When you let kids be themselves, the show writes itself.

Plot Summary
Follow Chika, her older sister Nobue, with their friends Miu, Matsuri, and Ana, as they go from day to day in their sometimes exciting - sometimes not - lives.

The Review
This is about as pure as 'slice-of-life' can get. There is absolutely no overall story to follow from the beginning of Strawberry Marshmallow to the end, but it still is one of the most entertaining shows I've seen.

First, we are introduced to Nobue, a 20 year old college student. Next we meet Chika, her 12 year old sister. Next door neighbor Miu (12), schoolmate Matsuri (11), and finally Ana (11) join the fun. All that's left to do is watch them as they do normal everyday things throughout the year. That's it!

Now as you'll recall, children are often cute and silly, and that's the name of the game in Strawberry Marshmallow. Cute girls doing cute things in cute ways, so grab your toothpaste. Chika is the most normal of the bunch, and her sister Nobue is the (mostly) willing babysitter and friend to all of them. Next door neighbor Miu is a hyper and attention-seeking narcoleptic. Matsuri is shy and fragile. Ana was born in England, but has lived with her parents in Japan for most of her life. She is determined to be English in all ways, and doesn't want anybody to know that she is in fact fluent in all things Japanese, and can't speak much english.

Strawberry Marshmallow is a great example of a show that is cute for cute's sake. It's sugary sweet, but it's the deadpan delivery that makes it so effective. It is a successful show because it doesn't try to be funny, it just is.