is a Japanese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series written and illustrated by Minari Endō, the author of Dazzle

Dazzle (manga)

is a Japanese manga by Minari Endoh. There have been eleven volumes published in Japan as of December 25, 2007. The series was being published in English in North America by Tokyopop, however, when Tokyopop closed, 10 out of the current 12 volumes were published in English. The license has not been...

. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive

Monthly Comic Alive

is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Media Factory. The first issue was released on June 27, 2006.-Serialized titles:*Asobi ni Ikuyo!*Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai*Bone Crusher*Chaos;Head -Blue Complex-*D-Frag...

on June 27, 2006, and is published by Media Factory

Media Factory

is a Japanese publisher. It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd...

. The manga was licensed by Tokyopop

Tokyopop

Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

 with the first volume in English being released in September 2009. The first anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 adaptation animated by Shaft

Shaft (company)

is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 1, 1975 by Hiroshi Wakao. They are best known for their unique use of gags and references notably in Pani Poni Dash!, Maria Holic, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei, Hidamari Sketch, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Bakemonogatari series.- History :Shaft was...

 aired in Japan between January and March 2009. A second anime season, Maria†Holic: Alive, premiered on April 8, 2011. Both seasons of the anime series have been licensed by Sentai Filmworks, and the first season is being distributed by Section23 Films

Section23 Films

Section23 Films is an American home video distribution company specializing in anime and Japanese films. The company is one of five successors to ADV Films, as well as the distributor of titles from Sentai Filmworks and Switchblade Films. ADV had announced that it had sold its assets to a group of...

.

Plot

Maria Holic revolves around a lesbian high school girl, Kanako Miyamae, who is scared of boys

Androphobia

Androphobia is an abnormal fear of men. The word is derived from the Greek άνδρας and φόβος .:)Androphobia may be related to traumatic events in the sufferer's past...

 and breaks out in hives

Urticaria

Urticaria is a kind of skin rash notable for pale red, raised, itchy bumps. Hives is frequently caused by allergic reactions; however, there are many non-allergic causes...

 if a boy touches her. During her second year of high school, she enrolls in an all-girls school

Single-sex education

Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and...

 hoping to find a female romantic partner. However, her ideal candidate, Mariya Shidō, turns out to be a sadistic cross-dressing boy.

Characters

Kanako is the protagonist of the story. She is a second year high school transfer student to Ame no Kisaki, a Catholic based all girls academy. Kanako has an inherent fear of men which began in elementary school when a piece of her recorder and P.E. uniform were stolen. When coming into physical contact with any man, she instantaneously breaks out in hives. This has significantly contributed to her fear of boys. Kanako is almost solely interested in girls in regards to her ideal romantic relationships. She instantly and constantly suffers from nosebleeds—a visible indication of sexual perverseness frequently used in anime and manga. Her reason for transferring to Ame no Kisaki is to look for her one true love. Kanako begins her reflections on her situation with the phrase "Dear mother in heaven." Kanako is also quite tall (standing at 175 cm or 5'9"), making her height (and her weight) emotional weak spots. She also takes constant verbal abuse from Mariya and his maid, Matsurika. She is often called a 'pervert', or 'lesbian', or other nicknames they happen to give her.

Mariya is a cross-dressing boy who attends Ame no Kisaki as a girl as a means to win the chairmanship of both the all-male and all-female schools where his late grandmother served as the ex-chairman for both. He deeply respects and loves his grandmother and does not care about actually winning chairmanship. He simply wishes to honor his grandmother's request. He appears to genuinely care about others though this facade is often hidden through some excuse he has crafted for himself. When Kanako first meets Mariya, she is instantly attracted to his playful femininity and kind attitude. He often teases Kanako by playing with his long blonde hair, speaking in a soft voice, and smiling sweetly. However, Mariya turns out to be quite sadistic in nature and generally adjusts his personality to reflect whatever situation he is in. Mariya's beauty and feminine gestures are so convincing that the entire school, including the faculty, have no idea of his true gender. Mariya is quite short, reaching at most up to the height at the tip of Kanako's nose (160 cm or 5'3"), and shorter than Matsurika. Because of the switching with his sister his original name was Shizu instead.

