Search - Strawberry Panic Litebox (slimpack) on DVD

Almost Overwhelmingly Sweet

P. J. Grant | 07/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For all those who find the subtle hints at lesbianism in such shows as Revolutionary Girl Utena and Maria Watches Over Us annoyingly vague, look no further. Strawberry Panic pulls no punches, calling a spade a spade... without ever once using the word or being judgemental. Essentially a high school romance, or rather a set of them, SP takes place at three linked all-girl's academies that share a common dorm. With casual aplomb, the show deals with all aspects of high-school dating: jealousy, love triangles, shyness, and inevitable seperation. The characters are well designed, rich with nuance, and - if lacking in depth and background at times - engaging as all get out. While essentially character driven, this show does have more of a coherent plot and story arc than Marmite... plus each of the three schools has its own set of uniforms, all of them significantly more attractive than those found in Marmite or Utena."

An absolute essential for yuri fans

Burr | Lansing, MI | 09/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let's face it, if you are a yuri fan in the west, pickings are slim to say the least. Even if a series happens to have yuri content, it is likely to be very subtle and merely implied, and even if so, masked by some mystical happenings or overshadowed by some other plot device. There simply isn't any straight up yuri romance anime available to those of us in the west, which is very sad. Anime can be seen as a niche market, and yuri is essentially a niche within a niche.

Strawberry Panic is a gift to those of us with a passion for yuri. It is a simple story of high school romances involving many of the common, yet complex themes explored with young relationships that one would see in just about any other drama: love/friendship, jealousy, confusion, self-doubt, longing, loneliness; only with a 100% female cast of very likable, attractive and well-designed characters. It is beautiful, touching, moving, and absolutely adorable. It's like digital candy: a bit light-weight, but very indulgent. The cuteness and sweetness is literally off the charts. Presentation in general is gorgeous, with seasons passing by in the serene wilderness surrounding the schools. There is an aura of mystery throughout the show that will keep you watching. If the yuri content in other anime is implied, then that in Strawberry Panic is executed without restraint nor apology to the maximum extent a 13 and up rating could possibly allow. A truly refreshing series, and we should all be thankful it has been re-released. It is great to see a serious drama with no slapstick, science fiction, or mysticism in yuri form, and I only hope there is more to come.

The plot moves very slowly at first. For the most part, season one relies on some mystery and the charm of it's characters to keep you watching until the much more rewarding 2nd volume. The first volume exists almost entirely to introduce characters and their elements rather than explaining the 5 W's. Your patience will pay off, though.

Unfortunately, there are those who look down upon this show critically; yuri fans and reviewers, who see only it's flaws. No, the show is not perfect. However, we should ask ourselves: if you live in a town which only has one grocery store, what is the best grocery store in town? We should be grateful and appreciate the fact that it's there whenever it may be needed, not complaining. Without it, many of us would go hungry. Could it be improved upon? Of course, but it's so much better than nothing at all.

Please buy this unique gem. Until something better comes along, this is as close to sublime as yuri gets as far as pure drama/romance is concerned, and if you are a fan of such anime, you owe it to yourself to see it. It starts off somewhat slow, getting by on sweetness alone, but picks up later and in the end does not disappoint. Even though one of the main relationships sort of loses some steam towards the end, the romantic story delivers as the very engaging final volume unfolds. As an anime, it is pretty good; as an anime for a yuri fan, it easily scores extra stars."

Want yuri? Look no further

Candy Fleck | Henning, MN | 12/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The whole birth of Strawberry panic was a spoof of Maria Watches over Us. They took the subtle yuri in Maria and increased it ten fold. It's not subtle yuri. Girls kiss girls and like it. The manga was more of the spoof.

The anime on the other hand is a dramatic wonderful story that I do indeed love. Strawberry panic I've heard much like Simoun people either like it or don't. I do.

It's about Nagisa transferring to this campus that not only has one all girls school but has three of them and they share one gigantic dorm (the name strawberry panic I believe comes from the fact the dorm is triangular in layout and has a red roof). Upon her very first few moments at school happens to bump into Shizuma who in their first meeting almost kisses her (we do not know if she does or not cuz Nagisa blacks out).

The first half is driven by Nagisa's wanting to learn more about this mysterious woman and the second half is driven by her coming to terms with what has happened.

There is character growth and tons of yuri fluff.

If you want yuri fluff this is an anime for you.

Now much like Simoun Media blasters (anime works is a subdivision of them) packed all 5 dvds into ONE regular sized dvd case. I will say what I said in my Simoun review. I'm disappointed in the design of the box set. There is something to be had with having a nice looking thinpack (with all the original coverart in the slimcases) then this.

But we don't buy the anime for the cases, we buy it for the anime so if you haven't picked up any of Strawberry Panic yet this box set is a cheap way to get the entire series."

Strawberry Panic is a delight!

K. J. Woody | Seattle, Washington United States | 09/28/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I own all the available anime, manga, and lite novels for this series. If you're like me, you will enjoy many sweet moments and be left wanting more.

For flaws: There are some awkward transitions; there are story threads that should have seen greater development; and this is a series that ends too soon because these young girls are characters you want to know more about. There are even parts that some may think bear a (too) strong similarity to other anime story plots, but I'll call it homage.

Bottom line: The joys and angst of girls in love is dealt with in a natural and direct way that includes the bitter with the sweet and the shy with the bold. This is a story of charming young school girls in their first (second, third?) blush of love and shares their desire to connect as friends and as more-than-friends. It was a pleasure that ended too soon.

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