Mai Otome [Archive] - Anime Academy Lounge

loner

09-14-2005, 02:21 PM

No, the series begins on October 6th, not now. But the trailers' out, though it didn't explain much. What's on the main site now though does scare me.

http://www.my-zhime.net/character/img/img_p_shizuru2.gif

Tell me that doesn't scare you...

Most of the characters are 'returning', but it's like the Mai-Tsubasa Chronicles. They have different names, and completely different roles. Here's the changes in names:

Mashiro Kazahana---> Mashiro Blan de Windbloom
Natsuki Kuga---> Natsuki Krueger
Shizuru Fujino---> Shizuru Viola
Akane Higurashi----> Akane Soir (she's a semi-main character now, so probably won't worry about getting shagged few episodes in)
Mikoto Minagi ---> Mikoto (she really is a baka-neko now)
Yuuichi Tate ----> Sergay Wong (WTF?? That's him right?)
Nagi Homura----> Nagi Dai Artai...
Chie Harada----> Chie Hallard
Shiho Munakata----> Shiho Huit
Nao Yuuki-----> Juliet Nao Zhang
Yohko Sagisawa----> Yohko Helene
Yukariko Sanada----> Yukariko Steinberg
Aoi Senou ----> same O_o

I have no idea how they made up those names. Too much crack IMO.

It's a ridiculous idea. Not just generic, but also ridiculous. I guess Sunrise must really want to surprise its viewers.

Shadowmage

09-14-2005, 02:25 PM

Wow, they are turning Mai Otome into another generic shoujo series. I had no expectations going into Mai Hime, so, I'll have no expectations going to this series as well.

aeroshadow

09-14-2005, 02:31 PM

Wow, they are turning Mai Otome into another generic shoujo series. I had no expectations going into Mai Hime, so, I'll have no expectations going to this series as well.

You mean shounen, right? (Shounen = Boy, Shoujo = Girl)

Anyways, this show looks rather silly. I liked Mai-Hime, and I watched it because it was momentarily on AniDB.net's top 10 list, so I had relatively high expectations for it. But like Shadowmage said, I'll have no expectations watching this either.

At least Nagi has a cool outfit.

Shadowmage

09-14-2005, 02:35 PM

You mean shounen, right? (Shounen = Boy, Shoujo = Girl)

Anyways, this show looks rather silly. I liked Mai-Hime, and I watched it because it was momentarily on AniDB.net's top 10 list, so I had relatively high expectations for it. But like Shadowmage said, I'll have no expectations watching this either.

At least Nagi has a cool outfit.
I'm sticking with "shoujo." Those costumes... I wonder if they'll have transformation scenes this time around...

soundchazer

09-14-2005, 03:05 PM

Well... it could also be a Futakoi Alternative. That one turned out OK, but then again, the original Futakoi was crap.

Niner

09-14-2005, 03:14 PM

It looks like Fuuka Academy up and relocated to Germany or something. O_o

I have a bad feeling about this.

Linuts

09-14-2005, 03:50 PM

It's a ridiculous idea. Not just generic, but also ridiculous. I guess Sunrise must really want to surprise its viewers.

The more ridiculous an idea seems, the more likely people will watch it just to see how ridiculous it really is. EVIL MARKETING! RAWRZ!

That being said, yes, I am interested in seeing how this really bad looking fan-fic is gonna turn out :D.

Kaito Fujiwara

09-14-2005, 04:05 PM

I get the feeling that this isn't going to sit too well. Pray to whatever dieties you do, that I'm wrong.

Sorrow-kun

10-03-2005, 03:44 PM

Preview's out, and available for people who know their way around the internets. Unfortunately, it's only been subbed in French so far.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1853/11283645044683sy.jpg

(I didn't put that pic together, btw).

Good stuff. Anyway, the ball starts rolling in just two days time. Excited, anyone? I am. I'm thinking we should keep this topic for the pre-season crap, and start a new clean one when the series itself actually starts. Discuss.

Shadowmage

10-03-2005, 04:15 PM

Preview's out, and available for people who know their way around the internets. Unfortunately, it's only been subbed in French so far.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1853/11283645044683sy.jpg

W00t! There are transformation scenes!

*Shadowmage prematurely calls this a mahou shoujo anime

EDIT If the anime is anything like the manga, I am jumping ship... Although past experience has taught be better, I am disturbed by the fanservice.

Sorrow-kun

10-03-2005, 06:16 PM

The Mai-HiME manga blew (but, what do I know, I didn't even bother reading it... I'm just basing this on the pretty much undisputed majority opinion), but the Mai-HiME anime turned out to be really good, even if it did take 16 or so episodes to hit top gear.

Even if the Mai Otome manga has been crap so far (again, I don't know personally, but, from hearsay, it's undisputed), based on what happened last time around, I think anyone who dismisses the anime after even just 3 or 4 episodes of crap is seriously jumping the gun.

I just can't help but suspect that Sunrise is holding some seriously awesome cards extremely close to their chest. I say this, but...

/me touches wood

Tremolo

10-04-2005, 03:10 PM

I'm...dubious.

I trust Sunrise, I trust the director and the presence of Mai in the trailer has made my spirits rise considerably. And yet I can't help but be somewhat sceptical all the same.

The thing is, this series can't full back on the same drama cards as they did with the first series. They simply can't rely on the whole loved ones dying angle again because it just won't have the same impact.

But saying that, I'll definitely be watching though - I want to see just what they'll have in store for us this time.

AstralLionheart

10-05-2005, 05:51 PM

I hope Mai comes back...it's not the same without her trademark Nike hair and that cleavage...that attracts so many other girls (and guys).

Shadowmage

10-07-2005, 04:56 PM

It seems that Mai herself will be back...

Anyways

Episode 1

Prelude: This show starts off with a "bang." Okay, this type of openning has been done millions of times, but at least the creators are trying to create a pseudo-serious feel.

Intro: This song gave me a warm fuzzy feeling overall. The music is not impressive, but it does its job. The intro starts out looking something like a harem anime considering that there is panning of over a dozen girls in the first few seconds. It is nice to see some familiar faces as well as the new ones.