Matsurika is Mariya's maid. She is generally silent but is usually quite rude when she chooses to speak. She delivers the vast majority of her lines with almost no facial expressions. The majority of her insults are directed at Kanako and Mariya. She refers to Kanako by such names as "Ms. Pig," "Eiffel Tower" and "Tokyo Tower" due to Kanako's tall stature. When speaking to Mariya, Matsurika often delivers sharp remarks in regards to his cross-dressing tendencies or sexual perversions. Matsurika also attends classes with Mariya. She also stays hidden from the rest of the students, and follows Mariya's orders when told.

Kiri is an aloof and bespectacled student at Ame no Kisaki. Although she appears quite cold and dispassionate on the surface, she is actually a very caring and helpful personality. At the bequest of the teacher, she helps Kanako to overcome her initial troubles at the school, to the extent that she is willing to put her own reputation at stake by pretending to be Kanako's lover; so as to avoid trouble from Ryūken's fans. She eventually becomes very close friends with Sachi.

A bright and cheerful girl, Sachi quickly becomes friends with the newcomer, Kanako. She has orange hair, commonly tied in pigtails. She is good friends with Yuzuru. She seems to have access to hammer space, as she pulls numerous things out from her pockets, even things that would not fit.

Yuzuru is a demure and friendly girl who has long been friends with Sachi. She is fairly shy and has some self-esteem issues. Kanako sees Inamori as a more elegant girl and is intrigued by her surprisingly large breasts. She is the best archer in the school's archery club, of which Mariya is also a member.

Ryūken is the star of Ame no Kisaki, due to her tall stature, good looks, kindness, and generally tomboyish nature. She is a member of the Drama Club, and has played several male roles. She has a great number of fans and her own fan club. Mariya himself is actually quite jealous of her popularity. She was supposed to be Kanako's roommate at the dormitories only to be run out the first night by Mariya so that Mariya could keep a close eye on Kanako. Ryūken's fans cause mischief for Kanako because they are jealous of her friendship with Ryūken.

An unusual young girl with cat ears who looks after Dorm No. 2 which Kanako is assigned to. She is addressed as "Miss Dorm Leader" by all the students. When Kanako met her, and tried to make small talk and ask casual questions Dorm Leader looped back to the first question to say that she might also be addressed as 'Boss' or 'God'. Kanako took this as a hint to ask no more questions. The students do not dare disobey her for fear of vague, yet frightening threats. She has a pet dog, Yonakuni, who helps her take care of the place. Her rule of the dorm extends to manhandling Father Kanae after repeatedly demanding bribes so that he can see Kanako. She has an idiosyncratic

Idiosyncrasy

An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person . The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be .-Etymology:...

 speech pattern which makes her speak in a rather languid fashion and insert wherever grammatically possible the phrase 'desu yo'. Whenever seen in the anime alone with Yonakuni, the Dorm Leader can be seen regularly singing disturbing songs about the act of devouring meat, or other strange subjects.

Shiki runs the school's student council. She is Mariya's and Shizu's cousin, and has a standing rivalry with Mariya. She calls him 'Flat Chest', as he calls her 'Fat Ass'. Apparently, the cause of the animosity between Mariya and Ayari happened because of a childhood incident where she had her dress ripped open supposedly by Mariya (and her underwear exposed). Because of that incident, she got called "Panda-Chang" after the mascot character printed on her underwear and all sorts of nicknames related to pandas. She blames Mariya for this incident and therefore holds a grudge on him for that. Ayari and Mariya look much alike and are about the same height.

The vice president of Ame no Hisaki's student council. Father Kanae Tōichirō happens to have a crush on her.

