Strawberry Panic is a somewhat older shoujo-ai anime from 2006. It's from Madhouse and Imagin and based off of a light novel. I will say that this is one of those series I'm re-watching to review since it came out around the time I was first getting really into anime and I did watch it back then. I remember enjoying it at the time but we'll see if it holds up.

Story:

The narrative is set in Astraea Hill, a place where three different girls' schools all make their homes and share certain facilities like dormitories. Which seems like an odd arrangement. Anyway, Aoi Nagisa is a recent transfer student to Miator. As soon as she arrives she catches the eye of the Etoile, Hanazono Shizuma. Shizuma happens to be notorious for toying with cute girls but she feels a greater connection towards Nagisa.

Let's start with my problems with the series. The first is that some of the girls get outright rapey with the girls they're pursuing and, for the most part, the series has no consequences for it. They get stopped before they can go too far and they leave it at that. There's one exception where we see more extreme consequences and actual remorse. And it's probably the most mild example where one girl kisses another without permission, touches some boob, quickly gets pushed away and immediately backs off.

Another issue I have with the storytelling is that the tone is a bit awkward. It's not nearly as bad as some of the anime I've reviewed but there are some slightly melodramatic scenes that are interspersed with a lot of silly moments. It reminds me of the American cartoon, Jem & the Holograms. Which has similar, albeit more extreme shifts.

With that out the way, there are a lot of things to appreciate about the writing. When the series gets properly serious delving into Shizuma's tragic past it's actually really well done and legitimately sad. I also really appreciate the romance between Hikari and Amane. I think it's very strongly written. The series also has a lot of endearing and cute moments.

Characters:

I mostly like the characters. The cast is fun and they have a lot of well written relationships. My favourite students are probably Chikaru and her Lulim group. Simply because they largely stay out of the melodrama and probably have the funniest scenes. I'm not completely sold on Shizuma as one of the lead romantic characters but I do think she has a strong back story and demonstrates a lot of growth throughout the series. So I don't really mind it.

The main issue I have is with the antagonistic characters Kaname and Momomi. My issue with them is this. For most of the series the pair of them are basically portrayed as terrible, selfish and destructive people. They cause a lot of problems for the people around them. Kaname tries to force herself on Hikari a lot, just to get to Amane. But then near the end they have some scenes that are meant to humanise and justify the pair of them. Not by them showing any remorse or suffering any consequences for their actions, but by giving them some motivations that are pretty weak when you compare them to what they've done.

Art:

The artwork and animation are largely pretty good. The nature backgrounds have a lot of detail. The character designs are nicely done. My one complaint is that it can get too fan-servicey at times. A lot of unnecessary nudity. Especially when you consider that these are under-aged girls.

Sound:

The acting is really good. Shimizu Ai, Fukui Yukari, Nakajima Saki, Matsuki Miyu, Kaida Yuuko, Nakahara Mai, Nabatame Hitomi and the rest of the cast all do very well. The music is great. The series is good at using Hikari and Yaya's choir experience for impact at important times. Misato Aki, Nakahara Mai & Shimizu Ai sing the theme tunes very well too.

Ho-yay:

There's a lot. Some of it is unrequited and used for dramatic impact. Some of it is very much mutual. And none of the major or supporting characters are straight.

Areas of Improvement:

  1. The series could definitely benefit from having more separation betwixt the melodramatic moments and the more fun, comedic moments.
  2. When one character corners another in a room and tries to forcibly remove her clothes, you need some kind of comeuppance for that.
  3. When you want to humanise and redeem a formerly antagonistic character, you need to put in effort that's proportionate to how bad their actions were. You also need to have them show remorse and, depending on how bad their actions were, possibly take responsibility. You can't give us an attempted rapist and then wave away their actions with a simple explanation of their motivation.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I still enjoyed this series. I think it has some pretty significant problems but it also has heart and offers a lot of endearing characters and entertaining moments. It might be slightly generous, but I'm giving it a 7/10.

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