Christmas with the Ichigo Mashimaro girls

[kamino_neko]

I wanted to do a couple posts for Christmas, like the Chocosis series I did a couple years back. Not quite so themed, this year, though, just a couple random Christmas-set stories from manga I like. First, from Ichigo Mashimaro/Strawberry Marshmallow. (See my earlier posts for more of it.)

OK, the basics, for those what aren't familiar - Ichigo Mashimaro is a slice of life manga following a small group of girls - 12 year old Chika Itou (single pigtail), her 16 year old sister, Nobue (obviously the oldest), their neighbour and Chika's classmate, Miu Matsuoki (twin-tails), and two other friends of theirs, 11 year old Matsuri Sakuragi (glasses) and Matsuri's classmate Ana Coppola (blonde). Chika is the straight man, Nobue a hard drinking chain-smoker with a weakness for cute girls (like the other 4), Miu's an insane brat, Ana's an English-born girl...who can't speak a word of English, and Matsuri's shy, clumsy, immature, and cute as a damn bug. (... Who came up with that saying anyway. Bugs ain't cute!)

*hem* OK, anyway, we open with them gathered in the Ito house, as usual, just hanging out (after being out playing in the snow for a while).
(This first section should be read with the right panels first, then the left...it's a bit more obvious in the full page.)

(Christmas Eve is commonly a 'couples' thing for teens and young adults in Japan, thus Chika's snark.)
The conversation turns to the gifts all the girls are expecting to get...


(See? Brat.)

Anyway, to keep Miu's brattiness from harming Matsuri's 'innocence', they decide to play Santa for her. To which end, the next day they dress up - Miu as Santa (because there's no way that could go badly), the rest as reindeer. Miu just happened to have the costumes (in their sizes) hanging around.

As they make their way to Matsuri's house, the encounter one of the aforementioned young couples out on their Christmas date. Let's see how that goes...

(... Yeah, Chika's used to this by now.)

So, anyway, they get to Matsuri's house, and sneak in through her window.


(Jeez, Nobue...)
Miu after trying to make Santa into a sentai character, leaps out the window. Not followed by the others. They keep up the Santa charade (aided by Matsuri's ridiculously bad vision), then exit in an orderly fashion.

So, the next day, they're comparing gifts...

(Wow, Nobue's actually being nice to Miu, not snarky at all.)

(If it were just the elder two, I'd suspect they bought it specifically to pull this...but Ana and Matsuri...nah, they'd not.)

Tomorrow...Koi Neko.

5 pages from 15.

Comments

[mullon]

...Yes.

[kamino_neko]

>_> Fair enough.