Strawberry Panic! (ストロベリー・パニック!, Sutoroberī Panīku!) is the title for the set of fictional stories and related media works by Japanese author Sakurako Kimino revolving around a group of teenage girls attending three affiliated all-girl schools. A common theme throughout the stories are the intimate lesbian relationships between the characters.
| Strawberry Panic! | |
| File:Strawberry Panic logo.jpg Strawberry Panic! Girls' School in Full Bloom | |
| Genre | Romance, Shōjo ai, Seinen[1] |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Sakurako Kimino (story) Namuchi Takumi (art) |
| Illustrated by | Namuchi Takumi |
| Published by | Media Works |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Sakurako Kimino |
| Published by | Media Works |
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Masayuki Sakoi |
| Studio | Madhouse |
| Video game | |
| Strawberry Panic! Girls' School in Full Bloom | |
| Publisher | Media Works |
| Genre | Visual novel |
| Platform | PS2 |
The entire series has a wide range of media, ranging from printed prose to an anime adaptation and even a video game yet to be released. Strawberry Panic! began as a collection of short stories serialized in the Japanese bishōjo magazine Dengeki G's Magazine, published by Media Works. Following the printing of the short stories, a manga adaptation was started in 2005. Similarly, a light novel series also started production with the first volume serialized in Dengeki Bunko, which is also published by Media Works, in March 2006. An anime version which is loosely based on the manga was quickly adapted and started airing on April 3 2006 in Japan, produced by the Japanese animation studio, Madhouse. Finally, a Playstation 2 video game, published by the same company as the manga and novel, will be released in Japan on August 24 2006.
Both the manga, light novel and anime are currently being released in Japan, while the short stories have subsequently been discontinued.
Plot
Template:Spoilers Strawberry Panic! revolves around the lives of several adolescent girls all attending one of three affliliated all-girl schools which share a campus and dormitories, that include: St. Miator's Girl's Academy, St. Spica's Girl's Institute and St. Lulim's Girl's School. In addition, many of the students who reside on campus live in what is most readily referred to as the Strawberry Dorms, though the proper name is Astraea Dormitory, named after Astraea Hill where all of the institutions reside.[1]
The main heroine of the story is Nagisa Aoi, a young girl entering into her fourth year at St. Miator via a transfer from a different school. Upon first entering the campus grounds she is first overcome with joy by the overall appearance of the surrounding area, however her joy is soon turned to sorrow as she accidentally stumbles down a hill, effectively making her lost and disoriented. While walking around the grounds trying to find where she is, she comes across another student by the name of Shizuma Hanazono, who just happens to be Astraea Hill's Etoile, a very important person who acts as a representative among the different schools and has specific duties that she must fulfill.[1]
Nagisa Aoi is soon introduced to many other students from all three schools, some being students she admires, is intimidated of, or are mearly friends that she meets over time while attending St. Miator. Eventually, many of the girls form intimate relationships together, ranging from simple conversations and meetings, escalating to minor make out sessions and having sexual intercourse in the most extreme cases. The entire series revolves around the relationships the characters build with each other with climaxes in the plot whenever two of the characters start dating.[1]
Major characters
At each of the three schools, there are four main characters that also appear in the video game version of the series.[2]
- Attending St. Miator's Girl's Academy
Nagisa Aoi is the main character of the story and also the main love interest for the other three main characters attending this school that all seem to have crushes on her.[3] They are: Tamao Suzumi, Nagisa's close friend at the school who she also shares a room with,[3] Shizuma Hanazono who is also the current Etoile,[4] and Chiyo Tsukidate, the girl who is employed as the room temp for Nagisa and Tamao.
- Attending St. Spica's Girl's Institute
Hikari Konohana, a rather shy and quiet girl most of the time, is the main focus among the main characters who attend this school as, much like Nagisa at Miator, she too has several girls wanting to get close with her. They are: Yaya Nanto, a rebellious girl who is Hikari's best friend and roommate, Amane Ōtori, an older girl who is seen much like a prince from a fairy tale, and Tsubomi Okuwaka, a young first year student who acts mature for her age.
- Attending St. Lulim's Girl's School
Different from the other two schools, for the main characters attending this school, there is not much romance between them, though they do hang out together constantly. The leader of their friendly group is Chikaru Minamoto, the student council president of Lulim, Kizuna Hyūga, a very outgoing and hyper girl, Remon Natsume, who is much like Kizuna in personality, although not as accident-prone as her, and lastly, Kagome Byakudan, the youngest of the group and also the most childish.
Setting
Astraea Hill
Astraea Hill is where the story takes place. It is a very large hilltop where all three schools are located. It's most prominent feature is a very large Catholic church that can be seen from a vast distance away.
