ま・り・あ [Maria]

by Naoko Takeuchi, 武内直子

Maria is a girl attending a Christian private school. Her mother is sick and in the hospital, her family poor. They live off the money of a man who's identity is unknown to Maria. He is called "Daddy Long-Legs" and he supports Maria and her mother with only one fee: Maria becoming his bride. Just who is this mysterious man? Is it the doctor? Someone she does not know? A boy from school...? - See more at: http://www.mangahere.co/manga/maria/#...

Genres: Manga, Romance, Comics, Komik, Fiction, Shojo

Paperback

First published October 6, 1990

About the author

Naoko Takeuchi (武内直子) born March 15, 1967, a manga artist (mangaka), lives in Tokyo, Japan. Takeuchi's works have a wide following among anime/manga fans. She has become a well-known mangaka worldwide. Her most popular work, Sailor Moon, rose to become one of the most recognized manga/anime figures to date.

Takeuchi is married to Yoshihiro Togashi, the author of the YuYu Hakusho series and Hunter × Hunter series.

Please note that anime related books are listed under Kōdansha.

Reviews

[Nadja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute Shojo-Manga which I wanted to read for years. Maria and Miss Rain were planned to be published in German as part of the ‘Sailor Moon presents’ collection many years ago but unfortunately that never happened. Having quite high expectations Maria didn’t disappoint yet wasn’t as good as hoped. It’s short and beautiful illustrated but the story itself is predictable and at the same time problematic. (How could it be okay if the Mister X were a 50 year old man? Even the suggestion I find problematic, especially for the original targets, teenagers and young woman)

Read in English on mangahere.

[Aurora Serenity Sildatke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another uplifting work by Takeuchi-san.
Maria is a one shot manga, with a sweet (and subtly erotic) story. If you're a romance and/or shojo fan, then this manga is a must for you! Even if you guess, from the first few pages, how it will end (as I did) you still won't be disappointed, and it will be just as magical as if you hadn't any idea what was going to happen.
The art is beautiful, dream-like, and the story matches it perfectly.

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm satu lagi kisah yang terinspirasi dari Daddy Long Legs. Mellow-mellow drama gitu. Tentang Fuyumi Maria yang ibunya terus sakit-sakitan. Suatu hari ibunya menyuruhnya pindah ke sekolah elit, Green Garden. Katanya ada "Daddy Long Legs" yang sudah nanggung biayanya. Syaratnya, Maria nanti kudu mau jadi pengantinnya. Tapi Maria gak dikasih tahu siapa wujud asli sang donatur ini. Dan Maria baru 15 tahun. Di Jepang sendiri saat itu batas usia minimal perempuan untuk bisa menikah adalah 16 tahun. Apa karena itu ya banyak shoujo manga yang menceritakan gadis-gadis muda yang pikirannya sudah pingin nikah terus?

Di Green Garden, Maria masuk ke circle 4 sahabat. Si kembar Noa dan Ema. Lalu ada juga Kazushi dan Kazuma. Kazushi ini tokoh numpang lewat doang. Ema sudah baik sama Maria sejak mereka sebangku. Sedangkan Noa ini jutek dan suka nempel sama Kazuma. Kazuma sendiri adalah siswa genius penerima beasiswa yang suka jutek sama Maria, entah kenapa.

Yah, hari-hari Maria dipenuhi dengan usahanya untuk beradaptasi. Lingkungannya tidak terlalu ramah, sehingga keberadaan circle Ema itu bikin dia bisa bertahan. Namun, dia sering nggak konsen karena memikirkan siapa daddy long legs-nya. Apakah sang donatur yang dia puja itu adalah Dr. Maie yang merawat ibunya?

Hmmmmmmm.... Yang bikin aku bertahan baca komik ini adalah keindahan gambarnya Naoko Takeuchi, sih. So yeah....

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maria is a shojo manag inspired by the epistolary novel Daddy-Long Legs by Jean Webster, which follows the story of a girl who attends a prestigious college paid for by a mysterious benefactor. I wish I had known this before reading the manga, as it provides some much needed context to the story. The manga adapts the basic outline of the novel with some elements changed to suit the shojo manga medium.

