Alternative TitlesEnglish: The Strawberry Marshmallow Japanese: 苺ましまろ
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 15, 2005 to Oct 14, 2005
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
PG - Children
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.911 (scored by 14075 users)
Ranked: #5822
Popularity: #666
Members: 26,948
Favorites: 468 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
comedy cute loli slice of life |
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Ranivus
117 of 164 people found this review helpful
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12 episodes
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Ichigo Mashmiaro is another slice of life anime set around the life of four Elementary School friends and a sister. Theres no ecchi but there are LOADS of fanservice in this show. You can tell just by watching the first episode. Its even more frequent in the ova's. Also, the power word for this show is CUTE. I cant emphasize this enough... CUTE is allover.
For some reason the chemistry between all of them really make for a unique experience. Their character traits sound so standard for a slice of life comedy but the way its executed is far better than most anime of its kind. Every minute you'll be going "aww" or even "omfg how CUTE!" Thats mainly in part by the way the girls react to each other and feed off each others actions/reactions.
The voice acting is top notch for what its worth... all the girls all have their cute tendancies intact and their voices are just to gaddamn cute *_* Their singing the credits is even good too. Speaking of singing, theres no music whatsoever during the show. Just the seiyu and the enviromental sound effects, with a fair dose of typical comedy sounds. I think absence of the music is just a plan to emphasise how cute the girls are in their "tranquil" and "innocent" enviroments. it does work very well to set off that cute aura that surrounds the entire show.
When i said the power word for this show was "CUTE" the art and animation shows that in spades. First of all you'll notice the color scheme consists of only pastel spring colors. Even the dark colors like black and brown have that pastel touch to it. Theres so much color that some might even be drowned in the pastel. The enviroment art is half part of how they show how great their cute theme is executed. Every thing from the Chika's simple bedroom layout with the pink bed sheets and sunflower yellow wall, to the dirty laundry stacked in the laundry basket filled so high sleeves are pouring out the side, down to the different individual lunches ALL the kids in the classroom are eating with their little milk jugs. They even seem to enjoy their art so much that there is quite a few still life shots when they're showing time is passing. This just shows how much time and effort they put into setting the mood and enviroment for their viewers.
The character artwork are in a whole nother level than any other anime you've seen. Not only do they draw individual background characters with sheer detail and cuteness, but they somehow manage to give the main characters dozens of different costumes to wear. Theres so many, i wouldnt be surprised if there were over 100 costume designs for the girls. The character themsselves are detailed as any high value anime should be. You can also tell this anime has its own art style from the begining. And it works very well showcasing the cuteness of the girls.
Everything about this show seems to mold together extremely well. When it seems like theres a school comedy, or 2, or 5 every season, Ichigo Mashimaro surely sticks itself out far above the rest. Its a school anime that if you like it, you'll definitely remember it long after your finished. But if youre not into all that cute loli stuff then by all means, avoid this like the plague. But this is by far one of the best loli anime i've ever seen. Too bad im not really into the cute loli anime.
read more
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dollie_mixtures
42 of 67 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Excuse me while I gush over this series, it's almost too cute to bear. I, perhaps, would have overlooked it if it wasn't for the 3 volumes of the Ichigo Mashimaro manga I have sitting on my shelf. I often find myself not liking the art in the anime if I was exposed to the manga first, but in this case I was pleasantly surprised; the characters in both were drawn very similar, almost identical. The backgrounds lack the detail of other anime, but I can't say that it bothered me much.
(If you've read the manga, you'll notice the shuffling of the chapters, the anime certainly does not follow the manga faithfully, but that does not detract from the story.)
The premise is quite simple, we follow 5 girls - Nobue the oldest, her sister Chii, their friends, Ana, Miu and Matsuri - but not continuously, mind you, but rather, we drop in and out of their everyday lives. And what cute lives they lead! Don't expect complex plot here, each episode is filled with the every day things we all have done, the girls go to school, enjoy cake, shovel snow, get lost and play sports. But it never gets boring, because mischief is just right around the corner and it will have you giggling to yourself over the silliness.
