Entries where the challenge asks me to pick a favorite are irritating. I don’t really understand the concept of favorites. I can narrow my “favorites” down to a list, but there’s never one single favorite above all the others. That goes for just about anything in my life. Foods, hobbies, books, movies, romantic partners, friends, animal species, pets, flowers, poems, and what-have-you. Anyway, I randomly chose an anime couple I like, so I’ll focus on them today. It’s the main yuri or lesbian couple from Maria-sama ga Miteru: Yumi and Sachiko, AKA Yumiko/ Sachimi.

Technically, my favorite couple from that show is Sei x Shimako, because those are my favorite characters, but the couple that I want most to stay together, and the couple that we get to see the most of, is Sachiko and Yumi. Not enough people know about Maria-sama ga Miteru, or Marimite as it’s sometimes called, so I first want to talk just a bit about the series.

Maria-sama Watches Us is a beautiful and underrated anime with four seasons. It was based on the light novel series by Oyuki Konno, which started in 1998 and went on to 2012, according to Wikipedia. Genres are school, slice-of-life, shoujo ai, and romance. The setting is Lilian, an all-girls Catholic boarding school. They have a system where a third year of the student council, a Rosa, gets to pick an En Bouten or a younger partner who will take their place after they graduate. The Rosa En Bouten can then pick a Petite Soeur or little sister to learn from her. (There are three Rosas: red, yellow, and white). Main character Yumi Fukuzawa is chosen to be the Petite Soeur of the tall, dark, and beauitful Rosa En Bouten of red, Sachiko.

As mentioned, Sachiko and Yumi is the main couple in Marimite. Other key couples in season one are Sei x Shimako and Rei x Yoshino, and also, many people ship Sei x Yumi instead of or in addition to Sachiko x Yumi. Many other ships exist with the older and younger students and new characters beyond the first season. Now, this is one series where the genre “shoujo ai” fits much better than “yuri.” The show is about the friendships, romances, sisterhoods, and other complex relationships between the girls. This is not an anime with any real “yuri action,” which is why some shallower girls’ love fans might not appreciate it. There is no form of fan service.

Part of the reason for the lack of “yuri action” is that the girls are not in an environment where it’s accepted or safe to be lesbian or bisexual. Basically, it’s don’t-ask-don’t-tell, except for a select few very bold students like Sei Satou. Some seem less like couples and more like the closest of friends. Even those who are obviously more like a couple, like Yumi and Sachiko, do not play around physically, at least not on camera. That’s the general idea of Maria-sama ga Miteru. Now, on to why Sachiko and Yumi are such a great couple.

First, it’s because they were each what the other needed and wanted at that time in their lives. Sachiko needed someone to teach, someone who would soften her heart and make her smile, and someone who could relieve the loneliness she often felt but rarely voiced. A way to soothe her anger. A way to rebel against her pre-decided life.Yumi needed Sachiko because, from the moment she saw her, she admired and loved Sachiko. Being Sachiko means she can be with the person she finds most beauitful and impressive and interesting in all the world. Also, Yumi was in need of someone to teach her how to be more elegant, and someone she could be honest with and open up to in a way she never had before.

Another reason they work as a couple is that they learn from each other. Through the influence of Yumi, Sachiko becomes more comfortable expressing herself, and better at understanding and interacting with the world outside school and her wealthy family estate. Yumi learns about Sachiko’s world, and thus how to comprehend her better. By the fourth season, Yumi has also learned how to be a good Rosa En Bouten, and have an air of friendliness and confidence. As with any relationship, Yumi and Sachiko have to constantly try to learn about and understand each other. Compared to the other couples in the series, we see far more of the development of the relationship of Yumi and Sachiko.

These two girls are a great match. Sachiko is a refined, graceful, and yet temperamental Ojou-sama. Yumi comes from a “plain” family and is expressive, clumsy, and a bit thoughtless at times. Sachiko was lost in feelings of bitterness and anger because being stuck with a male official fiance and a life where she has little choice once school ends. In that darkness, Yumi showed up and taught her how to laugh again. And as for Yumi, she admires every little thing about Sachiko, and wants nothing more than to be the person by her side. When she was drowning in feelings of inferiority, Sachiko choose her and never looked down on her. This couple moves my heart. :’)

Thus, Sachiko and Yumi are the “favorite” pair I choose for this post. For a deeper understanding of them, try watching at least the first season of Maria-sama ga Miteru, which is only 13 episodes long. This has been Anime Rants. Ja minna, mata ashita ne!