Part I

Okay, the first half kind of gives me a deja vous of the original Mai-Hime. There are a lot of cliched characters and comedy seems take a large role. Of course there is the complimentary fanservice, but it is nowhere as suggestive as the manga (thank god). However, unlike the original, this one has a more serious ambience. It is kind of like the onset before the slaughterfest began in Mai Hime.

Eyecatch
Ara?
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Shadowmage_Shin/9579df9e.jpg

Part II

Well it seems they really do have transformation scenes. I think the action takes a step up considering that I felt a moment of excitement. While I can hardly call it noteworthy choreography, it was fun to watch. It also seems that not all the characters will retain their former personalities. I just can't help but laugh watching as one *certain* character get her personality slaughtered by this sequel. (Man, I have deja-vous of the Tenchi franchise like crazy).

Eyecatch
Words cannot describe how much at laughed at this...
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Shadowmage_Shin/f0d6316f.jpg

Outro
Another corny J-pop song. It has a happy, light-headed feel. Meh, it is just a continuous cycle of reused cels.

Interest: 3.5/5
Grade: 3/5
Only my Mai-Hime fanboy feelings is keeping me on this series. Things better shape up... fast. Although, I'll watch it all the way through regardless.

Sorrow-kun

10-07-2005, 07:44 PM

Did you watch it raw? Because it doesn't look like anyone's subbed the first ep yet.

Gigadi

10-07-2005, 07:51 PM

I might give it a try considering Mai Hime was spectacular, on the other hand, this has serious potential to get out of hand. I'll wait for more opinions.

Akuhei

10-07-2005, 07:59 PM

waiting for opinions is overrated... I don't see what's wrong with figuring out your own opinions before you read other peoples'. Then again I'm not 15 anymore.

Gigadi

10-07-2005, 08:08 PM

waiting for opinions is overrated... I don't see what's wrong with figuring out your own opinions before you read other peoples'. Then again I'm not 15 anymore.
Age doesn't define maturity, but I don't want to waste my time dl it when I can dl something else.

Shadowmage

10-07-2005, 08:34 PM

Did you watch it raw? Because it doesn't look like anyone's subbed the first ep yet.
Yes, I did. Dialogue was vapant in the first episode, so I managed to decipher most of the script in the first episode. Of course being quite ignorant of the Japanese language, my opinion could change after seeing the subbed version, but I doubt it will change by much.

Akuhei

10-08-2005, 04:23 AM

Age doesn't define maturity, but I don't want to waste my time dl it when I can dl something else.

Unless there are some circumstances that really changed your life, that's mostly a load of bs, as much as alot of kids like to think of themselves as mature, they're really not. I'm not saying that being 17 makes me an adult, but i'm saying I can usually tell the difference between a 15 year old and a 17 year old.

As for Mai Otome goes, I'm still waiting on the sub, I'm gonna follow it for a little while because... Mai HiME didn't get a great start and i almost stopped watching it. Hopefully they can make the beginning a little stronger and keep me interested. I look forward to some fun action sequences >_>.

Ritalin

10-08-2005, 08:07 AM

Age doesn't define maturity, but I don't want to waste my time dl it when I can dl something else.

Yeah don't want to waste time not paying for something and get it for free, huh! What a waste of time to download something for free! I will be picky with this free anime that I download!

I hated Mai Hime, and the previews for this just drive me away. I half-expected Mai Hime to be one of the better series but it took too long to begin anything, and then it just flopped still. I'll still download and try Mai Otome out but I'm really not expecting it to blow me away or even redeem itself. In fact it looks worse...

/me cringes.

Sorrow-kun

10-08-2005, 04:34 PM

News for VIP. The first ep has been released by a speedsub group. I think I'll wait until a real fansubber does this, though.

ShinoMatrix

10-08-2005, 08:18 PM

Yeah, may be worth waiting a while for this one... I don't want a bad experience which was really no fault of the anime itself to ruin my enjoyment of it at the onset.

Shadowmage

10-08-2005, 08:53 PM

The speed sub wasn't bad... The text style is plain white, and there is no translations for the intro and outro, but the translation seems accurate. (Warning: This comes from a person who picked up all his Japanese from anime.)

Linuts

10-08-2005, 10:53 PM

Well... That sucked...

The Good:

Clean animation and slick action scenes. Some cool mechanical designs. A whole new sci-fi/victorian setting. Several Mai-Hime characters made a comeback.

The Bad:

Several Mai-Hime characters made a comeback :p. I guess I'll have to erase all my memory of these characters from Mai-Hime, the same way I did with Futakoi: Alt, in order to get use to these cameos. At least most of their personalities are still in tact... Except for one o_O.

The music was... meh... I never really liked Mai-Hime's music and this is more of the same...

The main character has an annoying voice. The VA is trying too hard to be energetic...

The plot... Well seems less interesting compared to Mai-Hime in terms of first impressions. At least Mai-Hime had two Hime's duking it out to start things off. As for Otome... It feels like monster of the week T_T...

The placement of the monster's "weapon" has "I Came!" written all over it :p.

***

Nothing fantastic... if you wanna compare this to Mai-Hime's first ep, MH wins. Like Shadowmage I'll continue watching this to see if it will get better... Although my expectations aren't that high :p.

jiffyjimbothe3

10-08-2005, 11:44 PM

Well... That sucked...

The Good:

Clean animation and slick action scenes. Some cool mechanical designs. A whole new sci-fi/victorian setting. Several Mai-Hime characters made a comeback.

The Bad:

Several Mai-Hime characters made a comeback :p. I guess I'll have to erase all my memory of these characters from Mai-Hime, the same way I did with Futakoi: Alt, in order to get use to these cameos. At least most of their personalities are still in tact... Except for one o_O.

The music was... meh... I never really liked Mai-Hime's music and this is more of the same...

The main character has an annoying voice. The VA is trying too hard to be energetic...

The plot... Well seems less interesting compared to Mai-Hime in terms of first impressions. At least Mai-Hime had two Hime's duking it out to start things off. As for Otome... It feels like monster of the week T_T...

