
 |
ntroduction to
Maria-sama ga Miteru マリア様がみてる |
A
series of novels by Oyuki Konno, the story revolves around
the students of the Lillian Catholic school for girls. It can be
considered more character-driven, focusing on interactions between the
characters rather than any sort of ongoing plot or goal to attain. It is subtitled
La Vierge Marie vous regarde, French for "The Virgin Mary watches
you".
The school, which was founded in 1902 in
Musashino, is depicted
as elegant, clean, pure and very prestigious. The students are very
respectable and in good standing. At Lillian's there is a
tradition known as the "sœur system" (sœur being French
for "sister"), in which a second- or third-year student, the grande
sœur ("big sister"), will give her rosary to a junior student, the
petite sœur ("little sister"), and promise to look after them and
guide them.
At the start of the story, new first-year student Yumi
Fukuzawa is suddenly approached by the seemingly-cold and
unapproachably perfect second-year
student Sachiko Ogawasara to be her petite sœur.
The story often has some strong elements of romance between female
characters; the use of lilies reinforces this in subtext, as do the
names of the student council and of the school itself. It is only
explicit about this sort of relationship once (in flashback), but many
of the sisters have relationships that go beyond simple friendship —
though not quite so far as to suggest romance between any of the primary
characters. Nonetheless, this has not stopped
fans of the show and
doujinshi
creators from attempting to
elaborate on these relationships as such: it comprises the majority
of yuri fanart currently released, and any artwork of the series
is often placed in the yuri sections of image boards. Even before
the
animated series was produced, the Marimite novels and
manga
had - and still have - an enormous yuri fandom as well.
集英社コバルト文庫から刊行されている、今野緒雪原作による少女向け小説シリーズ。舞台は東京都下武蔵野の丘の上にそびえる、伝統あるカトリック系高校・私立リリアン女学園高等部。そこには代々、特別厳しい校則がなくとも、規
律正しい学園生活を送るように、先輩と後輩が「姉妹」としての契りを結び、リリアンの生徒としてふさわしい振る舞いをするよう指導する、「スール」(
「姉妹」の意のフランス語。 sœur(s))という制度が存在していた。
物語はその下、高等部に通う平凡な一年生・福沢祐巳(ふくざわ
ゆみ)が、憧れの先輩の一人である「紅薔薇のつぼみ(ロサ・キネンシス・アン・ブゥトン)」こと、二年生の小笠原祥子(おがさわらさちこ)から、突如として姉妹(スール)の宣告を受けるところから始まる。
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bout the
Yamayurikai 山百合会 |
Much
of the story of Marimite revolves around the Yamayurikai
(Japanese, lit. "Mountain Lily Club"), which acts as the
student council. The Yamayurikai itself
consists of three offices, named after roses: Rosa Fœtida ,
Rosa Gigantea, and Rosa Chinensis. The petite sœur of
a Rosa is called an en bouton (French, "in bud") --
e.g., Rosa Chinensis en bouton -- and is
unofficially considered part of the Yamayurikai, as is the
petite sœur of the en bouton (if she
has one). Although the offices of the
Yamayurikai are traditionally passed to the en bouton on the
graduation of the current holder, they are
nonetheless elected offices which anyone may run for; this fact is part
of a subplot in the first season. Most of the main characters are members
of the Yamayurikai. (Source:
Wikipedia)
リリアン女学園高等部生徒会。中心となるのは薔薇さま及びその姉妹。すなわち紅、白、黄それぞれの薔薇さま、薔薇のつぼみ、薔薇のつぼみの妹で最大9名となる。
(Wikipedia)