When the first volume of Strawberry Marshmallow (or Ichigo Mashimaro) was released with the title "Cute is as Cute Does" you basically knew going in what to expect. The over the top cuteness factor of the series instantly made it in a class all its own and you knew going in whether or not it was going to be your type of show. It felt like a hefty dose of Bottle Faeries had been infused into it though there was an air of Azumanga Daioh as well.

It all started as a manga by Barasui and was made into an anime back in 2005. The twelve episode series 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. With that dash of Azumanga Daioh tossed into the mix the atmosphere in Strawberry Marshmallow is one of innocence (for the most part) and all about having fun. There is a great sense of humor here though to be honest the show will make grown men embarrassed to be watching it. I have to admit that I was. I think the most embarrassing thing was the fact that I actually enjoyed the show.

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. In the first volume virtually nothing happened but it was the joy of watching these four girls (and older sister) banter that made it all worth while. To say the show is about nothing would not be doing it justice; this isn't Seinfeld after all.

In the second volume the series gets right back into the swing of things with an episode all about Miu's feelings of inadequacy amidst her group of peers. While much of the episode focuses on Ana coping with her inability to speak English the other bits center on Miu's jealousy of her. She constantly tries to provoke the girl into a confrontation and even comes to the point of asking Nobue who she thinks is cuter. In the end we learn that she's just coping with feelings of loneliness and trying to make herself stand out which is something we could have determined from the way she acted anyway.

The rest of the disc involves the heat of summer; hence the second volumes title "Summer Heat." In the next episode it's the hottest day of the summer so Nobue and the girls are chilling inside with the AC running full blast. Lost of goofiness ensues but nothing really happens until the next episode when they go to the beach. Nobue works with the girls to help them swim though she leaves Miu to fend for herself after the girl unhooks the top of her bikini. If you've been a fan of the show and you think that you've seen Nobue blush before wait until you see her reaction here. Priceless. The last episode on the disc involves a summer festival where the girls all dress up and go to play some games and eat sweets.

Nothing happens in this volume but then again this is a show where nothing really happens anyway. Strawberry Marshmallow is merely a cute and hilarious show that tells little charming tales that focus on its interesting characters. I've enjoyed this show much more than Bottle Faeries though it's not as laugh out loud funny as Azumanga Daioh. If you're looking for something fun to watch that has a lot of personality look no further; just don't brag about it to your friends.

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.

Another collection of decent bonus material makes its way onto the sophomore installation of Strawberry Marshmallow. As you'd expect some clean animations are available as are some previews. Apart from those there is a digest-like summary of the first two episodes and a promotional video for the show. There's nothing too groundbreaking here but it's enough to give viewers a little something extra to watch.

Strawberry Marshmallow is without a doubt one of the cutest shows that I have ever seen. It's embarrassingly sweet and is in itself a guilty pleasure. If you're looking for a charming series that is really about nothing but beyond funny there's no better option out there. The second volume is just as strong as the first though more poignant stories would go a long way to improving things. Recommended

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