Marmalade Boy

Publisher
Tokyopop
Writer
Wataru Yoshizumi
Artist
Wataru Yoshizumi
Country of origin
Japan
Year
1999

Marmalade Boy GN 1 to 2

By David Rasmussen
17th Nov 04

Studio - TOKYOPOP
Age - T for Teen (13+)
By Wataru Yoshizumi
TOKYOPOP Staff
Translator - Jack Niida
English Adaptation - Jake Forbes
Retouch & Lettering - Carol Conception and Jinky DeLeon
Editor - Trisha Kunimoto

Before we begin --
Why review it now? Because this year saw the release of Marmalade Boy (Anime) on DVD by TOKYOPOP! I'll review that later...

Graphic Novel 1
Let's face it. Divorce sucks. No two ways about it. Sucks like nobody's business.
So you can probably sympathize with Miki as she discovers her parents are gleefully (with smiles on their faces no less) getting a divorce!

Yeah. Now that's true horror. Just looking at their happy faces creeps me out.

Apparently these two went on a happy trip to Hawaii and met another couple, and one thing led to another and before you know it they're of the mind to be partner swapping.

And now the disclaimer.
The State of Hawaii, and the Hawaii Tourism Authority, does not take responsibility for the destruction of either of these people's marriages while visiting the state on the pretense of a "romantic getaway".
There. I said my peace. Moving on now...

Of course it's a good thing that Miki has a best friend (Meiko) to tell her problems to. Which is good since she's going to have to meet the other couple and their son, Yuu, for dinner at a restaurant.
During the course of the dinner she tries to derail the whole evil plan, but is easily foiled by the scheming foursome. And that begins her "nightmare" as she realizes the son of the other couple is a total jerk... but if he's so bad why is the mom worried that Miki might fall for him?

Anyway things can only get worse if he shows up at her school and makes her life difficult.
So where does love come into the picture? Maybe an Chiyo-chan style accident with a flying ball to the head during PE will open that door when he bends down while he thinks she's asleep (Nurse's Room) and kisses her! That is if she can get over his bitter side... hey, that inspires her to nickname him "Marmalade Boy" one morning... oh, and she'll have to get over the new jealousies of her friend who had a chance to be her boyfriend (but blew it)... does he want to be her boyfriend now?

Graphic Novel 2
Miki's life seems to get more and more complicated.
She has a new soon to be brother in law who might spark love interests in her... guess mom was right to be worried after all.
She has a friend who could have been a boyfriend if he didn't botch it... only now he's jealous and he seems to actually WANT to be a boyfriend.
And it couldn't get worse... but it can.
Seems that the two "rivals" will end up in the same tennis team from necessity.
Seems Miki's friend Meiko is in love with the PE teacher (and they're having a secret relationship).
Seems more complications in the form of a new rival girl will further complicate the matter.
And by the time we roll out of Graphic Novel 2 it looks like Miki and her brother in law are going to be given some unwanted time to see if there's feelings when they're left "Home Alone".
Yuck. Nothing but trouble can come from that. Ok. Breakdown time.

Marmalade Boy Breakdown
What's Hot? - It's one of those essential series. A classic of the 90's that some of my associates speak fondly of. I haven't seen the Anime fully yet (only a preview I got from TOKYOPOP), but I liked the manga... means I have to get the last 6 books and finish my review.
Recommended. Nice read.

What's Not? - Nothing. It's good.

Moments to Remember? It's all memorable, but one thing that I remember is the sports of choice.

If it has to be said that this creator has a sports fixation, it's a fixation for tennis. In the creator's section and along the story you see tennis come up over and over again. Also it seems to be worked into some of the major scenes (at least one or two) as you go along. Guess Wataru Yoshizumi loves tennis.

What to Ignore? - Nothing.

Overall? It's earned it's praise by being a good solid read that's humorous, lovable, touching and just plain good. It's another one of those solid reads that you just have to get for yourself. Try it if you are a fan of the romantic comedy, because this is one of the essentials of that genre without question.
Later on I'll review the two episode preview of the Anime series and tell you about that, stay tuned.

-- David Rasmussen 17th Nov 04