Strawberry Panic!

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Strawberry Panic!
Strawberry Panic! logo
ストロベリー・パニック! (Sutoroberī Panikku!)
Genre	Drama, Romance, Yuri
Manga
Author	Sakurako Kimino
Illustrator	Namuchi Takumi
Publisher	MediaWorks
Other publishers: Sharp Point Press Seven Seas Entertainment
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Dengeki G's Magazine
Original run	September 30, 2005
Volumes	2
Light novel
Author	Sakurako Kimino
Illustrator	Namuchi Takumi
Publisher	MediaWorks Seven Seas Entertainment
Demographic	Male
Published	March 10, 2006 – December 10, 2006
Volumes	3
TV anime
Director	Masayuki Sakoi
Studio	Madhouse
Licensor	Media Blasters
Network	Chiba TV, Kids Station, TV Aichi, TV Osaka
Original run	April 3, 2006 – September 25, 2006
Episodes	26
Game: Strawberry Panic! Girls' School in Fullbloom
Developer	MediaWorks
Publisher	MediaWorks
Genre	AVG, Dating sim, Visual novel
Rating	Ages 12 and up
Platform	PlayStation 2
Released	August 24, 2006

Strawberry Panic! (ストロベリー・パニック!, Sutoroberī Panikku!^?) is the title of illustrated Japanese fictional short stories and related media works written by Japanese author Sakurako Kimino which focus on a group of teenage girls attending three affiliated all-girl schools atop Astraea Hill. A common theme throughout the stories is the intimate lesbian relationships between the characters. The original artist was Chitose Maki who was succeeded by Namuchi Takumi when production of the manga and light novels began.

When Strawberry Panic! first ran in Dengeki G's Magazine, it took six months into the process before results started to appear that the series was a success and that fans of the series were growing in number. The manga and light novels that followed were the effect of this popularity. The series became popular enough that Los Angeles-based company Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga series and light novels for English language distribution. Strawberry Panic! is one of the debut titles on the company's Light Novel and Strawberry (for yuri manga) production lines.

There is a slight difference in the title of the series between media and national affiliation. The original short stories, manga, light novels, and video game used the exclamation mark in the title; the anime excluded it. When the manga and light novel series were licensed for English language distribution, Seven Seas Entertainment did not use the exclamation mark in the title. The appearance of the logo for Strawberry Panic! has changed four times. The subtitle "Girls' School in Fullbloom" was added during the short stories stage which later appeared on the video game version, but was excluded from other adaptations including the manga, light novels, and anime.

Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Story 1.2 Themes 1.3 Main characters 1.4 Etoile system 2 Setting 2.1 Astraea Hill 2.2 Schools 2.3 Strawberry Dorms 2.4 Astraea Library 3 Media 3.1 Short stories 3.2 Internet radio show 3.3 Manga 3.4 Light novels 3.5 Anime 3.6 Audio CDs 3.7 Visual novel 4 Reception 4.1 Sales 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Plot

[edit] Story

The plot of Strawberry Panic! is about the lives of adolescent girls who each attend one of three affiliated all-girl schools which share a campus and dormitories, which include: St. Miator's Girls' Academy, St. Spica's Girls' Institute and St. Lulim's Girls' School. Students who reside on campus live in dormitories that are referred to as the Strawberry Dorms, though the proper name is Astraea Dormitory, named after Astraea Hill where the institutions are located.^[1]

The main protagonist of the story is Nagisa Aoi, a young girl entering her fourth year at St. Miator after being transferred from a different school. Upon first entering the campus grounds, she is overcome with joy by the overall appearance of the surrounding area, but her joy is soon turned to sorrow as she accidentally stumbles down a hill, causing her to be lost and disoriented. While walking around the grounds trying to figure out where she is, Nagisa comes across an older student by the name of Shizuma Hanazono, who happens to be Astraea Hill's Etoile, a very important person who acts as a representative among the different schools and has specific duties that she must fulfill.^[1] Nagisa is instantly overcome by Shizuma's beauty and finds that she cannot move. After Shizuma kisses her on the forehead, Nagisa loses consciousness and awakens in the school's infirmary. Next to her bed is a different girl the same age as Nagisa named Tamao Suzumi who informs her that they are to be roommates in the dormitory.

