Maria-sama ga Miteru

Maria-sama ga Miteru
The first volume of Maria-sama ga Miteru, published in Japan by Shueisha on April 24, 1998
マリア様がみてる
Genre	Class S,[1] yuri[2]
Light novel
Written by	Oyuki Konno [ja]
Illustrated by	Reine Hibiki
Published by	Shueisha
Magazine	Cobalt
Demographic	Female
Original run	April 24, 1998 – April 28, 2012
Volumes	37 (List of volumes)
Manga
Written by	Oyuki Konno
Illustrated by	Satoru Nagasawa
Published by	Shueisha
Magazine	Margaret, The Margaret
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	October 2003 – August 2010
Volumes	9
Anime television series
Directed by	Yukihiro Matsushita
Written by	Reiko Yoshida
Music by	Mikiya Katakura
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	NA: Maiden Japan
Original network	TV Tokyo
English network	SEA: Animax
Original run	January 7, 2004 – March 31, 2004
Episodes	13 (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Maria-sama ni wa Naisho
Directed by	Yukihiro Matsushita
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	NA: Maiden Japan
Released	April 2, 2004 – August 21, 2009
Runtime	1-2 minutes each
Episodes	29 (List of episodes)
Anime television series
Maria-sama ga Miteru: Printemps
Directed by	Yukihiro Matsushita
Music by	Mikiya Katakura
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	NA: Maiden Japan
Original network	TV Tokyo
English network	SEA: Animax
Original run	July 4, 2004 – September 26, 2004
Episodes	13 (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Directed by	Yukihiro Matsushita
Written by	Reiko Yoshida
Music by	Mikiya Katakura
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	NA: Maiden Japan
Released	November 29, 2006 – July 25, 2007
Runtime	50 minutes each
Episodes	5 (List of episodes)
Light novel
Oshaka-sama mo Miteru
Written by	Oyuki Konno
Illustrated by	Reine Hibiki
Published by	Shueisha
Magazine	Cobalt, Bessatsu Cobalt
Demographic	Female
Original run	August 1, 2008 – November 30, 2013
Volumes	10 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by	Toshiyuki Kato
Written by	Reiko Yoshida
Music by	Mikiya Katakura
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	NA: Maiden Japan
Original network	AT-X
Original run	January 3, 2009 – March 28, 2009
Episodes	13 (List of episodes)
Live-action film
Maria-sama ga Miteru (2010)

Maria-sama ga Miteru (マリア様がみてる, The Virgin Mary Is Watching or Maria Watches Over Us), often shortened to Marimite (マリみて),^[3] is a Japanese light novel series written by Oyuki Konno [ja] with illustrations by Reine Hibiki. Originally written as a short story in 1997, Shueisha published 37 light novel volumes from April 1998 to April 2012. The story focuses on a group of teenage girls attending the Catholic Lillian Girls' Academy in Tokyo, Japan. Its storyline largely revolves around the lives and close relationships of the school's student council known as the Yamayuri Council.

A manga adaptation was published by Shueisha in Margaret and its sister magazine The Margaret. Between 2004 and 2009, the series was adapted by Studio Deen into three 13-episode anime television series and a five-episode original video animation (OVA) series. The anime adaptations have been released in North America by Nozomi Entertainment under the title Maria Watches Over Us. The license was later transferred to Maiden Japan. A live-action film adaptation was released in Japan in November 2010. Several audio dramas and music albums were also published.

Maria-sama ga Miteru received generally positive reviews by critics. It has been described as representative of yuri novels,^[2] and has been credited with starting "the modern yuri trend,"^[4] in addition to reviving the Class S genre.^[1] Critics have praised the series for its strong characterization, even among peripheral characters, and for its emphasis on romance and emotion over sexuality. The dramatization, however, has been criticized as being overly dramatic at times, but the lack of malicious characters has been described as reducing the chance for more drama. The extensive use of French titles has also been criticized as being distracting and initially difficult to follow. Over 5.4 million copies of the light novels have been published.