The placement of the monster's "weapon" has "I Came!" written all over it :p.

Ahh, this is what I was afraid of. I'm still gonna check it out for myself, but this, more or less, confirms what I was expecting.

loner

10-09-2005, 01:02 AM

Ep. 1

Ya know, I had fun reading Linut's post. I'm sure the producers would have too if they read it. This means that they have you essentially where they want you to be. All hope left over from Mai HiME abandoned, and right back to square one. Just like Mai HiME started in much hype and somewhat disappointed, this one did too. But if this ever gets better, it will feel ten times better than what it really is. That's the magic of Mai HiME.

So what do we have here? Just like Mai HiME, it started on a cruise. Well it didn't, there was that short intro scene which can be seen in countless other anime. Because just like Mai HiME was parodying the shonen school romance/-mon genre, this one is going after the fantasy alternate world genre. So we have a world that is parodying those seen in El Hazard and Scrapped Princess, among countless others. Whatever, it's not supposed to be original, and it works.

True, so far Arika seems a lot more annoying compared with Mai (especially the voice). Nina seems a bit like...you know what this show really reminds me of? Gunbuster 2. So much parallels it's not even funny. Hell, even the alien/slaves look a lot alike, with their weird looking eyes. Except the Mai Star doesn't fight with mechas. They become mechas themselves.

Akane Impulse, take off!
Shizuru Destiny, out!

I mean, I can't be the only person who got the feeling that Shizuru's takeoff is similar to Destiny's right? Again, this is Sunrise trying to poke fun of Seed/Destiny, their other trademark show. What they've done with Mashiro is rather puzzling. Then again she just moved from one generic personality to another.

The animation looks great, just like Mai HiME. The music is ranging from average to mediocre, just like the beginning of Mai HiME, but I expect it to improve greatly once the drama part kicks in.

Final line: it's idiotic to pass judgement on this series by this episode, just like it was stupid to cast away Mai HiME from your watch list because of the pedestrian start. I have no idea whether this series will become a success later, but right now I have no expectation whatsoever in the drama department, and will just enjoy the comedy. I'm sure it will kick in; there's already loads of shady stuff in the background. Everything will depend on how well the pieces are put together.

aeroshadow

10-09-2005, 09:24 AM

I just finished watching episode 1, and surprisingly, I thought it was pretty good. I loved Mai-Hime's soundtrack, and the first anime featured a lot of background music of the same style. The action was pretty fun as well.

Mashiro's personality really surprised me, anyways.

currywu

10-09-2005, 09:53 AM

Hmm....I guess I'm the only one who likes this episode better than Mai-HiME's intro. Mai Otome Mashiro>>>>Mai Hime Mashiro. The returning characters appear mostly the same, with the notable exception of Mikoto who has apparently changed species. :D

Interesting VA note (probably only to me): Nina is voiced by the same person who did...Tenma from School Rumble!! Sweet!

hayama22

10-09-2005, 11:02 AM

I like the opening also. It might even be better than the original's. And yes, this Mashiro is infinitely better than the original. She actually has a personality, and, judging by the opening, she has some secret angst. Th ending song is surprisingly catchy also, and I like the fact that they use it in the same way as HiME did(playing a bit of it at the end of the episode.)

A few notes:

-Since when were Haruka's jugs that big? I thought that Mai was the biggest girl in the series. It's no wonder Haruka was voted number 5(I think) best girl in the series on the official website. I'm glad to see she's an Otome, though.

-Kajiura has disappointed me. The soundtrack sounded too generic for me, and the vocal song didn't really grab me.

-I'm glad that Mikoto's role has been reduced to being just the mascot in this series.

-Where's Akira?!

Gigadi

10-09-2005, 02:33 PM

Sorrow-kun

10-09-2005, 03:01 PM

-Since when were Haruka's jugs that big? I thought that Mai was the biggest girl in the series. It's no wonder Haruka was voted number 5(I think) best girl in the series on the official website. I'm glad to see she's an Otome, though.Haruka's always had a bigger rack than Mai.

loner

10-09-2005, 04:26 PM

Let's see....meh.
Nothing to spectacular, just a bunch of stuff I have seen before. I can say that I like the animation and have no problem with the main characters VA.

I'll stick with my 5 episode rule, If I'm not impressed by then, I'm done. That system hs only failed me a cuple of times.

Throw this system down the toilet for this show. Mai HiME didn't impress in the first 5 episode, but really peaked towards the end.

In fact, throw this system down the toilet, PERIOD. There are huge number of decent anime that has rather poor or confusing beginnings. Fantastic Children made no sense in the first 5 episodes. It made perfect sense in the last episode. A series should be rated on a whole, not just the beginning. A show may seems to have a poor start at first, but towards the end, you will discover how relevant and important the start is to the rest of the show.

Sorrow-kun

10-09-2005, 06:50 PM

Throw this system down the toilet for this show. Mai HiME didn't impress in the first 5 episode, but really peaked towards the end.

In fact, throw this system down the toilet, PERIOD. There are huge number of decent anime that has rather poor or confusing beginnings. Fantastic Children made no sense in the first 5 episodes. It made perfect sense in the last episode. A series should be rated on a whole, not just the beginning. A show may seems to have a poor start at first, but towards the end, you will discover how relevant and important the start is to the rest of the show.Age for legendary comment.

And, also, just to show I don't make baseless claims (despite the fact I do, and I know I do, but just not in this case)

Haruka's always had a bigger rack than Mai.The proof:

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9209/11208061800000od.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9209/11208061800000od.jpg)

Shadowmage

10-09-2005, 06:51 PM

Throw this system down the toilet for this show. Mai HiME didn't impress in the first 5 episode, but really peaked towards the end.

In fact, throw this system down the toilet, PERIOD. There are huge number of decent anime that has rather poor or confusing beginnings. Fantastic Children made no sense in the first 5 episodes. It made perfect sense in the last episode. A series should be rated on a whole, not just the beginning. A show may seems to have a poor start at first, but towards the end, you will discover how relevant and important the start is to the rest of the show.
Sadly, I admit to using this system (although I have a tendancy to drop anime during the intro music). However, I use it exclusively for harem based anime. I typically peruse threads to see how a show is doing, but very rarely do they get good reviews. (Futakoi Alternative being a rare exception) This looks a lot like a harem anime, yet I still find it intriguing... Then again, intrigue and quality don't always corelate.