In the story that follows, Nagisa is introduced to other students from each of the three schools, those of which include students she admires, is intimidated by, or are merely friends that she meets while attending St. Miator. The series encompasses the relationships the characters build with each other, climaxing whenever two of the characters start dating.^[1]

[edit] Themes

The central theme in Strawberry Panic! is the lesbianism related to the relationships between the girls from the three schools. Depending on the media type, the way the relationships between the girls is presented varies, such as there being more explicit fan service, or appealing visuals including the girls in provocative situations, in the anime adaptation than in the manga or light novels. Such fan service includes representations of the lesbian acts, such as light nudity and hard groping. There is a wide range of intimate relationships presented in the series and depending on the media type, a given character may not be shown to be in a direct relationship; such examples in the anime include Chikaru Minamoto and Shion Tōmori. These relationships range from simple conversations and meetings, escalating to minor make out sessions and having sexual intercourse in the extreme cases.^[2]

Another theme that appears throughout the story is a focus on astronomical stars. The main plot device is the Etoile election; Etoile is a French word meaning star. The three schools are atop Astraea Hill; Astraea means star-maiden in Greek and is a figure in Greek mythology who later became the constellation Virgo. Spica is actually a star in the same constellation and each of the school emblems have stars in them. Catholic religion undertones are present in the series, including a St. Mary statue on campus and a large Catholic church in the center of Astraea Hill.

[edit] Main characters

Main article: List of Strawberry Panic! characters

At each of the three schools, there are four main characters who were the original twelve characters created for the short stories when the series began. Only these twelve appear in the later adapted visual novel version.^[3] Other characters were later introduced in the manga and light novel versions in order to create plotlines and conflict.

St. Miator's Girls' Academy

Nagisa Aoi is the main character of the story and the main love interest for the other three main characters attending Miator who each have crushes on her.^[4] She is a cheerful girl who finds enjoyment in making new friends which she can easily do due to her free personality and sociable attitude in life. The first person she meets at Miator is Shizuma Hanazono, a mysterious upperclassman who is the current Etoile.^[5] Nagisa at first finds that she is strangly affected when in the presence of Shizuma. The next girl she meets is Tamao Suzumi, who becomes Nagisa's close friend and roommate.^[4] Tamao is well-regarded among her fellow Miator students; among the first-years, she is seen as a viable Etoile candidate. The last main character from Miator is Chiyo Tsukidate, a timid first year student who is employed as the room temp for Nagisa and Tamao.

St. Spica's Girls' Institute

Hikari Konohana, a shy and quiet girl, is the main focus among the main characters who attend Spica, much like Nagisa at Miator; she too has three girls wanting to get close with her. The first of these girls is Yaya Nanto, a rebellious girl who is Hikari's best friend and roommate in the dormitory. Both she and Hikari are members of the St. Spica Choir. Though Hikari is the more diligent of the two, Tsubomi once remarked that Yaya was more skilled.^[6] Hikari meets an older girl named Amane Ohtori early on in the story who is seen much like a prince from a fairy tale due to often riding a horse named Star Bride. Amane is admired by much of the students from Spica as well as students from the other two schools, though she does not enjoy so much attention.^[7] The final girl from Spica is Tsubomi Okuwaka, a young first year student who acts mature for her age and gets on Yaya's nerves. She too is in the St. Spica Choir though her main reason for joining was for Hikari.

