Do you like sickeningly cute anime? I'm talking anime so cute that it borderline makes you embarrassed to watch it? I know I felt that way with Bottle Faeries not too long ago and once again those feelings emerge with Strawberry Marshmallow. Surprisingly the two series actually seem to have a lot in common but I'll describe the similarities in a little bit. This is a show that goes out of its way to pound you with cuteness but the funny part is it's actually quite charming.

Strawberry Marshmallow (or Ichigo Mashimaro) got its start as a manga by Barasui and made the transition to animated in 2005. The show focuses on four young school girls and a slightly older sister as they just go through the motions of daily life. Unlike Bottle Faeries there are no magical elements here and everything seems to be based on reality. Probably the best comparison to give you an idea about the concept would be if you took the cuteness of the Bottle Faeries and mashed it together with the atmosphere and humor of Azumanga Daioh. The end result would be Strawberry Marshmallow; an innocent (mostly) show with a great sense of humor and the ability to make you embarrassed to tell your friends that you watch it.

When the show starts the first character we meet is the older sister of the group. Nobue is arguably the center of attention for the show though the younger girls eat up a lot of screen time as well. She is a sixteen year old who tries to pass herself off as twenty due to her chain smoking and drinking habit. Nobue is always broke and when she's not looking for work she's trying to steal money from her younger sister Chika who is a twelve year old that is really down to earth though she's not too grounded to play along with her friends. The dimwitted and emotionally distraught Matsuri and trouble maker Miu can often be found with Chika and Nobue. After a little bit they are joined by an English girl named Ana who has forgotten how to speak English.

One of the greatest feathers in Strawberry Marshmallow's cap is the fact that the group of girls has great chemistry together. Granted Miu seems to be the instigator for just about everything in the show, but Nobue is a close second when she's craving a smoke and she's out of money. In the first four episodes the content runs the gamut from the girls making Nobue an ashtray for her birthday to the introduction of Ana's character in a hilarious way. There's something about a kid trying to explain Cornwall England to a classroom of Japanese students that elicits a giggle.

My favorite episode in the bunch involved Nobue's quest for a part time job and the search bringing her to a local diner. Everything seems to be going great for her and she's making a lot of money though the outfit she has to wear doesn't leave much to the imagination. When Ana and her mother come in for lunch things take a turn for the worse. Miu convinces the girls to go to the diner to visit the older sister but as you'd imagine the girl is less than pleased to see the group. To make a long story short after multiple visits Nobue and Miu square off and an enormous food fight erupts.

If you have a place in your anime collection for a quirky, cute and entertaining series then Strawberry Marshmallow might be for you. The twelve episode series is off to a great start with this first volume and even though it feels like a familiar blend of Bottle Faeries and Azumanga Daioh it still does its own thing. The characters are definitely loveable and their adventures are irreverent but hilarious. This one has the potential to garner a cult following and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where things go for the girls.

Stunning is a good way to describe the transfer for Strawberry Marshmallow. The show is presented on DVD with the original 1.78:1 widescreen ratio and it's a crisp presentation indeed. The colors are light, the atmosphere is bubbly and the animation is fluid. At no time did I notice any technical flaws like compression or aliasing, but then again the bright presentation doesn't really allow for the darker tones to make artifacts more noticeable.

With the great visual presentation for the show I was hoping for a Dolby 5.1 track to go along with it but sadly that's not the case here. Instead we get two stereo tracks (English and Japanese) that offer an average experience. The voice acting in both languages was decent enough but the limitations of the audio output didn't impress as much. Some mild directionality is present between both speakers but for the most part there's not a lot to get excited about.

The first volume of Strawberry Marshmallow features a clean version of the opening animation and a bonus "episode". The freebie is more like a promotional spot rather than an actual episode of the show but is worth checking out for a laugh. Some Geneon previews make it on the disc as well, but that's not really a supplemental feature.

Strawberry Marshmallow is an adorable anime with a great personality and memorable characters. Each episode here offers a lot of jokes and feature running gags such as Nobue knocking Miu on her face whenever she gets out of hand. If you're looking for a charming series that isn't reserved about the fact that it's cute then you'll definitely want to check this one out. I found myself getting into the show and am really looking forward to the second volume. Recommended

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