The simplicity of the plot is the anime's strong point but also it can be its undoing. If you appreciate the innocent, stress-free and, dare I say again, CUTE things in life, you most likely will love this series, I certainly did. Otherwise, you may find the cuteness tooth-rottingly sweet. read more
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Retro8bit
25 of 41 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Ichigo Mashimaro (Strawberry Marshmallow) sticks to the "slice of life" and "comedy" formula without growing stale. Its truly a must see for fans of this genera!
Story: 8/10
Based on the ongoing manga of the same name, basically its about four grade school girls and their big sister (only one is actually related to her, but they all look up to her as one) living life in Japan. I feel I should state at this point that it keeps its story as realistic as possible, so there is no princess to save, no student counsel to form, nothing! This is about everyday life! Which may be a turn off to some fans wanting an actually plot in their shows. Each scene opens up with something different though, such as the girls going on vacation, the big sister on her never ending quest to find a job, the girls making birthday presents for someone special, or them just trying to not make too much noise so another member can sleep! I almost felt like I was watching someones animated home videos about their life sometimes, as apposed to an actual anime. One of the girls is actually from America, so there is plenty of references to both Japanese and American culture made by the girls, which is nice for those of us wanting to learn more about their ways. The story is warm hearted and cute all the way through, though I couldn't help but feel that if it wasn't for Miu (main lead) this series would not have been nearly as entertaining. As she is the only real member that actually has a comical personality to her, where as most of the others are more down to earth. While Ichigo doesn't do anything new with its over all concept, it does indeed to it right! Its soft soothing storyline can either be its greatest feature, or worst, depending on your taste.
Soundtrack: 8/10
The opening theme has the girls singing a party theme to Ichigo Masimaro, while the ending is the complete opposite, and is sung solo in a soft layed back tone, which fits the anime nicely for its theme. The background music is sparse however, in fact a good portion of the time there really is no BG whatsoever. And while I do feel it enhances some of the moods in the series overall, it would have been nice to actually have had at least some memorable tracks! Still, what they do have there is good! The Japanese voice cast they got were great however, every girl was matched perfectly with the appropriate voice over. Whether it be Ana's soft sweet voice or Nobue's more layed back personality.
Characters: 8/10
The cast is very likable, while they don't have the most deep or versatile personalities (like Miu has), they at least never come off as annoying. In fact all the personalities that have been given to each girl is pulled off sweet and charming. They really know how to interact with each other well!
One thing I found to be interesting though, was a lack of supporting characters. The only people you’ll see in this title for the most part are the main cast themselves. (with the exception of some old guy that is used as a running gag, the girls just never seem to give him any peace and quite) This can be seen as both a positive and negative depending on your view point, while I personally loved this feature, some may feel that this might make the story all the more bland. Again, it just depends on your perception of it.
Artwork: 7/10
It is soft and cuteness at its best. Nothing is ever "overly" detailed that it comes off as too much for the eyes to take. Color and art are focused on the characters themselves, while the backgrounds look more along the lines of soft water color paintings. It does have a nice appeal to it, but certainly isn't the most well detailed series out there. As the clothing and backgrounds have a much more plain look to them, still it is nice to look at.
Bottom line: 9/10
If you like a large cast of characters and a deep storyline in your anime, then it would be best to avoid Ichigo Mashimaro, as this title contains none of those whatsoever. But if your like me and love slice of life anime with a nice realistic layed back sense of humor, then it doesn't get much better than this! As this title has some of the cutest and most lovable cast you'll see in one, and will give you a sense of joy and fondness after watching it! read more
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Apila
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
When I first heard of this anime, I was about 10.
Ever since then, I've always wanted to see it.
Now that I have, I have to thank my past self for taking interest in it.
Story(8/10)
The story is not very set, but it's a great series to watch if you don't want commitment or just need to kill some time. (Not necessarily a bad thing!)
Art(9/10)
The art is pretty cute, a plus if you like the 'moe' style.
The animation or anatomy never flips out or is half-assed (unless I just didn't notice), and it flows pretty nicely.