St. Lulim's Girls' School

Out of the three schools, St. Lulim^[8] has the least emphasis on romance between characters, although the Lulim characters are typically found together. The leader of their friendly group is Chikaru Minamoto, the student council president of Lulim, and a born leader. She has a friendly and supportive personality which she often uses to offer advice or simply a shoulder to cry on. The other three girls include Kizuna Hyūga, a very outgoing and hyper girl who enjoys following Chikaru's decisions, finding fun in doing so. She is very expressive in her actions and words, not wasting a chance to introduce herself to a new person. Her close friend is Remon Natsume, who is much like Kizuna in personality, but is not as accident-prone as her. When it comes to the two of them, Kizuna is more talkative; Remon often agrees with her companion and will offer up an opinion when need be. Lastly, there is Kagome Byakudan, the youngest of the group who is typically accompanied by her stuffed bear, Percival (パーシバル, Pāshibaru^?) which she often talks to as if it were alive. While she does not talk or express her own emotions much, she has a heightened perception of others' emotions and can tell when those around her are deeply distraught or in emotional pain.

[edit] Etoile system

Etoile (エトワール, Etowāru^?) is a French word meaning star. The Etoile system of Astraea Hill is employed as the internal politics between the schools and governs school operations. The system is designed for two Etoiles to be instated at the same time in order to work as a team. In the anime, Shizuma Hanazono is the sole Etoile, (the other Etoile died), which is explained in the latter part of the story. The two Etoiles are seen as figureheads for Astraea Hill. While Astraea has three schools, both Etoiles must come from the same school. The Etoiles have certain specific duties, such as greeting new students coming to Astraea Hill, participating in important school events, and serving as mediator between disputes in student council meetings of the three schools, among other duties. They are given a private greenhouse to grow flowers in for use during school events.

The Etoiles are elected after going through what is known as The Etoile Election (エトワール選, Etowāru-sen^?), which consists of three specific competitions for the participants to take in the light novels and the manga versions. The higher scoring pairs from the first two competitions carry on to the third competition and the pair that wins the third competition becomes the Etoile Couple. For instance, in the light novels and manga, the first part of the election is called the "Cadette Selection" and is referred to in French as La Brillante Ouverture meaning The Brilliant Opening.^[7] During this event, the younger of the two in each pair have to answer general questions about Astraea to make sure that they have at least a minimal level of knowledge about the schools. In the anime, the election began with the previous Etoile handing a bouquet of flowers to each of the candidates that have been there the longest at Astraea and saying "Good luck".^[2] A ballroom dance is an important aspect later in the election. The dance serves as an expression of gracefulness between the candidates, proving they are able to interact and work well together.^[7]

Once the winners have been named, a special ceremony marks the end of the election. During this time, the student council president from the school that won the election presents two necklaces for the winners to wear during their tenure as Etoiles. They are both identical except for colors of the pendants: one is red, the other blue. The older student receives the blue pendant while the younger of the two receives the red pendant.^[2]

[edit] Setting

[edit] Astraea Hill

The setting of Strawberry Panic! is Astraea Hill (アストラエアの丘, Asutoraea no Oka^?), a very large hilltop where the three affiliated schools of Miator, Spica and Lulim, are located.^[9] The hill is known as a sacred area where no men are allowed to enter.^[10] The students residing on campus stay in a dormitory often referred to as the Strawberry Dorms. A prominent feature on Astraea Hill is a very large Catholic church in the center of the hill near a small lake; the church can be seen from a vast distance away.

Other places that are frequented by the characters include the library on the lake's shore, and the horse ranch which is located at Spica. Astraea Hill was originally designed having the three schools in a triangle formation with the Strawberry Dorms in the center. The church was placed nearest to Miator's dormitory.^[11]

The library, in the manga, is referred to as "The Secret Garden", where students at the school go to have "secret rendezvous".

