Miki Koishikawa's ordinary life as a sophomore in high school is turned upside down when her parents suddenly announce that they are getting divorced in order to swap partners with a couple they met back in Hawaii.

They seek her approval of the shocking change, and while at a restaurant during dinner where Miki meets the other couple as well as their teenage son Yuu Matsura, who is around her age, she reluctantly agrees to the arrangement.

A secondary subplot develops when Miki's best friend, Meiko Akizuki, herself starts to have her own problems because of the relationship she has gotten into with one of the school teachers, Shin'ichi Namura.

The cast of Marmalade Boy is diverse and largely defined by their relationships with Miki Koishikawa and Yuu Matsuura.

[2] In the original story, the title of Marmalade Boy was an indication of the hero Miki's cheerful, sweet, and naive nature.

After redoing the concept, she wanted to keep the original title, changing its meaning to what is stated in the first volume, that Yuu "has lots of bitter bits inside" him but people only see his sweet surface.

However, as she was writing the third chapter, Yoshizumi became less certain of the ending, as it made Miki and Yuu's parents appear to be awful people for doing such a thing to their children.

[9][10][11] At Anime Expo 2022, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they licensed the series for English publication in collector's edition format.

[12] It is also licensed for regional language releases in France by Glenat, in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid, in Spain by Planeta DeAgostini Comics, in Italy by Planet Manga, and in Germany by Egmont.

[13][14] Marmalade Boy was adapted into a series of Japanese light novels by Yumi Kageyama, with Wataru Yoshizumi acting as illustrator.

He found Miki practicing tennis in the park and spent the rest of the day following her around, eventually finding out she was to be his new stepsister.

Based on the manga, the game puts players in the role of Miki, who must try to win the heart of one of her three potential suitors from the series: Yuu, Ginta, or Kei.

[21] In Taiwan, Marmalade Boy was made into a 30-episode live-action television series called 橘子醬男孩 (pinyin: Júzǐjiāng Nánhái).

[citation needed] The English translation of the manga was given a B+ rating by Jason Sondhi of Anime News Network, calling it a classic lighthearted shōjo romance that's sweet and endearing and compulsively readable.

[1] Sondhi notes that "Marmalade Boy is a wholly engaging read that does not demand as much in terms of time or money as many longer shōjo titles.

Serialized in Tokyopop's Smile back in 2001, then collected in 2002, Wataru Yoshizumi's Marmalade Boy helped introduce English language readers to the kind of situation found in shoujo manga, with its story of a pair of teens brought together when their parents swap spouses.