EDIT:

Sorrow-Kun: OMFG! Where did you find that?

aeroshadow

10-09-2005, 07:12 PM

The proof:

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9209/11208061800000od.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9209/11208061800000od.jpg) You've got to be kidding me. O.O

loner

10-09-2005, 07:26 PM

I'll answer for him. 4chan.

...zomg Shiho has bigger rack than Natsuki. This can't be true...

Sorrow-kun

10-09-2005, 07:30 PM

Loner: On the money, once again.

Read the numbers. Natsuki is superior to Shiho in that regard. But, then again, Natsuki is superior to everyone in every regard.

loner

10-09-2005, 07:42 PM

Damn it, then don't put her behind that little bitch if she's bigger. And damn right she's superior in everything!

...still, Shiho is what, 13? Urgh....

Natsuki is hot in Mai Otome. Forgot to mention that in my first post. And Shizuru seems to have 'improved' that area, now that she is officially Natsuki's slave bitch.

Shadowmage

10-09-2005, 07:54 PM

now that she is officially Natsuki's willing slave bitch.

Corrected

EDIT

Wait, wouldn't this make Natsuki a dominatrix... *Shudders bad images.

hayama22

10-09-2005, 08:05 PM

...zomg Shiho has bigger rack than Natsuki. This can't be true...

At least Natsuki made it on the chart. Seriously, I thought that Nao was at least a more popular character than Shiho...

Haruka's always had a bigger rack than Mai.

Meh. I guess they just weren't over-glamorized in the same way Mai's were.

Sorrow-kun

10-09-2005, 08:11 PM

At least Natsuki made it on the chart. Seriously, I thought that Nao was at least a more popular character than Shiho...It would be nearly impossible to imagine such a chart without Natsuki. I haven't seen the list you mentioned earlier myself (the one where Haruka was #5), but I'd be very surprised if Natsuki wasn't in the top 2.

Wait, wouldn't this make Natsuki a dominatrix... *Shudders bad images.You stand here, look me in the eyes and tell me with a straight face that you aren't even slightly turned on by such thoughts. You couldn't, I tells ya.

Shadowmage

10-09-2005, 08:13 PM

You stand here, look me in the eyes and tell me with a straight face that you aren't even slightly turned on by such thoughts. You couldn't, I tells ya.
Honestly, I'm not into that. Yuri however...

Gigadi

10-09-2005, 08:24 PM

In fact, throw this system down the toilet, PERIOD. There are huge number of decent anime that has rather poor or confusing beginnings. Fantastic Children made no sense in the first 5 episodes. It made perfect sense in the last episode. A series should be rated on a whole, not just the beginning. A show may seems to have a poor start at first, but towards the end, you will discover how relevant and important the start is to the rest of the show.

Your right, I almost did drop FC, untill I read the AA review. But hey, at least I won't be sitting through 200 more episodes of Bleach.

hayama22

10-09-2005, 08:27 PM

It would be nearly impossible to imagine such a chart without Natsuki. I haven't seen the list you mentioned earlier myself (the one where Haruka was #5), but I'd be very surprised if Natsuki wasn't in the top 2.

From what I can't remember, she was number one. Either her or Shizuru, anyway. Of course I'd expect Natsuki to be in nearly every group picture there is, but I just find it strange that two of the least popular characters(Shiho and Yukino) also made the list. I think I'm just a bitter Nao fan(maybe part of a smaller niche than I think?).

I love the fact that even a quality anime such as Mai HiME can start up a discussion about the character's breast sizes.

Sorrow-kun

10-09-2005, 08:42 PM

I love the fact that even a quality anime such as Mai HiME can start up a discussion about the character's breast sizes.Omnipotent being who may or may not exist, bless anime.

There's a similar image of comparative breast sizes of Marimite characters floating around. One would have imagined that's an anime even less susceptible to such things. I really wish I saved it, though. :(

Omnipotent being who may or may not exist, bless Japan.

etane

10-10-2005, 12:13 AM

I've always been an advocate of quality over quantity. Shape, color, suppleness and bounce factor are just as important if not more imporant than size.

AstralLionheart

10-10-2005, 12:39 AM

Is Mai a cameo character, or has she been dusted off?

loner

10-10-2005, 12:51 AM

So far, she doesn't seem to exist at all in this world. That may very well change, as there are some 'shadowy' characters in the OP. Therefore, she could either make a short but pivotal appearance, or not appear at all, IMO.

AstralLionheart

10-10-2005, 01:56 AM

AstralLionheart

10-10-2005, 02:33 AM

Wow...after seeing the first episode...

This show is...how do you say...alot FRUITIER than the Mai Hime was. This is Magic Girl to the MAX!!

And it looke like Reito-san can't go without seducing the lead character again, from previews of the next episode. Tate/Sergei Wong isn't going to stop him this time, seeing he's old enough to be Arika's dad (and yet still looks like he's in his 20s).

currywu

10-10-2005, 03:43 AM

Damn, this place is getting pretty perverted, what with the oggling of underaged breasteses and plethora of hentai-related threads. Maybe a new era of hedonism for AA?

Also, someone needs to convert those figures to cup sizes. 83 cm?? What the hell is that? Stupid metric system.

Sorrow-kun

10-10-2005, 03:50 AM

Here it is everyone. Finally my much anticipated (not really) review of the first ep.

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3701/capture5cy.th.jpg (http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3701/capture5cy.jpg)
OMG! Best. Line. Ever.

