The Strawberry Marshmallow Volume 1

Ichigo Mashimaro #1

by Barasui

Nobue Itou (1 SMA), gayanya cuek..
Chika Itou (6 SD), adik Nobue yang sederhana...
Miu Matsuoka (6 SD), tetangga Nobue & Chika yang jail..
Matsuri Sakuragi (5 SD), anak yang cengeng...

Gaya cuek Nobue dan sikap Chika, Miu serta Matsuri yang lugu, membuat hari-hari mereka penuh dengan kelucuan.

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics, Slice Of Life, Humor, Japanese Literature

170 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Mariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a girl version of Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete and Pete tv show from the '90s. Super funny in a both twisted and sweet way, kinda surreal (alright a lot surreal) and feel good all around. I'd read these stories or watch the anime on days I really, really didn't want to go to work. If that doesn't speak for the amazing powers of feel goodery, I don't know what does.
I want a daughter like Miu someday. I'd not be surprised if Sam from ICarly was based on Miu. Only Miu is gazillions times cooler, and has a vulnerability underneath the desperate aggressiveness. Dang the girl tugs at my heart strings. I love her. I love badly behaved people who throw themselves into everything face first (Miu does this literally). English-turned-Japanese girl Ana is also fantastic. I loved how she pretended to be able to speak English (she forgot how living in Japan most of her young life) and has Japanese Matsuri learn how to speak English so that she can teach it to her. Cute! Ana's neuroticness suited me down to the ground. Matsuri is afraid of her own shadow and Chika is levelheaded straight girl of the group (Carly would be a ripoff of Chika).
Some think that it is creepy that big sis Nobue hangs out with the group of tweens. Not when one of them is as funny as Miu! Okay, she was gay for two of them (not her sis or Miu, thankfully). This is kinda sick under the skin like the older perverts in Fruits Basket lusting after the teenagers. Since I used to think Daniel Radcliffe was a cutie (he's not cute anymore. Went the same way as former cutie Elijah Wood. Sigh), I'm not gonna judge.
Ana's dog is named Frusciante after John Frusciante (I'd say guitarist of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, but I don't give a fig about them. I'm a purely solo work fan). Extra cool points! Was this written for me and not for super cute little girls? I'd say it is written for trouble makers of all ages. (The fishies are named after Aphex Twin which is cool but not as cool as referencing Frusciante.)
Footnote: John Frusciante is beloved in Japan! It was a Japanese audience that scared him away from RHCP (until back for Californication) with their devoted gazes. If I'd been there he'd never have come back to the stage lights...

[Alec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and cute.

But the older sister (16yo) smokes. Even though the younger sister says once or twice to the older one that its bad for you, this might still be a problem if you let kids read it. But other then that its fine. They at least show how the older sister never has any money because of it.

Some of the jokes are occasionally slightly suggestive but never vulgar. Pretty much how real little girls might joke about such things. But if your the type who cant take even the slightest suggestive humor when it comes to children then this might not be for you.

Overall I recommend it for fans of Kawaii (cute) things. Because it is very Kawaii.

This review is for all of SM.

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this series again, it's been years! I have to say the first chapters confused as the art just was changing so much and characters just looked too much alike. I mean, I kept confusing Miu and Chika. Nobue also looked much different from the first 3 pages. Later on things got more stable and I was able to recognise who was who. I still think it is very odd that Nobue is able to get alcohol and cigarettes without trouble, I mean she is 16???? Not 20?
I loved the friendship between the girls, though Miu definitely deserves everything that is coming for her. Haha. And she wasn't that bad in this one at least, I know she does do some worse things and I remember she never was a favourite. Matsuri or Chika are. I love Matsuri's ferret and love that she brings him everywhere, so cute!
I love seeing what the girls (and Nobue) get up to. From baking cookies to playing dead (and convincing Matsuri Miu is dead) to trying to stop smoking (Nobue) to going to the beach.
The art, when it becomes stable, is very sweet and fun and I like the style.

[estrawberry · Rating 2 out of 5]

🤨. First of a- nvm.