[edit] Schools

There are three all-girl schools that are located nearby each other on Astraea Hill. Each school has its own student council that governs the matters of each respective school. Periodically, the three student councils, including the Etoiles, will meet in what is referred to as the Astraea Joint Student Council. Topics discussed at the joint meetings include communal matters that affect the three schools equally such as the Etoile Election. The school system employs the Scottish system of numbering the grades; at Astraea Hill, students are ranged from grades one through six:

Grade system
Astraea Hill	Traditional Japanese	North America
First year	First year (Jr. high school)	Seventh grade
Second year	Second year (Jr. high school)	Eighth grade
Third year	Third year (Jr. high school)	Ninth grade
Fourth year	First year (High school)	Tenth grade
Fifth year	Second year (High school)	Eleventh grade
Sixth year	Third year (High school)	Twelfth grade

St. Miator's Girls' Academy

St. Miator's Girls' Academy (聖ミアトル女学園, Sei Miatoru Jogakuen^?) is the oldest of the three schools and holds the longest legacy; St. Miator's school is known for holding old traditions. It was founded on a monastery and is seen as the school for "brides", reinforced by the existence of extracurricular classes including tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and Japanese dancing.^[11] It is not unusual for students to be engaged before graduation.^[11] School rules include number seven, do not show your teeth when laughing at a public place, and number nine, bowing should be done at a thirty degree bend from the waist.^[11] The school has long black dresses for its uniforms, created in the Gothic Lolita fashion. In the spring, the uniforms are mostly green and have short sleeves. These uniforms appear to be traditional in nature, continuing the theme of Miator's long standing history at Astraea Hill. At Miator, the class names are associated with objects from nature, such as moon (月, tsuki^?), flower (花, hana^?) and snow (雪, yuki^?).^[3]

In the Strawberry Dorms, there is a concept called the room temp system that only occurs for students from Miator. Every underclassman entering these dorms, if they are chosen to serve the upperclassman as room temps, will be given an important chance to show their affection to them. Room temps perform maid duties, which includes cleaning the room of the students they were assigned to serve. They must bring suggestions to their upperclassmen first before making decisions on their own regarding the decoration of the upperclassman's room. When the story begins, the current Etoile, Shizuma, is attending Miator, which gives the school a lot of power.

St. Spica's Girls' Institute

St. Spica's Girls' Institute (聖スピカ女学院, Sei Supika Jogakuin^?) is the school that has the white colored buildings and uniforms, which makes the students of St. Spica look professional; it was built after Miator. The school prizes itself in advancing the independence of women who play a role in improving society.^[11] They are well known for their culture and how accomplished their sports program is compared to the other two schools. Spica has what is known as the St. Spica Choir, or the "Saintly Chorus", which consists of students from Spica that perform at special events and even concerts for students at Astraea Hill. At Spica, the class names are numbers in French, such as un (one), deux (two), and trois (three).^[3]

School rules include number thirteen, relations outside of campus must first have the approval of the school and guardians, and number twenty-six, underwear and gloves must be white; other colors are prohibited.^[11] In the spring their uniforms carry blue trim and have shorter sleeves, though otherwise it is almost the same as the autumn uniforms. Spica and Miator both oppose each other quite strongly, which often ends in them having disputes when students from these two schools get together.

St. Lulim's Girls' School

St. Lulim's Girls' School (聖ル・リム女学校, Sei Ru Rimu Jogakkō^?) is the newest of the three schools which has pink colored buildings and uniforms. Their uniform is modeled after a traditional Japanese school uniform style which in effect makes them look immature compared to the other schools' students. In the spring their uniforms do not change very much other than having shorter sleeves for the shirt and a necktie. At Lulim, the class names are the letters from the Latin alphabet: A, B, C, etc.^[3] Lulim was originally named Le Lim.^[12]

Students at St. Lulim's have a tradition to be free and laid back, and are rarely seen fighting. The students at the school enjoy a lot of freedom in terms of activities, like the clubs they are allowed to form. In effect, there are a wide range of clubs at St. Lulim's ranging from dancing, to cooking, to anything else a group of at least three people can think up. School rules include number five, always wear the uniform of the school properly when going out, and number eight, a senior must always protect a lower grade student, teaching and leading her.^[11]