If there's one thing that needs to be said about the show, it was certainly a hell of a lot of fun. I loved the action sequences, and how excessively tongue in cheek they were. Arika, for some reason reminds me a lot of Milfeulle Sakuraba, with her niavity, immaturity, yet still somehow remaining useful. Actually, it's no secret that Arika's has dormant powers that are going to surprise everyone around her, similar to Mai's. Oh, that's not the only parallel between this and Mai-HiME's first episode. The ship, the new school, etc, etc. Although there's no doubt Mai-HiME had the far more urgent atmosphere in its first episode. Ship sinking, find Takumi's medication, battle between Natsuki and Mikoto, etc, etc. Who's a cat this time round. For some reason. I dunno if that's a gimmick or if it's going to actually play some sort of part later on, but chances are its the former. Oh well, the point is, I never got felt a "life-threateningly" serious atmosphere in the first ep of Otome that was apparant in some of the scenes in the first ep of HiME. Instead the action scenes seemed to exist to say "this is what we can do this time around". Still, I'm not gonna complain too much, like I said, they were a blast. What they lacked in drama they certainly made up for in fun factor.

The "transformation" scene was no where near as impressive as the summoning sequences in HiME. Actually, I think that's another good thing about HiME that doesn't really get spoken much about: the sleek summoning sequences. They might have been repetitive (as all such sequences get), but hell, they were good to look at. Lots of familiar faces. I think the big question a lot of us are asking is, will we see Mai? Perhaps it's more apt to ask "when will we see Mai. And this was pretty much my reaction to hearing Shizuru's voice the first time:

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1258/11210432504445xx.th.jpg (http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1258/11210432504445xx.jpg)

My verdict: There are obvious bads, but there's also a lot of good in this. But I'm remaining an optimist as far as this is concerned, since, as we all learned from Mai-HiME, we'd be stupid to dismiss it in the short term. Oh and...

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2334/capture54ua.th.jpg (http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2334/capture54ua.jpg)
OMG MASHIRO. If there's a character change that's going to be the most difficult to come to grips with, it's this one.

loner

10-10-2005, 06:23 AM

Hah, yeah I saw the intro. The girl in black covered in flames, with those purple-blue eyes, spiky hair, and the arm and leg bracelets...it does look like a blatant Mai reference.

Although...she definitely looks a lot "thinner" than Mai. Mai was busty in a good way ^p^

Plus I can't see Mai as being a villain, she's too scatterbrained, oblivious, and at risk to tripping into someone's chest at a moment's notice.

BTW, anyone know how to screen capture from avi videos? Printscreen and programs like Screen Hunter don't seem to work (you just get a black blank image instead of a capture of the video).

Let's keep in mind again that this is a totally different series set in a totally different world. These characters are NOT the same as those in Mai HiME, just like those in Tsubasa aren't the same as those in various other CLAMP series. As Mashiro has shown, character's personality could change instantly. And Mai was never that scatter-brained in Mai HiME in the first place. She's one of the smarter and tougher female lead around, just too benevolent in nature and unwilling to let go and fight.

Oh and try not to double-post like that. This rule is kinda lax in these specific series threads, but try only use it for different episodes, rather than 2 posts for the intro and the actual episode.

Sorrow-kun

10-10-2005, 04:50 PM

Spoilers! What, already? But there's only been one episode.

Oh well, I think it's something we all suspected anyway.

http://img433.imageshack.us/img433/8934/11289478439053dc.jpg

Anyway, the Character Designer has come out and admitted that, yes, this is in fact Mai.

Source: http://zip.4channel.org/a/res/170474.htmlOne episode, and already, so much drama.

Moe

10-10-2005, 05:08 PM

episode 1
seen it, liked it

also i haven't seen mai hime, but i will watch it.

hayama22

10-10-2005, 06:44 PM

It's sad, but the more and more we discuss My Otome, the more hyped I get about rewatching My HiME, rather than seing the next episode of Otome. I really hope it becomes an action/drama like the original. I don't think I'll able to become as hooked on it if it doesn't. Then again, I've never really been one for comedy.

Oh well, I think it's something we all suspected anyway.

http://img433.imageshack.us/img433/8934/11289478439053dc.jpg

Anyway, the Character Designer has come out and admitted that, yes, this is in fact Mai.

Biggest. Revelation. Ever.

KiraraKim

10-10-2005, 07:00 PM

Wasn't Mai in the preview for the next episode. Or was I seeing things?

Anyways I am not really sure what I feel I had fun watching it but I kind of missed the intensity of the first episode of Mai Hime. The good thing about making this series in an alternative universe is they can surprise us with the plot since we aren't familiar with this new world.

I am a little upset about Mikoto though since she was one of my favorite characters in Mai Hime.

Shadowmage

10-10-2005, 07:41 PM

Wasn't Mai in the preview for the next episode. Or was I seeing things?
Nope, checked it; she's not there.

Roark

10-10-2005, 08:04 PM

OMG! Best. Line. Ever.

No, THIS is the best anime line ever:

Tyrdium

10-10-2005, 08:25 PM

Just finished the first episode. That was fun! I wasn't really expecting anything, since I haven't seen Mai Hime, but this was quite entertaining! I'll definitely be watching the next episode.

Tech design good, magic thingy design good, mecha thingy design good, character design seems reasonable... No objections here! Kinda hard to judge a series based on the first episode, though.

Sorrow-kun

10-10-2005, 09:45 PM

No, THIS is the best anime line ever:Yeah, you're right. But that's for different reasons ;)

etane

10-12-2005, 12:58 PM

Saw the first ep. Thumbs up.

The royalty in dere are sorta annoying doh.

And, I don't like how mai otome's powers have to be "activated".

Feels so... enslaved.

AstralLionheart

10-12-2005, 02:47 PM

If the Slave and his master are any indication, perhaps the Otome and their master are linked the same way?

That way, both Master and Otome's fates are equally linked. I guess they do have to kiss up to activiate their powers, but they are also asking for the lives of the Master at the same time. Equivalent Trade.

Shadowmage

10-12-2005, 02:50 PM

Shadowmage

10-16-2005, 10:23 AM

Moe

10-16-2005, 10:46 AM

Episode 2

This episode just introduces a lot of old faces (and a few new ones)... Including another seemingly homosexual. From what I see, this whole Mai-star system seems to be a cross between the love system from Mai-Hime and the servant system from Twelve Kingdoms. Anways, Nagi is his old self (thank god) and things are going to be heating up next episode.

ok, i guess i'm normal then, i thought i saw some lesbian-ish action going on in this episode...
this episode was really good. i enjoyed it.
well now i hafta finish mai hime....