Actually.. I was gonna give it a one star but because the house looks cozy and matsuri has cute outfits especially her seasonal outfits and cat beanie, you get an extra star. Wait.. it could just be 1 for those two.. whatever. But…???!?? The fact that most of them are 12 and it feels like the mangaka is doing some typa sneaky “fan service”.. NO! Also when I found out it was some grown man that made this I was more mind boggled. What is that scene where one 12 yr old drugged an 11 year old what in the HARRASSMENT SIS U THOUGHT IT WAS CUTE HA 🫵🏻

[Latifah S Ningrum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aku butuh beberapa hari buat selesain baca komik ini. Tertarik baca karna karakternya pada manis-manis. Pas baca pun agak kaget dengan karakter tokoh Kak Nobue yang agak unik daripada anak lain di usianya.
Tapi persahabatan Chika, Kak Nobue, Miu, & Matsuri rekat banget apalagi Kak Nobue yang bisa ngemong bocah-bocah ini. Si Matsuri ni paling 'normal' daripada yang lain.

[Jasmine - The Librarian's Bookcase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute, slice of life manga. I like the little stories of the girls and their friendship. Art is quite cute too. Nobue is a bit of a bad influence, but some of the interactions with the 3 younger friends are wholesome. I liked it well enough, and I will read another few in the series

[Cori · Rating 2 out of 5]

2018 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge - A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title

[GodzRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rating is more a 3.5 than a 3. It was quite a funny story and I might read on to see what happens but I wouldn't read this again.

[Eira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, it was really cute. Only 4 stars cos it was sometimes hard to tell which character was which.

[Stasia · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at twenty percent.

[Katharina · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is certainly a very easy read, isn't very heavy & has a cute style. though it only scratches on the surface, theres no real explanation on the backstory, and the characters were very hard to distinguish at the beginning (at the end of the first volume theres a notice that the author worked for two years on it, i can't really blame him).
i wouldn't recommend this to kids too, even though the style is very cute, it contains drinking and smoking content, age consent (germany) is 13+ and would rather stick to that age.
overall 3,5 ☆
i don't know yet if i will continue reading this series or rather watch the anime 🍰 is fun to read tho

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is best book that I have read in a while!!! I think that who ever wrote this book was very focus on what they were doing and wanted to get it down to let everyone in the world read it. The characters in this book were very funny. Of course the main characters are strawberry and marshmallow. It is mostly about these girls getting into trouble and having fun at slumber parties.
Well that’s my opinion of the book so please read it even if it looks stupid!

[ashes ➷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Strawberry Marshmallow! I will warn for mild nudity and talk of NSFW subjects, but there's nothing worse. Barasui is a very good artist and I love reading about the girls' antics <3

EDIT: Wow, little me had no idea that this book was catered to lolicon fans... sigh. It's still good in terms of the humor and art; it's just very clear that stuff like the girls showering is clearly done for the benefit of creepy guys.

[Stephanie Toogood · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters were very annoying and the story was unrealistic to me, I don't see how these girls could stay friends. Plus I don't like that they showed a sixteen year old smoking in class without anyone saying a thing.

[Juniar · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first it took time to gather what was going on sometimes. But the kids were cute, drawn in a cute way.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

The charecters are sooooo cute! Don't like the smoking girl though!

[Trip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three cute 11-12-year-old girls, one cute 16-year-old girl, and a severe (but cute!) sanity deficiency.

[Cherrytroi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the best Manga book I ever read. It's rreally cute and funny:)

[Lana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very blah and very disorganized. I was also wondering why the one girl smoked and the other was an alcoholic.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of Azumanga Daioh, except the girls are still in grade school, except for one of them.

[Annabelle Laurance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but abit boring... But defiantly CUTE!! Although I never expected the author to be male.

[Azzahro Wijaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

They're cute and funny!
Their personalities, their clothes....
Cute!

[Emi えみ Takami 鷹見 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is cute, but I was bored out of my mind.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

very funny xD

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

it looks so cute!!

[Vindy Putri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Love it!