Marmalade Boy (
ママレード・ボーイ, Mamarēdo Bōi?) is a manga created by Wataru Yoshizumi and serialized in the monthly manga magazine Ribon by Shueisha. The manga was later adapted by Toei Animation into a 76-episode anime TV series which aired on the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation. There was also a short animated movie (only slightly longer than a normal episode) produced in 1995, which was a sort of prequel to the series. Marmalade Boy was also made into a 30-episode live-action television series (Chinese: 橘子醬男孩; pinyin: Júzǐjiāng Nánhái) which aired in Taiwan. The manga is published in English by TOKYOPOP (now out-of-print), which has also released the anime in four box-sets in co-operation with Studio E.
In terms of the series' anime and manga license, they have expired and Tokyopop will not renew these licenses, instead, FUNimation has picked up Tokyopop's anime line officially.
Synopsis
Miki Koishikawa's ordinary life as a high school junior is turned upside down when her parents suddenly announce that they are getting divorced in order to swap partners with a couple they met in Hawaii. They seek her approval of the shocking change, and at a dinner where Miki meets the other couple as well as their son Yuu, who is about her age, she reluctantly agrees to the arrangement. Yuu, while at first a jerk who takes every opportunity to make fun of Miki, turns out to be fun and attractive, and Miki finds herself falling for him. Little by little, she accepts her new family arrangement, and opens up to Yuu as they become friends.
Miki and Yuu's relationship starts to become complicated because of the previous relationships that they have and develop with other characters. These include Miki's long time classmate and former crush, Ginta Suou, and Yuu's former girlfriend, Arimi Suzuki. A secondary subplot develops when Miki's best friend, Meiko Akizuki, herself starts to have her own problems because of the relationship she has gotten into with one of the teachers, Nachan.
Throughout the series, Miki and Yuu's relationship is further developed and tried, influenced by other characters around them and the relationships that they develop with these characters