[edit] Strawberry Dorms

Students living on campus reside in a dormitory referred to as the Strawberry Dorms (いちご舎, Ichigo Sha^?, lit. Strawberry House). The building is a triangular shape for the purpose of separating students from the three schools so that each section is roughly the same size. It was built about 100 years before the beginning of the story, around the same time that Miator was established. Though originally planned for students whose homes are far away, it has come to house the children of distinguished families who are able to experience group life in its embraces.^[11] At first, the dormitory was not a single building but three separate dormitories arranged in a triangle formation around a central courtyard.^[11]

Upon entering housing, each student is assigned a roommate in their year until graduation. This helps the students form special relationships with their roommate which can evolve into intimate relationships. When there are not enough students entering in a given year for everyone to have a roommate, a student in such a situation must live alone until a student transfers into their respective school. Transfers must be in the same year as their roommate. The building name is based on the resemblance from an above cross-section of a strawberry. One of the dormitory's rules is number twenty-one, lights out by 10 p.m., and further activities are forbidden.^[11]

Traditionally, students in the Dorms can take an optional three days and two nights of "summer school"; this is misleading since academics are not involved. The students take a trip to a local beach and have fun with their friends, making it an opportunity to strengthen friendships while outside the campus. It is said that an interesting event occurs every year which excites the students about the prospect of going.^[13]

[edit] Astraea Library

The students may go and study for their classes at a library on Astraea Hill. Students in the Library Club volunteer librarian services at the library. Their tasks generally consist of lending out library items such as books, umbrellas, and other items to students and keeping the library organized. Chiyo Tsukidate and Mizuho Kanō, one of Shizuma's good friends, are two of the librarians.

The library has an additional purpose besides reading and studying. Though only implied in the anime, the manga explains that the library building has another name - "The Secret Garden". It is a well-known place on campus to have a secret lovers' rendezvous, or meeting.^[14]

[edit] Media

[edit] Short stories

Main article: Strawberry Panic! (short stories)

Strawberry Panic!'s origin was in the October 2003 issue of the Japanese bishōjo magazine Dengeki G's Magazine where it was announced after the ending of Sakurako Kimino's previous work Sister Princess that a new reader participation project would start the following month.^[15] In the November 2003 issue, the first batch of characters from St. Miator were introduced and it was revealed how readers could participate in the project. The initial system had the three main girls of Nagisa, Hikari, and Kizuna (given without surnames) who were sisters and at the same time younger sisters of the readers of the magazine, effectively putting the reader in the position of the elder brother. Each girl entered her respective school and became the protagonist of that school. It was explained that the coupling of the main characters could be to an upperclassman, a classmate, or an underclassman, but had to stay within the school they attended. The readers had the ability to influence the coupling formations.

In December, the characters from Spica and Lulim were introduced and in the January issue the first illustrations of the three schools and the Strawberry Dorms were published, drawn by Chitose Maki; the reader participation game began in that issue. Polls were posted in the January 2004 issue where the readers could vote on how the story would start and progress in the following months. Before the votes were counted, the first three short stories were written and published in the February 2004 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine. Each story featured an illustration of the two girls who were the couple paired in each respective story.^[16]

The reader participation ended after nine rounds of voting in the February 2005 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine where it was announced that the series would be continued in other forms, such as the light novels and manga that followed.^[17] The original short stories and the poll results of the reader participation game were used as a basis for subsequent releases of Strawberry Panic!. Between May and September 2005, a revision of the series was produced, publishing five more supplementary short stories once a month over the period. After the ending of the short complition in September 2005, it was decided that the original illustrator, Chitose Maki, would no longer be illustrating the series and it was decided that Namuchi Takumi would continue as the main artist.

