August 20, 2004
Marmalade Boy Episode 2
"Side Effects of a Kiss - 'I Don't Know What He's Thinking.'"
I'm amazed at the restraint shown by the creators of Marmalade Boy in holding back on the titular reference until the second episode.
The first episode of Marmalade Boy was mostly character introductions. That was a good starting point, but in the second episode, we start learning about the characters' pasts. The love triangle gets set up (Ginta, Miki, Yuu), and we get teased about the love rectangle (Arimi).
The show wastes no time in diving right into Miki's mixed-up feelings for Yuu, and I'm guessing this is one of the last chances she'll have to only have Yuu to feel mixed-up about.
Maybe it's just the nostalgic charm of old anime series, but Marmalade Boy has a nice, light-hearted feel to it which doesn't seem to happen much in recent anime series. There's no excessive fanservice, outrageous character archetypes, or other fluff (at least not yet), to interfere with the story. It's a refreshing change of pace.
Being a fan of the manga, I was really impressed by how well they transferred the feel and mannerisms of the manga to the anime. The colors aren't really what I expected (as I mentioned before), but the characters' facial expressions, and the way they talk and act are very much in line with what I had pictured from the manga.
Rating: B+
Posted by Kei at August 20, 2004 12:43 AM