Schools
All three schools are all-girl schools that are located nearby to each other. Within the school system, there is a difference in the numbering of the grades than is usually seen. At Astraea Hill, students are ranged from grades one through six:
| Astraea Hill | Traditional Japanese | American |
|---|---|---|
| First year | First year (Jr. High School) | Seventh grade |
| Second year | Second year (Jr. High School) | Eigth grade |
| Third year | Third year (Jr. High School) | Ninth grade |
| Fourth year | First year (High School) | Tenth grade |
| Fifth year | Second year (High School) | Eleventh grade |
| Sixth year | Third year (High School) | Twelfth grade |
- St. Miator Girl's Academy
- St. Miator Girl's Academy (聖ミアトル女学園, Sei Miatoru Jogakuen) is the oldest of the three schools and holds the longest legacy. This school has long black dresses for their uniforms, done in the Gothic Lolita fashion.
- In the Strawberry Dorms, there is something called the room temp system that only occurs for students from Miator. All the underclassman entering these dorms, if they're chosen to serve the upperclassman as room temps, will be given an important chance to show their affection to them. Room temps do many things, but mainly clean the rooms of the students they were assigned to serve. However, they have to talk it over with their upperclassmen first before making any decisions.
- The current Etoile, Shizuma, attends Miator, which gives this school a lot of power within the school system.
- St. Spica's Girl's Institute
- St. Spica's Girl's Institute (聖スピカ女学院, Sei Supika Jogakuin) is the school with the white colored buildings and uniforms, which are the most professional looking. They are well-known for their culture and how accomplished their sports program is compared to the two other schools.
- Also, Spica and Miator both oppose each other quite strongly, which usually ends in them having disputes when students from these two schools get together.
- St. Lulim Girl's School
- St. Lulim Girl's School (聖ル・リム女学校, Sei Ru Rimu Jogakkō) is the school that has pink colored buildings and uniforms. This in effect makes them look the most childish compared to the other school's students.
- They have a tradition to be free and laid back, so are almost never seen fighting. Also, the students at this school enjoy a lot of freedom in terms of activities like the clubs they are allowed to form.
Etoile system
Etoile (エトワール, Etowāru) is a French word meaning star. The Etoile system of Astraea Hill is tied in with the internal politics of the schools and exists for the sole purpose of making sure everything runs smoothly. The system is designed for two Etoiles to be instated at the same time in order to work as a team, however, in the anime, Shizuma Hanazono is the sole Etoile as her partner died sometime in the last year from the time the story begins. The Etoiles are elected after going through what is known as The Etoile Election, which consists of several specific tests for the participants to take.
The two Etoiles are seen as figureheads for Astraea Hill who are the main representatives for all three of the affiliated schools, and even though all the schools can participate, the partners have to be from the same one. Also called Etoile-sama by their peers, the Etoiles have certain specific duties that they must fulfill, such as greeting new students coming to Astraea Hill, participating in important school events and serving as mediator between any disputes in student council meetings of the three schools, among other duties. They are also given a private greenhouse to grow flowers in for use during school events.
Classes
At Astraea Hill, each school has a different way of naming a class of students. Miator has classes associated with things from nature, such as moon (月, tsuki), flower (花, hana) and snow (雪, yuki). Spica uses numbers in French, such as un, deux, and trois, which corresponds to one, two, and three, respectively. Lulim has a much simpler system by using the letters from the Latin alphabet: A, B, C, etc.
Strawberry Dorms
All the students living on campus reside in a dormitory referred to as the Strawberry Dorms (いちご舎, Ichigo Sha). The building itself is of a triangular shape for the purpose of separating students from the three schools so that each section is roughly the same size. It was built about 100 years ago, around the same time Miator was established.
Seven mysteries
In the Strawberry Dorms, there is a collection of seven mysteries all having to do with something with the dormitory. There are many discrepancies between how the mysteries are told depending on different versions of the mysteries and how old each student is. This is because most of these mysteries are relatively new to the Dorms so anyone who graduated about ten years earlier doesn't know about them at all. One thing held in common is that most students only know any seven of the mysteries, but there are more than seven told making the complete number of mysteries twelve in all. Some of the mysteries revealed onscreen include:
The four remaining mysteries were not revealed. Additionally, five out of the eight listed were never explained.