[edit] Internet radio show

Between November 2005 and December 2006, Lantis Web Radio hosted a radio show entitled Mai & Ai no Dengeki G's Radio Strawberry Panic! ~Oneesama to Ichigo Sōdō~ (麻衣&愛の電撃G’sラジオ ストロベリー・パニック!~お姉様といちごそうどう~, Mai & Ai no Dengeki G's Radio Strawberry Panic! ~Oneesama to Ichigo Sōdō~^?). The show was hosted by Mai Nakahara, who voiced Nagisa Aoi in the anime edition, and Ai Shimizu, who voiced both Tamao Suzumi and Kizuna Hyūga in the anime. The show contained sixty-one episodes which were divided between three CDs; the first went on sale on March 8, 2006. The other two releases came out on July 5, 2006 and January 11, 2007 in Japan. The radio show was frequented by nine guests who had done other voice acting roles from the anime version and one other guest, Rino, who had sung the opening theme of "Sweetest" to the PlayStation 2 game version.

[edit] Manga

The Strawberry Panic! manga, written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Namuchi Takumi, was first produced in Dengeki G's Magazine on September 30, 2005; a new chapter is released once a month. As of March 2007, two bound volumes have been published in Japan under MediaWorks' Dengeki Comics label. The first went on sale on March 27, 2006 featuring Nagisa and Shizuma on the cover, and the second volume came out on October 27, 2006 featuring Nagisa and Tamao on the cover. A third volume is set to be released, though a date has not yet been specified. While the manga's story is still unfinished, Strawberry Panic! has not made an appearance in Dengeki G's Magazine since the publication of the April 2007 issue on February 30, 2007. Major differences between the anime and manga centers around the plot and character interaction. Characters have vastly different character designs, such as Shion Tōmori and Kaname Kenjō. The manga introduces the Etoile election early on while the anime waits until the latter part of the series for dramatic effect. The first volume was released in English on December 23, 2007, and the second followed in March 2008.^[9]

[edit] Light novels

The announcement that a Strawberry Panic! light novel series was to be written based on the original short stories was in the April 2005 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine. The following month in May, the novels started to be written and illustrated by the same two people who worked on the manga. The announcement that the writing of the novels was finished was in the September 2005 issue of the same magazine, though the first novel was published by MediaWorks on their publishing label Dengeki Bunko on March 10, 2006. The first volume had Shizuma and Nagisa on the cover and the second volume, released on August 9, 2006, had Amane and Hikari on the cover. The third and last volume, released on December 10, 2006, had Chikaru and Kizuna on the cover.

Seven Seas Entertainment announced on September 13, 2006 that they had licensed the right to release the English translations of the Strawberry Panic! light novels and the manga series. After several delays, the English version of the first light novel was released in March 2008.^[9]

[edit] Anime

Main article: Strawberry Panic (anime)

The anime series of Strawberry Panic!, which started airing in Japan on April 3, 2006, and concluded September 25, 2006, has a central yuri theme. The anime series contains twenty-six episodes, most of which are based on the short stories and manga that preceded it. The anime focuses mainly on Nagisa Aoi and Hikari Konohana and the three love interests they each have that are vying for their affections. Fan service, or giving appealing visuals of the girls nude or in provocative situations, is seen in the anime, but only for brief intervals.

The anime has been released in Japan periodically; the first boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD Box I" (in regular and special editions), was released on June 23, 2006. The boxset contained the first and second episodes of the series, "Cherry Blossom Hill" and "Etoile". The second boxset, titled "Strawberry Panic DVD Box II" (in regular and special editions), was released on July 25, 2006, featuring the third episode "Attic", the fourth episode, "You on the White Horse", and the fifth episode, "Younger Sisters". The regular and special editions of the boxset are similar in content, but the special editions are packaged in jacket sleeve, and contain an original booklet which includes other merchandise, such as portable plates and straps. The special edition includes different versions of the opening and closing themes, and deleted scenes.^[18]

