Koishikawa Miki, a junior in high school when the series starts, is the main character of Marmalade Boy. Her parents went on a vacation to Hawaii and there, they met another couple of about the same, and fell in love with eash other. Miki's mother (Rumi) was in love with the other husband (Youji), and Miki's father (Jin) was in love with the other wife (Chiyako). The couples decided that they would each get divorces and "swap" partners, for this was the only way thaey could be happy. Miki's parents tell her this over breakfast one morning, rather offhandedly, and she is shocked, but they all are going out to dinner so Miki can meet the other couple. Of course, what Miki's parents fail to mention is that Youji and Chiyako had a son, Yuu, who was the same age as Miki. They also forget to tell her that all of them (the four happy parents and their kids) are going to move into one big house together. Needless to say, Miki does not react well to this news, cries, protests, and looks to Yuu for support, but he claims that he is fine with the swap.
Well, they all move in together, and Miki finally comes around to the idea and realizes that she likes her new family life. Yuu is another issue. He is somewhat cold and aloof, he teases Miki all the time, and yet, he sometimes shows an extremely warm and caring side of himself when he is around Miki.
Yuu tranferrs to Miki's school and becomes acquiantances (he doesn't relaly make friends) with Miki's crowd: Ginta and Meiko. What we discover is that there are many warm-fuzzy feelings between several people at this school. Miki used to be in love with Ginta, is she still? And is Ginta in love with her? And what about Yuu? He seems to be interested in Miki, but never really shows his feelings. And then there is Meiko. Miwa-san, the Student Council President shows quite a bit of interest in her, but she consistently turns him down.
This is a touching and funny show about Miki's day-to-day life, and her attempt to figure out which boy she's actually in love with. This series is cute, extremely kawaii! Almost sacaran, of course, that's why I love it. It may seem a bit soap opera-y, a bit melodramatic, but it is very sweet and sincere.
The series, created by Yoshizumi Wataru, existed in both anime and manga versions. The Anime series ran for three years, from March 1994 to September 1995 and had a total of 76 episodes. The manga was produced monthly in the "Ribbon" magazine and resulted in 8 Compilation manga books. There are also two Artbooks out for the series.
The pictures I'm using on this site are a combination of the anime and manga art, because I love both styles, which is rare for me. Enjoy them!
Confused about the relationships in this seris? Me too! Here's a nifty little diagram that maps out most of the relationships in Marmalade Boy:
Love Map