- The Girl of the Hallway -
The story goes that on one night a few years ago, a lone student from the Strawberry Dorms walked out of her room, but she never returned. This is in fact based on a true event involving Miyuki Rokujou and Shizuma Hanazono where Miyuki was scared about having to live by herself when she first came to the Dorms four years earlier so some nights she would cry in the hallway, and some students heard her which sparked the rumor. Shizuma ended up finding her and helped her feel better about living in the Dorms and in effect, Miyuki didn't cry in the halls anymore. - The Laughter of the Conference Room -
In the empty conference room, you can hear laughter from the inside. Something happens to the people who hear the laugh. - The Secret of the Basement -
Rumor says that on the walls of the forbidden basement, there are smears that look like human faces. - The Mirror at the Ballroom
- The 13th Stair at the Sunshade Room
- The Maria Sculpture that Turns Heavy
- The Piano that Plays by Itself
- The 7th Door
Summer school
There has always been a tradition in these Dorms where students can take an optional three days and two nights of "summmer school," though it has nothing to do with academics. The students take a trip to a local beach and have fun with their friends. This is also an opportunity to strengthen friendships while in a different setting much different than at Astraea Hill. It is said that something interesting happens every year, so many of the students get excited about the prospect of going. Template:Endspoilers
Media
Strawberry Panic! is presented in a wide range of media including the manga, light novel, anime and video game, all of which premiered within a short time span from November 2005 for the manga and following with the video game's release on August 24 2006.
Manga
The Strawberry Panic! manga, written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Namuchi Takumi, was first produced in the Japanese bishōjo magazine Dengeki G's Magazine in November 2005, with a new chapter released once a month. Currently, one tankoubon was released on March 27 2006, though it is uncertain at this time how many volumes there will be once completed.
There are several major differences between the anime and manga mostly centering around parts of the plot and how the characters interact with each other. The most notable difference is that the manga investigates the physical aspects of the lesbian themes further than the anime, which focuses mostly on their relationships together.
Light novel
The Strawberry Panic! light novel, written and illustrated by the same two people as with the manga, was first published by Dengeki Bunko in March 2006. Currently, only the first volume has been released, and it is unknown at this time how many volumes there will be once completed.
Anime
The anime series of Strawberry Panic!, which started airing in Japan on April 3 2006, is currently in progress. The anime has a central yuri theme though nothing of it gets to the point to be considered hentai, or extremely lewd. It is currently planned that the anime series will contain 26 episodes, most of which will be based on the short stories and manga that preceded it.
The anime has been released in Japan periodically, the first boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD Box I" (in usual and special editions), was released on June 23, 2006. The boxset contained the first and second stories of the series, "Cherry Blossom Hill" and "Etoile".[5] The second boxset, titled "Strawberry Panic DVD Box II" (in usual and special editions), was released on July 25, 2006, featuring the third story "Attic", the fourth story, "You on the White Horse", and the fifth story, "Younger Sisters".[6]
The usual and special editions of the boxset are similar in content, but the special editions are packaged in jacket sleeve, the original booklet and other merchandise, including portable plates and straps, different versions of the opening and closing themes and deleted scenes.[7]
Video game
The visual novel video game named Strawberry Panic! Girls' School in Full Bloom is set for release on the PS2 on August 24 2006. There will be three playable characters - one from each of the schools, Nagisa, Hikari, and Kizuna.[8] It should be noted that they have no family names in the game[9] and it is believed that this is to allow the player to fill it in. While Ai Shimizu will be maintaining her role for Kizuna in the game, Miyuki Sawashiro will be performing the voice for Tamao Suzumi. The game features a "boy mode" and a "girl mode". Choosing the male version means that the story is told via letters from the player's younger sister, while choosing the female version means that the is story told in the player's own diary.[10]
Trivia
- Not one male character is ever featured in the whole series.
- The series has some striking similarities to Maria-sama ga Miteru, mostly in the settings (Catholic school) and extremely close relationships between the female characters.
- In episode 8, approximately 5:38 into the episode, Tamao is reading a book of poems from the Japanese poet Sakutaro Hagiwara. On the left page is the poem Night Train and on the right page is the poem Murder Case.[11]
References
- ^ a b c d e Anime News Network; Strawberry Panic! information Animenewsnetwork.com. URL Accessed June 30, 2006.
- ^ "Characters of Strawberry Panic!". 2006. Retrieved 29 June.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|Publisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Nagazi Aoi bio Animeinfo.com. URL Accessed June 30, 2006.
- ^ Shizuma Hanazono bio Animeinfo.com. URL Accessed June 30, 2006.
- ^ Template:Jp icon "Strawberry Panic DVD Special Limited Box I product information" Strawberrypanic.com. URL Accessed June 30, 2006.
- ^ Template:Jp icon Strawberry Panic DVD Special Limited Box II product information" Strawberrypanic.com. URL Accessed June 30, 2006.
- ^ Template:Jp icon List of Strawberry Panic! products Strawberrypanic.com. URL Accessed June 30, 2006.
- ^ "System Profile for Strawberry Panic!". Media Works. 2006. Retrieved 29 June.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Character Profiles for Strawberry Panic!". 2006. Retrieved 29 June.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Template:Jp icon Story mechanics synopsis 210.151.132.68 URL Accessed June 30, 2006.
- ^ "Sakutaro Hagiwara poems". 2006. Retrieved 29 June.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|Publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
- Most of the information presented in this article comes from the anime that was subtitled from the subbing group Doremi Fansubs.
- Strawberry Panic! ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia