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And you thought your family was strange? Miki's world gets turned upside down when her parents swap spouses with another couple and all decide to live together under one roof. It only gets weirder when Miki falls in love with her new stepbrother Like a dysfunctional version of the Brady Bunch, Marmalade Boy will hook readers with its odd premise and wacky relationships.

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 1995

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236 people want to read

About the author

Wataru Yoshizumi

192 books312 followers
Wataru Yoshizumi (吉住渉) is a Japanese mangaka. She was born as Mari Nakai (中井 真里, Nakai Mari) on June 18, 1963 in Tokyo, Japan. She graduated with a degree in economics from Hitotsubashi University.

Yoshizumi started her career as a mangaka while working as an office lady. Her debut manga was a yomikiri (short story) called "Radical Romance" that was published in 1984, in the summer issue of Ribon Original. She is known as a social mangaka, and is a good friend of fellow mangakas Naoko Takeuchi, Ai Yazawa, Miho Obana, and Megumi Mizusawa.

Yoshizumi currently (as of 2007) has her works published in both Ribon and Chorus.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
Profile Image for Jude: The Epic Reader.
794 reviews82 followers
April 10, 2022
The drama is climaxing! This story is kind of whack but overall I'm really enjoying it. Everything is so cute and carefree and then, suddenly, something extremely weird happens.
Profile Image for Jen.
3,474 reviews27 followers
May 30, 2022
Heartbreak city!!! 4, so glad I have the last volume, stars!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Natalia Bas.
Author 2 books21 followers
February 19, 2020
Reseña del manga: ''Marmalade Boy'', de Wataru Yoshizumi (manga, relaciones varias, romántico, juvenil...) Serie de 8 tomos. PANETA-DeAGOSTINI COMICS.

Hace media vida, en un momento en que me tomé un tiempo para mí... descubrí en una cadena de televisión que se ha quedado algo atrás, con tanta cadena comercial actual..., una serie de dibujos japoneses que me encantó; aún con sus tintes de telenovela... La llamaron ''La familia crece'', y hasta llegué a imitar la voz de la protagonista, se entiende: la voz de la actriz de doblaje ^^

La veía junto a mi felino...

Tenía un colorido llamativo, una historia desternillante y a la vez adulta, para sus jóvenes personajes, y una melodía preciosa, que se solía reservar para las apariciones de la amiga de la prota.

Resultó que había un manga, por tomos, que compré religiosamente, y disfruté un montón. Se podría decir que de esta manera volví al manga; ya que empecé hace aún más tiempo, de peque (cuando no tenía idea de lo que era un manga...), con los tomos de ''Candy Candy''...

Recuerdo que la autora confesó que la historia iba a ir al revés, y que su editor le aconsejó el cambio...

Una historia que me pareció muy alegre, original, interesante... en esos momentos ya.

Con unos dibujos preciosos que intentaba conseguir en mis ratos de ''dibujanta''... y que; aunque no con el ''romanticismo'' de las autoras más veteranas, entonces, mantenían un encanto singular.

La historia comienza con dos familias que empiezan a vivir juntas, después de que cada pareja de padres se divorcie y se case otra vez: esta vez, cambiando de pareja... ¿A que parece una telenovela?, pues la historia continúa con los hijos de estas parejas... y sus amigos, en la escuela, y de fiesta... pero no olvidemos a los padres, y sus ''secretos''...

Evidentemente tiene que haber amor, y celos, y enredos, y confesiones ¿a tiempo?...

También se toca el tema de las relaciones entre profesores y alumnos, que está muy bien, y en general me parece que en su momento, y más en la cultura japonesa, por lo que se dice de otras culturas..., fue una ''bomba''.

¿Qué creéis que pasará con los hijos de estos 4 padres?, ¿lo sabéis?, ¿visteis la serie, o la leísteis?, ¿cuál fue vuestro personaje..., o pareja favoritos?

Continuará...
Profile Image for Roberta.
527 reviews41 followers
January 7, 2019
La storia riprende da dove eravamo rimasti: Meiko e Miki partono per Hiroshima e vanno da Nacchan.
Lì i
Lì il professore e Meiko si ritrovano e decidono, per la sorpresa di Miki, a sposarsi. Qua hanno tutti il vizio di prendere decisioni affrettate,bah.

Nel frattempo Yu continua a fare congetture sulla possibile identità del suo vero padre... Ma proprio non si aspetta quello che scopre: trova un vecchio album di foto risalente ai tempi dell'università dei suoi genitori. Una delle foto ritrae proprio loro, ma non insieme, bensì con i genitori di Miki. Facendo due conti, Yu capisce chi è il suo vero padre e che quindi Miki è sua sorella.

