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"Suki da ze, Mitsuru" or Let's get ambiguous:

In OAV 1, Shinobu lays this oft-quoted line on his roommate, Mitsuru, and
thousands of fanpersons (isn't that horrid? I just made it up.) around the
world begin tearing their hair out. Why? "Suki" means "like", but it can
also mean "love". ("Da" is just the casual form of "desu", and "ze" is a
masculine word used for emphasis. It's less rough than the other
masculine emphasis word "zo".) Shinobu has just said something along
the lines of: "Is liked!" or "Is loved!" Unfortunately, he neglects to include
either a subject or a direct object in his sentence. "Mitsuru" could be the
object, in which case the sentence becomes "Mitsuru is liked/loved!"or
even "(I) like/love Mitsuru!", but I think it's also possible that Shinobu
could have been using his roommate's name just as a form of address. If
Shinobu had said: "BASU da ze, Mitsuru" ("A bus, Mitsuru!"or "It's a bus,
Mitsuru!") no one would accuse Shinobu of mistaking his roommate for a
form of transportation, right? ("You're a bus, Mitsuru!" ^_^; Gomen. It's
silly, but. . .) If you look at it that way, Shinobu's sentence becomes even
more ambiguous. (Just what we need, right?) For all we know, Shinobu
could be saying: "Mitsuru, you like/love Hasukawa, don't you?" o_O;

Remember: subjects and objects are left out of Japanese sentences when
they are assumed to be understood from the context of the
conversation. The conversation up to that point had been centered
(indirectly) around Hasukawa and how Mitsuru was looking after him,
although the immediately preceding sentence was Mitsuru's crabby: "Are
you gonna wipe that smile off your face?" line. Okay, okay, before anyone
gets totally bent out of shape, let me say that I don't think Mitsuru is in
love with Hasukawa! (That doesn't mean Shinobu can't tease him, though!)
Also, I do think that Mitsuru and Shinobu are very close friends (and
possibly more), so "I love you, Mitsuru" is definitely a possibility. I just
want to introduce the idea that Shinobu could be saying something else
entirely. The answer is probably in the end of that conversation (in the
manga) when Shinobu throws the kleenex box back. I haven't translated
that yet, but I'll let you know when I do! Hmm. Maybe I don't want to
know. Speculation is just so much more. . . fun! ^_^;

Addendum: OK, I've translated it, and we've been zinged by the master!

Mitsuru vs. Matsuura or Battle of the Blonds:

Warning: Spoilers for Greenwood and Marmalade Boy!

Please don't get me wrong! I love 'em both -- and their manga-kas too!
When I saw/read Marmalade Boy, I couldn't help but notice the
similarities between the main (male) character, Matsuura Yuu, and Ikeda
Mitsuru. I mean, superficially, they're both handsome, skinny, blond guys
who are good at everything and who are always swarmed by girls, but the
similarities don't end there. Both Yuu and Mitsuru feel alienated from
their parents, although they love them, too. This alienation has led them to
guard their inner feelings. While they present a carefree exterior, they
have feelings of loneliness and isolation (Okay, what teenager doesn't?)
-- oh, and siblings who just won't quit! (Oh no! Visions of Sho as Miki!
"Mitsuru's moving to Greenwood! Doushiyou? He doesn't love me any
more!" No, wait! Miki as Sho! "Fine! Go to New York! Baka!" Gnngh.)

Anyway, that got more serious than I intended! On with the show!

Fashion sense: Mitsuru wins, hands down. I mean, even taking into
consideration the pastel kimono (with lipstick!) and the puke-colored
sweat suit, nothing is as hideous as Yuu's brown hat! Burn that thing!

Cross-dressing: Originally I thought Yuu was the obvious winner, but
after seeing manga volume 6, I have to concede that Mitsuru is indeed an
excellent cross dresser. Thanks, Jaysen, for pointing it out! A draw.

The swimsuit: Mitsuru. Yeah, they're both anorexia poster children, but
Mitsuru's got some muscle on him, at least.