Shadowmage

10-16-2005, 03:52 PM

Hmmm...

After surfing on several forums I noticed something quite peculiar. (Intro song ftw!)
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Shadowmage_Shin/vlcsnap-1817461.png

Also, it seems that there will be a flashback eventually. (This might explain the father complex...)

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Shadowmage_Shin/vlcsnap-1821198.png

Linuts

10-16-2005, 04:06 PM

Is it just me or did one of the characters get a sex change as well?

http://asip.tyrdium.com/otome.jpg

Shadowmage

10-16-2005, 04:21 PM

Is it just me or did one of the characters get a sex change as well?

http://asip.tyrdium.com/otome.jpg

I don't recall any characters resembling her... Then again the character designs are not the most distinctive.

loner

10-16-2005, 04:40 PM

That is not Reito, but Chie Harada, one of Mai's friend, the lover of gossip. She got rid of her glasses.

Looks like Miyu's back too.

Linuts

10-16-2005, 04:40 PM

Not the best picture of the character I'm talking about but...

http://www.earth-alliance.org/Memento/Mai_HiME/23/B29.jpg

That's who the girl reminded me of in that scene

* Linuts shivers

Edit: Loner Aaaah ok that's might be it then... But the resemblence is uncanny o_O.

AstralLionheart

10-19-2005, 02:31 AM

The new Chie:

http://randomc.animeblogger.net/image/Mai-Otome/Mai-Otome%20-%2002%20-%2032.jpg

The Old Chie:
http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/meganekko/harada_chie-2.jpg

And good ol Reito-san

http://www.earth-alliance.org/Memento/Mai_HiME/23/B29.jpg

If it is Chie, she's gotten a lot of aggresive lines drawn on her face and hair now, much like Reito's. In fact, seeing as how some of the characters are now taking different role's, I would say the new Chie is essentially the old Reito. I do admit, Chie was a manly woman to start with (Mai even said she would've fallen for Chie if she was a man), but Chie was pretty reserved in Mai Hime compared to this new installment!

I don't really feel the urgency or the dramatic buildup that Mai Hime threw at us early on though. This feels more like a comedic alternate universe than a serious sequel.

Sorrow-kun

10-21-2005, 05:14 AM

Just watched the second episode. Good to watch this episode in the same subbers that I watched the first series in. Makes me nostolgic... for whatever reason. Anyway, more fun, again. Even more so in this episode. I think a lot of the fun in this is seeing the old characters doing completely unexpected and surprising things (eg, Yukariko and the chalk, Chie the dyke).

Only the second episode, but the plot's moving along at a decent rate, IMO. Ended with a small cliff-hanger, in traditional Mai-HiME style. I'm expecting several of those. Little hints of seriousness between all the mayhem. But, at this stage, I still can't see any reason why this isn't going to end up surprising all of us.

Speaking of surprises, I certainly wasn't expecting to see Nagi in this series at all. IMO, Nagi's appearance opens up all sorts of possibilities, as far as just who can appear. And with fan-favourites like Miyu and Midori, for example, still no where in sight... well... the possibilities are boundless. But, I think the biggest thing that could spell Otome's eventual downfall is if the old characters steal too much of the spotlight. However, considering Arika's uncanny ability to drag mayhem with her everywhere she goes, as if it's something that's caught around her ankle, and she can't shake it off, with any amount of luck, this shouldn't happening.

And I've come to the conclusion that Mai-Otome Shizuru is the greatest character of all time.

ShinoMatrix

10-21-2005, 07:35 AM

Of all time? Haha... taking it a bit far aren't we?:rolleyes2

soundchazer

10-21-2005, 08:34 AM

Viewed episode 2.

Am I the only one who thinks after comparing the first 2 episodes of both Mai Hime and Mai Otome, that Otome has done a better job making things interesting and move at a faster pace than Hime?

Fun episode. I did enjoy it quite a bit. I wouldn't dislike the idea of keeping it a bit less serious than Hime and have comedy be present in every episode.

Sakito

10-21-2005, 08:39 AM

Linuts

10-21-2005, 09:07 AM

And I've come to the conclusion that Mai-Otome Shizuru is the greatest character of all time.

Just because she is a raging lesbian who spreads her hardcore yuri aura on every female character she meets does not make her the greatest character of al-

Disregard that, I suck

soundchazer

10-21-2005, 09:09 AM

Just because she is a raging lesbian who spreads her hardcore yuri aura on every female character she meets does not make her the greatest character of al-

Disregard that, I suck

Anyone who knows anime Lesbians knows that Anna-chan, from He is my master is the best of them all.

The only big thing with Shizuru is she is very forward about it.

AstralLionheart

10-21-2005, 08:13 PM

Looks like Reito is coming back, as one of the two masked characters in Episode 3.

Looks like either Mai or Midori is with him. Oh I hope Mai hasn't fallen for that trecherous bastard!

PerfectDeath

10-21-2005, 09:19 PM

okay for my late review for this show.

First off it didn't occur to me that this was the sequal to mai hime... in fact i didn't get it till the OP. Now this started on a different footing, almost like they are trying to combine the mai hime manga with the anime and throw in some ever so succesful and briliant he is my master.

I actualy didn't mind the begining of Mai Hime... really didn't. But this begining is just O_o
o_O
ya...
the uniforms are something that aims right for my pet-peeve. I hate those uniforms, and we can do without the boobie transformations. Except for the hottie characters that are not 14 or 12. Like 17 years old is good for fanservice.
maybe i'm just getting old :?

