The plot of Strawberry Panic is about the lives of adolescent girls who each attend one of three affiliated all-girl schools which share a campus and dormitories, which include: St. Miator's Girl's Academy, St. Spica's Girl's Institute and St. Lulim's Girl's School. Students who reside on campus live in dormitories that are referred to as the Strawberry Dorms, though the proper name is Astrea Dormitory, named after Astrea Hill where the institutions are located.
The main heroine of the story is Nagisa Aoi, a young girl entering her fourth year at St. Miator after being transferred from a different school. Upon first entering the campus grounds she is overcome with joy by the overall appearance of the surrounding area, but her joy is soon turned to sorrow as she accidentally stumbles down a hill, causing her to be lost and disoriented. While walking around the grounds trying to figure out where she is, she comes across a student by the name of Shizuma Hanazono, who happens to be Astrea Hill's Etoile, a very important person who acts as a representative among the different schools and has specific duties that she must fulfill.Nagisa is instantly overcome by Shizuma's beauty and finds that she cannot move. After Shizuma kisses her on the forehead, Nagisa loses consciousness and awakens in the school's infirmary. Next to her bed is a different girl the same age as Nagisa named Tamao Suzumi who informs her that they are to be roommates in the dormitory.
In the story that follows, Nagisa is introduced to other students from each of the three schools, those of which include students she admires, is intimidated by, or are merely friends that she meets while attending St. Miator. The series encompasses the relationships the characters build with each other, climaxing whenever two of the characters start dating.
The central theme in Strawberry Panic! is the lesbianism related to the relationships between the girls from the three schools. Depending on the media type, the way the relationships between the girls is presented varies, such as there being more explicit fan service, or appealing visuals including the girls in provocative situations, in the anime adaptation than in the manga or light novels. Such fan service includes graphical representations or the lesbian acts, such as light nudity and hard groping. There is a wide range of intimate relationships presented in the series and depending on the media type, a given character may not be shown to be in a direct relationship; such examples in the anime include Chikaru Minamoto and Shion Tōmori. These relationships range from simple conversations and meetings, escalating to minor make out sessions and having sexual intercourse in the extreme cases.
Another theme that appears throughout the story is a focus on astronomical stars. The main plot device is the Etoile election; Etoile is a French word meaning star. The three schools are atop Astrea Hill; Astrea means star-maiden in Greek and is a figure in Greek mythology who later became the constellation Virgo. Spica is actually a star in the same constellation and each of the school emblems have stars in them. Catholic religion undertones are present in the series, including a St. Mary statue on campus and a large Catholic church in the center of Astrea Hill.
Manga
The Strawberry Panic! manga, written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Namuchi Takumi, was first produced in Dengeki G's Magazine on September 30, 2005; a new chapter is released once a month. As of March 2007, two bound volumes have been released. The first went on sale on March 27, 2006 featuring Nagisa and Shizuma on the cover, and the second volume came out on October 27, 2006 featuring Nagisa and Tamao on the cover. A third volume is set to be released, though a date has not yet been specified. Major differences between the anime and manga centers around the plot and character interaction. Characters have vastly different character designs, such as Shion Tōmori and Kaname Kenjō. The manga introduces the Etoile election early on while the anime waits until the latter part of the series for dramatic effect.
St. Miator's Girls' Academy
Nagisa Aoi is the main character of the story and the main love interest for the other three main characters attending Miator who each have crushes on her.She is a cheerful girl who finds enjoyment in making new friends which she can easily do due to her free personality and sociable attitude in life. The first person she meets at Miator is Shizuma Hanazono, a mysterious upperclassman who is the current Etoile. Nagisa at first finds that she is strangly affected when in the presence of Shizuma. The next girl she meets is Tamao Suzumi, who becomes Nagisa's close friend and roommate. Tamao is well-regarded among her fellow Miator students; among the first-years, she is seen as a viable Etoile candidate. The last main character from Miator is Chiyo Tsukidate, a timid first year student who is employed as the room temp for Nagisa and Tamao.
St. Spica's Girls' Institute
Hikari Konohana, a shy and quiet girl, is the main focus among the main characters who attend Spica, much like Nagisa at Miator; she too has three girls wanting to get close with her. The first of these girls is Yaya Nanto, a rebellious girl whom is Hikari's best friend and roommate in the dormitory. Both she and Hikari are members of the St. Spica Choir, though Hikari is the more skilled and diligent of the two.Hikari meets an older girl named Amane Ohtori early on in the story whom is seen much like a prince from a fairy tale due to often riding a horse named Star Bright. Amane is admired by much of the students from Spica as well as students from the other two schools, though she does not enjoy so much attention.The final girl from Spica is Tsubomi Okuwaka, a young first year student who acts mature for her age and gets on Yaya's nerves. She too is in the St. Spica Choir though her main reason for joining was for Hikari.
