Marimite S2 Ep.08 (official thread)

[SleeplessHeart]

Get ready marimite fans! The raw episode has been listed (164 MB).
What will happen to Noriko?
Will Sachiko sing another rap song?
Will Shimako survive the attack from demanding yuri fans?
Find out in Maria sama ga miteru ~spring~ episode 8!!

[Portable]

Episode 8 is fantastic. As long as they keep spending big money animating drill hair, I don't think I can keep hating Touko for long. Shimako and Noriko's relationship seems to be moving along quickly, and Noriko is already showing signs of being protective of Shimako. I really didn't understand much of it other than realizing all of the drama was about the juzu. From the next episode preview, it looks like we'll get to see still more building of Noriko and Shimako's relationship.

[kj1980]

As a reader of the novel, I was rather disappointed. They shouldn't have combined the two chapters "Ichou no Naka no Sakura" and "BGN" into this one episode. The reason why the novel excelled at this was because "Ichou~" and "BGN" were two chapters that corrollate each other as front and back. Putting these two chapters together into one episode made me feel that this episode was hastily put together...especially at the scene of St. Mary's Religious Trials. It made it less interesting to see what was going on behind the scenes ("BGN" chapter) at the trials.

They cut the scene where Yumi asks Mami-san to help out the event. I think non-novel readersvwill be confused why Mami-san is there assisting behind Shimako without explaining this...

Come to think of it, Touko-chan didn't even say "You look better on this!" when she pulled out the juzu-beads at St. Mary's Religious Trials. Nor did Shimako shout nor did Noriko fall down.

On the plus side, they did give a good foreshadowing of Sachiko and Yumi's relationship with "half-day date at the amusement park." But by the looks of it, "Rainy Blue" is still at least two episodes away...

So, going by the book, it looks like the subsequent anime episodes will be something like:

Episode 8: "Rosario no shizuku"
Episode 9: "Kibara Chuu-i hou"
Episode 10: "Rainy Blue Pt. 1"
Episode 11: "Rainy Blue Pt. 2"
Episode 12: "Parasol o Sashite Pt. 1"
Episode 13: "Parasol o Sashite Pt. 2"

[Shigan]

What was the whole thing with the beads about anyway? Is it forbidden to be a buddhist in Lillian or what?

And yeah, why was Mami there helping out? I kinda just guessed that they needed someone and picked her at random since they lack manpower O_o

[mintyfresh]

Originally Posted by kj1980

As a reader of the novel, I was rather disappointed. They shouldn't have combined the two chapters "Ichou no Naka no Sakura" and "BGN" into this one episode. The reason why the novel excelled at this was because "Ichou~" and "BGN" were two chapters that corrollate each other as front and back. Putting these two chapters together into one episode made me feel that this episode was hastily put together...especially at the scene of St. Mary's Religious Trials. It made it less interesting to see what was going on behind the scenes ("BGN" chapter) at the trials. "

ah.. I had a feeling things were becoming a little rushed in this episode. Granted, since I've never read the novels, nothing really looked too hasty to me, but considering he acceleration of the new budding relationships (nameli Shimako and Noriko's), I can tell that the writers are trying to get to another part of the story fast.. (huh..they seem to be squeezing in quite a bit in this season.. ^^; )

Originally Posted by kj1980

They cut the scene where Yumi asks Mami-san to help out the event. I think non-novel readersvwill be confused why Mami-san is there assisting behind Shimako without explaining this...

I was wondering about that. I remember thinking to myself when I saw that scene, "what the heck is SHE doing there...??"

[Nequam]

Oh wow, this season is really starting to pick up the pace! While I share the sentiment that things might be moving a bit quickly, relative to the leisurely tempo we've all grown accustomed to, another part of me realizes that I'd probably be pulling my hair out in anticipation every week if they moved any slower than this...

So in the end, both sides cancel out and I'm left happy as usual. And I'm so glad that Shimako is finally getting the attention she deserves this season!

Originally Posted by Portable

As long as they keep spending big money animating drill hair, I don't think I can keep hating Touko for long.

LOL I can't agree more. The bounciness of Touki's drills never ceases to amaze me... and I can't help but feel a deep and curious desire to touch them every time I see her.

[lordwu]

Originally Posted by kj1980

As a reader of the novel, I was rather disappointed. They shouldn't have combined the two chapters "Ichou no Naka no Sakura" and "BGN" into this one episode. The reason why the novel excelled at this was because "Ichou~" and "BGN" were two chapters that corrollate each other as front and back. Putting these two chapters together into one episode made me feel that this episode was hastily put together...especially at the scene of St. Mary's Religious Trials. It made it less interesting to see what was going on behind the scenes ("BGN" chapter) at the trials.

