Overview
Strawberry Panic! (ストロベリー・パニック!) is a reader participation project serialised in Dengeki G's magazine. It was serialised from the October 2003 issue to the October 2005 issue of Dengeki G's magazine.
The planning and scenario was written by Sakurako Kimino, who worked on Sister Princess and later on Baby Princess and the Love Live! series.
Character design and illustrations were done by Chitose Maki, and the mini-comic written by Yuki Kiriga.
The theme of this project was Yuri, a first for G's magazine, which at the time mainly dealt with male-oriented bishojo games.
The player (the reader) is given the position of the brother of Nagisa, Hikari and Kizuna, who are all transferred to girls' boarding schools and are confused by the culture gap, and gives them instructions on how to deal with the girls at the school.
However, this 'player = brother of the three sisters' setting gradually became less and less mentioned, and the system shifted to a system in which the player could support not only pairings with the three sisters, but also 66 different all-around pairings with a total of 12 heroines, including the three sisters.
In other words, depending on the interpretation, the work could be seen as an unconventional work in which "the player, through his sister, is trying to manipulate two other heroines into becoming a couple".
After the end of the readers' participation project, the work was developed into a novel, manga, anime and game.
Astraea Hill
Astraea (アストラエア) is the collective name for the three schools where the story takes place.
There are three schools on one site - St. Miator Girls' Academy, St. Lulim Girls' School and St. Spica Girls' Institute - and the Strawberry Dorms, where all three schools' students are housed.
Each of the three schools has different characteristics: high prestige and history, academic and club activities, and a free and innovative school culture.
The characters belong to one of the three schools, either as students or teachers.
Étoile
The Étoile (エトワール) is a title given to the most outstanding pair of students at the three Astraea schools - in other words, the best couple.
It is a core element of the magazine serialisation of the readers' participation project, and is also important in the novel and anime versions.
In the readers' participation project, the final aim of the magazine serialisation was to decide on the Étoile, and a popularity vote was held in several magazine serialisations from among 66 possible choices by 12 heroines. As a result, the couple Nagisa Aoi (no surname at the time) and Tamao Suzumi became the Étoile.
In the novel and anime series, the element of a representative of the three schools that can be used outside of the school is strongly treated, and the school that produces the Étoile stands out among the three schools, so the student councils of each school are eager to produce an Étoile from their own school.
The event to decide the Etoile is called the 'Étoile election', with the difference being that in the readers' participation project there are four events in all, according to the season, while in the novel version there are three events over a period of several months.
Also, in the novel version, cross-school combinations are allowed and the number of couples entering is unlimited, but in the anime version, the rule is that only one representative from each school - three couples in total - can enter the competition.
Characters
Main Heroins
St. Miator Girls' Academy
St. Spica Girls' Institute
St. Lulim Girls' School
Novel
The novel was published between March and December 2006. Three volumes. Illustrations by Namuchi Takumi.
With St. Miator Academy as the main focus, the story depicts the struggle between the schools for the Etoile selection and the romances of the heroines who are at the mercy of the competition.
It also incorporates settings that were briefly mentioned in the period of the readers' participation project, such as the five major stars of Spica.
Manga
The manga version was serialised from September 2005, ahead of the novel on which it is based. It, too, is drawn by Namuchi Takumi.
It was serialised until the beginning part of the second volume of the novel, after which it was put on long hiatus.
The book has been published up to volume 2, but some parts have not been collected.
Anime
The TV anime was broadcast from April to September 2006.
The anime version does not have '!' in the title.
Refer to the article Strawberry Panic for more information.
Game
The game was released in August 2006. Platform: PlayStation 2.
The jacket illustration was done by Namuchi Takumi, while the CG of the main game was done by a different illustrator.
A peaceful(?) girls' love game without the bleak atmosphere of the novel and anime versions, because there is no setting for the selection of Étoile.
Players choose one of Nagisa, Hikari or Kizuna as the protagonist, and the aim of the game is to become lovers with the remaining nine heroines.
Players can choose whether to play in 'girl mode', in which they become Nagisa and the other girls themselves, or in 'boy mode', in which they become their brother and instruct Nagisa and the other girls, as in the (early) readers' participation project.
Spelling Variants
StrawberryPanic! Strawberry_Panic! StPani
Related Article
Dengeki G's magazine Sakurako Kimino
Article in Other Languages
Spelling Variants
StrawberryPanic! Strawberry_Panic! ストパニ