St. Lulim's Girls' School
Out of the three schools, St. Lulim has the least emphasis on romance between characters, though the Lulim characters are typically found together. The leader of their friendly group is Chikaru Minamoto, the student council president of Lulim, and a born leader. She has a friendly and supportive personality which she often uses to offer advice or simply a shoulder to cry on. The other three girls include Kizuna Hyūga, a very outgoing and hyper girl who enjoys following Chikaru's decisions, finding fun in doing so. She is very expressive in her actions and words, not wasting a chance to introduce herself to a new person. Her close friend is Remon Natsume, whom is much like Kizuna in personality, but is not as accident-prone as her. When it comes to the two of them, Kizuna is more talkative; Remon often agrees with her companion and will offer up an opinion when need be. Lastly, there is Kagome Byakudan, the youngest of the group whom is typically accompanied by her stuffed bear, Percival (パーシバル, Pāshibaru?) which she often talks to as if it were alive. While she does not talk or express her own emotions much, she has a heightened perception of others' emotions and can tell when those around her are deeply distraught or in emotional pain.
Astrea Hill
The setting of Strawberry Panic! is Astrea Hill (アストラエアの丘, Asutoraea no Oka?), a very large hilltop where the three affiliated schools of Miator, Spica and Lulim, are located. The hill is known as a sacred area where no men are allowed to enter.[ The students residing on campus stay in a dormitory often referred to as the Strawberry Dorms. A prominent feature on Astrea Hill is a very large Catholic church in the center of the hill near a small lake; the church can be seen from a vast distance away.
Other places that are frequented by the characters include the library on the lake's shore, and the horse ranch which is located at Spica. Astrea Hill was originally designed having the three schools in a triangle formation with the Strawberry Dorms in the center. The church was placed nearest to Miator's dormitory.
St. Miator's Girls' Academy
St. Miator's Girls' Academy (聖ミアトル女学園, Sei Miatoru Jogakuen?) is the oldest of the three schools and holds the longest legacy; St. Miator's school is known for holding old traditions. It was founded on a monastery and is seen as the school for "brides", reinforced by the existence of extracurricular classes including tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and Japanese dancing. It is not unusual for students to be engaged before graduation. School rules include number seven, do not show your teeth when laughing at a public place, and number nine, bowing should be done at a thirty degree bend from the waist.The school has long black dresses for its uniforms, created in the Gothic Lolita fashion. In the spring, the uniforms are mostly green and have short sleeves. These uniforms appear to be traditional in nature, continuing the theme of Miator's long standing history at Astrea Hill. At Miator, the class names are associated with objects from nature, such as moon (月, tsuki?), flower (花, hana?) and snow (雪, yuki?).
In the Strawberry Dorms, there is a concept called the room temp system that only occurs for students from Miator. Every underclassman entering these dorms, if they are chosen to serve the upperclassman as room temps, will be given an important chance to show their affection to them. Room temps perform maid duties, which includes cleaning the room of the students they were assigned to serve. They must bring suggestions to their upperclassmen first before making decisions on their own regarding the decoration of the upperclassman's room. When the story begins, the current Etoile, Shizuma, is attending Miator, which gives the school a lot of power.
St. Spica's Girls' Institute
St. Spica's Girls' Institute (聖スピカ女学院, Sei Supika Jogakuin?) is the school that has the white colored buildings and uniforms, which makes the students of St. Spica look professional; it was built after Miator. The school prizes itself in advancing the independence of women who play a role in improving society.They are well known for their culture and how accomplished their sports program is compared to the other two schools. Spica has what is known as the St. Spica Choir, or the "Saintly Chorus", which consists of students from Spica that perform at special events and even concerts for students at Astrea Hill. At Spica, the class names are numbers in French, such as un (one), deux (two), and trois (three).
School rules include number thirteen, relations outside of campus must first have the approval of the school and guardians, and number twenty-six, underwear and gloves must be white; other colors are prohibited. In the spring their uniforms carry blue trim and have shorter sleeves, though otherwise it is almost the same as the autumn uniforms. Spica and Miator both oppose each other quite strongly, which often ends in them having disputes when students from these two schools get together.
St. Lulim's Girls' School
St. Lulim's Girls' School (聖ル・リム女学校, Sei Ru Rimu Jogakkō?) is the newest of the three schools which has pink colored buildings and uniforms. Their uniform is modeled after a traditional Japanese school uniform style which in effect makes them look immature compared to the other schools' students. In the spring their uniforms do not change very much other than having shorter sleeves for the shirt and a necktie. At Lulim, the class names are the letters from the Latin alphabet: A, B, C, etc. Lulim was originally named Le Lim.
Students at St. Lulim's have a tradition to be free and laid back, and are rarely seen fighting. The students at the school enjoy a lot of freedom in terms of activities, like the clubs they are allowed to form. In effect, there are a wide range of clubs at St. Lulim's ranging from dancing, to cooking, to anything else a group of at least three people can think up. School rules include number five, always wear the uniform of the school properly when going out, and number eight, a senior must always protect a lower grade student, teaching and leading her.