I agree. The tension created by separating different views was just simply not there. I was afraid of that happening from the beginning but believed they can do it right after the Sei/Shimako episode. But this is really quite a let down. It's still a nice episode but by telling the story at a 3rd person view only, emotion is somewhat lacking.
And Touko should be more evil! I actually hated her when I read the Cherry Blossom and the following Rainy Blue. But I don't feel that there will be enough hate for Touko in the anime. :P

Episode 8: "Rosario no shizuku"
Episode 9: "Kibara Chuu-i hou"
Episode 10: "Rainy Blue Pt. 1"
Episode 11: "Rainy Blue Pt. 2"
Episode 12: "Parasol o Sashite Pt. 1"
Episode 13: "Parasol o Sashite Pt. 2"

Well, episode 8 is already aired. So that left us with 5 more episodes. So my guess would be the last 3 episodes covering Rainy Blue and Parasol o Sashite.

[lordwu]

Originally Posted by Shigan

What was the whole thing with the beads about anyway? Is it forbidden to be a buddhist in Lillian or what?

And yeah, why was Mami there helping out? I kinda just guessed that they needed someone and picked her at random since they lack manpower O_o

Spoiler:

As Sachiko said after the "play", there's nothing wrong with being a buddist and attending Lillian at the same time. It's just Shimako herself being too hard on herself. Part of the reason why she thinks that way wasn't told in the anime I think. Shimako's father made a bet with Rei's grandfather on when Shimako will reveal her background. So he told Shimako to keep that a secret at school and Shimako actually took his words to heart....

Mami's being there is not just a random pick. She made a deal with the Yamayurikai members to help out. Not every student would like to do that since they are generally intimidated somewhat by the Yamayurkai members.

[Sweets Yumi]

Do we know for sure that this season will only have 13 episodes?

[lordwu]

Originally Posted by Sweets Yumi

Do we know for sure that this season will only have 13 episodes?

Yes. There will be 6 DVDs for the 2nd season and each DVD will have 2 episodes other than vol.6, which will have 3 episodes. Hence the 13 episodes count.

[kj1980]

Originally Posted by lordwu

I agree. The tension created by separating different views was just simply not there. I was afraid of that happening from the beginning but believed they can do it right after the Sei/Shimako episode. But this is really quite a let down. It's still a nice episode but by telling the story at a 3rd person view only, emotion is somewhat lacking.

Exactly. The brilliance of the way the novel was written was how the first part showed from the perspective of Shimako and Noriko, while the "background noise" second half showed the same perspective from the members "in the background" (the other bara-no-yakata members). It also lessened the fact that the whole "Ichou no naka no Sakura" was actually the first written chapters of "Maria-sama ga Miteru"

Episode 6 "Kata te dake tsunaide" did an excellent job of showing from Shimako's view and Sei's view of how they met...I was rather disappointed that they didn't do the same for the entire "Cherry Blossom" part...but I guess I should cope with that since it is a concern for time constrained episodes.

And Touko should be more evil! I actually hated her when I read the Cherry Blossom and the following Rainy Blue. But I don't feel that there will be enough hate for Touko in the anime. :P.

I agree once again. I despised Touko when I first read the novel. Her first impression was a mischievous, wily and usurper. However, by the way Ms. Konno Oyuki writes it, her whole appearance went 180 degrees within me from one of my least favorite characters into one of the lovable characters mid-way in "Parasol o Sashite."

I was hoping that the anime would give that same impression and the same "turn-of image" to non-novel readers, but I felt that the anime didn't do that. Perhaps they might make up for it in the first part of "Rainy Blue," but as I said, first impressions are important...and Touko-chan was less evil in her primary appearance which I found it to be lacking.

Well, episode 8 is already aired. So that left us with 5 more episodes. So my guess would be the last 3 episodes covering Rainy Blue and Parasol o Sashite.

Ah, touche. It should've been:

Episode 9: "Rosario no shizuku"
Episode 10: "Kibara Chuu-i hou"
Episode 11: "Rainy Blue Pt. 1"
Episode 12: "Rainy Blue Pt. 2~Parasol o Sashite Pt. 1"
Episode 13: "Parasol o Sashite Pt. 2"

Spoiler:

Of course I wonder where they will cut off where Sachiko leaves Yumi crying in the rain

[Shigan]

Originally Posted by kj1980

Spoiler:

Of course I wonder where they will cut off where Sachiko leaves Yumi crying in the rain

As long it's not in episode 13's 22th minute followed up with a big "TO BE CONTINUED", I'll be very happy ^^;

[SleeplessHeart]

While Touko has gained some popularity here due to her unique 'drill' hairs, I feel that Noriko is the worst character art design in Marimite. Her personality is supposed to be 'innocent' and 'shy' which is not fully reflected in her drawing.