The new main character is an earsore.
the "slaves" shoot penis cannons
the girls are supposed to be obedient peppy maids
the hole lesbian thing won't have an impact
the transformations are just too... magic gurly ~_~
bla bla bla... the evil white haird guy still rocks though :D

I hate the concept <_<
i'll keep watching with hopes that they'll do a twist after 13 eps with lots of drama. But i'm still sketchy about this one.

loner

10-22-2005, 01:50 AM

Ep. 2

Uh, actually not much to talk about the story of the actual episode, since it went as predictable as it gets. What's important is the various hints it throws out at scenes concerning Sergey. In fact, so far the adults have been the more interesting characters. And Shizuru still rocks. Loads of major players during HIMElander comes back. Shiho is the mean-spirited psycho, and have now adopted the infamous 'driller' locks from MariMite Haru. Nao is also still Nao, though there's no sign she's seducing men yet. She's as sharp as ever. Chie's upped her coolness factor by 100 times, and yeah there is an aura of Reito coming from her. And finally, Nagi makes his appearance, with the mischievious smile, questionable motives and all that.

Garderobe Academy again reminds me of MariMite, with all the rankings and 'onee-sama's. Of course there's a total lack of serenity and subtlety that defines MariMite, and instead we get maidos instead of actual students. There's also lots of frictions between the girls, with each fighting to be the best.

So far Sunrise is doing a decent job. SC is right, this is a better start than Mai HiME. I was initially sceptic about the concept, but now i think there's a very good chance they can pull this off.

Moe

10-22-2005, 08:27 AM

episode 3 was great, saw it this morning... great battle... until... yeah not gonna even give you a spoiler...

Shadowmage

10-22-2005, 10:44 AM

Episode 3

Action has become the primary focus of this series. Like a lot of people said, the pacing for this series is quick. While the fight scenes lack the punch of a lot of new shows (*Hack Blood+), it is a huge improvement over the first Mai Hime. On a side note, I like the accompanying music; the vocals are extremely fitting.

As for eyecatches...

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Shadowmage_Shin/vlcsnap-6819046.png

I forsee these transformation scenes becoming extremely annoying in the future.

PS I like the dialogue for the episode 4 teaser... I wonder why she didn't wear any. I blame that one Orphan. Anyways, the next episode seems like a fanservice episode.... Darn it.

Sorrow-kun

10-22-2005, 03:07 PM

Anyways, the next episode seems like a fanservice episode.... Darn it.If Natsuki's involved, that is sooo not a bad thing.

* Sorrow-kun will watch ep 3 when decent subbers have it out.

Gigadi

10-23-2005, 01:14 PM

Not much to say, everything is being kept tidy and neatly trimmed. I'm looking foward to seeing what amazing power she(the main char) will show in order to save everyone. Sound famaliar?

loner

10-24-2005, 02:21 AM

Ep. 3

Uh...there's not much worth mentioning in the plot going on so far. Nagi tricks Mashiro into approving the fight, coronation takes place, fight takes place, Arika shows some unforseen powers, yadda yadda yadda. Nothing special yet, but then again, I ain't expecting any.

Again, it's the small subtle hints that matter, and after learning the lesson in Mai HiME, it's important to catch them this time around. Sergey remains the most interesting character. I like him much more than Tate, as he seems to know what he's doing, and he has a much more interesting past anyways. And yeah, looks like someone we know might be back...

Yeah, the hooded person with the mask. Her hair resembles Midori. Now how ironic would that be

Anyways, here's some information you may find useful in viewing this: the Otome Hierarchy
Coral class (beginners, red war-robe, Nina is #1)
Pearl Class (advanced, white/grey war-robe, Akane is #1)
Meister (fully qualified Otomes, complete with their bright colored robes)
Pillars (5 most powerful Otomes, all possess a special jewel)
Just like most of the early episodes were kept going by the specuations as to who's the next Hime, this show's main mystery early on (or even throughout the series) will be who's the pillars. So far, 3 can be confirmed:
Shizuru
Natsuki (yar, she's an Otome. Must see her in tights)
Rena Sayer (the woman in the beginning carrying Arika, same as the woman in Sergey's photo album that Nina scowled at, her jewel passed on to Arika)

Sorrow-kun

10-24-2005, 03:43 AM

Just watched the third episode. I still think there's been no issue with the pacing, and things are happening at a good speed. It's done a good job setting up the mystery surrounding the events of 14 years ago, and, I personally think it's done a fair job at making Arika an interesting character. I still think the biggest pitfall this series could face is if it lets the old cast steal too much of the spotlight, but seeing Arika's performance in the battle in this episode, not more than an episode after her mayhem filled chase around the school campus in the last episode gives me hope that this won't happen, since it looks like she's got enough personality to really do a good job in the lead role, and not give up the spotlight without a fight to a Mai, Midori, Natsuki or whoever ever may challenge her for it.

Speaking of Midori, most people suspect it's her under that cape.
Probably is, but that wasn't exactly my first thought when I saw it.

Oh, and on the topic of the transformation scenes, I actually don't mind them. Like I said earlier this thread, the summoning sequences in Mai-HiME were actually one of the other things that I thought were done really well that people don't really seem to talk about. I haven't seen enough of them here to be sure if they're going to be as good as they were in HiME, but I don't really have issues with Shizuru's so far.

Oh, and Mai Otome Shizuru is still the greatest character of all time :)

Tyrdium

10-30-2005, 08:25 PM

Episode 4: Another good episode! We get to learn a bit more about the Otome, etc. I'm not quite sure why the played up the fanservice so much in the preview, since it only lasted for about a minute.

Shadowmage

10-30-2005, 08:33 PM

Episode 4: Another good episode! We get to learn a bit more about the Otome, etc. I'm not quite sure why the played up the fanservice so much in the preview, since it only lasted for about a minute.
This may be a trite statement, but...
http://members.cox.net/rgutierrez6/Images/onegaitwins.jpg
(SC, pm me if you want it removed.)

Episode 4
It seems that not all the characters have undergone personality changes. The cast is as quirky as ever. It seems that the story is about to go into a "school days" arc. This may be a good time to relate the audience with the characters... But I have yet to find a new character I like.

Linuts

10-30-2005, 08:57 PM

Hmmm so....

