DGFischer

Ichigo Mashimaro (Strawberry Marshmallow) had all the traits of being a very benign production, yet I could only wonder how malignant it was for me in watching these twelve ‘iyashikei’ episodes of four fifth grade girls and one rebel of a teen-aged sister.  I think it came with the first line of the theme song ... ‘don't think of us as cute,’ or words to that effect.  There were moments I felt the girls weren't aiming so much for kawaii, but if they were trying for moe  ... plane hits ground and bursts into flames ... or however that saying goes.

Honestly, of the twelve episodes, I had to rewatch three. Something to do to dozing off while viewing.  As characters go, there was little to complain about studious Chika, innocent Matsuri, and English lass Ana, but Strawberry Marshmallow played too much with Miu's naughty, semi-comedic character.  Gifted with the sarcasm without the intelligence which makes it work.  But the saucy comments Lime Anime (company used to develop the dubbed version) dropped during the break segments nudged the concept too close to the Lolita concept.  A toxic mix of sweet and vulgar.

This made making the characters act anything close to realistic difficult.  I had trouble relating to Ana when she was introduced.  An English girl with enough background in Japanese to communicate, but uncertain which language to use (the dubbed version slaughtered the refined English accent one would associate with one from the sceptered isle).  Plus, the anime loosely paired the characters of long-suffering Chika with annoying neighbor Miu, and sweet Matsuri with sympathetic Ana.  The final episodes dealt with how one should take Santa Claus; in defending Matsuri's faith in Santa, Miu could pinpoint when she renounced Santa, and Ana when she knew the wisdom of holding to the jolly elf.  It was that touch of iyashikei that I missed throughout all the other episodes.  But the counter-weight to the antics of the four elementary schoolers, Chika's older sister Nobue, was deadweight.  A chain-smoker and beer-binger, it was hard to see the so-called ‘mature’ member of the cast inject anything positive into the plot.  Plot, a thing that was so lacking in this series.

The animation was, to be blunt, simplistic.  What one would expect from anime produced in 2005.  I would be interested in whatever technical improvements would be made for the 2007 and 2009 OVA presentations. The music was, to be truthful, that kawaii effect which the quartet of pre-adolescent girls would deny.  Let cute be cute, but let us also realize loli can just be pointless.