Hand to hand combat: Again, Mitsuru wins. Heck, Shun could probably
beat the snot out of Yuu! Yuu did get in one good punch at just the right
time, but then he got clobbered. Mitsuru, first round, KO.

Intelligence: Hmm. A tough one. Both are intelligent, and we never see
how either of them do in school. In the Greenwood manga (volume 5),
Mitsuru is initially assigned to E-gumi while Shinobu is assigned to
A-gumi. I believe this was based on their entrance exam scores, so that
would mean that Mitsuru was in the bottom half of his class. (There are 7
gumi, A-G.) Of course, the bottom of Ryokuto's class may be better than
the top of Toryo's class, but who knows. Let's give this round to Yuu.
(Don't despair, Mitsuru fans! In his second year, he's in C-gumi -- plus he
tutors Hasukawa and Shun, and they don't let bad students do that! ^_^)

Emotional IQ: Again, tough. Both of them are a tad slow in the feelings
department. Though Yuu starts out more dysfunctional, he also grows
more. (Heck, he had 76 episodes to Mitsuru's 6! I would hope more
went on!) Well, at least Mitsuru realizes it's all in his head. Umm.
Round to Yuu by the slightest of margins.

Parents: Mitsuru by a mile. Even if Mr. Ikeda is actually the spawn of
Satan, Mrs. Ikeda could make up for it. The woman is a goddess! Yuu
has numbers on his side, but all four of his parents are utter dingbats!
No, good intentions do not make model parents. (I do have to say that I
liked Marmalade Boy because it had the highest parent:child ratio I've
ever seen in anime! 2:1! Everyone had 'em! Bad, sad, cheating, moronic,
they were all there! Even when we didn't want 'em! Yay! ^_^)

Economics: Hard to assess. Mitsuru presumably shares in Shinobu's
gambling winnings (Shinobu: "That depends. . .") but he doesn't have a
job. The Junk Jungle probably doesn't pay Yuu very well, but his parents
appear to have enough money to finance about a billion Japan-U.S. round
trip plane tickets every year! Based on that, Yuu wins.

Friends: Okay, everyone in Greenwood is bizarre, but at least most of
them aren't angst-ridden! Hasukawa and Ginta cancel each other, since
they're pretty much the same person. Ditto for Sho and Miki. Shun easily
cancels both Arimi and Anju with Meiko in for good measure. (What is
with that girl?!) Heck, throw in Yayoi and Doris too! Shinobu takes out
Kei (who isn't really Yuu's friend anyway), Bill and (just barely!) Miwa.
Yuu gets negative points for Michael (Ick!), Jinny (Eww!), Suzu (Iya da!),
Rokutanda and Brian, but that guy who keeps snakes in his room at
Greenwood is no prize either! Not to mention Bonda. Umm. A draw.

Enemies: Yuu and Miki have that annoying Rurouni Kenshin-like ability to
convert all of their enemies into friends. (Too bad they never get to beat
anyone senseless! Miki: "I've mastered the tennis succession technique!")
Mitsuru's really only got Nagisa, but she's a doozy! Sure, she's fun to
watch, but you try being the one duct-taped to the couch! Round to Yuu.

Voice: I love their voices! Of course, not as much as I love Seki
Toshihiko's Shinobu voice, but they're right up there! (In my wildest
anime fantasies, Iwata Mitsuo, Okiayu Ryoutarou, Seki Toshihiko, Seki
Tomokazu, Koyasu Takehito, Ueda Yuji and Inoue Kazuhiko come over to
my house and talk to each other! And I get to listen! And, yes, everyone
keeps their clothes on, you hentai! -_-) Hmm. Mitsuru -- just barely.

