The plot of Strawberry Panic! is about the lives of adolescent girls who each attend one of three affiliated all-girl schools which share a campus and dormitories, which include: St. Miator's Girls' Academy, St. Spica's Girls' Institute and St. Lulim's Girls' School. Students who reside on campus live in dormitories that are referred to as the Strawberry Dorms, though the proper name is Astraea Dormitory, named after Astraea Hill where the institutions are located.[1]
The main protagonist of the story is Nagisa Aoi, a young girl entering her fourth year at St. Miator after being transferred from a different school. Upon first entering the campus grounds, she is overcome with joy by the overall appearance of the surrounding area, but her joy is soon turned to sorrow as she accidentally stumbles down a hill, causing her to be lost and disoriented. While walking around the grounds trying to figure out where she is, Nagisa comes across an older student by the name of Shizuma Hanazono, who happens to be Astraea Hill's Etoile, a very important person who acts as a representative among the different schools and has specific duties that she must fulfill.[1] Nagisa is instantly overcome by Shizuma's beauty and finds that she cannot move. After Shizuma kisses her on the forehead, Nagisa loses consciousness and awakens in the school's infirmary. Next to her bed is a different girl the same age as Nagisa named Tamao Suzumi who informs her that they are to be roommates in the dormitory.
In the story that follows, Nagisa is introduced to other students from each of the three schools, those of which include students she admires, is intimidated by, or are merely friends that she meets while attending St. Miator. The series encompasses the relationships the characters build with each other, climaxing whenever two of the characters start dating.[1]
[edit] Themes
The central theme in Strawberry Panic! is the lesbianism related to the relationships between the girls from the three schools. Depending on the media type, the way the relationships between the girls is presented varies, such as there being more explicit fan service, or appealing visuals including the girls in provocative situations, in the anime adaptation than in the manga or light novels. Such fan service includes representations of the lesbian acts, such as light nudity and hard groping. There is a wide range of intimate relationships presented in the series and depending on the media type, a given character may not be shown to be in a direct relationship; such examples in the anime include Chikaru Minamoto and Shion TÅmori. These relationships range from simple conversations and meetings, escalating to minor make out sessions and having sexual intercourse in the extreme cases.[2]
Another theme that appears throughout the story is a focus on astronomical stars. The main plot device is the Etoile election; Etoile is a French word meaning star. The three schools are atop Astraea Hill; Astraea means star-maiden in Greek and is a figure in Greek mythology who later became the constellation Virgo. Spica is actually a star in the same constellation and each of the school emblems have stars in them. Catholic religion undertones are present in the series, including a St. Mary statue on campus and a large Catholic church in the center of Astraea Hill.
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