Forse si vergogna di chiedere spiegazioni, sta di fatto che si allontana sempre di più da lei, finendo per lasciarla malamente.
Il volume si conclude con Yu che parte per l'università di Kyoto e Miki che decide di lasciarsi tutto alle spalle... vedremo come finirà.
Profile Image for Heather.
1,176 reviews67 followers
July 15, 2011
I can't like this one quite as much--Yuu acts like a doof for the sake of furthering the plot. I want to be happy for Meiko, but I really liked Miwa, so... sadness :(
Profile Image for Bibliothecat.
1,751 reviews77 followers
November 7, 2025


Review for complete series



Not only do Miki's parents announce that they are getting a divorce, but also that they will remarry and both new couples are to share a house. Although Miki is dead set against it - her new stepbrother, Yuu, makes her think it might not be so bad after all.

Marmalade Boy is probably the most popular work of Wataru Yoshizumi - and rightly so! It stays true to many of her typical elements while leaving out a lot of things that are weaker in her other works.

The art is adorable - it is much more refined compared to older series. I never liked her style in terms of male characters particularly much, but her girls are all the cuter. I love how her style is so simple and yet charming - I feel as though I can appreciate this style more than I did when I was first introduced to this author.

I love the pacing. It is so rare that a romance manga is neither rushed nor dragged out. And that, in particular, is something I always find to be the case with Yoshizumi's works. There was not a single moment in the series where I felt there was a lack of or too much of anything. This, and the characters, gave the story a very natural flow.

Putting aside the strange starting point of the story where the parents have a partner switch, Marmalade Boy felt unusually realistic for a shoujo manga. The characters' interactions seemed very believable. There were, as typical for Yoshizumi, a lot of rivals for all the romance - but it was always dealt with quite nicely without adding too much drama and characters knowing when it was time to give up.

The romance between the main characters was adorable. The romance developed at a steady pace that kept it interesting enough for the reader and plausible enough for them to eventually get together. The romance between the supporting characters was no different - one could easily relate to why characters liked each other.

Quite untypical for Yoshizumi was the fact that not all characters ended up with partners. Usually, everyone ends up in a pair - but I think the story profits by not following that route. I think that is one of the things that always tend to drag out her stories.

Then, as is usual for Yoshizumi, Miki has a best friend, Meiko. And their friendship is wonderful. They are both very different kinds of characters but always watch out for one another in their own way. I think Miki and Meiko are true friends - Meiko is more than just a supporting character who Miki can confine to. And Meiko has her own life and issues which Miki actively supports her with.

Yuu and Miki are also nice lead characters. Yuu remains a bit of a mystery for about half of the series but he is never too closed up to be your typical untouchable shoujo male lead. Miki is a happy, feminine but strong girl. She speaks her mind, cares for her friends, cries when she is sad but gets up again when she knows she needs to be strong.

Miki and Yuu's story is definitely one of most fun 90's romance that I've read and it is one that is always fun to go through again. It would probably be my first recommendation in regards to Wataru Yoshizumi!
Profile Image for Natali TabaiBooks.
222 reviews4 followers
July 1, 2022
Gente bella, ha regresado nuestro profesor Nachan! Si, ese hombre que salia con su estudiante menor de edad y que todos criticaron, sigo pensando que me gusta esta pareja porque a pesar que odio a Meiko con todo mi ser, ella tambien merece estar junto a la persona que ama. me duele que no sea Miwa porque es un personaje excelente pero la idea de ella de hacerla madura desde un inicio creo que va mas con la imagen de Nachan, asi que esta bien que se casen en cuanto ella se gradue y pueda ir a la universidad alla donde ella quiera.
Por otro lado, un pariente de Yuu, mejor dicho, su tio con sus hijas se va a estar quedando en la casa para todos, porque si. Me causa gracia que Yuu este pensando en todos los hombres cercanos a su madre como su posible padre biologico, ahora resulta que imagina que su tio es su padre y despues lo hace aun peor generando mas confusiones innecesarias. Como que ahora Miki y Yuu son hermanos? que alguien le pare el carro a este pibe, el trauma que me agarre de chica, señora. Y bueno, se va el anteultimo tomo con los protagonistas separados y rotos, uno por descubrir que son hermanos y la otra por no saber nada y no entender qu ebicho le pico a Yuu.
Profile Image for Saya.
571 reviews9 followers
January 8, 2023
Sigo teniendo muchos problemas con la relación alumna-profesor. Por lo demás, es un tomo interesante, ya que muestra el egoísmo de Yuu y la tremenda madurez y resiliencia de Miki. Ella me cae fenomenal, y me gusta mucho cómo, cuando algo le duele, se permite sentir ese dolor, llorarlo hasta no poder más, para luego mirar hacia delante con optimismo, pasando página. En general los personajes masculinos jóvenes de este manga me ponen nerviosa... Y me ha sorprendido emocionarme al ver el sufrimiento de Miki con la ruptura: se merece tanto ser feliz (sea sola o con pareja, me da igual). Solo me queda un tomo y recuerdo cómo termina, pero estoy disfrutando mucho de la experiencia de leerlo en japonés :)
Profile Image for Yukino.
1,123 reviews
March 17, 2022
MARMALADE BOY GOLD vol. 7

