Why Strawberry Panic fail while Maria-sama succeed?

[guest]

I don't know if I should post it here or in the Strawberry panic thread but here we go.

Maria-sama was a success but SP is a failure. The dvd selling of SP is terrible and with that, it is going to be hard to get anything more after this, like a second season.

Maria-sama series has enjoyed their success since the first season and OVA is on the way.

These two series have so much in common yet so different in many aspects as well. As for SP, please just don't give me a Utena ending and I will be happy.

I would like to hear what you people think on the matter.

[Stahlwolf]

IMHO-

I think there are a couple of reasons that Marimite 'succeeded' where SP didn't. Mind you, I have seen and read Marimite (MM), and am currently watching SP (as of episode 19).

First: Marimite has been around longer than SP with the MM novels existing a few years before the anime, so it may have accumulated a fanbase beginning with the novels themselves. SP only started last year with both novel and manga.

Secondly: MM is close to real-life than SP with it's storyline and art. Most people, especially women, can associate better with the characters in MM, and it's based on real-life surroundings. It is also an on-going shoujo ai romance spreading across three years of Yumi's time at Lillian involving a good cast of characters, each with their own stories. There's room to grow and people can expect more read and see about in the future.
SP does have a good storyline between Shizuma and Nagisa, but it seems that series will have an immediate ending. There may be nothing to look farward to after episode 26. Furthermore, SP is brightly colored (hair), cheery, and blatantly yuri.

Don't get me wrong. I like both series.
Also, there is a slight difference between shoujo ai (romance).... and yuri (graphic fan service).

So, in conclusion, Maria-sama Ga Miteru has been around longer, and people can relate to it because of the reality of its setting and characters.

Of course, this is only my opinion.

-Gokigenyou.

[dxanato]

I think much of what Stahlwolf wrote is how I feel aswell. While SP may not have the three rose but 3 school I find hard to like St Spica story line. I find the love triangle not as interesting as the love triangle in St Miator. I would had love is they had done more with St Lulim girl. Maybe SP had the case of to many love triangle. Hard to care for story when it the same thing.

[BigPrime]

Originally Posted by guest

I don't know if I should post it here or in the Strawberry panic thread but here we go.

Maria-sama was a success but SP is a failure. The dvd selling of SP is terrible and with that, it is going to be hard to get anything more after this, like a second season.

Maria-sama series has enjoyed their success since the first season and OVA is on the way.

These two series have so much in common yet so different in many aspects as well. As for SP, please just don't give me a Utena ending and I will be happy.

I would like to hear what you people think on the matter.

Because Marimite is the original. and StoPani is the copy. Its sole purpose is to ride on Marimite's coat tails and gently parody it, which it has done well. Beyond that, it's TV run is equal in length to Marimite's and has less reason to continue beyond that (really, how many more times can the Evil Lesbian Duo try to rape Hikari before it gets boring?). It's done it's thing and that's that.

[Matrim]

It's quite simple, IMHO. SP is crappy rip-off of Marimite. If it wasn't for the yuri element few people would bother to watch it as it has mostly annoying characters and a non-existent plot. Marimite has characters who are quite mature for their age while SP entices the lolicon fans with the rampart childishness of some (if not all) of its characters. And basically it's impossible for me to take SP seriously even for a second because it's so over the top and cheesy. I liked the first few episodes because I hoped the comedy element was mostly intentional, now it seems that the show was mostly trying to be serious but failed as far as I am concerned. The setting of Marimite has some idealization but compared to the fantasy yuri world of Strawberry Panic (in which I am yet to see a single male person) it suddenly starts to seem as real as the school next to your home.

[niwasatou]

Originally Posted by BigPrime

Because Marimite is the original. and StoPani is the copy. Its sole purpose is to ride on Marimite's coat tails and gently parody it, which it has done well. Beyond that, it's TV run is equal in length to Marimite's and has less reason to continue beyond that (really, how many more times can the Evil Lesbian Duo try to rape Hikari before it gets boring?). It's done it's thing and that's that.

