Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Maria+Holic, Maria Holic, MariaHolic Japanese: まりあ†ほりっく
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Dec 26, 2008 to Mar 22, 2009
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.411 (scored by 27877 users)
Ranked: #15172
Popularity: #165
Members: 49,593
Favorites: 289 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
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SynopsisIt’s not easy to find the perfect girl, even when you’re the same sex! Kanako thought attending an all-girls school would be the perfect way to meet the girl of her dreams, but after her hot new roommate turns out to be a guy in drag, and catching the eye of the most popular girl in school only brings down the wrath of all the OTHER similarly obsessed girls, she’s not so sure! Complicate things with a cat-eared dorm leader, her roommate’s rude-mannered maid, an identical twin sister (who attends an all-boys school of course) and WAY too many attractive girls of questionable persuasions and the question becomes whether Kanako will die from frustrated nosebleeds! (Life would be SO much easier if guys didn’t literally give her the hives!) Will Kanako ever find a non-polar opposite of a compatible non-opposing polarity? Let’s just say that the quest for true love will not run straight in Maria Holic.
(Source: Sentai Filmworks) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Maria†Holic
Sequel: Maria†Holic Alive
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Lucca202
25 of 32 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
3 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
While I was watching this anime, I couldn't help but compare it to another girls' love anime I watched once: suffice to say, it's one that it kept me away from the GL genre for a while for having too much fan service and too little plot. Well, as it turns out, Maria†Holic fits that description a lot better.
You'd think the plot would be centered around the cross-dresser Mariya and her reasons to do so. It's not. The moments in which this is developed in the plot are few and far in-between. In fact, the plot is basically non-existant: the whole series feels like a bunch of random scenarios thrown together.
The lack of plot makes most of the cast uninteresting, since there is no development whatsoever. Some are still good, though. There is the Dorm Mistress, who's pretty funny, there is Matsurika (Mariya's maid), who reinforces Mariya's personality pretty well, and finally, there is Mariya herself. Mariya evades the delicate crossdresser stereotype completely. She is just EVIL, something you have to watch and see.
As for the main character, well, she is a pervert. By fantasizing about whichever girl(s) is(are) on her vision range, she puts famous pervs, like Brock from Pokémon, to shame. She is, of course, the excuse for a whole truckload of fan service. If you are looking for anime girls in bikinis and bras, you just found them. Unfortunately, I wasn't.
Now, see, you might notice that all I did until now was to bash the anime, and yet I gave it a 7/10. That's because there is one very important point about Maria†Holic that needs to be made. This series is NOT supposed to be taken seriously. It doesn't take itself seriously, and you shouldn't either.
So what if the scenarios is completely random? It's still pretty funny. In fact, there are so many situations that are so absurd and completely blown out of proportion, you WILL want to continue watching it even after making the "wtf am I watching" face several times. It's those kinds of things you'll only see in an anime.
Finally, I'd like to comment on the opening and ending sequences. They are awesome.
In summary, my thoughts on Maria†Holic are basically this: Take it lightly. Don't come in expecting lots of romance and depth, instead, just expect goofy humor. You'll enjoy it. read more
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Chasekun
174 of 244 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
*A great entertaining product by SHAFT backed with hilarious out-of-the-blue jokes.*
"I-I don't even understand the letter C in Catholic!" - Miyamae Kanako
If I was asked to describe Maria + Holic in one word, I believe “wordy” will suit this show perfectly. The amount of monologues in the show is tremendous! Plus the “rail gunning” of words shooting back and forth between the characters simply makes the anime difficult to follow without pauses in between (assuming you need to read the subtitles). And the occasional weird reference to various things also contributes to the complexity of the show for an average viewer. These issues may turn some potential viewers away, but if you can get accustom to these minor issues, Maria + Holic is actually a rather unique experience.
The anime itself should be praised for following the manga closely. The entire series covers pretty much the first three volumes of the manga (out of a total of four serialized volumes so far). While certain episodes may seem like fillers, especially if they are not designed to advance the story in any way, these filler-like episodes actually are indeed part of the manga. It should be no surprise that these episodes still manage to be highly entertaining albeit a bit random in most cases.
As a SHAFT product, those who are familiar with the studio should know what to expect. But if you don’t have a clue, here is a general description. Maria + Holic have high quality animation with good looking characters. Background scenes tend to be overly simplistic to contrast with the detailed characters. What this mean is that while the character usually look professionally drawn, the background often seem like the work of an elementary kid. This may be strange for some viewers, but surprisingly the result is quite pleasant to watch.