Shizu is Mariya's twin sister. She attends an all boys school which was also run by the ex-chairman. She has a similar hatred/fear of males, and had similar experiences as Kanako, who she affectionately calls 'Kana-chan'. Unlike Mariya, she appears to actually be the kind, innocent girl that Mariya attempts to portray. She is also quick to get her feelings hurt, as well. The agreement for the competition was the loser would be chosen if someone found out from either school; Kanako, thinking Shizu was Mariya, mentioned Mariya's touching her, which revealed to Shizu that Kanako knew Mariya's gender, thus defining Mariya as the loser. Shizu had only went into the school to switch with Mariya for their schools' physical examinations. However, because Kanako found out Mariya's secret before she began attending the school, it was null, and because Kanako knew Shizu's true gender, ordinarily, Mariya would've been claimed victor. But out of generosity, Mariya chose to overlook it in favor of his twin sister. The only way to distinguish between Shizu and Mariya is by the mole under their eyes; Mariya's is under his left eye, while Shizu's is under her right eye. Because of the switching with his brother her original name was Mariya instead. She is 160.3 cm (equal to 5'3") tall, which makes her marginally taller than Mariya, and happens to be a sore point for him. The two siblings regularly compete, not just in height and weight, but in studies as well.

Tōichirō Kanae is the priest of the school Ame no Kisaki. He is the teacher for Modern Japanese and is very popular among the students because of his good looks. He gets a crush on every beautiful girl he sees and is currently "in love" with Mariya, Matsurika, Maki, and Ayari. He seems to be concerned about Kanako because of her strange behavior in his eyes. She is also the only one who failed in the Modern Japanese exams. Because of Mariya making up a story about how Kanako's elder brother died and that he resembles her brother, he desperately wants to help her. He is similar to Kanako because he begins his sentences sometimes with "Skipped, Dear mama in heaven..." and is also prone to having long internal monologues (and generally looking too deeply into the most trivial of matters) and occasionally, fantasies. He also thinks much about what a person could mean when he or she is saying something. The similarity between Kanako and him is also that they both like beautiful girls. He is half-French.

Honoka is a fan of Ryūken Ishima. She is a second-year high school student at Ame no Kisaki. She hates Kanako because she was Ishima's roommate. Honoka and her friends (who are Ishima's fans too) had terrorized roommates of Ryūken earlier, which is why nobody wanted to live with her. Honoka has envied Kanako and terrorized her too, such as placing seafood in Kanako's desk or in her pencil case.

Homeroom teacher for Kanako, Nanami, Sachi and Yuzuru. She is a graduate of Ame no Kisaki, remembers Professor Miyamae, Kanako's mother and had met Kanako herself, when she was very young. She tells Kanako that everyone calls her "Miss Teddybear".

Rindō is Matsurika Shinōji's twin brother. However, Rindō and Matsurika have almost no similarities in looks and/or personalities. One of the only things similar is their eye color and how cruel they can be. Rindō is Shizu Shidō's butler and is in a similar situation as Matsurika is in. He is one of the few people in the series who know of Shizu and Mariya Shidō's true genders and identities. He loves to set up traps around the Shidō residence, trying to ensnare Mariya since they were children.

Manga

The manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series was first created by Minari Endō and started serialization in the seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive

Monthly Comic Alive

is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Media Factory. The first issue was released on June 27, 2006.-Serialized titles:*Asobi ni Ikuyo!*Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai*Bone Crusher*Chaos;Head -Blue Complex-*D-Frag...

on June 27, 2006 by Media Factory

Media Factory

is a Japanese publisher. It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd...

. As of March 2011, eight bound volumes

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

 have been released in Japan. The manga was licensed by Tokyopop

Tokyopop

Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

, and the first volume was available in September 2009.

Chapters

Drama CDs

A drama CD

Radio drama in Japan

Radio drama in Japan has a history as long as that of radio broadcasting in that country, which began in 1925. Some consider the first Japanese radio drama to have been "" which was a radio broadcast of a stage play. Others consider the Japanese translation of Richard Hughes's "Danger" or to be...

 was released on July 25, 2008 and was produced by Frontier Works

Frontier Works

is a Japanese company specializing in the creation and distribution of media related to anime, such as producing OVAs, radio dramas, drama CDs, anime soundtracks, or other related products...

. A drama CD was also bundled with the limited edition of volume five of the manga.