Etoile system
Etoile (エトワール, Etowāru?) is a French word meaning star. The Etoile system of Astrea Hill is employed as the internal politics between the schools and governs school operations. The system is designed for two Etoiles to be instated at the same time in order to work as a team. In the anime, Shizuma Hanazono is the sole Etoile, which is explained in the latter part of the story. The two Etoiles are seen as figureheads for Astrea Hill. While Astrea has three schools, both Etoiles must come from the same school. The Etoiles have certain specific duties, such as greeting new students coming to Astrea Hill, participating in important school events, and serving as mediator between disputes in student council meetings of the three schools, among other duties. They are given a private greenhouse to grow flowers in for use during school events.
The Etoiles are elected after going through what is known as The Etoile Election (エトワール選, Etowāru-sen?), which consists of three specific competitions for the participants to take. The higher scoring pairs from the first two competitions carry on to the third competition and the pair that wins the third competition becomes the Etoile Couple. For instance, in the manga, the first part of the election is called the "Cadette Selection" and is referred to in French as La Brillante Ouverture meaning The Brilliant Opening.During this event, the younger of the two in each pair have to answer general questions about Astrea to make sure that they have at least a minimal level of knowledge about the schools. In the anime, the election began with the previous Etoile handing a bouquet of flowers to each of the candidates that have been there the longest at Astrea and saying "Good luck".A ballroom dance is an important aspect later in the election. The dance serves as an expression of gracefulness between the candidates, proving they are able to interact and work well together.
Once the winners have been named, a special ceremony marks the end of the election. During this time, the student council president from the school that won the election presents two necklaces for the winners to wear during their tenure as Etoiles. They are both identical except for colors of the pendants: one is red, the other blue. The older student receives the blue pendant while the younger of the two receives the red pendant.
Strawberry Dorms
Students living on campus reside in a dormitory referred to as the Strawberry Dorms (いちご舎, Ichigo Sha?, lit. Strawberry House). The building is a triangular shape for the purpose of separating students from the three schools so that each section is roughly the same size. It was built about 100 years before the beginning of the story, around the same time that Miator was established. Though originally planned for students whose homes are far away, it has come to house the children of distinguished families who are able to experience group life in its embraces. At first, the dormitory was not a single building but three separate dormitories arranged in a triangle formation around a central courtyard.
Upon entering housing, each student is assigned a roommate in their year until graduation. This helps the students form special relationships with their roommate which can evolve into intimate relationships. When there are not enough students entering in a given year for everyone to have a roommate, a student in such a situation must live alone until a student transfers into their respective school. Transfers must be in the same year as their roommate. The building name is based on the resemblance from an above cross-section of a strawberry. One of the dormitory's rules is number twenty-one, lights out by 10 p.m., and further activities are forbidden.
Traditionally, students in the Dorms can take an optional three days and two nights of "summer school"; this is misleading since academics are not involved. The students take a trip to a local beach and have fun with their friends, making it an opportunity to strengthen friendships while outside the campus. It is said that an interesting event occurs every year which excites the students about the prospect of going.
Astrea Library
The students may go and study for their classes at a library on Astrea Hill. Students in the Library Club volunteer librarian services at the library. Their tasks generally consist of lending out library items such as books, umbrellas, and other items to students and keeping the library organized. Chiyo Tsukidate and Mizuho Kanō, one of Shizuma's good friends, are two of the librarians.
The library has an additional purpose besides reading and studying. Though only implied in the anime, the manga explains that the library building has another name - "The Secret Garden". It is a well-known place on campus to have a secret lovers' rendezvous, or meeting.
Anime
The anime series of Strawberry Panic!, which started airing in Japan on April 3, 2006, and concluded September 25, 2006, has a central yuri theme. The anime series contains twenty-six episodes, most of which are based on the short stories and manga that preceded it. The anime focuses mainly on Nagisa Aoi and Hikari Konohana and the three love interests they each have that are vying for their affections. Fan service, or giving appealing visuals of the girls nude or in provocative situations, is seen in the anime, but only for brief intervals.
The anime has been released in Japan periodically; the first boxset, "Strawberry Panic DVD Box I" (in regular and special editions), was released on June 23, 2006. The boxset contained the first and second episodes of the series, "Cherry Blossom Hill" and "Etoile". The second boxset, titled "Strawberry Panic DVD Box II" (in regular and special editions), was released on July 25, 2006, featuring the third episode "Attic", the fourth episode, "You on the White Horse", and the fifth episode, "Younger Sisters". The regular and special editions of the boxset are similar in content, but the special editions are packaged in jacket sleeve, and contain an original booklet which includes other merchandise, such as portable plates and straps. The special edition includes different versions of the opening and closing themes, and deleted scenes.
Media Blasters announced on July 2, 2007 that they had licensed the right to release the English version of the Strawberry Panic! anime series.
