Kids, every now and then I stumble upon a sparkly jewel of girlie gayness.
Strawberry Panic! is more than a single jewel … it’s the whole effin’ crown.
Let me break it down for you:
Setting: A triumvirate of palatial all-girl boarding schools set atop the mythical Astraea Hill.
Characters: Uniform-wearing, parfait-eating, poetry-writing schoolgirls. Many with blue, pink and purple hair.
Drama: The most popular student — a silver-haired alpha-girl known only as The Etoile — has set her semi-predatory sights on Nagisa, the new transfer student. But Nagisa’s dormmate, Tamao, has a crush on her, too! Meanwhile, Miyuki — the class president — is frusted with The Etoile for neglecting her duties as inter-campus mediator. Plus, she’s secretly in love with The Etoile … even though she’s destined to enter an arranged marriage (with a BOY! Squick!) as soon as she graduates!
Strawberry Panic! began as a series of illustrated short stories featured in Dengeki G’s Magazine (a popular mag for Japanese gamer-girls) but rapidly spun off into an internet radio show, a collection of novellas and finally a full-fledged anime show … an anime show with one of the Greatest Theme Songs of All Time.
The title of said theme song? “Shoujo Meiro de Tsukamaete,” or “Catch Me Inside the Young Lady’s Maze.”
Let’s have a look, shall we?
Lyrics:
As the heart enters the dream
On my right I run out of time, and my left is all soreness
Sweetly rolling and now trying … Shall we go to see?
“A maiden’s heart is a body of scars” — those kind of words come flowing out.
After all, someone understands the irritation of uncertainty
MAZE! It’s an innocent feeling, but it’s emerging
YES! Next to an adult love, where else might this answer be?
I embrace this above dreams of admiration
This can’t remain a girl love
Not just … not just me. Everyone has this shyness
It won’t stop — so why do I love?
And friends? It only gets better from there. You can watch a whole gang of episodes for free on Veoh. You’ll thank me later.
(Image via Hop Step Jump)
