YMMV / Maria Watches Over Us

• Common Knowledge:
  • Despite the heavy Homoerotic Subtext and being a codifier for many tropes common to the Yuri Genre, the series isn't officially a yuri work. It's Class S.
  • The series having a Cast Full of Gay, to the point where even Sachiko's arranged husband is gay. In actuality, Eriko has shown interest in men and Sachiko was in love with her fiance in the past, which puts them both in the Ambiguously Bi range.
  • Yuuki and Yumi are not Half Identical Twins. They were born months apart in the same year.
• Fandom-Specific Plot: After the series ends, Sachiko and Yumi have a Relationship Upgrade and call off Sachiko's marriage.
• Fanon:
  • Everyone is gay, no ifs, ands, or buts. Fans write all the main characters as queer.
  • Fans make Suguru and Yuuki's relationship into a male version of Sachiko and Yumi's.
  • Yumi and Yuki are frequently mistaken for Half-Identical Twins. They were born in the same year but months apart.
• LGBT Fanbase: The series has a dedicated fanbase amongst queer women, especially amongst English speakers.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • This series is responsible for the word "Gokigenyo" being known among anime fans.
  • Thanks to this work and Strawberry Panic!, "onee-sama" has a very heavy Homoerotic Subtext.
  • The first scene, in which Sachiko fixes Yumi's scarf, is often referenced and parodied, especially when hinting at romantic involvement between girls.
• Narm: In one episode, Yumi and Sachiko run at each other to hug in a emotional moment... while Yumi is wearing a panda suit.
• Never Live It Down: Fans tend to be exasperated by Yoshino's numerous bitchy outbursts toward Rei. Sure, they usually make up sweetly, but fans feel that meek and mild Rei really doesn't deserve all the bile Yoshino piles upon her.
• Once Original, Now Common: Because of its heavy influence on the Yuri Genre, the series has been copied and parodied mercilessly by other works, to the point where viewers suspect it to be a parody itself.
• Periphery Demographic: The series is nominally shoujo, as the light novels are aimed at girls and the manga adaptation ran in the shoujo magazine Margaret, but there are enough adult male Yuri Fans who love the series that the first season of the anime adaptation was test run at Otaku O'Clock.
• Reality Is Unrealistic: Yumi and Yuuki are separate births but were born in the same year. This is possible if one sibling is born in spring and the parents get pregnant again right afterwards.
• Ship Mates: Yumi/Sachiko, Youko/Sei, Shimako/Noriko, and Rei/Yoshino are the defaults in fanfiction. Suguru/Yuuki is often added in as well.
• Ship-to-Ship Combat:
  • Who Yumi is best with: Sachiko, Sei, or Touko?
  • Shimako/Sei vs Shimako/Noriko vs Youko/Sei isn't unheard of amongst fans.
• Signature Scene: Sachiko adjusting the scarf on Yumi's Sailor Fuku when they first meet is easily the most well-known scene in the series, to the point that it's been referenced and parodied numerous times.
• Spiritual Successor: To Dear Brother. They're both similarly melodramatic stories about lesbian and Pseudo-Romantic Friendship relationships set in prestigious all-girls schools. While Dear Brother introduced many tropes that were influential on Yuri Genre works set at schools, Marimite is the series that codified them.
• Wangst: While the series manages to avoid this most of the time, fans regard Touko's self-torture about being adopted as being this. However, this is largely due to Values Dissonance, since in Japan there's a lot of social and legal stigma against adopted children.
• The Woobie:
  • Sei. Her backstory, with its gayngst and Star-Crossed Lovers element, is surprisingly sad for a perky character.
  • Kanako, who has a troubled past and isn't shown to have many friends. And who also seemed to be a serious candidate for becoming Yumi's soer, only to get jilted.