Anime: Boku no Marie 5f6g3n

Surprisingly enjoyable.

Boku no Marie's summary sounds a lot like it can go ultimately wrong into either the direction of borderline hentai, or to tell the – almost cliché – story of a boy who falls in love with his own robot rather than the girl she resembles. There have been numerous titles telling these stories and whoever stumbles on Boku no Marie will undoubtedly wonder how much this one will resemble those others.

Surprisingly, this title doesn't resemble most others out there, which is only a good point for the show. It helps the show to become enjoyable instead. Perhaps other shows can learn from this one instead of the other way around.

Animation: Odd character designs, aged animation, but with above average character behaviour.

I wasn't impressed by the animation at all, as a lot of animation from those days wasn't meant to impress. What did impress me was the way the characters moved. Although most of the time it looked like they were simply lacking a few frames which made it look like the moves were a bit too energetically fast, at times there was some really nice action. I'm thinking of a fighting scene, where the movement were fluid and smooth, much in contrast to most other shows at this level.

Nevertheless, the show is by far not an action series, but it still managed to catch my eye and appreciate it. For an OVA with only 3 eps, it's bound to be noticed by someone – in this case it was the person writing the review.

The character designs are also something you just have to get used to. At some point I came to the conclusion it was a mixture of Nadesico meets Urushihara Satoshi (Front Innocent), which is a pretty weird mix by itself, but it was displayed here. It takes time to accept the designs, but once you do, they are fairly okay to look at.

Sound: Not remarkable, but it works.

I can't say much about the voice actors, as I consider them done well. The same goes for the music played throughout the show, which was okay – although the ED song was fairly nice.

Story: Unfinished business.

I like the characters and I like the episode-wise story. Unfortunately, the story never comes to an end, as the episodes are obviously making progress, just like the characters, but the last episode simply ends the episode-story; nothing more, nothing less. It feels like the OVA might have been a testing ground for a full-scale series or anything, or perhaps it is a simple teaser for the people in order to buy the manga, but it does give you the feeling that the show is unfinished.

As for the episode stories, they are all in all done fairly well. There is humor, there is a small plot and there are good characters backing them up, which generally makes the episodes pretty enjoyable. It doesn't try to be anything but a nice RomCom (abbreviation for Romance-Comedy) and it does that well.

One would expect the show to go all-the-way comedy mayhem, but it doesn't. It stays away from all the over-the-top jokes and instead focuses on Marie trying to deal with her existence, the (love)life of her creator and the fact that she's modeled after his crush. One could say that it tries to stay mature, rather than going down to pull every string possible.
And while I did say that it doesn't go borderline hentai, it does have some nice ‘naughty’ touches, which only add to the comedy, rather than arousing anyone.

Characters: On the verge to become more than just flat comical characters.

From start to end, there are good characters and even newly introduced characters (Hibiki) get a good start. All characters feel like they belong in the show and all of them feel like they're becoming more than just flat. Bit by bit the show focuses on them growing, but unfortunately due to the 3 episodes total count, they don't.

I could elaborate a lot about the characters, but then I'd have to focus on particular changes, which I rather leave up to the watcher in order to appreciate them.

Value & Enjoyment: Short & good. Recommended watch if you don't look for a long series.

The show is definitely a recommendation for anyone looking for an easy to watch love romance, with a twist. Don't expect any conclusions or exceptional comedy/romance, but if you're just looking for a nice show, this is what you look for. It is sad to have to classify this as ‘average show’, as it doesn't have any exceptional aspects to offer, but nevertheless it is a show which won't disappoint – or at least not too much.

This is a very interesting little OVA. It is NOT hentai despite what the quote on the cover indicates. xD (That is ADV being ADV)

Animation: It has a odd but unique style to it, loyally following the manga's art. There are very nice bright colors, especially for the two Mari's hair and eyes. This animation is VERY good for 1996, let me tell you! There are some very cool "camera" angles. The ending sequence is really cute, showing how Mari would grow up if she was a human girl.

Sound: The sound is fantastic. All of the background music is fitting and fun to listen to. Very good battle and sci-fi themes. The ending song is a sweet pleasant little ballad sung by android Mari's perspective. This is a review of the dub, btw and ADV could not have done a better job with it. Their scripts for this show are a little naughty but will have you practically rolling on the floor with laughter. This is probably the best dub ever made for the 90s. Not kidding.

Story: You are probably thinking "oh boy, another amazing beautiful girl robot/goddess/angel meets geek and smothers him with affections for no good reason story! -_-"

You are wrong. ^_^

This is more like a "geek builds robot who tries to help him get with his original love but runs into obstacles along the way" story. It's a very original and interesting story that avoids many a cliche. How cliche and something be if it's from the mid 90s anyway? O_o

Character: The characters are really great-you'll probably get attached to every one of them and not want to say good-bye after the third episode.
Hiroshi is a GEEK. Under the geekiness, he is a good guy, if you can stop laughing at him to pay close attention.
Android Marie is awesome. She's very sweet and pure yet she can totally kick butt. Definitely the best character on this show.
Human Mari is sweet too because she can see through jerks and overlook appearances in order to give nice guys a chance.
Tanaka has got to be the world's biggest young pervert but you will laugh at his antics.
Hibiki, the tough-as-nails con artist also really stands out, even though she gets only one episode.
.....it's kinda like the creators took stereotypical personalities and ran with them, driving them to the extreme and it works incredibly well. NOBODY is boring to watch.

Value:

My Dear Marie is one of those unique little OVAs that was cut short but it's definitely a treasure.
If you like romance, ecchi, comedy, sci-fi, or psychological views, don't miss this one. One special thing that really stands out is android Marie's dream sequences. They are amazing and it's like "OMG that IS how dreams are! Random, weird, ever-changing. It's an incredible slew of scenes smacked together in a trippy ride. Have fun.^^

One last note:

As I said, this OVA is not hentai but...it can come a little close I guess. Nudity and panty shots galore, attempted date rape (on a GUY xD) imagery of bondage and S&M "punishment" (although the "punishment" doesn't turn out to be what you think it is. xD).
I'm wondering why they didn't classify this as "ecchi" because it really is; (of course the series has MUCH MUCH more to offer than ecchi) especially the third episode. Please do not let anyone under 16 watch this.