Sound(9/10)
While the site that I watched this on didn't really provide me with the best quality ever, I could still hear and see everything. And you have to admit, the voice actors really pulled-off that little kid-ness!
Character(8/10)
While the characters are very fun to look at, I wouldn't necessarily say they were the most original.
You've got the energetic, bossy girl, we have the foreign blond exchange student, the timid meganekko, the person who gets dragged along, and the sane-man.
Additional things are at least added to enhance hilarity, but for the most part, they're so-so in originality.
Enjoyment(10/10)
I've gotta say, it didn't take me long at all to finish this series; I latched onto it until the very end.
The humor is fantastic and cute, and each episode flows pretty nicely.
Overall(9/10)
Although I did have lots of fun with this show, unfortunately it still gets a nine. I was really disappointed that it didn't last very long, I could have gone for a second season! read more
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MrGaz
24 of 41 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
As specified in the synopsis "cute girls do cute things in cute ways" is what it delivers. Based on the slice of life manga series, the story is considered plotless and instead, viewers are being treated with laughter and uber cuteness by 4 adorable 3rd graders and 1 big sister who just wants to find a decent 'good paying' job without being distributed or 'attacked' by either one of them, in particular Miu, one of their group members who is 'hyper' active.
From the beginning of the series towards the end, you basically see the activities these girls do on a day to day basis. You see how they socialise and what events they enjoy doing. As you get to know what they like to do, you will start to get to know more about their personalities and maybe relate to one them when you were younger or as of now. Their personalities is so common to the average 3rd grader in the real world, it's not too hard to fall in love with them and laugh at the things they do and say, in which we may have experienced them in our life time.
In referring to character development, there isn't a solid base where we learn about the characters step by step. Instead, we are learning about them in a group while we are laughing and enjoying quality entertainment provided to us. Its how they socialise and the activities they do in which we learn so much about them.
In conclusion, a series in which is shouldn't be missed by the young and the old because series like these lifts your mood and gives you a smile on your face each episode of the way. read more
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yutanpo
12 of 21 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Ichigo Mashimaro, in my opinion, is one of the most misunderstood shows out there. Under its loli-clad outer shell, and the too-easily tossed around explanation/catchphrase "cute, not pedo", the show seems to have given people the impression that it is a moeblob series aimed at pedophiles who like to watch little girls do cute things. For me, and many other fans of the series, that impression couldn't be more wrong. The true appeal of Ichigo Mashimaro to me, and many others I've discussed the show with, is its comedic genius, rooting from Barasui's source manga and further improved by the excellent anime adaptation.
Ichigo Mashimaro can be considered many things. It's a story of four young girls in elementary school. It's a story of their older sister. But most of all, it's funny. The strongest point of the show is its excellent timing of the jokes. From the delivery of one-liners to the repeated Miu on the ground gag, the timing is always near perfect, augmenting the humor all the more. At the same time, the humor restrains itself from becoming a run-of-the-mill, "hurr durr" type of a slapstick show and retains something of a sophisticated feel to it. Barasui also puts in a fair bit of clever wordplay (one please!) and his own twists into the series, and his efforts in the manga carry right over to the anime.
However, the anime takes it one step further with its excellent auditory effects. The seiyuus are perfect for each character, especially Chika and Miu whose voices seem to fit their tsukkomi-boke relation perfectly. Ana's ojousama attitude is conveyed wonderfully, while Matsuri's helplessness is reflected just as well by the voice actor. The excellent voice acting helps portray the characters the way the manga intended them to be, and as a result improves the comedy - with each character often playing off one another - immensely, adding to the already brilliant character-based humor of the manga. On the other hand, the sound effects, such as the laundry-pole sales man on the megaphone, greatly add to the situational aspects and in establishing the timing in the jokes.
The characters of Ichigo Mashimaro, while pretty memorable to their own right, are pretty typical of a slice of life series aren't as impressionable as those in some character-driven series are. However, they are perfect vehicles through which the humor is able to manifest itself, and thus are more than excellent for the show. Would I watch Ichigo Mashimaro if it was cast with a bunch of old men? Probably. But I do admit that the "cuteness" of the show is what brings attention to a show that may otherwise go unnoticed despite its excellence (Hyakko comes to mind).
