Ask John: Is Maria-sama ga Miteru Too Controversial for America?

Question:
I’m Japanese. On a 2 channel BBS, an anime fan writes that US anime fans write in a forum that “Maria-sama ga Miteru” would not be licensed in the US because the USA is quite conservative. What’s your opinion? Is it actually difficult since it can be thought as being against Christianity?

Answer:
It’s true that American society is, or can be rather conservative when it comes to morality and sexuality. And at one time I do believe that this intolerance had a significant influence on the American anime industry. But I don’t think that’s really as much a factor these days as it once was. In America anime fandom is frequently cited as being on the forefront of the technological revolution, being very tech savvy and computer literate and eager to adopt advances in consumer technology. I also think that anime fans are among America’s most progressive and liberal thinkers. While some of America’s traditional intolerance of sexuality may be seen in anime fan protests over hentai anime, generally American anime fans are quite open-minded and inclined toward creative and individual expression. (My suspicion has always been that much of the vehement opposition to adult anime from American anime fans is a result of Pavlovian cultural conditioning rather than individual, ethical outrage, but I’m not knowledgeable enough to be able to validate that suspicion.)

Especially within recent years and the American anime industry has licensed and released a significant number of taboo challenging and esoteric and intellectual and culturally unique anime titles including Utena, Yami no Matseui, Gravitation, Nekojiru-so, Pom Poko, Level C, Alien 9, Jin-Roh, Princess Tutu, and Spirited Away. These are all titles that, for one reason or another, don’t quite fit into the scope of typical American expectations for animation. The very fact that all of these anime titles have been selected for American release suggests that their target American market is interested in seeing anime that’s literate and philosophical or steeped in Japanese culture or which deals with homosexual or controversial sexual themes. If the very suggestively homoerotic Utena can be released in America to great success, I don’t think that public opinion will be a barrier to Maria-sama ga Miteru (MariMite) being released in America.

MariMite is a tranquil, lightly romantic drama about young women that attend an exclusive private Christian school and develop strong and sometimes romantic bonds with each other. Episode 11 of the series tastefully illustrates a tentative but overt lesbian relationship. It’s not difficult to imagine American Christian conservatives being outraged over a “cartoon” that deals with homosexuality within a Christian school, with the tacitly implied approval of the Virgin Mary. However, unlike the “classic” Cream Lemon Escalation series, which set lesbian sex in a Christian setting for shock value, MariMite is presented as a respectable and responsible character driven drama. MariMite isn’t exploitive, nor subversive. MariMite does its best to illustrate interesting and believable characters acting naturally within a particular setting. With that in mind, I think that condemning the series is an overreaction.

Actually, I think that if there’s anything that may disadvantage Maria-sama ga Miteru from being released in America, it’s not the show’s setting or sexuality; it’s the show’s subtlety. Literally nothing happens in the show’s original 13 episodes. And unlike a program like Azumanga Daioh, which doesn’t have any appreciable action but does have a lot of comedy, MariMite is a pure character study drama without even the catchy hook of sight gags and comedy. The show’s captivating writing and lush art design and animation are all simply beautiful and an utter treat for anime fans with discriminating tastes. But the show may be deemed too slow or too prosaic to attract a significant consumer market in America. Given that MariMite is quite a marvelous little series, that it’s not exploitive or overtly offensive, and considering that shows that deal with similar themes, albeit not in conjunction, have been successfully released in America, I think it’s actually quite likely that MariMite will eventually be announced for American release. Regardless of its possibility to cause controversy, the show is simply too good not to be exposed to Western audiences.