Manga: Verrry difficult and probably inflammatory, since it's so
subjective. I love the clean lines of Wataru Yoshizumi's work. The scene
in MB volume 8 when Miki and Yuu kiss in the hotel room is amazing.
Wataru-sensei manages to fit love/lust/desperation/angst/despair into one
frame and it's simply breathtaking. On the other hand, Nasu Yukie's "Teru
Teru Boy" pic of Mitsuru (which is on his character page) is breathtaking
for other reasons -- even if his jeans are a bit tight. Or is it because. . .?
Oooh. Suddenly feeling faint. Well, if I has my choice of a manga poster
of just one or the other, I'd have to pick Mitsuru, but. . .

Okay, rapidly running out of ideas. . . Or maybe it's lack of food. Either
way, the madness ends here! Mitsuru and Yuu are both favorite
characters of mine, (as if you couldn't tell!) and it's been a tough fight, but
overall, I have to go with my sentimental favorite: Mitsuru. Too bad
Shinobu won't share. Stingy.

Masters of Their Domain: Shinobu vs. Nabiki

At one time I envisioned running an anime introduction service. Think that
Chichiri and Himura Kenshin would make good fishing buddies? Or that
Nuriko might take a liking to Aburatsubo-sempai? How about Hasukawa
and Kanzaki Hitomi? I'm a birds-of-a-feather matchmaker, but if you think
opposites attract, how about Koishikawa Miki and, umm. . . Heero Yuy?

Miki: Meiko, Heero threatened to kill me again! Does that mean he doesn't
like me? He's so cryptic! Doushiyou?!

Heero: . . . [self-destructs]

Well, I decided that sending anime characters out on blind dates would
take more attention span than I have, but one couple stuck in my head:
Tezuka Shinobu and Tendou Nabiki.

Mitsuru, Shun, Hasukawa, Akane, and Ranma [horrified]: "NA-NI?!"

Shinobu [secret smile]: Nice to meet you.

Nabiki [equally self-satisfied smirk]: Charmed, I'm sure.

Well, I can envision three possible outcomes from such a meeting.

Ranma: Yeah! Bad, worse, and truly catastrophic!

Shun: Mitsuru-sempai! Do something!

Akane: It's too late to say that now.

First, they agree to split Tokyo (and the rest of the world) between them in
a sort of mutual non-aggression treaty.

Shinobu: [displaying map] Dou?

Nabiki: Keep talking.

Second, they declare all-out war on each other.

Hasukawa: Using us as cannon fodder!

Mitsuru: Yeah. . .

Nabiki: Come now, people, there's no need for unpleasantness. After all,
Tezuka, you may control a dorm full of pretty boys, but I have several
easily manipulated master martial artists living with me.

Shinobu: On the other hand, Tendou, have you considered that you have
several easily manipulated martial artists living with you?

Nabiki [thoughtfully]: Point.

Ranma: Hey! I resemble that remark!

Akane: Baka.

Third. . .

Mitsuru: No! Don't say it!

. . . they decide to combine forces.

Shun: Kiyaaaaaa!

Nabiki: Well, Tezuka? Shall we move these negotiations somewhere a
little more. . . private?

Shinobu: Why, Tendou! I thought you'd never ask.

Mitsuru: Flee screaming!

Ranma: I am! I am!

Economies fail. Governments topple.

Kasumi: Na-bi-ki! Telephone! Austria wants to know if you can float them
a loan.

Nabiki: Tell them I'm busy. Thanks, sis!

Shinobu: Now, about this Middle East problem. The endless violence is
wreaking havoc on our profit margin.

Nabiki: Looks like we're going to have to take care of it personally.

Kasumi: I'm sorry. Can she call you later? It's finals week.

Japanese high school students run out of pocket money.

Miki: Darn! I guess I won't be able to fly to America this week!

Ranma: You could always try swimming there.

Eventually, the world becomes sickened by the endless peace and
prosperity. Rebellion looms. Shinobu and Nabiki retire to a pleasant
tropical island with all of their loot.

Nabiki: Bet you I can hold my breath under water longer than you.

Shinobu: Care to make it interesting?

Nabiki: Forty billion yen and the loser has to rinse the bathing suits.

Shinobu: You're on.