Crazy wacky situations that bring about the sweetest moments. This is the essence of Shoujo, and Marmalade Boy is no exception. Marmalade Boy manages to get it's firm grasp around the reader during this very sweet shoujo experience, and it never lets go.

Like most Shoujo manga melodrama shall always peak it's unwanted head into our world. As to be expected with angsty teenagers, but never fear Wataru Yoshizumi is a smart women and knows how to handle this with care. The thing with Melodrama that makes it unbearable at times is it stays around far too long. However this isn't the case of Marmalade boy. Nothing is at a stand-still, everything is progressing forward at a steady rate, that never feels rushed, but it never feels like it's lagging behind. The Melodrama that comes with all teenagers is never exaggerated in this manga. It is laid out in front of the reader and it is quickly taken care of in a very tasteful manner that manages to please the reader.

Characters have always been what pulls me into any Shoujo material. Whether or not I find the characters believable as people and the way the handle the situations they are presented with are usually what I look for. Sure great character development and characterization is a plus, but that isn't what draws me into Shoujo. Yes the situations that these characters have to deal with aren't always believable, but it's fiction, I don't expect the plot to always be believable. But I do expect the characters themselves to be believable, since they actually represent people. So I look towards the characters to be something I can confirm reality in, and Marmalade Boy meets this very much so. Wataru Yoshizumi knows how to write good, believable characters, and you really get attached to them. She gives everyone's view-point and you really have a feel of where each of our character stands at. So you never get mad at the choices they make, they are of the most part very logical and I can totally understand and sympathize with the characters. Something which is very important to me and it really gets the reader attached to the characters.

And that is what really keeps us turning each page with such suspense. It's not the overly amazing plot, no it's the characters. Because in Shoujo the characters make the plot, it's not the other way around. You read shoujo because you want to get sucked into someone else's life and Marmalade Boy does a very excellent job with this.

I know I am focusing on the characters quite a bit but that is because they are so memorable. That is not to say that the plot isn't worth mentioning, because that isn't the case. It's just in a manga such as Marmalade Boy, the characters are the plot. Marmalade Boy is about following the characters we are presented with and their journey to find love. There really is no story outside of the characters desire to love one-another and the driving forces to stick that out. But that is all we really ask for. We read this because we went to be swept up into a romantic fantasy, not because we wish to unravel some mystery or defeat the ultimate villain. No we wish to follow this journey of love and that is what Marmalade Boy does.

Marmalade Boy will set you up on an epic journey that will in times leave you in laughter, tears, heartache, and overall joy. It's truly a thrill as we embark as wonderful ride as our characters set out to find love in their lives.