The OP will most certainly take some time to get used to. It is so … unique. On the other hand, the ED makes use of voice changers and the effect turns out quite enjoyable. Frankly, the BGM in Maria + Holic are nothing unique like the OP or ED making them less memorable after the show is done. However, to counterbalance the “average” BGM, we have a few astonishingly stupendous seiyu that can make us forget the pain of the lack of good BGM. Out of the few bright stars in the anime, Yuu Kobayashi is particularly outstanding. In part due to her singing the OP, also her ability to change between two highly different male and female voices make her one of the biggest asset to the show.
We normally see the male protagonist having perverted thoughts on various female characters in an anime. Maria + Holic is no different except that the protagonist is a girl. And her lust for other girls is stronger than 99.9% of her male counterparts. Here is another good lesson to learn. Never judge anybody by physical appearance alone. Kanako may look like a regular big chest girl in your eyes, but deep down inside she is quite a frightful lady … in a perverted way. It should come as no surprise that she also an openly declared lesbian with a tendency to execute a nosebleed faster than you can say the word nosebleed. The cause of her nosebleed is often due to her encounter with an ecchi scene. In fact, she spurts so much blood that it became a regular routine for the viewers to see her in the school infirmary.
Next we have a very cute looking babe plus an equally sexy voice. She has a good body proportion, excellent grade at school, and is loved by all her classmates. But she is a guy. Yup, you read that correctly. This hot babe is a guy proven and tested, through some grabbing, by our perverted female lead. Maria + Holic is full of interesting characters that will surely put a big happy smile on your face. It is unfortunate that the story has an open ending (since the manga is no where near done either), so fans will just have to be patient for the time being until someday a continuation to the series is announced. read more
Recommendations
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Comedies by SHAFT with the same voice actors.
Both are made by SHAFT and have the similar air and feeling about them.
Both are comedy. Akiyuki Shinbou directs them both.
The voice actors are the same, too.
If you watched and liked Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei you should watch Maria†Holic.
Both are made by SHAFT and have the similar air and feeling about them.
Both are comedy and the pacing is also similar. Akiyuki Shinbou directs them both.
The voice actors are the same, too.
Maria†Holic follows a main plot while Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is strong in parody slice-of-life comedy.
If you watched and liked Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei you should watch Maria†Holic.
similar style and humor. and both main characters are in "despair".
Only 2 episodes into this, I noticed it was HIGHLY similar to Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. The art styles are pretty much the same, the comedy is dark, and hysterical. Even the pictures at the very end (All drawn by different artists) are alike! If you liked Maria Holic, you will definitely LOVE Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei!
Both series are comedies done by SHAFT in similar styles. While Maria Holic has a more structured plot, it can be just as wacky as SZS. Maria Holic also parodies Nozomu's despair sequence from time to time, which SZS fans will love. I suspect that Dorm Mistress and Kafuka are related. They are eerily similar.
Along with Bakemonogatari both are a quintessence of SHAFT's craziness and their great ideas.
Both anime are awesomly done by SHAFT, and also share some voice actors.
Both are comedies with the parody element and a black sense of humour.
Both main characters are in despair.
Both are set at school and have a good, interesting cast of characters.
Both have shoujo-ai, even if in SZS they're only hints.
Both are worth watching, but Zetsubou Sensei is better.
same studio, same style both very funny
Both are Studio SHAFT productions under the helm of Akiyuki Shinbo, which rely on fast paced gags, puns, and innuendos.
The style of comedy is similar, and some of the jokes cross over from Zetsubou-Sensei
Both contain the insane craziness of SHAFT.
They are made by studio SHAFT and have a great art style.
Both are parodies.
Similar sense of humor.
Both are hilarious.
Both series have the same producers so there are elements which are similar between the two. The comedy and the art style are basically similar.
It's been said and exhausted before, but both are fun, crack, series to watch when you're in the mood for a great comedy. Both Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Maria Holic do not have much continuity (Maria Holic has a slight bit more, but that's not saying much), great opening themes, and a great sense of humour.
Same producer (SHAFT). Both of them are comedy, parody and school. Art is similar. The only difference is that Maria†Holic is romance and has plot.
Same style animation both very funny
Beyond the obviousness of their both being Shaft productions, each has a single theme that gets beaten senseless. These one-trick ponies get lost in the wilderness and well before they actually finish, each runs out of things to say. Many episodes would have benefitted from losing 5-10 minutes since much of the repetition would have been cut. Losing a few episodes would have helped the series as there were a few too many in which nothing happened -- the season finales offending most egregiously.