Lettura di gruppo E&L

E' sempre difficile parlare di questo volume. Inizia così bene, per poi finire che mi spezza il cuore in mille pezzetti. Non lo reggo. C'è troppo dolore, nonostante gli intermezzi divertenti.
Come è possibile che
Fortuna che a tirare sul il morale ci sono
Ovviemente ho bisogno ADESSO del prossimo volume, perchè così non resisto. Sto fisicamente male.












Profile Image for Priscilla Pereira.
196 reviews1 follower
March 29, 2023
Esse volume tem vários momentos fofos que dão um fechamento ao arco da maioria dos personagens secundários e é o volume em que o conflito do casal principal é mais interessante.
Considerando que esse é o penúltimo volume da série eu acho que a relação dos protagonistas demora muito para se tornar realmente interessante para mim.
Mas é o que eu escrevi nas resenhas dos outros volumes. Marmalade boy é um romance água com açúcar e não exatamente a minha praia, mas certamente é um mangá bom para quem aprecia o gênero.
Profile Image for ♡Kayla♡.
984 reviews78 followers
January 20, 2022
*3.5*

The plot twists were definitely a lot to take in, even though I've seen the live action movie, it was still heartbreaking to see Yuu and Miki go through that. The actual end to the volume is super anticlimactic and upsetting, I can only imagine how frustrated the fans who read this series as it was being published felt, makes me glad that I don't have to wait that long to get to the next one lolol.
Profile Image for Martina Pagani.
196 reviews27 followers
June 3, 2017
Essendo passati molti anni da quando ho visto l'anime, non ricordavo questo piccolo plot twist che un po' spezza il cuore. Non vedo l'ora di leggere l'ultimo volumetto per poter concludere questa bellissima storia d'amore.
Profile Image for Leonor.
367 reviews7 followers
March 15, 2018
Meiko va a ver a Nat-chan a Hiroshima junto a Miki, ya que por más que quiera no lo puede olvidar.

Por otro lado, Yuu sigue haciendo descubrimientos sobre su origen... ¿será cierto que Jin, el padre de Miki, también es el padre de Yuu?
Profile Image for Chiara.L.
206 reviews5 followers
January 29, 2020
Meiko e Nacchan si fidanzano... Yuri e Miki , invece, si lasciano. O meglio, yuri lascia miki il giorno di natale perché si è convinto che sono fratelli.
Yuri, mai sentito parlare di un test del DNA??
Dopodiché decide di lasciare Tokyo e frequentare l'Università di Kyoto.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for d★.
331 reviews17 followers
November 16, 2022
un vol lleno de giros y sorpresa… la verdad nunca vi venir que yuu y miki sean posibles hermanos (pero explicaría el porqué sus padres querían intercambiar esposos)
aunqueeee me gusto el cambio de look de miki chiquita ♡
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Noelle.
476 reviews4 followers
August 25, 2024
Ok it is a little weird now, especially because it’s taboo (maybe it isn’t as much in Japan, I’m not sure). But, it was still good. I love the art, I love the characters, and I appreciate it being so overdramatic.
Profile Image for Shirley.
923 reviews81 followers
July 14, 2019
I just read it without knowing what it is about but it's entertaining, if i read it when i'm in middle school i would definitely love it and get emotional as i read it. I still have fun reading it.
Profile Image for -moonprismpower-.
2,970 reviews15 followers
November 27, 2020
UGH IM SO ANNOYED BY THIS VOLUME.
I swear this better be a misunderstanding. I’m sure it is. That’s the main theme of this story... people don’t communicate and jump to conclusions...

Profile Image for Lore.
226 reviews8 followers
June 8, 2021
Oh NOOOO!
We're almost at the end, and the family drama came back and made everything worse.
Can Miki and Yuu just be happy?!
Profile Image for Samy Sanzana.
198 reviews2 followers
November 27, 2022
Este tomo es un constante "Tiene que ser broma" JAJAJAJAJAJA no puedo más
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews

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