My Dear Marie, or Boku no Marie, was an anime that was rather poorly marketed in the United States. On the back of the box, it says "Plug her in and she'll turn you on." I must say that that is one of the most misleading quotes on an anime case I've ever seen. It sort of makes it seem like Buttobi CPU, doesn't it? Thankfully, My Dear Marie didn't turn out anything like that anime at all, but rather a sweet comedy that was able to warm my cold, black jellyfish heart.

My Dear Marie is, quite simply, an anime about the relationship between Hiroshi, Android Marie, and the real Marie. Sure, there are a few other characters, but they aren't really as important in the story. Unfortunately, the way the story progresses in the beginning is really unbelievable. Android Marie and real Marie encounter each other at Hiroshi's college. Hiroshi, in a pinch, simply explains that Marie is his sister. Of course, EVERYBODY believes him for some reason. I don't know about you, but if I discovered a person that looked exactly like me (except for a different hair color) and even had the same name, I would be pretty scared.

However, that didn't stop me from giggling like a little schoolgirl at just about every gag in the series. One of my favorite parts was when episode three did a parody of the rather bizarre events in episode two. The comedy is often complimented by the rather original character designs, which feature slightly elongated faces and thin bodies. The rest of the artwork wasn't really up to snuff, though. The colors were rather dull and the backgrounds weren't detailed and, to be frank, just plain boring. The voice acting was also a little on the "ehhhhh" side, featuring Mitsuo Iwata as Hiroshi. Some of you may remember him doing the voice of Kintaro in Golden Boy and Kurata in Hikaru no Go. Though he wasn't exactly spectacular in My Dear Marie, Android Marie's voice was actually quite good. Having Yuki Miyamuri for a voice actor, who also did the ultra-cute ending theme "Hello, Strange Days", is a pretty sweet deal.

One part that I really found interesting was a dream sequence in episode three. It actually felt like I was watching a real dream, not just some makeshift dream that directors often use in anime. Unfortunately, it all led up to one of the most bizarre, abrupt, and unexplained conclusions I've ever seen in an anime series. Oh well, I blame it on its short length of only three episodes.