So while this show may be famous for is cute (and pedo) factor, I feel many are unaware of what an excellent comedy series this is. So if you've neglected the show because of what you think it is, I would strongly suggest you take another look at it, but just watch it with an open mind and don't expect it to be your typical moeblob anime.
(PS. Yes, the girls really are cute. Especially in the manga.) read more
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bastian
7 of 16 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Now, it might seem a bit weird giving an anime a 10 like Ichigo Mashimaro, but this is to be justified. I am rating this on how well it works as a comedy, not as "a masterful piece of visionary art". Since it is not.
A master comedy? Why yes, it is.
Ichigo Mashimaro has an unusual sense of humour and that will be noticeable right off the bat. The story is dependent on timing and the subtlety of the humour. While there are instances of pure crazy slapstick, most of the comedy comes from the sarcastic remarks or the feeling of "yeah, life's like that" aspect of it.
The characters completely complement the show. There is Miu, the show stealer who is insane and has ADD, I'm sure of it. Then again, the girl doesn't forget and holds madly funny grudges, so maybe she has selective or self-inflicted ADD. Her best friend is Chika, a normal girl who gets pissed off for being the only sensible person out of all her friends. What makes Chika great is her chemistry with Miu. They make a good comic dup. Sort of observing everything is Chika's older sister, Nobue, a college student who drinks, smokes, and loves "moe". Additionally, there is Ana, a British girl who can't speak a lick of English and Matsuri, the resident moe blob who can barely stand straight far less function properly in society.
The jokes are hilarious and tight, the concepts are unual though normal at the same time, and there's also a bit of emotional, real story in between all the comedy.
Ichigo Mashimaro is a great series, and highly recommended. read more
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lpfManiak
21 of 51 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
The sweet leisure time of four elementary school girls. Adults, children, and the tender relationship between the two of them. Known as Strawberry Marshmallow in the West, the Ichigo Mashimaro series is soft, mellow, and particularly warm. Could you think of a more fitting name?
For any twenty-year-old student, life can be more boring than it once was. Innocent fun and laughter belong to the past and everyday worries pile up as the days pass by. Ichigo Mashimaro narrates junior-college student Nobue Itou's life, who, as a pastime, looks after her twelve-year-old younger sister and her friends. Role model for the four elementary schoolers, she contemplates the innocence of childhood, along with the silent viewer in delight.
Ichigo Mashimaro is a slice-of-life comedy centred around five characters. First is Nobue, the "big sister" of the group. While female characters are often infantilised in anime, she is assuming the parenting role in the story. But stressing her position, she is characterised as a regular smoker, she sometimes drinks alcohol and rides a motorbike. Common in real life, these rare traits in anime create a comforting, responsible atmosphere around Nobue when caring for the children. Regularly, her presence among the four children is the cornerstone that turns the comedy into a heartwarming story about the bonds that adults and children develop.
The other characters complement one another in hilarious ways. Brilliant comedian, Miu Matsuoka is the main star of the show. Her whole life consists in playing pranks on her friends for her own amusement – as well as the audience's. Her jokes are at times crazy and priceless, at others just plain cute. Unfortunately, though, Miu's shenanigans are where lack of maturity sometimes comes off not as innocent, but troublesome. Often hilarious, she, in her jokes, nonetheless ignores completely the consequences of her actions; and it is difficult to openly laugh at a prank when it is unwittingly done at the expense of another person, for example to the point of getting them fired from their job.
Other characters all are remarkable in their own way. Most interesting is the nuanced characterisation: while Chika is the group's voice of reason, she freely goes along with Miu's most benign jokes; Ana plays the eccentric role of a foreigner that knows more about Japan than natives, yet has never worn a kimono at the start of the series; and Matsuri, while a typical shy airhead, turns out to be the most skilled English speaker of the four. Matsuri, though, in her saccharine and absent-minded ways, is a fairly unrealistic depiction of a girl her age, even though the cast as a whole remains adorable.
