Brother, Dear Brother

Both anime feature likeable yet naive heroines, exclusive societies, and forbidden homosexual and/or incestuous relationships. Both heroines have perky, pony-tailed best friends whose ordinariness gradually precludes them from the encroaching melodrama. Both series also feature handsome, melancholic blondes who cling to pieces of gold jewelry that serve as painful reminders of their unrequited loves for other women. In both series, female characters are referred to as "princes," and roses play symbolic roles.

Both Revolutionary Girl Utena and Brother Dear Brother deal with the complexities of gender, sexuality and identity. While Utena is more fantasy-based, Brother Dear Brother is quite realistic, but the emotions that both shows draw upon are very similar. While the leads in both shows are quite different in their strengths, their core personalities are quite similar. The classical music component is shared between the two, creating similar musical themes too.

In a lot of ways, Brother, Dear Brother feels like a spiritual predecessor to Utena.  Both have a classy private school setting, a large cast of primary, secondary, and tertiary characters, dark secrets, complex motivations, twisted relationships, and a unique atmosphere created by combining lush shoujo imagery and visual symbolism with music.  Oh yeah, and lesbians.

The storyline of Maria-sama looks familiar to Brother, Dear Brother. They have very similar characters, and both stories are centered around girls' relations with each other in an all-girls high school. Both also have student councils and hard personalities with a dramatic background. If you liked one, I'm sure you'll like the other.

Before Maria-sama ga Miteru, there was Oniisama E, a slightly obscure series, adapted from the manga of the beloved Ryoko Ikeda, a much influential female manga artist who brought us legendary manga such as Rose of Versailles. It is quite obvious that Maria-sama ga Miteru got MUCH of its inspiration from Oniisama E.

Before Fukuzawa Yumi unexpectedly entered the rose soeur system in Lillian, Misonoo Nanako unexpectedly entered the sorority, elite group of Seiran. Both schools are for girls only and both schools have three girls who are ultimately admired by everyone: the three roses in Marimite, the magnificent three in Oniisama E. Both series feature a huge and complex almost-all-female array of nicely done characters, with strong lesbian tendencies.

Maria-sama ga Miteru is a much lighter series then Oniisama E, which has lots of psychological violence. But Marimite was heavily influenced on Oniisama E, so I believe that fans of one are most likely going to enjoy the other.

Glass Mask and Onii-sama E have a similar style of execution; I also feel that the atmosphere is the same. Although Glass Mask was made in 2005, it still maintains a "classic" shoujo feel like in Onii-sama E. Both titles talk about friendship and romance; it is presented in a similar manner.