It was reported in April 2010 that 5.4 million copies of the original light novels have been published. Reception to the "Maria-sama ga Miteru" anime series has been generally positive, although Anime News Network (ANN) noted that the series leaves itself "wide open to cynical sniggering." Carlos Ross from Them Anime regarded it as "one of the most beautiful and graceful anime" series, adding that the animation is sometimes of questionable quality but overall "very appealing". Andrew Shelton from AMR found the series to be "fairly unique" compared to other shōjo works, explaining that although the story is "a little basic" and "overly dramatic", what is most important is the "response and actions of the character on who the story is focused." Stig Høgset, also from Them Anime, commented that the third season was criticized for being too short, but he personally did not feel "like it was lacking something." Jason Thompson credits "Maria-sama ga Miteru" with starting "the modern yuri trend." Newer anime titles that "Maria-sama ga Miteru" is compared to include "Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru", "Strawberry Panic!", "Best Student Council", and "Aria". Carlos Ross, writing about the first novel in the series, felt the story was a "classic rags-to-riches tale," but that it was "also sweet, touching and witty when it needs to be." He criticized the lack of teachers and schoolwork in the series, which led to the plot being filled with extracurricular activities, which are common to high school series. He also criticized Yumi's low self-esteem.