I’ve linked the picture on the left to the Deluxe Edition of the 2nd Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA. Should you not want the collector’s edition, here is a link to the regular DVD on Amazon JP.
So, Ryakushite OK Taisakusen (Kari), or Operation OK, for Short (Provisionally), is abstracted from the novels Manatsu no Peeji and Satsusatsu Suzukaze, primarily those scenes focusing on getting Sachiko over her dislike of men enough to meet with the Hanadera Academy Student Council. I’ve linked to my notes from the pertinent novels, so you can go back and grab the basic plot from there, allowing me to gush without having to do tedious things like tell you what I’m talking about. ;-)
This is a wonderful OVA. It has lots of Sachiko-liciousness, with some yummy Yuminess. I find myself grinning, yet again, like a loon as I watch, because it’s just so damn fun.
For fans of the series, one of the most important factors has got to be how Yumi and Sachiko interact in this OVA, now that all the Rainy Blue misunderstanding is behind them. This Yumi (and even more so in the sports festival OVA to come) handles Sachiko softly, with a deft touch, but without having to compromise her own values – something that Sachiko comments on. For her part, Sachiko is able to accept that moving past her limitations is important not only for her, but for the rest of the Yamayurikai…and her frank discussion of her own temper was truly magnificent.
In short, this story is about Sachiko being magnificent, and about Yumi enjoying that magnificence, and polishing it to an even greater shine.
There’s more than enough funny for anyone’s taste, but the greatest scene has got to be Yumi calling Yuuki her brother “for the time being” (or “Pretty much, as Lililicious translates it) followed by Yoshino stealing the gag. A brilliant scene, and really well animated, because we can see the differences between boys and girls right there, in a nutshell, as they all laugh.
In terms of Yuri, the best moment has to be when, as Yumi and Yuuki wait for the bus home after meeting with the “unpalatable” Kashiwagi, Yuuki decribes his perfect type as someone who sounds awfully like Yumi, while Yumi’s description of her type, as Yuuki points out, sounds suspiciously like Sachiko. ^_^
But really, what this OVA is about is Sachiko being magnificent. If you are not a rabid Sachiko-hater (and you shouldn’t be, but the first season of the anime did make it hard to like her) you will also grin like a loon as you watch this. If you are already in love with Yumi and her onee-sama, you will find this time more than well spent.
Ratings:
Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 2
Service – 1
Overall – 8
This is such a terrific story. Just watch it and learn to love Sachiko and Yumi properly.
Ah, I must have missed the fact that Yuuki’s perfect person description sounds like Yumi. I must have focused too much on the part where Yumi described Sachiko. XD Thanks for pointing that out. ^^
It was truncated quite a bit in the OVA, so you had to make do with a short “I like nice girls” and his body language. In the novel, his requirements were a tad more specific. You can find the passage in my notes from the novel.