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I've noticed that there seems to be a general consensus among fans to, well...not outright hate Maruko, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of sympathy towards her. I've heard people say that she's stuck-up, possessive, way too prideful, jealous etc. Now granted, she sure seems to be jealous (or at least suspicious) of Alpha, but it's not like she actually goes out and lashes out at Alpha or anything - in fact she seems to hang out with Alpha as much as anyone else.

The way I look at it, Kokone and Maruko represent the two sides of the same coin - Kokone more dependent, someone who needs to latch onto an "onee-san" and companionship, while Maruko is more independent, more willing to express her individuality and more afraid of being tied down to any one spot or person. In a way, I see them as external personifications of Alpha's own conflicting personality traits:

- She has a tendency to latch onto relationships and other people, just like Kokone (and including Kokone, no less)
- She places a very high value on commitment just like Kokone (with Owner and her commitment to the cafe)
- Like Kokone, she seems to be very lonely before the two meet each other.
- Like Kokone, meeting the other seems to have given her a new direction and meaning in life

...but....

- Like Maruko, she's not afraid to express her individuality, which I think was the main point of her "shopping trip" (she needed to get away from the Cafe for a little bit and go on a voyage of self-discovery, to reconnect with her individuality, and this takes no less than a whole year to achieve. In fact, I got the impression that she was even beginning to feel a little "suffocated" by staying at the Cafe and the people around her, which may explain why she didn't bother to tell Kokone!)
- Like Maruko, she's very expressive creatively, and a very creative person (her little workstation thingie is always shown to have some project on its desk)
- Like Maruko, she seems to prefer being her own boss (the jobs where she had to work under someone else, she didn't really hold onto for all that long, and the manga spends only enough time on them to equate to being barely mentioned; and when Makki goes to work with her, she makes it subtle yet clear that it's Alpha, then Makki in the Cafe hierarchy)
- Like Maruko, she seems to exert herself as the dominant one in her relationship with Kokone, though whether this is a conscious or subconscious effort by Alpha or by Kokone is up for debate

Well, she is largely responsible for what I believe is the only moment of conflict in the series (am I forgetting another?). I know it's actually pretty mild, but in a series like this.. I just wasn't expecting that from Alpha. I remember being quite surprised by the exchange, haha..

Eh...what moment was this? Was it when Maruko came to the cafe the first time and left the map book behind or the second time? Or was it during the scooter race?

Ah.. it was between those, when Alpha has just finished rebuilding the cafe and Kokone and Maruko come visit for the reopening. Let's see.. volume 11, chapter 102.

I don't count the count the scooter race. That is a silly little chapter, hehe.

It's quite interesting how characters can be chided (hated?!) for their feelings. Feelings don't have any consequences other than to those that hold them. It's behavior (feelings that are acted on) that have consequences for others. Maruko never did anything untoward to Alpha. We just know how she feels because YKK is that kind of voyeuristic experience (see Alpha and her special camera).

In most other manga, and more certainly anime - we see more behavior and less "thought balloons" and consequently we see more "bad" actions towards others by the characters. YKK is quite conflict-free, and so perhaps Maruko's feelings inspire fan anger as if she actually behaved badly.

Maruko is probably the only character in the work who seemed to have a little flavor. I liked her.

She's a jealous and moderately aggressive lesbian, and hates overly bright, cheery, and fake personalities. Reminds me of what I was like around the age of 15-16. The fact that people dislike her when she's by far the most lifelike and unique character in the entire work is absolutely hilarious to me.