Media Blasters announced on July 2, 2007 that they had licensed the right to release the English version of the Strawberry Panic! anime series.^[1]

[edit] Audio CDs

Main article: List of Strawberry Panic! albums

The original soundtrack for the anime adaptation was first released on September 6, 2006 by Lantis. On September 21, 2006, the soundtrack for the video game was released by the same company. The two opening themes for the anime, "Shōjo Meiro de Tsukamaete" and "Kuchibiru Daydream" were sung by Aki Misato. "Shōjo Meiro de Tsukamaete" reached the Oricon chart position of thirty-eight and "Kuchibiru Daydream" achieved a position of forty-seven.^[19][20] The two main ending themes for the anime, "Himitsu Dolls" and "Ichigo Tsumi Monogatari", were sung by Mai Nakahara and Ai Shimizu as a duet. The final ending theme in the last episode was a slower remix version of "Shōjo Meiro de Tsukamaete" sung by Aki Misato.

There have been three drama CDs released based on the anime adaptation. The first entitled Strawberry Panic Lyric 1 "Miator volume" was released in Japan on July 26, 2006. It featured the same voice actresses from the anime, totaling thirteen characters. It came with one CD that had twelve tracks of small scenes involving the characters in various situations. The second drama CD, Strawberry Panic Lyric 2 "Spica volume" was released on October 25, 2006 and a third was released on December 6, 2006 called Strawberry Panic Lyric 3 "Lulim volume".

[edit] Visual novel

The visual novel video game named Strawberry Panic! Girls' School in Fullbloom was released on the PlayStation 2 on August 24, 2006 in Japan. Two versions of the game were released that day - a regular edition and a limited edition which included a drama CD; there is a different cover for each of the versions. The drama CD contained three tracks - one for students of each school.^[21] Strawberry Panic! Girls' School in Fullbloom received a total review score of 26/40 (out of the four individual review scores of 6, 7, 7, and 6) from the notoriously tough Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu.^[22]

There are three playable characters, one from each of the schools: Nagisa, Hikari, and Kizuna.^[23] They have no family names in the game as how it was when the series of short stories were first published.^[24] While Ai Shimizu maintained her role for Kizuna in the game, Miyuki Sawashiro performed the voice for Tamao Suzumi. The game features a "boy mode" and a "girl mode". Choosing the male version means that the story is told via emails from the player's younger sister; choosing the female version means that the story is told in the player's own diary.^[25] The player is given the chance to hook up the character they have chosen with the other nine available girls to choose from, not including the other possible playable characters. There are twenty-seven different combinations depending on which girl the protagonist choses at the start of the game as a result.^[10]

The game is played over the course of a school semester; the first day of school is on April 1. In "boy mode", each day concludes with a super deformed image of the heroine the player chose at the onset of the game slumped over her computer in her room; an email message from a girl that she interacted with during the day in on the monitor. As the heroine sleeps, the object of her affection appears in a thought bubble above her head. In "girl mode", she is seen writing in her diary instead. The first day in the game requires no interaction from the player. The player gets through the first day by reading the text and getting acquainted with the girls. The game uses an angel/devil system where miniature angel and devil versions of each girl float beside her when critical decisions have to be made; this is not restricted to the three playable characters. It also features a "Strawberry chance" system, where the outcome of some scenes changes if the player presses one of the analog sticks fast enough after the message, "Chance!" (チャンス！, Chansu!^?), is displayed in upper right screen corner.^[10]

[edit] Reception

When voting polls were first posted in the January 2004 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, they were to determine who would be the subjects in the couplings between the characters of each respective school. The results were printed in the March 2004 issue where the total number of votes was approximately 1,979. The three couples that had the highest number of votes were Nagisa/Tamao at 481 votes, Hikari/Amane at 343 votes, and Kizuna/Chikaru at 260 votes.^[26] The results from the second round of voting were published in the May 2004 issue of the magazine which included the figures for the sixty-four different combinations between the twelve girls. The three couples that had the highest number of votes this time were Nagisa/Tamao again at 150 votes, Nagisa/Amane at 114 votes, and Hikari/Amane for a second time at 102 votes.^[27] In the third round of voting in the July 2004 issue, the number of votes increased dramatically; the number one voted couple for the third time in a row was Nagisa/Tamao at 1,215 votes.^[12]