[atua]

I'm wondering if anyone (maybe someone who's read the novels) can explain why Noriko calls Shimako "Shimako-san" instead of the customary Rosa Gigantea or "Shimako-sama". Is it because she's unaware of the convention since she's a new student or is there another reason?

[kj1980]

Originally Posted by SleeplessHeart

While Touko has gained some popularity here due to her unique 'drill' hairs, I feel that Noriko is the worst character art design in Marimite. Her personality is supposed to be 'innocent' and 'shy' which is not fully reflected in her drawing.

I guess this is part to do with yet another difference from stemming from Japanese culture.

Noriko’s original character designs done by Hibiki Reine is actually quite well portrayed in the anime. As described by Konno Oyuki, Nijou Noriko’s appearance is “similar to an ichimatsu-ningyo.” An ichimatsu-ningyo is a traditional Japanese doll with an okappa hair (hair cut straight across the forehead)

Several examples of an ichimatsu-ningyo doll:

http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~itima/
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~nc9y-hsi.../Ichimatsu.htm

Originally Posted by atua

I'm wondering if anyone (maybe someone who's read the novels) can explain why Noriko calls Shimako "Shimako-san" instead of the customary Rosa Gigantea or "Shimako-sama". Is it because she's unaware of the convention since she's a new student or is there another reason?

Hopefully, if the anime follows the novel, that question maybe answered in the next episode.

[lordwu]

Originally Posted by SleeplessHeart

While Touko has gained some popularity here due to her unique 'drill' hairs, I feel that Noriko is the worst character art design in Marimite. Her personality is supposed to be 'innocent' and 'shy' which is not fully reflected in her drawing.

I don't get the feeling that Noriko is "shy" or "innocent" from the novel. She is withdrawn because she doesn't want to be at Lillian and doesn't want to be involved in anything else other than studying to get into a good university. By no means is she "shy". In fact, it's quite the opposite. She is quite straight forward in her action and words. An evident of this is how she acted when Sachiko and Rei came to "evaluate" her in this episode. You will see more of this in the next episode.

[lordwu]

Originally Posted by kj1980

Noriko’s original character designs done by Hibiki Reine is actually quite well portrayed in the anime. As described by Konno Oyuki, Nijou Noriko’s appearance is “similar to an ichimatsu-ningyo.” An ichimatsu-ningyo is a traditional Japanese doll with an okappa hair (hair cut straight across the forehead)

Shimako + Noriko = Western doll + Japanese doll.

Noriko herself thinks she doesn't look right next to Shimako because of that image. However, I myself think they look great together.

[Takemi_Ikazuchi]

I severely detested how Touko treated that Buddhist beads.

I'm not a Buddhist myself, but you do not throw a religious item disrespectfully like that.

[Sean Gaffney]

Originally Posted by Takemi_Ikazuchi

I severely detested how Touko treated that Buddhist beads.

I'm not a Buddhist myself, but you do not throw a religious item disrespectfully like that.

Yeah, I'm a big Touko fan, but suddenly find myself completely alone in that. ^^;; I hope the novel fleshed her out a little more as opposed to what we saw in the episode. I still like Touko, but that's more for a 'I like characters that everyone hates' stubbornness, I admit... kj1980, did the novel have Touko really being this... um... rough?

[Kyouji]

Originally Posted by Sean Gaffney

Yeah, I'm a big Touko fan, but suddenly find myself completely alone in that. ^^;; I hope the novel fleshed her out a little more as opposed to what we saw in the episode. I still like Touko, but that's more for a 'I like characters that everyone hates' stubbornness, I admit... kj1980, did the novel have Touko really being this... um... rough?

I don't mean to be rude by trying to answer your question to kj1980, but I believe both he and lordwu have mentioned how Touko is actually not portrayed as evil (is that too strong a word?) as she is when she first appeared to be in the novels. They've both commented on how they detested Touko at first, before some event(s) altered their perception of her, causing a 180 degree change in their opinion of her.

I personally didn't like Touko much at first based off of just her design, but after I found out that she was going to be voiced by Rie Kugimiya (my favourite seiyuu), I had no choice but to love her. I hope to read the novels later and find out just how mean she was in there though...