Why Strawberry Panic fail while Maria-sama succeed?

[darkchibi07]

Then Strawberry Shake Sweet then since I know that one is done!

Though does Ichijinsha have some power on what becomes an anime adaption; they were able to get their Comic Rex title (which is Kannagi) and most of their Comic Zero-Sum titles animated.

[Matrim]

Strawberry Shake Sweet or Iono The Fanatics would be great choices for some more lighthearted yuri manga adaptations, IMO. Both are maybe a bit too short but adding some hilarious anime original filler shouldn't be a hard taks at all. Girlfriends too, but only provided it stops beating around the bush at some point in the future.

[tensashinigami]

Originally Posted by darkchibi07

Then Strawberry Shake Sweet then since I know that one is done!

Though does Ichijinsha have some power on what becomes an anime adaption; they were able to get their Comic Rex title (which is Kannagi) and most of their Comic Zero-Sum titles animated.

I'd like to see both of them as animated series: Girl Friends, and Strawberry Shake Sweet. I have to find somewhere to watch Maria-sama.

[nagikari]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

That i just don't agree on at all. Its true that many people may just be watching for the yuri element - but i know there are fans out there, including myself, that are watching for the great set of characters, storyline.. and a personal one for me, the music.

Storyline: It may not be the best out there, but still it works for Strawberry Panic. Its not all just going one way, it has us wondering the real truth behind things - its a storyline that works imo for the setting this show has taken.

Characters: A brilliant bunch of characters if you ask me. They all fit there role perfectly - and bring a lot of life to the show, thats something not many animes with so many characters can do... though you really have to thank to VA's. ^^;

Ah well, we all have our own opinions - but for the past few episodes, SP has had me in tears at whats going on, and that means it has my respect for the way the story is being told.

I would be one of those fans, i actually just signed up to make this post and just finished it today not too long ago. I dont want to spoil anything for those who havent seen it.

Spoiler for Strawberry Panic!:

For example, aname and hikari, it is true that we all have our opinions and this of course is one of them. I wonder what will happen after those two becoming etoile. I finished SP in these last two days because i was so into it. It made me cry and feel heart warmed. I also realize that this is considered an "old" anime but i really would like them to continue despite the fact of others who oppose/disliked it. I wonder if there will be another season? Or any other shoun-ai/yuri; watever you want to call it, that were similar to this one i liked it that much. And yes, there were some stereotypical moments/character development and setting, but isnt thats just the power of the imagination. Honestly i really didnt care if it was closer to real life or not, though it was in a way. Another thing, someone mentioned it was stupid or something, well, they just dont fully comprehend or try 2 get into it with their mind and their own tastes. The parts when shizuma and nagisa were in an intimate moment, you would hope everything would work out and then something tragic happens and they both start 2 hurt, and nagisa running away and shizuma not runnning after though your telling the screen for her to. You know? And the part of amane losing part of her memory of hikari and becoming etoile after falling off her horse when she was finally going to tell her her feelings, this may be a cliche thing, but i didnt care and i was that into it. And all the hoping and aching that amaneis memories would return, those kinds of moments are the parts i remeber for a lifetime, regardless that its just an anime. I know im rambling and if you got this far well thank you for listening. I dont have people to talk to about these things haha. One of the most heartbreaking was of nagisa and shizuma in her safe house i believe it was called? sharizuma and nagisa were in an intimate moment and kaori popped in her mind and the events before that, and yeah...its a mouth full...i just really loved SP

[Woodchips]

Originally Posted by Maceart

I enjoyed SPanic enough to sub it, but looking back at it, it was still mindless yuri fluff.

And we thank you for your efforts.


I never really saw these shows as being very similar at all. They're not really on the same playing field, so I don't think it's fair to compare them directly on a success vs fail basis.

1. Maria-sama had a large following before it was adapted into an anime series, therefore it doesn't have the work to do that SP did in building a dedicated fanbase.

2. SP was much more in-your-face, blatant yuri. If you look at any show that focusses on a niche market, your popularity is not going to be as high as one that is more broader-community-friendly. SP is going to appeal to those who like yuri, where Maria-sama has the advantage of subtext. It nabs the yuri fanbase, but also nabs those who choose not to--or do not see--the subtext.

3. The tone of the series is clearly very different. SP is light-hearted fluff with some wangst thrown in--enjoyable though it was. Maria-sama was a more intelligent, dramatic, serious series with more realistic character development.

