Maria sama ga miteru
=== Setting and themes ===
The setting for Maria-sama ga Miteru is Lillian Girls' Academy (私立リリアン女学園, Shiritsu Ririan Jogakuen), a fictional Catholic school founded in 1901 in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan; the school is depicted as an elegant, clean, pure, and very prestigious institution. Among the facilities of Lillian, aside from the classrooms, there is a church, a greenhouse, a kendo dojo, an auditorium, a park, and the Rose Mansion, where the Yamayuri Council meet. The students are very respectable and in good standing. The uniform at the school is a long, black Japanese school uniform with a white collar.
The school uses the fictional sœur system where any second- or third-year student, the grande sœur ("big sister"), might pick a younger girl who will become her "sœur" (sister in French). The grande sœur gives her the petite sœur ("little sister") a rosary and promises to look after her and guide her. The basic etiquette demands the petite sœur to call her grande sœur "onee-sama" (older sister in Japanese). Aside from being used in prayer, the rosary is the instrument that certifies the sœur union and relationship between two students. There is an implicit code of behavior between sœurs, especially in the Yamayuri Council—the student council of the school: quietness, measure and respect towards each other; values deeply attached to traditional Japanese education.
French is occasionally used throughout the story; for example, the series is given the French subtitle La Vierge Marie vous regarde, which means "The Virgin Mary is watching you". In keeping with the tone of the series, formal language is used: gokigen'yō (ごきげんよう) is a strictly formal and respectful greeting in Japanese, and is used both to greet and to bid farewell. By custom, this greeting is used often in the Lillian School; this has been one of the distinguishable and popular phrases of the series, and it is used to begin or to finish each volume. The Animax English-language version translates the word as "good day to you".
The Lillian Girls' Academy uses the lily symbolism as the white lily is the flower of the Virgin Mary. The white lily is a Christian symbol of virginity and purity. This lily imagery is also used as a reference to yuri: the story has some elements of romance between female characters; the use of lilies reinforces this in subtext, as do the names of the student council and of the school itself. The series is only explicit about a romantic relationship once in a flashback, but many of the sisters have romantic friendships.
The musical choices of the Maria-sama ga Miteru anime adaptations are generally classical music-inspired. The Christian hymn "Maria-sama no Kokoro" (マリア様のこころ, The Virgin Mary's Heart) is often referred to in the series. In the context of the series, it is a children's song taught to the students at Lillian.
=== Story and characters ===
Maria-sama ga Miteru's story revolves around the students of the Lillian Girls' Academy and is character-driven, focusing on interactions between the characters rather than any sort of ongoing plot or goal to attain. When the story begins, Yumi Fukuzawa, a first-year student at Lillian, is praying in front of the Virgin Mary statue near the school entrance when she is suddenly approached by a cold second-year student named Sachiko Ogasawara who straightens Yumi's uniform neckerchief. This seemingly simple act of kindness stays with Yumi the rest of the day, and she speaks of her meeting with Sachiko to her friends during class and lunch.
After school is over, Yumi's classmate Tsutako Takeshima meets with Yumi to show her that she took a photograph of Yumi's meeting with Sachiko earlier that morning. Yumi asks if she can have the photo, but Tsutako says she will give her the snapshot under two conditions: one being that Tsutako can display it at the upcoming school festival, and two being that Yumi get Sachiko's permission to do so as well. Yumi agrees to this, which sets in motion a series of events involving the entire Yamayuri Council. A few weeks after first meeting Sachiko, Yumi accepts Sachiko's rosary and therefore agrees to become her petite sœur. This officially inducts Yumi into the Yamayuri Council where she assists them in school matters alongside Yoshino Shimazu and Shimako Tōdō—the petite sœurs of Rei Hasekura and Sei Satō, respectively. Through her activities in the Yamayuri Council, Yumi becomes closer to the other members and generally finds her experiences with the group to be enjoyable.
==== Yamayuri Council ====
Much of the story of Maria-sama ga Miteru revolves around the Yamayuri Council (山百合会, Yamayurikai, lit. "Mountain Lily Council"), which acts as the student council. The Yamayuri Council meet in a building called the Rose Mansion (薔薇の館, Bara no Yakata). Located within the school, it consists of two stories, including a meeting room on the second story. The Yamayuri Council itself consists of three offices, named after roses: Rosa Foetida (ロサ・フェティダ, Rosa Fetida), Rosa Gigantea (ロサ・ギガンティア, Rosa Gigantia), and Rosa Chinensis (ロサ・キネンシス, Rosa Kinenshisu). These are also referred to by their colors; the Yellow Rose (黄薔薇, Kibara) is Rosa Foetida, the White Rose (白薔薇, Shirobara) is Rosa Gigantea, and the Red Rose (紅薔薇, Benibara) is Rosa Chinensis.
Due to the high importance the three Rose families have in the development of the student activities within school, those who become petites sœurs of any of the mentioned families receive a functional "inheritance" through the grandes sœurs teachings, to adopt a position given certain circumstances. In this way, there are patrons recognized through the generations of the members of the Rose families. Still, after graduating, the grandes sœurs of the Yamayuri Council may continue with a fair participation in the events concerning their families, as shown in the novels.
A Rose (薔薇, Bara), or Rosa (ロサ), is one of three senior members of the Yamayuri Council, although it is also possible to generally speak of all the members of the Yamayuri Council as roses. A Rose makes the important decisions within this group, since she has control over the student council. Candidates for the position, which lasts through the school year, are chosen through an election. Any student can run to become a Rose, although the position is usually given to the en boutons, the Roses' petite sœurs.
The petite sœur of a Rosa is called an en bouton (アン・ブゥトン, an būton), otherwise known as a "rose bud" (薔薇のつぼみ, bara no tsubomi). En bouton is French for "in bud"—as used in the example Rosa Chinensis en bouton—and is unofficially considered part of the Yamayuri Council, as is the petite sœur of the en bouton, if she has one. The en boutons must be in a lower year than their Rosa, and generally the en boutons execute the plans discussed by the Roses, like assistants. Although the Rosa positions of the Yamayuri Council are traditionally passed to the en bouton on the graduation of the current holder, they are nonetheless elected offices which anyone may run for.
The petite sœur of the en bouton is called en bouton petite sœur (アン・ブゥトン・プティ・スール, an būton puti sūru)—as used in the example Rosa Chinensis en bouton petite sœur—and is otherwise known as the "younger sister of a rose bud" (薔薇のつぼみの妹, bara no tsubomi no imōto). She must be in a lower year than her en bouton and performs small duties, such as attending to the Roses' en boutons, cleaning the Rose Mansion, and making tea and snacks for the Yamayuri Council. This lasts a school year, and the following year, when their en bouton is elected as Rosas, the petite sœurs become en boutons automatically.
romantic