Maria Watches Over Us: Season One

Yumi is a first-year Catholic high school student at the prestigious Lillian Girls' Academy. Like most of her peers, she reveres the upperclassmen—especially members of the student council, whose leaders are referred to as Roses. When the older and much-admired Sachiko impulsively asks Yumi to be her soeur, or little sister, modest Yumi is astonished, since this means Sachiko will be her guide throughout her years at the academy. The elaborate school hierarchy serves as a surprisingly effective venue for the exploration of relationships in Maria Watches Over Us, derived from novels by Oyuki Konno. The first season focuses largely on developing friendships within the three tiers of Roses: Yumi discovers that she and Sachiko aren't so different, while new friend Yoshino makes a difficult choice to distance herself from an overprotective sister of her own. By turns cute, romantic, and overwhelmingly earnest, the animation here boasts a restrained artistic beauty backed by a sweeping classical musical score. Compiling all 13 episodes of the 2004 debut season in a Japanese-language set (subtitled in English), rated 13-plus, DVD extras include comical bonus shorts, liner notes, and character bios. Highly recommended. [Note: Maria Watches Over Us: Season Two is also newly available, with Season Three slated for release on Jan. 22, and Season Four bowing Mar. 12.] (L. Martincik)