Why on earth do I find Ichigo Mashimaro so appealing?
It could be the talented voice cast, or the sheer insanity of the non-plots, or Miu’s pleasantly sociopathic worldview, or the goofball situations, or even the incredibly sticky opening theme. Any of those things is enough.
But I think ultimately,that its just that its so darn *cute* that really wins. And don’t think that that doesn’t irk the daylights out of me! It does – I hate being swayed by cute. I maintain myself as the anti-cute reader, a single point of pessimistic darkness in the world of moe/loli Yuri fandom who think two cute girls snuggling equals Yuri.
And yet…
As much as I don’t want to think about it, this series *does* have Yuri. Miu is clearly crushing on Nobue. I don’t see Nobue actually having desire for any of the kids, but this series is probably the best example (certainly the least gross) of moe, I’ve ever seen. Nobue’s affection for Matsuri and Ana has all the qualities of moe. She clearly has a need to protect, and desire to snuggle, them like a kid with stuffed animals.
But for me, the real attraction is Miu. She’s barking mad and happy to be it. Nobue and she have enough in common that the resulting tension moves the story zippily along and is darned fun while doing so.
Ratings:
Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Music – 7
Yuri – 7
Overall – 7.5
Really, talking about this series doesn’t cut it. Just watch it and laugh. There, that was easy.