Typical for Shaft shows, the music is mostly interesting. The artwork is good and the characters are visually attractive.
To sum the experience up... I feel like I've watched two comedy skits that were turned into feature films.
The artwork and the animation is pretty much the same. Maria Holic might be a little lighter than Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, but there's numerous characters and lots of high school girls absurdities in both of them.
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The main characters cross-dress into this all-girl school for the apparently same reason (which I will not reveal since some might consider this a sppoiler -.-''). Even though the genre of these series don't really match, there were a lot of things that were particularly similar. For example, there's a ''Mariya'' in both series o.O
Not only that, I feel that the story lacked something... in both series
Otome might be a bit more... shoujo than maria+holic, but they are mainly the same: it follows the life of several girls and one boy.
They share a similar setting and gender bending theme. Both of them excellent anime.
Maria+Holic's lead is essentially a parody of OtoBoku's main character. The premise that causes them to do what they do is similar, but minus the sadism and arrogance in Maria+Holic's main character.
Both anime' has a cross-dressing male character.
both anime have a guy cross dressing to go to an all girls school
both boys are in a girls school by the same reason, there´s flesbianism too
also a guy disguise as a girl in a girl's school. though it's new i'm sure it will be a good way to continue with the boy beeing a girl in a girl's enviroment anime.
Both of them tells about a boy who attending school at All-Girl school, and both of them was a beautiful wo(MEN). Please don't falling in love with her/him
they both have a guy cross dressing but in otoboku(otome wa boku ni koishiteru) there is less yuri scenes than maria+holic. But in Maria+Holic there is multiple text screnes. Otoboku has a sense of seriousness
Both has cross dressing boys that can pass off as female students, because some messed relatives wanted these boys going to an all girls catholic girl. Plus the boys can also be traps as well, b/c they completely fool the girls around them and only a few of them know their secrets.
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Opening Theme"HANAJI" by Yuu Kobayashi
Ending Theme"Kimi ni, Mune Kyun (君に、胸キュン)" by Yuu Kobayashi, Asami Sanada and Marina Inoue
Fansubbing Groups
Which fansubbers do you like the best? Click + to approve of their subs for this show. Click - if you don't think they did such a great job.
Related ClubsMaria†Holic Fanclub, Drill Hair Characters Club, Male Dicks,MAL's Picks, Anime Türkiye [AniTR], !~~tsubasalover's Friendships~~!, Arabic Yuri/ Shoujo ai Club $~(•.•)~$, Nun and other religous figures FC, *Twins*, Bishoujo ga suki desu~!, Kemonomimi Shoujo, Be Adopted By An Anime Character, Mole=Moe, Mariya X Matsurika Fanclub, Studio SHAFT, Boys will be girls!, Ryoko Shintani Fanclub, Fans of Gender Bending/Gender Swapping, The Twin Factor, Trapped!, Traps & Reverse TrapsHigh School Anime Fans, Miyuki Sawashiro Club, Dark Comedy, 3 of Hearts Family!, ★Pictorial Culture Miscellany★, Mariya Is My Master, - Matsurika FC -, Kanako Miyamae Fanclub, Pisoga, Otagi Bank, The Abridged Series Fanclub, The Sibling Spectrum, Anime Girls Fan Club [A.G.F.C.], Maria † Holic Fanclub, JACS at LSU, Anime and Manga Romance Club, Girls who Enjoy Fanservice/Ecchi, AnimeWorld, MAL'S Maidens, Advanced Yuri Research Society, Anime boys who are looking like girls, Minas Gerais / Brazil, Deviant Hearts, AnImE lOvErZ!!!, ♥S&M Lovers♥, The Masters & Servants Realm, Heterophobia, ~ONII-SAN... Big Brothers club~, Anime Land, Sadomasochism in Anime/Manga, Red Eyes Fanclub, Shounen-ai / Shoujo-ai Brasil, Hakusen Academy Claims, Anime Recommendation and Help Center, GL Addicts!, Anime Yokai, Anime Weekend Marathons, Anime Subversion-Deconstruction Fanclub/Group (A.S.D.F.G.), Deadpan Humor, Pirate Party MAL, MAL Anime Academy, Yoru's Dungeon ;), Tomokazu Sugita Fanclub, School Anime Club, the (e)XtremeFlash Fanclub, BANZAI! federation, Mariya Shidou Fanclub see all
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