profile - yuu matsuura
All the following information is based on the manga version of Marmalade Boy unless stated otherwise. There are many UNMARKED SPOILERS so please be careful while reading!
NAME: Yuu Matsuura (You Matsura)
BIRTHDAY: June 3
SIGN: Gemini
BLOOD TYPE: B
GRADE: Depends on anime/manga version
SCHOOL: Touryou High School
"Confident yet introspective and moody, Yuu also has a playful sense of humour, teasing Miki often. He is a budding architect and he seems unconcerned about family upheaval. Due to a traumatic childhood incident, Yuu holds tight reign on his emotions which makes it difficult for Miki to decipher what's on his mind. His desire to find the truth behind that secret trauma, constantly threatens to undo the bond between Miki and himself. Miki once described him as marmalade because 'he looks nice on the outside but inside he's all bitter." - - - - official bio
personality
Yuu's personality changes drastically through out the series, but it is safe to say that he is overall very concerned with everyone around him. Yuu takes on many burdens that he believes are true by himself because he doesn't want to hurt anyone else around him. He is very introverted, meaning that he likes to keep to himself. Many girls try to get him to open up to them and fall for them, but Yuu is very much happy alone. Yuu also allows himself to be happy for his parents little "love-square," and keeps his opinions to himself. He once again would rather keep it all in and deal with it himself then have to burden the ones around him. This is a weakness because many times in the series he is wrong about the hardships he holds in, which lead to his own mental destruction and the one he loves.Just because he is an introvert doesn't mean he isn't social. He goes out with friends and family all of the time, always with a big smile on his face. He loves to tease Miki and be very sarcastic with her through out the series. He also does this with other characters as well. Yuu is very charming and funny at the same time, which is why he often wins the hearts and minds of ladies around him.
behind the name
"Yuu" is written with the kanji characters for "gentleness, superiority" or "distant, leisurely." Based on Yuu's personality, I thought that the website really portrayed him well. If you want to search a characters name, feel free to go to http://www.kabalarians.com and see what you can find about their names as well!
→ You enjoy working at anything of a mechanical or technical nature, and believe that what is worth doing is worth doing well.
→ When you are interested in a project, you concentrate all your thoughts on it and do not appreciate being interrupted.
→ This name creates a deliberate and methodical way of thinking and speaking; it takes you time to learn but, once you have mastered a subject, you do not forget it.
→ You are very systematic in all you do and do not like to see things out of order; however, there is a tendency for you to be too fussy.
→ There is a seriousness to your nature which could cause you to worry over your responsibilities, especially when confronted with change and uncertainty.
→ You are overly fond of heavy foods such as meat, potatoes, breads and pastries and could suffer with stomach and intestinal disorders, constipation or boils.
physique
Yuu has a really nice body, but really. He has light blonde hair, which can sometimes look orange-ish in colored manga images, and brown eyes. He has a nice jaw line, muscular neck, and broad shoulders. He looks like he stays in good shape, which is apparent by his ability to do well in all sports, his decent eating habits, and the fact that he looks awesome without a shirt on. He has a really long torso, and long legs as well. He is decently tall compared to other characters in the series. When he is at school he wears the normal school uniform which fits him well. When at home, he usually is seen wearing slacks and a t-shirt with funny symbols or characters on it. He is well dressed when he needs to be, but it is obvious that he is an average teen-aged boy by his casual clothes. He is very charming in school - everyone went over to him day one and was very flirtatious. His charm is well noticed.
The following information is 100% opinionated based on what I have noticed between the anime and manga versions of Marmalade Boy. For starters, Yuu looks a lot more childish in the anime than he does in the manga. He is often seen looking with little to no smiles in the manga where as he is always grinning in the anime. His body looks more muscular in the manga version as well. His hair is darker in the anime version than in the manga version. Sometimes his eyes look more blue in the anime version than brown as well. As for his personality, he is a lot less dedicated to Miki in the anime than in the manga. He seems more flirtatious with other girls, and he is less communicative as well. They added in a lot of other scenes about Yuu's past and present in the anime as well that made his character a bit unappealing. In the manga version he makes it perfectly clear that he has feelings for Miki at all times. He is less jealous in the manga version than in the anime version as well. Yuu seems more immature in the anime version based on his actions with new characters that are introduced in the anime version only. He also goes to America and enjoys the attention of American girls while he is dating Miki. The anime added too many new plot twists and personality traits that it made Yuu seem like a different character than in the manga version. Basically, he is hotter, nicer, and more loyal in the manga than in the anime. I do feel that if I watched the anime before the manga I wouldn't have noticed these things as much.
behind the voice
NAME: Ryotaro Okiayu
SEIYUU: Japanese voice
BIRTHDAY: November 17, 1969
BIRTHPLACE: Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture (raised in Osaka)
is a Japanese voice actor who was part of the voice actor unit E.M.U (Entertainment Music Unit) with fellow voice actors Hikaru Midorikawa, Hideo Ishikawa, Nobutoshi Canna (known then as Nobutoshi Hayashi) and Daisuke Sakaguchi. The unit was formed in 1995, and disbanded in 2000. He was once married to voice actress Naomi Nagasawa, and has a daughter with her. Currently he is married with the voice actress Ai Maeda.
➾ Abel from Fire Emblem
➾ Kaku from One Piece
➾ Shigure Souma from Fruits Basket
➾ Kentaro Inagaki from Hell Girl
➾ Terra from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
NAME: Michael Lindsay
VOICE ACTOR: English voice
BIRTHDAY: 1970's
BIRTHPLACE: Washington, D.C. (moved at a young age to New York.)
Michael Lindsay (born in the 1970s in Washington, D.C.) is a voice actor, who has retired as of 2012. Lindsay has also been credited under the name Dylan Tully. Lindsay was born in Washington, D.C. but moved at a young age to New York. He is a straight theater major from Adelphi University.
➾ Agumon from Digimon Adventure and Digimon 02
➾ Kankuro from Naruto
➾ Leon Magnus from Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology
➾ Kyoji Mujo from s-CRY-ed
➾ George Kodama Kaze no Yojimbo
significant places
Yuu moves into a giant home with his new family. It is a two-story building in a westernized style. The lower floors include the living room, kitchen, and spare rooms while the upstairs contains the bedrooms. Both families customize the new home together. It is decent sized because it must fit two couples and two children. As a small side note, in the anime they show the bathroom on the first floor, vs the manga where it is on the second. The address of his new home is:
Toshmku 1-Chome
Higashi Murayama
176 - Japan
Some other significant places include Junk Jungle, the place where Yuu has his part-time job. Junk Jungle is owned by a man named Kijima and is meant to be a "second-hand wears" shop. It is shown differently in the anime and manga. In the manga version, Yuu is more secretive at first about having a part time job where as in the anime he is proud of it. Miki goes to visit him more in the anime than she does in the manga as well. He also is seen to have a relationship with his manger more in the anime also.
The next would be Toryo High School, the school Yuu transfers to after the new engagement. Yuu fits in very well at his new school because of his charm and charisma. He is seen on the school television broadcast multiple times because people are so interested in his business. However as an opinionated side note I feel like a lot of times anime and manga series make Japanese students very excited to see a new transfer join their class rooms. I am also making an assumption that it is because most of the students have known each other since grade school and therefore it is new and exciting to have a transfer join the class.