The voice actresses suit the characters excellently to boot. Although Matsuri's personality is further exaggerated by a cutesy acting, big sister Nobue benefits from an actress with a perfect grasp of when Nobue is having innocent fun with the others, and of when she adopts a more solemn tone. The actress for the hilarious Miu is cheerful and full of pep, and the other characters, too, are voiced by competent actors overall.
Just like the characters, Ichigo Mashimaro's soundtrack is sweet and mellow. Though there is no iconic theme or insert song to speak of, the music goes along the relaxed atmosphere with a certain beauty. The catchy opening theme accurately reflects the comedic atmosphere of the series. While the song is performed by the main voice actresses, though, they sadly are barely recognisable. The ending theme is beautiful, and it concludes the episode with a fitting melancholy, evoking Nobue's feelings as she sees her own childhood in the girls'.
The main feature of Ichigo Mashimaro's art is that it is stylised. Though introduced as twelve-year-olds, the girls might very well pass off as six, and though Nobue is and acts like a twenty-year-old young adult, she looks indeed a few years younger. In the original manga, Nobue was written as a high school junior, but her age was raised to twenty in the anime. Since her original design was conserved in the process, the discrepancy occurred, although it does not cause heavy issues. As for the girls, their juvenile design is unique and adorable, but also misleading. As it becomes clear that the characters are more consistent with their canonical age than their looks, it also occurs to the viewer that the characters might in fact be less candid than they first appear.
Thankfully, Ichigo Mashimaro is, as a whole, just as enjoyable as it looks. If slice of life isn't a genre you avoid, do give it a try. Unless, that is, you want to have a taste of Nobue's roundhouse kick! read more
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southdkotaboy
8 of 21 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
There are certain times in your life when you want to just clear your mind of everything and just enjoy the simple things. This is one of those simple things.
Ichigo Mashimaro isn't action pact, it isn't full of angst, and it isn't full of itself. What it is full of is funny little moments, nice moments of friends bonding, and just plain pointlessness.
All of those things are what make this such a great little series. At 12 episodes and three OAV's it can be watched in one long afternoon.
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dariken
4 of 12 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
First things first: I'm not a moeblob fanatic and generally dismiss slice-of-life shows, but I like Ichigo Mashimaro very much, because despite the characters being impossibly cute and the show never having anything important going on, this show is first and foremost a piece of comedic brilliance delivered by cast of awesome characters and even better character synergy. This is already well evident in first minutes of the first episodes, when Nobue greets the viewer with cheery voice and tells she's a 16-year-old high-school student, only to correct her statement a moment later admitting in laconic voice that she's actually 20 and then proceeds to "borrow" her little sister's money for cigarettes. From there on, it only gets better.
The characters in this anime are outstanding. The best thing about the characters is that the kids (Miu, Matsuri, Chika & Ana) are Kids, and Nobue is an Adult. I capitalised those letters on purpose, because this is where Ichigo Mashimaro truly shines. The kids are easily compromised emotionally, and seek attention & acceptance of Nobue. Nobue in turn acts like a young adult with sense of responsibility: caring over the kids and observing their play. Some might mistake her habit of hanging among the kids as hanging with the kids, but I see it differently. She doesn’t really play with them but plays along if necessary, and doesn’t hesitate being abruptly strict & unfriendly if things go too far. She is not exactly friends with them, but she is friendly. These are all subtle but important differences. This quite realistic child-adult relationship is clearly visible in one particular episode, where Nobue simply ignores Miu because of Miu’s shenanigans. What happens then? Miu who seeks attention by acting increasingly irritating suddenly stops the act, starts crying, and complains that Nobue doesn’t care about her! The character interactions of children of this level of realism are rare in anime, and thus simply a pleasure to watch, especially when the context of realism is one of the most enjoyable comedies around. I don’t feel like writing detailed individual character descriptions, but they are varied and nicely avoid being striking stereotypes. Nobue for example smokes, drinks, vexes kids occasionally & procrastinates on school tasks – so much for being the admirable onee-sama. Chika is at first glance “The Normal”, but in the end easily tags along for mischiefs and misunderstands things. Miu is the hyperactive comedic epicentre with wildly rampant thought patterns reflected in her speech & actions, but she’s also the leader-type acting as the driving force of the group.