The Strawberry Panic! short stories were initially panned by Erica Friedman as being "distinctly derivative of Maria-sama ga Miteru."^[28] Friedman is the president of Yuricon, an anime convention geared towards fans of yuri anime and manga, and ALC Publishing, a publishing house dedicated to yuri. Friedman described the stories as, "candy apples without the apples - all sugary, and gooey and sweet, with not much of anything else to support it."^[29] After initially having this stance for the entire series, including an early opinion on the anime version,^[28] Friedman later changes her opinion slightly, writing that "[the anime] turned out pretty good."^[30] She goes on to say, "There’s no denying that Strawberry Panic! wasn’t brilliant, but considering that it was meant to be trashy, it pulled out a few moments of dignity and elegance out of the trash heap."^[30]

Strawberry Panic! was one of the premier titles in the Light Novel and Strawberry (for yuri manga) production lines when it was licensed for English language distribution by Seven Seas Entertainment.^[31] In an interview with Seven Seas Entertainment founder Jason DeAngelis, he was posed the question, "How do you attract a fan base for a novel before its release in English?" His response was, "We try to choose titles that are already well-known, like Pita-Ten, Shinigami no Ballad or Strawberry Panic!....In terms of attracting a fan base, though, in the end it's all about word-of-mouth. If the material is great, it will stand out on its own and find its audience. The small format that we're publishing these books in is frankly stunning, and it will definitely attract fans who may not have heard of the property otherwise."^[32]

[edit] Sales

The first anime boxset, titled "Strawberry Panic DVD Box I", sold 1,918 units as of late November 2006.^[33] The second boxset, titled "Strawberry Panic DVD Box II", sold 2,814 units as of late November 2006.^[34] The third boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD Box III", was released on August 25, 2006, featuring the sixth episode, "Greenhouse", the seventh episode, "Thorny Trap", and the eighth episode, "Hydrangeas"; it sold 2,464 units. The fourth boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD Box IV", was released on September 22, 2006, containing the ninth episode, "Memories", the tenth episode, "Private Lessons", and the eleventh episode, "Meteor Shower"; the boxset sold 2,074 units. The fifth boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD Box V", was released on October 25, 2006. The boxset contained the twelfth episode, "Summertime", the thirteenth episode, "The Roar of the Waves", and the fourteenth episode, "More than Best Friends"; the boxset sold 2,595 units. The sixth boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD Box VI", went on sale in Japan on November 24, 2006 containing the fifteenth episode, "Heroine", the sixteenth episode, "Behind the Scenes", and the seventeenth episode, "Secret"; this boxset sold 2,146 units. These sales figures are as of late November 2006.

The seventh boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD Box VII", was released on December 22, 2006 and contained the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth episodes, "Storm of Love", "Refrain", and "Confession" respectively. The eighth boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD VIII", was released on January 25, 2007. This boxset contained the twenty-first episode, "Like a Flower", the twenty-second episode "Duel", and the twenty-third episode "Labyrinth". The final boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD Box IX", was released on February 23, 2007, featuring the twenty-fourth episode, "Ring of Destiny", the twenty-fifth episode, "Waltz", and the final episode, "A Beginning".

On the first day of sales, the visual novel sold a total of 3,660 units - 1,980 for the regular edition and 1,680 for the limited edition.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Anime official website (Japanese)
• MediaWorks' Strawberry Panic! website (Japanese)
• MediaWorks' website on the PS2 game (Japanese)
• Seven Seas Entertainment's Strawberry Panic! website
• Strawberry Panic! (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia

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