Well, the reason there are people (for example me) watching SP is e.g. that Kaname talks about Global Warming before attempting to rape Hikari

StoPani makes chlichés of clichés, I'd say. It parodies like every Yuri-series (and others) out there.
Marimite is not labeled as yuri, nor is it really yuri ( ), it's mainly about character development and relationships.
SP is labeled as yuri, there's fanservice (it's Seinen, mind you ) and therefore it is watched. Not because it portrays relationships well, especially not in a -real- way.
Not even the setting is real

[Rin-Sama]

Maria-sama has already been releaced in America while SP hasn't as of yet and is still going in Japan. Give it some time, the sales will pick up.

[niwasatou]

Originally Posted by Rin-Sama

Maria-sama has already been releaced in America while SP hasn't as of yet and is still going in Japan. Give it some time, the sales will pick up.

Marimite.. in America? Since when..?

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Matrim

It's quite simple, IMHO. SP is crappy rip-off of Marimite. If it wasn't for the yuri element few people would bother to watch it as it has mostly annoying characters and a non-existent plot.

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.

[Anaglyph]

My first answer was going to be that Marimite is superior in every respect (other than fan service); most importantly the writing. But then that's never guaranteed commercial success for anything, so perhaps there's something else.

There's a certain... honesty and lack of cynicism that Marimite has. A sense of innocence maybe. Sentimentality without being mawkish. It's hard to verbalise, but there's something about Marimite that produces bucket-loads of warm fuzzies like nothing else I've watched. In short, it's utterly charming. I'm guessing lots of other people feel the same way.

I'm enjoying Strawberry Panic, but it's just not in the same class as Marimite.

That's just my perception though. I'm a latecomer to anime and probably a fair bit older than most Marimite fans, so perhaps that affects the way I see it.

[Matrim]

ts 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.

That's why I said "a few" rather than "no one". I just think most of its popularity is based on the yuri element and if it didn't exist we would be left with something that appeals to not that many people. In other words, if we remove all the yuri undertones from Marimite it would probably still have a lot of fans while I don't think this wil lbe the case with SP.

[Yazakura]

Which was more sucsessful in Japan, Maria sama or SP? Is there a clear cut way of determining that or no?

[ginseng]

Of course Marimite is an excellent series, but it would not have anything even remotely near the success it has gathered if it wasn't for the novels and the fanatic fanbase gathered that way. I don't like to say Strawberry Panic ripped Maria-sama ga Miteru off, since they both pretty much ripped off other earlier series, if we're going with that route...

When the first Marimite anime episodes came, there already was a huge bunch of people in 2ch and such singing praises for it, which definitely helped to introduce the series to a larger audience faster. What it has gained since comes from the actual quality of the series itself.

[Yazakura]

Originally Posted by ginseng

Of course Marimite is an excellent series, but it would not have anything even remotely near the success it has gathered if it wasn't for the novels and the fanatic fanbase gathered that way. I don't like to say Strawberry Panic ripped Maria-sama ga Miteru off, since they both pretty much ripped off other earlier series, if we're going with that route..

How was SP a rip off on MS? If I recall correctly, none of the charcaters looked like someone off of MS and something in the shoujo ai sense actually happened!

Oh, besides the fact that they were both Catholic all girls boarding schools, I didn't see how the plot was remotely similar to that of MS.

[pkgirl163]

Originally Posted by Yazakura

How was SP a rip off on MS? If I recall correctly, none of the charcaters looked like someone off of MS and something in the shoujo ai sense actually happened!

Oh, besides the fact that they were both Catholic all girls boarding schools, I didn't see how the plot was remotely similar to that of MS.

