>>196126
>>196139
I rarely hear of people who really detest Marimite (usually they're just bored by it), but I will be first to admit it takes some getting used to. And yes, two factors in that were the art style from the first 2 seasons (the OVAs and season 4 are done in a slightly different, more brightly colored style), and the way the first episodes club you over the head with its yuri symbolism (so there's this all-girl school, with a student council held together by bonds of strong 'sisterly' love, the main girl immediately gets a girl crush on the other main character who happens to be a man-hater and they all are going to star in a school play where the male roles are played by women and OKAY I GET IT ALREADY)
Two things made it bearable for me, though: the introduction of Sei, whose devil-may-care attitude offers a very welcome relief in the otherwise stiff and formal atmosphere and becomes a very easy to like character right away, and the "Maria-sama ni wa naisho" series, short 90 second DVD extras where the show pokes fun at itself in a cartoonish style (picture) - these are pretty much all available on Youtube.
But yeah, it's not for everyone, focuses a lot on emotions, sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic - the OVAs and 4th seasons are a little more light-hearted, and for others it may be just too 'platonic'.