The attempt at blending the original story with that of a standard shojo romance ended up making for a weak story overall. The specific romance tropes utilized didn’t work well and it made an otherwise simple plot needlessly convoluted. The story is a bit melodramatic especially toward the end of the manga. What was not lost were the more dated aspects of the romance, which would’ve been questionable even in 1990 when the manga was published. Some of my criticisms may be because the translation that I read was not very polished.

Takeuchi’s art is at the very least extremely beautiful and was the main reason that I kept reading. It has a dreamy tone that suits the type of story well. On it’s own however the story is just okay, but the manga may still appeal to fans of Takeuchi’s work.

[Nurul Badia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dulu zaman SD, komik ini sangat fenomenal dan saya sering pergi ke Gramed hanya untuk reread komik ini.
Tema buku ini sebenarnya sederhana, kisah tentang pencarian cinta anak SMA dengan unsur misteriusnya berupa Paman kaki panjang. Dan bila dibandingkan pada masa sekarang mungkin terlihat aneh karena anak seumur itu sudah mulai mencari suami idaman.
Maria sangat gigih dan percaya dengan cinta sejati sehingga dia sering melupakan kehadiran teman laki-lakinya yang diam-diam adalah secret admirer-nya sejak kecil.

[Canette Arille · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so beautiful! And the female main character looks like sailor moon or venus on many illustrations. I like this book and the story. The illustrations are draw so beautiful and gently like a wind

[Brid Baas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me hubiera gustado leer en mi adolescencia 🥺

[Book Sandara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primera lectura del año

[Solaris Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nose. No está mal, pero creo que no me gustó.

[Juanito Banana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi corazón

[Clow Place · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una versión de Papa Piernas largas muy a la Naoko Takeuchi. Lo leí por allá en el 2005 y para el Khriz de ese tiempo me pareció lindo y romántico. Ahora para el ClowPlace del 2022, aunque la premisa sigue siendo de mi agrado, creo que la historia tiene sus puntos flacos y hasta cierto punto muy muy cuestionables.

Pero aún así, me agradó regresar a él después de tanto tiempo, continúa siendo de mis muy consentidos y muy queridos. Si les agrada la premisa, pueden leer el argumento original de la autora Jean Webster. Que a su vez la autora de Candy Candy Koko Misuki se basó en la historia de Webster, para crear a la emblemática y Cándida Niña del Hogar de Ponny

[Brilliant Hermione · Rating 4 out of 5]

Komik yang terinspirasi dari Daddy's Long Leg ini lumayan bagus juga ceritanya, apalagi saya tipikal wanita yang senang dengan karakter pria yang serius dan hanya mencintai satu wanita dalam hidupnya, ya seperti si Kilian itu, yang sejak kanak-kanak menyukai Maria. Suka dan bahkan bercita-cita menjadikan Maria sebagai istrinya saat mereka dewasa nanti.

Untuk poin tambahan, saya juga suka gambar Kilian dan Maria yang ada di bagian sampul samping (dulu komik Elex bermodel sampul jaket yang lebih elegan, tidak seperti sekarang). Gambarnya bagus dan romantis sangat.

[W.Y. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweetest story I've ever read. I enjoyed reading this comic; seeing the character's relationship between each other developed is probably the best part. To be frank, it is indeed a waste that Naoko Takeuchi decided not to release this in the English language, or else this might've been a hit.

[Hapsari Darmastuti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another shoujo one shot, a retelling of the classic novel Daddy Long Legs. About a girl who was sponsored by a mysterious person to go to this fancy private school. I really like the storyline and I love seeing Maria's hair and clothes

[Mimma Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

ceritanya mirip banget ama "Daddy long legs"

lucu juga ternyata yg nolong maria ternyata adalah the guy next door yang juga adalah cinta pertamanya

[Tria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maria is Daddy Long Legs-themed though of course, his benefactor isn't the 'daddy' form.

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

♥

[Asuka Mai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baru dapetin komiknya lagi setelah sekian tahun baca..
Nostalgia :)

[B-zee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sudah kelewat kali ya masaku baca cerita begini. Masa ya anak 15 tahun udah pusing mikir jadi istrinya siapa, lol.

[Elvirakorompot]

good