Rating: 7.0/10

At the beginning of every episode of this anime, the Lillian Girl’s Academy is described as a place where the girl’s have pure bodies and minds, a tidy uniform, and are encouraged to walk slowly. This imagery can easily sum up the whole series. 

So this was my secret santa recommendation and although I didn’t love this anime, it was interesting to be able to watch something I would have normally not given a chance. For that reason, the whole experience has definitely been a positive one and I’ll definitely be joining in on secret santa again next year! Now, onwards to the review!

Maria-sama ga Miteru (or Maria Watches Over Us or even better The Virgin Mary is Watching You) is an anime about an all girl’s school where older grades help out new students by picking one who they decide to be their “soeur” and help to guide in their transition to a new school.  The story’s main focus is on Yumi who at first rejects the most popular girl at school Sachiko’s offer, but Sachiko is someone who never gives up on her goals! There are some other characters involved in the story too who get their own arcs to focus on some of their drama-filled lives.

The genre of this anime is slice of life and shoujo-ai, so the story basically just slowly sets up a plot with some romantic tension is thrown in. Though, you won’t be getting much kissing action until episode five if you cared to know. Even with that said, the show is done in surprisingly good taste and the romance isn’t really unrealistic or over the top like you would find in the opposite of this genre with a series like Junjou Romantica.

This anime takes its time the whole way through to develop a believable relationship with its characters. It has about three other seasons besides this one though, so you don’t get much closure from the last episode.

In terms of the characters, they were all just average at best to put it simply. The main character Yumi either worried the a lot or felt she wasn’t good enough for anyone. Sachiko’s personality apparently stems from her kindergarten years where she had to try so hard to be like everyone else. To do this she had to even stop getting driven to school by limo and took the bus instead. I feel so much sympathy… With that said, our two leads were just really dull and I didn’t care much for either of them. In the least, I actually did like the more minor character in this anime. They got some attention and sometimes even a whole episode about them, which were pretty well thought out episodes with a pretty good story.

For a series from 2003, the animation is just what you would expect it to be. I will say its much better than the average of its time at least, but I felt this series mostly managed to shine in the area of its soundtrack. A lot of the songs were done on the piano or with a corset and were all for the most part beautiful. Also besides being a genuinely well done soundtrack, I really liked it because it fit with the anime so much too. Within one song, it really managed to capture everything this anime was trying to be.

In all, this anime made for an okay watch just because at the end of the day, it wasn’t very interesting. It took its time to create some drama and character development, but there wasn’t much of a pay off at the end for our patience. Some storylines were uninteresting and even a little too mundane to deserve to have a whole episode dedicated to it. With that thin line of entertainment in the slice of life world, it sadly missed the mark for me. If the genres appeal to you, this anime is definitely worth watching. As for me, it was an intriguing watch for a change in what I’m used to, but I don’t see myself watching any other season besides this one.