Some of the characters in SP bear some similarity to characters in Marimite.
For example, Rokujou Miyuki, the Student Council President of Miator, reminds me quite a bit of Mizuno Youko from Marimite.
Nagisa has been compared to Yumi. Shizuma has been compared to a cross between Sei and Sachiko. In other words, Miator could be seen as SP's version of the Rosa Chinensis family. lol
I see Spica as the Rosa Gigantea family (all that white! Also, Hikari and Shimako) and Le 'Lim as the Rosa Foetida family (because they're all crazy. lol).

There are what appear to be some very deliberate homages to earlier yuri works in SP, particularly Marimite and Oniisama e. To name a few: the missing blue umbrella, the angsty story of lost love at a summer house, the statue of the Virgin Mary (though that may be a Catholic school thing), THE MUSIC, doing Romeo and Juliet as a school play (though really, that comes up in plenty of het stories too. lol), the midnight tea parties, and the greenhouse.

[Mentar]

While overall I'd agree that Marimite is certainly the better show, SP is delivering exactly what it has promised: Fairly enjoyable yurilicious fluff seasoned with a bit of drama. Therefore, it's hardly rewarding to compare between the shows, and it's downright silly to whine about SP. Seriously, we knew even before episode 1 what we would get - why cry about it NOW?

Sp takes the MM setting and tilts it more to the extremes, at the expense of realism. Where MM is subtle and classy, SP tends to be blatant and in-your-face. And while I'd pick MM if I had to wish for another season, I certainly don't regret spending time with SP. In fact, overall it came out better than at least I expected.

[Fishbait]

Originally Posted by guest

I don't know if I should post it here or in the Strawberry panic thread but here we go.

Maria-sama was a success but SP is a failure. The dvd selling of SP is terrible and with that, it is going to be hard to get anything more after this, like a second season.

Maria-sama series has enjoyed their success since the first season and OVA is on the way.

These two series have so much in common yet so different in many aspects as well. As for SP, please just don't give me a Utena ending and I will be happy.

I would like to hear what you people think on the matter.

I enjoy watching both series.

And tbh, that's really all that matters to me

Also Marimite has WAY better animations, I know this is a rather shallow point but let's face it....alot ppl these days do care about this kind of stuff more than anything else. Could somewhat explain the DVD sales I guess. I definitely wouldnt use the word "failed", though if you wanna look at it from a business point of view, I guess it's true that Marimate is doing way better

[niwasatou]

Originally Posted by Fishbait

I enjoy watching both series.

And tbh, that's really all that matters to me

Also Marimite has WAY better animations, I know this is a rather shallow point but let's face it....alot ppl these days do care about this kind of stuff more than anything else. Could somewhat explain the DVD sales I guess. I definitely wouldnt use the word "failed", though if you wanna look at it from a business point of view, I guess it's true that Marimate is doing way better

Mistyping "Marimite" is always hilarious.. Marimate, Marmite..

So, now - what did we learn? Never compare Anime, even if they're blatant ripoffs.
By the way, I think StoPani is quite popular at 2chan. Of course the reputation varies, but..

[Yazakura]

Originally Posted by niwasatou

Mistyping "Marimite" is always hilarious.. Marimate, Marmite..

So, now - what did we learn? Never compare Anime, even if they're blatant ripoffs.
By the way, I think StoPani is quite popular at 2chan. Of course the reputation varies, but..

SP is also very popular at another shoujo ai site I go to. If you want to see anime filled to the brim with shoujo ai, then SP'S for you. If you want a light touching romantic story with little bits of shoujo ai, then MS is for you. *Goes to rewatch MS*

[Sinestra]

Dont get me wrong i love SP but i will say i enjoyed MS more. I think that MS excelled in many ways, but the most important one was charcter development in my opinion. We had a chance to watch these girls over 3 years become close fall apart and then do it all over again. I also think MS has a more relaistic story attached to it and also i think the lack of Fan service helped it as well. SP is a fun anime and i do think that the sales will rise given tiime but dont count on it ever being as popular as MS. Keep mind as well these are 2 diffrent styles SP didnt pretend to be anything other than what it is. Its not a bad series neither of them were their just diffrent but share similar story traits