Finally, as for the currently top-rated review by Ranivus, I really must point out that he most likely hasn’t watched this show and/or doesn’t understand what loli and fanservice mean. This is NOT a loli anime and there is NO fanservice, let alone having loli fanservice for heaven’s sake! To further emphasize what I meant with Ranivus not having actually seen this show: kids in the show all eat the same school food during lunch whereas his claim goes “different individual lunches all the kids in the classroom are eating”. They are not eating home-made bento. The claim “there’s no music whatsoever during the show” is also plain wrong, because there in fact is background music on several occasions. I suggest ignoring his review, as it is simply misleading in every single aspect other than the facts that this show indeed is cute and pastel-coloured and features kids. Then again, that is evident just by looking at the first image that comes by googling.
Just to make it perfectly clear: if you are looking for a show with lolis flashing their pantsu and providing ample fanservice, then this show is not for you. However, if you want one of the best & funniest slice-of-life comedies with surprisingly realistic adult-children interactions, then you're looking at the right show. read more
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Skymelodies
2 of 8 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Does anyone else play the random anime game, when you find a long list of series, close your eyes, and then pick one randomly? That's how I was introduced to Ichigo Mashimaro. Normally, I never go with the choice I pick, if I get tired in the first five minutes, I'll change it. However, when I first heard the theme song, I was almost immediatly hooked.
I thoroughly loved every character and episode. The fact that it was nearly random on each episode made it easier for me; I didn't need to remember everything about the last episode to understand the one I was watching currently.
My least favorite thing about the series? The amount of Engrish was nearly enough to make me wanna cry. Call this weird, but I'm also slightly dissappointed in the ferret's screen time. While I typically don't care about animals in anime (unless, of course, I'm watching Fruits Basket) when they are seen in the opening, I had high hopes of seeing that weasel! D8
But, despite my unusual expectations, I loved this series. Something I will defiantly force my friends to watch. :) read more
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NoblesseOblige3
1 of 5 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Ichigo Mashimaro is a slice of life comedy, nothing more, noithing less. It is about four friends and and an older girl who is one of the fours sister, there isn't a set story apart from seeing a different activity each episode and most of the time that activity happens in Chika's bedroom.
Art/Animation
I would say the art of this show fit perfectly, it's a cute show thus everything looks cute, everything is simple but it isn't a show where you would want overly detailed hair styles, clothes etc, each character has their own cute facial expressions which are amplified by their tiny mouths, the backgrounds are very softly drawn. The animation is nothing amazing but it fits the show with is simplicity and smooth movements.
Sound
The opening theme song is a very catchy fun song in which is sung by the Japanese seiyuu and is likely to get stuck in anybodies head for a while, the end is the complete opposite and is a slow ballad but it is still a nice song to listen to. There isn't a lot of background music but there is a little and the sound effects of crickets and various other noises were ok.
The English dub voice actors were all great and each one fitted their character, they even portrayed the lack of ability to speak English by one character.
Characters
Miu is a bit of a brat throughout and on occasion can get annoying but she certainly has her cute and funny sides, Chika is the straight man which even has a joke made about it, Ana is the English girl but knows a lot more about Japan than her own native country, Matsuri is the quite type and seems to act or behave younger than her actual age, then there is Nobue who is twenty years old but you wouldn't know it, though she does smoke she seems to spend more time with the 11/12 year old girls than anyone else. There isn't a great deal of other characters introduced apart from a teacher who has it in for one of the male students and a couple of animals; a ferret named John and a dog called Frusciante which i found to be an awesome shout out.
Overall
This show is simple, it's funny, it's cute and it is relaxing and is something that is really easy to watch, we are treated to a variety of activities which do include a standard beach and a festival episode. read more
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Dunkjoe
5 of 25 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
|
| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Story: 5
There is no general plot for the series, more like slices of life for the 4 children and the adult. Episodes 10 to 12 are quite dull imo. Lies, insensitivity and sabotage are quite commonly fill the episodes, along with cuteness and innocent behaviour.
