From the Gallery

Mother's Day Edition

There's an old phrase that goes something like this: If you're gonna be late, be real late. That's because if you're just a little late, people will be mad at you. But if you're real late, they'll just be glad you made it.

After just over two years, officially, and at least another five in addition to that, the Marmalade Boy anime has finally made it to North American shores. For me personally, it couldn't have come at a better time. Just before Mother's Day.

Let me ask you a quick question. Have you ever convinced a family member to accept your anime hobby because you were able to find them shows they could like?

I first watched Marmalade Boy six years ago in chunks, on the average of at least four or five episodes a sitting. Every so often my mother would come into the family room wondering what I was watching so late at night. Instead of questioning me or making her visits quick, though, she would stick around and try to watch a little bit.

I stress the word “try” though. When I talked about the need for dubs last time, I had my mother very much in mind. As long as I could recall, she's always been wearing glasses and couldn't read all that fast. She certainly couldn't read fast enough to understand subtitles. Her eyes are so bad that you could never take her to a movie theatre because by the time the movie ended, she would be on the verge of throwing up because of headaches.

As time went, and DVDs became popular, I expanded my anime collection. Every so often Mom and my sister would watch some of the shows I bought. They watched shows like Ranma, Rurouni Kenshin, and His and Her Circumstances, all in English, of course. She even snuck into my room to swipe a volume of Kenshin to watch one Saturday morning before breakfast.

She's enjoyed them all. But there's one show that she really wants to see. “I want to see the Marmalade Boy,” she said. I guess that makes sense. Some of my mom's favorite shows are ones like the OC, One Tree Hill, 7th Heaven, Smallville, Gilmore Girls and other edgy dramas about teenage angst. I suppose Marmalade Boy, in many ways, would fit in quite nicely.

I asked her if she wanted the box set for Mother's Day, she just said she'll just borrow mine. She'll be happy with dinner for the occasion, instead. Now, she's never looked down on my hobby, especially since I was so willing to share it with those around me. So I want to give something to her. And, damn, if I am right, the dinner will cost me more than the box set. I guess Mom has it all scouted.

I guess if there's something I discovered from this experience, it's that if you're going to get members of your family into anime, it's good to expose them to shows that are somewhat related to things they already watch. When I eventually get Marmalade Boy later this month (the official release date here in Canada isn't until mid-May), I'll finally have the one title that my mother wanted. Let me check my list, here. I have my both my sisters, a few of my aunts (Hello Kitty always knocks them dead), and most of my cousins. I think the only person left for me to convince is my father. I wonder what I should show him to get him interested... I'll let you know in a month. If anime has something for everyone, surely finding something that one person would like shouldn't be all that hard of a task. While that may be true, it's also true that fathers can be stubborn.

With all of this Marmalade Boy hoopla in mind, I think this might be considered one of those “full circle” moments for anime in North America. After all, this is one of the shows that helped build fandom here all those years ago. To finally see it get its domestic release certainly means something. So I would like to give some final props to the woman who first introduced Marmalade Boy to North America, a mother in her own right. KD, I tip my hat to you one more time, your contributions to anime in North America haven't been forgotten.

Have something nice to say about your Mother? okina_chair@hotmail.com . I'd like to hear your stories.