Kissing someone without their consent is bad. Teachers dating students is bad. I don't mind the premise, but if something is wrong, it's wrong. I'm pro-LGBT but that doesn't mean anything goes.

... Last updated on February 20th, 2023, 1:41am

My older sister had bought the TokyoPop volumes and had given me this series, when I was in middle school. At this point, I had watched anime like Pokemon, Sailor Moon and Tenchi Muyo. I hadn't read/watch a straight-on romance series and this was my first introduction to the horrible trope of dating your sibling.

As a middle schooler though, this was a 9/10 rating. I am rereading it right now and it really deserves a 6/10 due to all the cliches. Also the main character (Miki) has such a middle school mindset; it's torture for me.

So, I am going to breakdown why you should not pick this series up, because I am assuming this is not your first shoujo and you're not a middle schooler. (The only reason I gave it a 7/10 because it was pivotal in its time of conception for the American audience and its below average.)

1) The series is dated. Miki's remarks on the lgbt+ community was kind of off putting. Another outdated idea is imo the guys kissing the girls without any communication beforehand (I just think consent is hot, but it might be my personal opinion.)

2) Has cliche tropes with no spins on them. Indecisive female lead who goes back and forth between love interest. Handsome male lead who doesn't communicate and just smiles. Female lead who overthinks every interaction. (Basically, if Yuu even glances away from Miki, Miki thinks he hates me type-of-overthinking).

3) Has poor character growth. Miki never grows and she really needs to. Like I said before, she is indecisive, she will be indecisive all 8 volumes. She will never learn that this and her overthinking are the cause for most of her problems. Actually, every single character in this story keeps their shallow characterization throughout, except for Arimi.

4) Has misunderstandings that could have been solved with talking. This is the worst shoujo trope in the present day hands down. You don't need that!

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There are some definite good points to this series, but I honestly doubt they will make up for these bad points. I really only wrote this review so that the new generation of manga readers, doesn't read this series and bring down the rating score. This is a gem of nostalgia and was the first series published in the original right-to-left form in the USA. It's a below average series now, but just think of all the little girls and boys getting into manga industry in the early 2000s. This gives the series a place in the golden classics of manga.

... Last updated on June 28th, 2020, 8:38am

i feel like this story needs more chapters like

I couldn't get past the whole parent swapping thing. It was kinda weird. If I was in that situation and my mother and father told me that they were in love with someone else, I don't think I would take it well.

... Last updated on January 13th, 2018, 9:19pm

Yes, it's certainly 90s - the hairstyles, clothes, tech, screen tone style, etc - but frankly I loved the 90s and that atmosphere suits me just fine. This is one of my top 20 series, and I would certainly recommend it to shojo fans, especially ones who appreciate this era.

While I think the "pair the spares" premise gets taken a little too far (I didn't find myself shipping any of the couples beyond Miki and Yuu, and their crazy parents), those aspects are skippable and don't take too much time away from the main story.

What I really love most is Miki's interactions with various characters because I find her realistic and I relate to her. I thought her friendship with Meiko was one of the most potent aspects of the story. We all have to learn what the boundaries are even with our best friends and allow them to live their own lives… I also found her backstory with Ginta extremely relatable - and anyone who's had a falling out with a good friend, then later attempted to reconcile and define the renewed friendship will probably understand.

Yuu is probably the least realistic of the main characters (I mean, how many people fall in love with their step sibling?), but his unpredictability is charming and his relationship with Miki is just so heartwarming that you gotta love him anyway.

This was one of the first manga I ever read. I couldn't even remember the name of this until all these years later, when I was staring at Orange Marmalade, going, huh, that title sounds like something. When I was young, this seemed so good. I think I was thirteen or fourteen when I picked this up, haha. I cried a lot reading it because it's full of melodrama. I think you'd be hard pressed to take much of the plot seriously if you're more mature. I think I'd have trouble getting through it without taking what-the-heck-moment breaks if I were to read it again now.
Having said that, it's hard for me to give this a low rating, since it's an important part of what really got me into reading manga. I was a tween, okay. I definitely grew out of this type of manga, but it is pretty decent for such an old work. The style and story line were probably really good at the time it came out---though I wouldn't know, since I was 2 when it was published. It has its moments, though it is pretty typical of modern shoujo (characters and plot).

... Last updated on August 6th, 2013, 8:37pm

It's horribly illogical. Throw logic out the window. The two parent couples switching spouses starts the plot in motion. But get past that and the 'false incest' drama, and this manga is a fun read. It's got loads of cliche, but the majority of shoujo is cliche. And cliche makes stories work.

I don't understand how many reviews complain of MB being unrealistic or like a soap opera. In my eyes 99% of shoujo is guilty of the above. Fairytale world views and rollercoaster relationships are integral parts of the shoujo genre.

This manga does have cute art, and the story flows well. It also lacks cliches that I find annoying: falling in love with rapist, petty love rivals, flawless bishies (those princes who are cold, rich, perfect; but deep down inside they require healing), and clumsy heroines (can't seem to walk straight without knocking something over). There's also a lot of tennis playing.

Miki is annoyingly indecisive and angst does crop up in later volumes (oddly enough this near-the-ending angst approaches "realism", false incest aside...), and the plot drags eventually. But there's never a true "dark" moment. Cute and engaging- one of my definitions for good shoujo.

... Last updated on August 3rd, 2012, 7:22pm

seriously, its kind of shallow. poor characterization, twisted story line.. *sigh.
and just why is switching partners taken lightly?? not to mention, they decided to live in one house? sounds stupid if you ask me. i just dont like this kind of stories that lack real life situations. read it if u like typical and lame shoujos.

Put off reading this one for some reason, wish I had put it off for longer. After the ratings and the hype a let down actually. Started off well enough, then things got haywire after the "dad" assumption. The last few volumes center around misunderstanding and it was soo frustrating, Yuu really needs to ask questions instead of just setting his misunderstandings in stone..would've saved a lot of trouble. urghh. My 1 sitting reading left a bad after taste. Alright enough read if you've got time to waste. Art wasn't bad. Setting was done well.

... Last updated on September 6th, 2011, 7:31pm

This manga is good and all, but it's so typical shoujo. You've got your handsome boy, the simple and smiling girl, and to be honest, every single event that seems to be a "dramatic point" in the manga, I've read in countless other shoujo manga. If you're an avid shoujo fan, you've probably read this kind of manga many times. I'm not recommending it to anyone unless you plan to read 8 volumes and like these kind of stories. Halfway through, I couldn't bare to read it any further. The only point that was actually slightly interesting was The part about the two families living together just seems to be an excuse for Miki and Yuu to live together, it's really unrealistic.

... Last updated on August 7th, 2011, 7:43pm