4. Their similarities: Yuri-themed series set in an all-girl's Catholic high school with the focus being on a senpai/kouhai relationship. I think there were a few nods to other series, but they were clearly differentiated.

I enjoyed both series for different reasons:
- SP, while not technically as impressive as Marimite, entertained me in buckets.
- Maria-sama on the other hand, impressed me with its fantastic character development, realism and very likable and diverse cast.
- To put things into perspective, Maria-sama got a 9/10 overall score on myanimelist, Strawberry Panic got a 7/10, but my pure enjoyment levels for both were the same: 9/10.

Long live diversity!

[agila61]

In the original question itself, remember that poor ratings in its time slot in Season 2 for Maria-sama ga Miteru "Spring" led to the 3rd "Summer" season being an OVA release. And then, which is far from normal, it was able to get another television series.

It seems highly likely that the existence of the series of light novels and the dedicated fan base wanting to see a favorite novel animated boosted the DVD sales of the OVA series enough to convince the money to back a TV series with low but reliable ratings and with decent chances in the DVD market. Plus, for the Pizza Hut tie-in, its not the raw numbers that are as important as the demographic.

Where SP really lifted its game in the middle of its run was when it started working harder at blatantly borrowing bits and pieces from all sorts of sources, including of course borrowing the climax of its finale for The Graduate. But unlike Maria-sama ga Miteru, it had no established fanbase for the next storyline, and so it would have been much harder to get the financing together to do an OVA release.

[theorys]

Considering I am the biggest Strawberry Panic fan in France, though maybe now in the US too ...I always say I love Marimite and have no problem doing so. Both are great shows, but I think this is the difference between the two and I can sum it up in one word:

Strawberry Panic: Charming
Maria-sama Ga Miteru: Elegant

This is about 25% of my Strawberry Panic collection:

[BlitzZMay]

I read your posts and I agree with you. From Maria-sama it goes everything, it was the first anime who present gentely yuri, who create a tipe of yuri, distinguished.
Strawberry is inspirated from Maria-sama, but it's clearly it has his one form, story. I don't know how it is in another countrys, but in Romania we love Strawberry at most ^^

[DanielSong39]

Addressing the author, I understand that he liked Maria-sama better than Strawberry Panic but one would be hard-pressed to call Strawberry Panic a failure. Maria-sama is probably the more popular work, and has decent mix of shoujo drama, likeable characters, and amusing shoujo-ai undertones.

Strawberry Panic on the other hand is much more in-your-face when it comes to the yuri elements. It's more of a low-brow work that aims for the lowest common denominator. I personally found it to be absolutely hilarious, and that alone rescued it from the depths of mediocrity.

It really depends on your tastes, I suppose.

[428]

Simple. Handling.

To be sharp on this.

Both the Proton and Mitsubishi have the same engines.

But why did the Proton fail when Mitsubishi used the same engine model? The handling of the car, obviously.

Strawberry Panic was all-out on yuri, and felt overly simplistic, forgetting to cover the elements that make the best yuri the way they are.

The best yuri heals your soul. It's never straightforward about, but rather takes its time, gently and smoothly, never surprising you, but soothes you. It isn't the erotic scenes that make yuri, especially in Catholic school settings - I notice this to be a common choice for yuri - which both share.

(I mean, Otoboku was done in a Protestant girl's school - Methodist, was it? Was it Aoyama Girl's? Or something...?)

Marimite was easy on the yuri, preferring to develop plot and character to the full. It's the difference between Japanese soy sauce and China ones. Japanese soy sauce takes time to develop a full-bodied aroma. China ones (the light soy sauce variety at least) tend to just focus on how it's used in cooking, focusing on taste.

S/Panic made yuri an obvious first. That was a problem.

Also, yuri writers need to be careful in one thing - the culture of Japan (outside Tokyo and Osaka) is still conservative, and thus anything that is yuri can only fall into two tracks - otaku-specific or mainstream, yuri-light.

S/Panic was otaku-specific, so its fanbase was obviously smaller than Marimite, a yuri-light mainstreamer. And where Shizuma bordered on clingy (and maybe Nagisa too!) Sachiko knew the limits. And Yumi too. And everyone else (except Sei, but that's acceptable for entertainment value )

Most importantly, is the tomboy character. Rei Kaname (gah, I'm all messed up right now). in S/Panic is quite a jolt to the palate, where Rei from Marimite is a little tart, but still dances well on the palate.

So, it all comes down to handling. And Marimite has a better soundtrack. Chercher is addictive.

[darkchibi07]

So most Japanese prefer this?