Review of Maria Watches Over Us

Story 6/10 This was a slice-of-life anime with very light shoujo-ai elements. It reminded me of Haibane Renmei in terms of how uneventful the plot really was. Even the climactic moments weren't especially emotional or intense. A "peak" in the storytelling might be a scene where Sachiko speaks sharply to Yumi and Yumi cries. The story therefore wasn't exactly bad, as it would have been if there had been plot holes or unresolved subplots. However, it also wasn't very engaging. Yumi and Sachiko, the main characters, more or less got along throughout, and there were no especially troublesome characters onthe side to cause any real conflict.

Art 7/10
The art is a little old-fashioned now, but the character design was quite pretty. I wasn't especially moved by any particular image, but it's an attractive show.

Sound 6/10
The music works with the show. No tracks stood out to me though as anything I would definitely want to own and listen to. I'm really into soundtracks, so that's a bit of a rarity. I didn't HATE the music, as for instance I hate the Gilgamesh soundtracks, but it was unmemorable. It went with the plot, which kept things always on a pretty even keel.

Character 7/10
The characters were decent. Yumi was lovable and naive, Sachiko was poised but vulnerable, and the other roses and their petite soeurs were pretty individualistic. Some even had interesting back stories. However, everyone was likable, which is a bit uninteresting in a way. In addition, their personalities were a little too one-dimensional. It reminded me a bit of these other game-based harem shows, like Meine Liebe and Harukanaru, where each guy has a very shallow personality because he has to represent just a few qualities, so that the girl can pick the one she likes the best and doesn't have to wade through a multi-layered personality. So although each character had a well-defined personality, they didn't have enough depth to really stand out.

Enjoyment 5/10
It wasn't painful to watch, but it wasn't all that engaging either. Yumi, the real heroine, started out as an ordinary girl who was given an extraordinary opportunity--to be Sachiko's petite soeur. That's a nice setup, but Yumi doesn't really vindicate herself. Throughout the show, she remains the sweet, ordinary girl thrown amongst extraordinary people. In a way, that's the show's point--that she was extraordinary in her own way. However, I'm more into shows where the protagonist really grows and eventually shines. The lack of conflict and the lack of growth were tedious.

Overall 7/10
It's hard giving this a final overall mark. I don't want to be too harsh because I realize that this isn't a genre I especially enjoy. I think that the show was what it intended to be, so saying that the plot wasn't fast-paced enough for me or that Yumi didn't grow enough as a character isn't entirely fair. Still, I think that the story would have been much better with a bit more conflict and a few characters who weren't so likable. And I would have liked to know more about Yumi's own background.