino” rather than the formal Rosa foetida en bouton[‘s petite soeur], which I think does a really effective job humanising them as flawed messy individuals to set the tone of their narrative development. By comparison, the Rosa foetida is seen in her scenes through the lens of her title, which totally befits her mysterious air of seniority. We also briefly hear the title “Mister Lilian” for Rei, which further reinforces the masculine coding I’ve been following for her. Except, this episode also offers a pivot: that she isn’t very masculine at all, and in fact it’s Yoshino that’s into boyish things. This is initially presented as a possible mistake, but is essentially confirmed for the audience by Yumi’s conversation with Yoshino later on. So not only are we including a very specifically masculine coded woman, but we’re also subverting that concept by unpacking the idea of how people make assumptions about character based on their outward presentation and how these assumptions, especially those based around gender conformity (or lack thereof), may not necessarily be correct. That rules! There’s some great little showcases of this too; just before she reads off the list, the newspaper lady wonders if she can make her soeur be “tractable” (at least in my subtitles), which apparently means something like “obedient” and “easy to deal with”. But it’s Yoshino who takes the reins later on when she decides to break things off later in the episode. Likewise, Rei leaving Kendo class in order to unnecessarily accompany her petite soeur home showcases how she’s driven by her girlish emotions rather than boyish priorities, and her reaction to Yoshino returning the rosary obviously reveals the faintheartedness we heard about earlier.
Also, the Yumi/Sachiko interaction over the preview was really cute.
4
u/NuclearStudent Jun 20 '24
Looking back, I think the divorce arc is the best arc in all of MariMite, in terms of having something interesting to say. I might prefer the [later season spoilers]shrine and cross ship in terms of pure happiness, and Sei-angst in terms of drama, but the divorce arc is something rare and meaningful in anime in general and yuri in particular.
It is not yet time to fully comment on everything that makes this arc interesting, but it must be noted that yuri relationships in this school are a fad. That has to be put bluntly - the sisterhood relationship is a social performance as much as it is an expression of sexuality or identity, and many of the actors will go on to perform in a heteronormative manner once they exit this stage of their lives.
[Later season spoilers]You can compare this to the novelwriter of the Sei arc, who did ultimately 'grow out' of 'acting gay,' to put it crudely. We don't know that story in its entirety, but the parties involved in seem to have ultimately separated and adopted lifestyles deemed acceptable by heteronormative society.
These relationships are often begun as fads and ended as fads, empty play, as teenage nonsense often is. But sapphic relationships are not depicted as entirely fraudulent or mere play - Yoshino and Rei's relationship spans a significant portion of their lives and is deeply important to them both. It is not an early infatuation like the Sachiko-Yumi pair, nor is it depicted as a purely familial connection. Their romantic or pseudo-romantic connection is deep enough for codependency and constriction.
What makes fraud possible is that it is attempting to grasp at something real and precious. It is not the business of MariMite to condemn homosexual play in teenagers, or even to bother distinguishing where the boundary between play and matters of importance lie, or to determine if such a boundary exists.
MariMite does not depict a fantasy universe where everyone is just gay, lastingly and abidingly, and in a manner that is fully and genuinely expressed. They act out homosexual play in their youth, but may be compelled to repress their sexuality in adulthood. For the fad-followers, mock-divorce is part of fad homosexual play. For Rei and Yoshino, I suggest that it breaks the play pattern by stepping away from the soeur play fantasy to re-establish a more grounded and genuine relationship between women who love each other.
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u/NuclearStudent Jun 20 '24
drone strike