Anime

An anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 adaption directed by Akiyuki Shinbo

Akiyuki Shinbo

, born September 27, 1961 in Fukushima, Japan, is a Japanese animation director. Shinbo started his career as an animator in 1981 at Studio One Pattern. He then made his directorial debut with Metal Fighter Miku in 1994. He is most notable for his involvement in a number of Shaft works since 2004...

 and produced by Shaft

Shaft (company)

is a Japanese animation studio founded on September 1, 1975 by Hiroshi Wakao. They are best known for their unique use of gags and references notably in Pani Poni Dash!, Maria Holic, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei, Hidamari Sketch, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Bakemonogatari series.- History :Shaft was...

 aired in Japan between January 5 and March 23, 2009 on Chiba TV

Chiba TV

, doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neibouring prefectures. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Independent...

, containing twelve episodes. The first episode of the anime was aired as a special broadcast on Animate TV

Animate

is the retailing arm of MOVIC and is the largest retailer of anime, games, and manga in Japan. The first and headquarters store of Animate opened in 1983 and is located in Ikebukuro, a district in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, there are 38 Animate stores in Japan, and two in Taipei, Taiwan...

 from December 26, 2008 to January 4, 2009 and on AT-X

AT-X (company)

is a Japanese anime television network owned by . AT-X, Inc. was founded on June 26, 2000 as a subsidiary of TV Tokyo Medianet, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of TV Tokyo. Its headquarters are in Minato, Tokyo. AT-X network broadcasts anime via satellite and cable since December 24, 1997.AT-X is...

 on December 30, 2008. Two pieces of theme music

Theme music

Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...

 were used for the anime; one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is "Hanaji" by Yū Kobayashi

Yu Kobayashi

is a female voice actress from Tokyo, Japan and is affiliated with HolyPeak. She also occasionally works as a key animator.-Anime:*12Riven - Yuyu Hoshino*Air Gear: Kuro no Hane to Nemuri no Mori - Emily Adachi*Amatsuki - Benitobi...

, and the ending theme is a cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of Yellow Magic Orchestra

Yellow Magic Orchestra

Sakamoto first worked with Hosono as a member of his live band in 1976, while Takahashi recruited Sakamoto to produce his debut solo recording in 1977 following the split of the Sadistic Mika Band...

's 1983 single performed by Asami Sanada

Asami Sanada

is a Japanese voice actress, best known as the voices of Vita in the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series, Jun Sakurada in Rozen Maiden, and her debut role as Dejiko in Di Gi Charat.-Notable voice roles:Lead roles are in bold....

, Marina Inoue

Marina Inoue

is a voice actress and singer. She is signed onto Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex division. As for voice acting career, she's employed by Sigma Seven...

, and Yū Kobayashi

Yu Kobayashi

is a female voice actress from Tokyo, Japan and is affiliated with HolyPeak. She also occasionally works as a key animator.-Anime:*12Riven - Yuyu Hoshino*Air Gear: Kuro no Hane to Nemuri no Mori - Emily Adachi*Amatsuki - Benitobi...

, the voice actresses

Seiyu

Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...

 of the main characters. The anime series has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks and is being distributed by Section23 Films

Section23 Films

Section23 Films is an American home video distribution company specializing in anime and Japanese films. The company is one of five successors to ADV Films, as well as the distributor of titles from Sentai Filmworks and Switchblade Films. ADV had announced that it had sold its assets to a group of...

. The complete collection was released on DVD, February 23, 2010. A second anime season titled Maria Holic: Alive began airing on April 8, 2011. The first BD/DVD volume for Maria Holic: Alive, which will contain unaired bonus footage, is scheduled to be released on July 27, 2011. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the second season and will simulcast the series on the Anime Network

Anime Network

The Anime Network , a former subsidiary of A.D. Vision, Inc. , is a cable and satellite digital broadcast service in North America dedicated to anime.-History:...

 video website. The anime opening themes for Maria Holic: Alive are by Tomokazu Sugita (episodes 1 through 4) and by Yū Kobayashi, and the ending theme is a cover version of Linda Yamamoto

Linda Yamamoto

is a Japanese singer and actress whose greatest hit song was in 1973.-Biography :Yamamoto was born March 4, 1951 in Kitakyushu to a Japanese mother and an American father. Her father was a U.S. serviceman who died in the Korean War when she was only two years old. Yamamoto moved to Yokohama as a...

's song by Ame no Kisaki Gasshōdan. There is also a special ending song for episode 12, sung by Yū Kobayashi, titled and was released on the same single as the other theme songs of the anime.