Art: 9
Is great.
Sound:7
OP is not bad, a catchy song. ED is a slower, relaxed song, better. Dun think there were a lot of OSTs. And most were dialogues anyway.
Character:4
Interestingly, only Miu seems to stand out among all the characters in the series. The other 4 main characters mostl;y seem to be led by her actions, or else all the episodes would have no interesting features at all. Take for example eps 10 - 12.
Enjoyment:7
Miu makes most of the entertainment by dramatic (sometimes retarded and ridiculous) actions. Then there is Sazakuya, who always have to stand in the corridor no matter what he does. But cliches like these soon ruin the enjoyment (like Miu's and Suzukaya's usual treatments). Plus insensitivities and lame actions sometimes make me wonder if what happened in the series can happen in the first place.
Overall:6
Initially is quite good, but over the episodes I realised that the jokes seem to be reused over and over again, and lies and misleading information (used for enjoyment) seem not to be corrected to viewers. Some scenes inside are best not to be followed by people in real life (especially for kids around the 6th grade), like the beach incident. Most of the stuff inside this series should be taken with a pinch of salt as well.
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YukiUzumaki
2 of 11 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Now i would have never check out this series let alone finish it was not for the voice actor for Ana Coppola (voice actor of her is Katie Rowan) was not also Chi-Chi in Dragon ball or The fact i own the first 4 books of This anim's Manga.
--_Story 9_--
The story if it had one was cute As hell the whole time. there was no lack in cute and funny I liked the fact that The resterant that Miu kept on taken them into just to get into fights was a strange plot. I kinda thought episode 11 was kinda out of place as IT was Centered around Well cake and friends not being to nice to each other and Well Nobue getting worried Never mind no spoilers but it was a great story plot and Harry Potter well the book appears in this but thats all i am going to say. I only wish That there was an episode That was mostly Centered around Nobue I guess there was one but not really.
--_Art 9_--
I give the art a 10 even though after reading part of the manga i was skeptical that this was even going to be any good art but i was wrong it is probably one of the best art in an anime I have seen Now its missing some good detail that other anime have in there art. All the characters were meant to be draw so cute as well bunny rabbits.
--_Sound 10_--
I Give this Ost/ Soundtrack a great listen now I am going to say the music made me cry and it has some nostalgia value now from the first time to the last time i heard the op and the ending Credits I will never forget trying to sing along in Japanese and English during the op and credits. All the Tracks When i hear them i can tell u almost exactly where the tracked played and what was happening at that part of the episode it was all around enjoyable sound it rocked!! Voice acting was great also . ON TO character Now
--_Characters 9 _--
Well if i was going to do this i will go over some things that i liked i will or may not bring up all characters here so here i go !!
So Nobue Itou Is the sister of Chika and a role model to the rest of the friends of Chika She is the simi perv if this anime since how far can a perv get in a pg rated anime But she is like a big sister to them all well ok she is to chika. other things is somewhere in here she Dresses Matsuri up as a cat and gives mew a a chance to sleep in the same bed because she was ignoring Miu at some point in an episode. The fact she borrows money for well cigarettes once or twice from Chika but she did it more in the manga well as far as i have seen
Now They meet Ana way earlier in the series then they did in the manga i and she did forget her native language of England English Not USA English But yeah and she does not want anyone to find out but i guess later on she stops caring that someone might find out about her knowing how to speak Japanese. ooh and she is in the same class as Matsuri
now chika is the most series member of the house
and Miu is a cluts she is like a all ways hyper 11 year old who is all ways sugar high and has no common cents and all ways pushes stuff to the limit.
and well I loved the Voice acting i give it a higher rating then i would bleach or sonic x or well sgt frog they all have worse voice acting in my opinion to this anime it was great.
--_Enjoyment 10_--
When My day was going bad i was glade i watched this anime it made a bad day turn good it made me cry but not in a hurtful way but in a OMG F word Tears of joy moment i mean its like if u met ur hero and got to spend a day with him/ her or u saw god for the first time or u just had ur first born kid type of Happy tears!
if it was not for this i would have probably gone back to being a stereo typical emo It was just So great.
