Last November, it was my great honor to be able to see the Maria-sama ga Miteru Live-Action movie when it opened in Japan.As part of the commemorative ticket package (thank you Komatsu-san for picking that up for me!), I received a spiffy clearfile with the Hibiki Reine character designs of Yurmi and Sachiko on one side, and the live-action Yumi and Sachiko on the other, postcards, signed photos and, of course the commemorative ticket itself.
The package also included a little pamphlet with a bonus story by Konno Oyuki-sensei called Maria-sama ga Miteru: Are You Ready? (マリア様がみてる Are You レディー?)
This story takes place during the Sports Festival of Yumi's first year. This is just before preparations for the School Festival would begin, so, a prologue to the first novel.
During the Sports Festival Yumi, who as a student in the Peach class is on the Pink Team, can't take her eyes off the Green team area and one student there in particular. Katsura asks why she doesn't just confess her feelings to Sachiko-sama, but Yumi has no intention of doing that.
When she sees Sachiko's oneesama, Youko, Rosa Chinensis, Yumi is captivated by the two sisters together. And Tsutako, ever sensitive to Yumi's moods, captures a perfect moment between the two of them, with Yumi in the frame, but apart.
The epilogue of this little short follows Sachiko's much later discovery of the print, and ends with the narrative voice mentioning that in only a few weeks, Yumi's life would change forever. Are You Ready, Yumi? the author asks, as it draws to a close.
The pamphlet is only 16 pages, but it gives us a glimpse of Yumi as she is at the very beginning of the series - a fan of Sachiko but, as she reminds the Rosas after she turns Sachiko down, she has fan's pride and will not, in her own way, let that pride be trampled - thus setting into motion the completely remarkable retraining of Ogasawara Sachiko.
No, Yumi was not ready, but she was the perfect choice. ^_^
Overall - 9