--_Overall 10_--
I love all the characters the story Well if i said lolie anime was only for young girls then why did i watch this and like it so much i am a guy who is 16 for peat sakes I loved it I plan on finishing the manga and the other ova and encore seasons of this as soon as possible
one of the best anime i have seen i recommend it to everyone I know well ok friends i know like cute stuff just as much as i do..
Oh if u read this far my I uploaded the full ost to this anime here i bought the album and uploaded the whole thing into one video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNlnQowBIc0 read more
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halfshadows
1 of 8 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
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| Animation |
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| Character |
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| Enjoyment |
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"her distinguishing trait is that she doesn't have any real distinguishing traits"
That's how i would describe this anime.
I came into it hoping for a decent slice of life anime. I wasn't expecting gold, but i hoped this would at least make me smile... or chuckle... or something, but it didn't. Most of the characters are decent. They're all pretty generic and forgettable but they're still pleasant. The key word here is most. The problem i had with this anime is Miu, the most annoying character i've seen in an anime. There are characters similar to her in other great animes, Azumanga comes to mind here, but Miu takes it to a whole new level. She's a selfish, attention seeking brat that made me want to punch her most of the time. I actually found myself asking why she is even friends with the other characters throughout the entire show. She doesn't actually do anything other than be annoying.
This wouldn't necessarily kill the show alone, but all the jokes are build around her. The show is pretty much about her, so all the jokes are about her as well. I just couldn't find anything funny when i hate this character so much. Like other characters like Miu, she often ends up face down on the ground when her antics get out of hand, but it doesn't show her getting hit or anything. It's not satisfying, and she doesn't seem affected by it, so it might as well not have happened.
Since all the "jokes" revolve around Miu, and the other characters are really bland, this show is almost completely empty of anything funny. There are parts without Miu that are enjoyable, but not funny. This show only made me laugh out loud once, and that was the first few minutes of Ana entering the show. That one part if what is keeping me from giving this a 5, or 4, or even something lower.
At least the plot, artwork, and sound was okay, but nothing to write home about, again, no distinctive features. Apparently, some people actually like Miu, so you might like her as well, but i would strongly suggest staying away. read more
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Scallion
7 of 53 people found this review helpful
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2 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
5 |
| Story |
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| Animation |
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| Character |
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| Enjoyment |
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Well, the animation is good...
But honestly, there's no reason to watch this series unless you fantasize about molesting young girls.
Simple as that.
It was made for, and panders to pedophiles and lolicons.
It has good production values, but what modern moe-moe garbage doesn't? If you want to get the same experience, get a job as a preschool teacher, do a lot of drugs so everything looks cell-painted, and get arrested.
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AMVP
2 of 35 people found this review helpful
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2 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
4 |
| Story |
4 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
3 |
I'd heard good things about this show, and honestly, I'd hoped for a fun time in watching it. However, I took a risk in doing so that ultimately did not pay off: I watched the english dub before watching the origional sub. I can't stress enough the sad state of the dubbing for this show. The character's voices are whiny and bring about a total lack of interest in whatever cutesy slice-of-life story happens to be going on at the time. Granted, I didn't make it very far, but I just couldn't. Perhaps if I had seen it subbed things would be different, but I just can't bring myself to do it now. You may have a better experience with this anime than I did; maybe it's all a matter of taste (though bear in mind, slice-of-life is a personal favorite of mine). If you do see it subbed and enjoy it, please let me know so maybe I won't miss out. As of right now, however, Ichigo Masimaro is about the last anime on my mind. read more
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xlizzyx1004
1 of 19 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
5 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
entertaining. i ended up watching all of the episodes.
i thought it was very cute. my favorite character was miu by the way.
its actually also quite funny.
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shintai88
0 of 10 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Its simple slice of life, except its all about the daily lives of 4 grade school girls, and a university slacker, who is a sister to one of the grade schoolers.
Its really well done, the art the characters are all unique, and its just enjoyable and soothing to watch, with hilarious moments in between. Its a shame its short, I would have enjoyed if it was longer.
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