We found out Otomes can't be with a male since that will destroy their powers. So doesn't this make Shizuru the perfect Otome?

w0lfW00ds_gh0st

11-02-2005, 02:05 PM

well i think that given the ups and downs and ups and downs in Mai HiME i think they just wanted to be more forthright about things. they must have said screw the major plot twists and screwing with the viewers head lets just start things off immediately!! im glad i dont think i could go thru the Mai HiME slowness and crazy ending again ... tho the beginning eps were pretty darn funny =P

Sorrow-kun

11-02-2005, 06:38 PM

I've been purposely staying out of this thread until after I see ep 4, on the possibility I might get something spoilt. But, since there's news, I'll post it.

Unfortunately, one of the major fansubbers has dropped the project. (Worse still, they dropped it for Negima... *shudders*). A pity, since, even though they weren't my preferred subbers, their releases were still quality... and timely to boot.

So now we're pretty much left with the high-quality subbers and the speed subbers. I still encourage everyone to oppose speed subbing in all its forms!

Sorrow-kun

11-04-2005, 10:38 PM

After much battling with S*****'s user-unfriendly XDCC bots, I finallly got to watch the 4th ep. I don't think anyone can claim any issues with the pacing now. Things have gone extremely well, and it's well and truly surpassed any expectations I've had for it to this stage.

I had to laugh at Shizuru and Haruka.... as soon as the two of them were in the same room together, I knew it was inevitable that Haruka would be at Shizuru's throat, and when it finally did happen, I almost jumped out of chair and cheered at the screen. Subtle role reversal between Haruka and Yukino as well... now it's Yukino in charge, and Haruka the (not so quiet) loyal servant.

Natsuki's introduction of the "consequences of being an Otome" routine sets up some interesting laws for the universe, but I somehow suspect that these boundaries aren't going to be thoroughly explored FMA-style... especially considering how happily yuri a lot of the cast members seem.

Nao, for some reason, I suspect is going to be one of the more interesting characters this time round. Last time, she really did play a role more than anything else, and, truthfully her character wasn't really explored or developed that much. I get the feeling she's going to get a different treatment, and possibly more attention this time round... call it an odd hunch more than anything else.

Looks like Nina and Arika are going to have the standard Akira-Hikaru rivalry. However, I also get the impression this is almost certainly not going to play out the same way.

Oh, and something worth sharing with everyone:

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/2457/11309507700090oc.th.jpg (http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/2457/11309507700090oc.jpg)

Good stuff.

w0lfW00ds_gh0st

11-05-2005, 07:07 AM

loner

11-05-2005, 09:47 AM

Obviously Arika is not the brightest person around. At this point, we don't really know who Arika's mother is. We just know from her that she says her grandmother told her her mother was an Otome, but that's all she know about her mother. Of course, she probably should've recognized what you said when she was lectured on the no man-loving stuff, but well, I guess she's a bit slow.

Uh this is a set up episode, and try to introduce the personality of many of the students in Gardrobe. Unlike the start of Mai HiME, there is quite a bit of tension between the students already, thanks to the HikaGo Factor. That means a lot of deceiving and conflicts, which will be fun.

Haruka is even more awesome in Mai Otome. I recommend threesome between her, Shizuru and Natsuki.

w0lfW00ds_gh0st

11-05-2005, 11:26 AM

Shadowmage

11-05-2005, 09:08 PM

Episode 5

To sum up, this was a fun episode. Mediocre overall, but still entertaining. I hope this anime proves to be deeper than this. Unlike Mai Hime, I do not like the main characters. Arika is not as appealing as Mai. The entire cast seems more cliched this time around.
Anways, it seems that this Mai School is like any high school. There is plenty of jealosy and bullying... Juliet is as cunning as always, and knows her way in the underground. I wonder how this teenage drama is going to turn out.

Gigadi

11-06-2005, 07:08 PM

I know that this is a set up, but boy was I bored. I just hope that something dynamic happens soon because there is no...
a-fanservice
b-fighting
c-pretty scenes
d-comedy
.....to hold me over for much longer.

EDIT:Sorrow-kun, I don't get it.

Shadowmage

11-06-2005, 07:18 PM

EDIT:Sorrow-kun, I don't get it.

She only has eyes for Natsuki... YURRIII!! (... Linuts...)

Sorrow-kun

11-09-2005, 05:55 AM

Ep 5 was good stuff. Other than being entertaining as all hell, it also highlights some of the various relationships forming/existing between the characters as well as continuing the plot at a good pace, with quite a few interesting questions being posedEg, the anonymous sponser, and the conspiracy to undermine Arika.

On that topic, I have to disagree with much of the anti-Arika sentiment about. Personally, I think she's the (near) ideal lead character for this type of story, and her odd mix of naivity (from being brought up in the sticks) and determined nature (even if she did need a kick in the ass from Nina in this particular ep) should make her role in the story interesting to follow. Like I've been saying, this series is more likely to succeed if she's the center of attention for the majority of it, and I think she's more than capable of carrying the weight of being the main character.

Next ep looks like a total loli fanservice fest, but if it proves to be entertaining, yet still propagating the story as this one did, then I won't mind. And the name of the next episode made me do a double take:

http://img302.imageshack.us/img302/8459/capture6sw.th.jpg (http://img302.imageshack.us/img302/8459/capture6sw.jpg)

People who have watched other subs: Confirm/deny. Is this really the next episode title or is it just a bit of funsubbing?

Edit: Confirmed in an odd way. This was posted on 4chan to prove thatSuigin Tou comes back in Ep 6.

http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/8310/11315954256527sq.png

But, it also proved that the episode title for ep 6 does in fact have "orz" in it. My reaction: HOLY SHIT ROFLMAO!!!!

soundchazer

11-09-2005, 06:19 AM

Well... it seems to me this is going to be the equivalent to the panty thief episode in the Original Mai Hime (funny as hell)

mmyy

11-11-2005, 09:19 AM

the one thing i dont get is that how can Arika's mother be a Mai-star Otome? if getting it on with a guy does whatever it does, and gets u pregnant, then would she have given up loyalty to that master to fall in love and have a child? isnt that a big no-no in the world of Otome's?

Yes, that's why she lost her Otome powers and got defeated (?) in the first 2 mins of episode 1. Try watching it again.

Or was that just to trick me into thinking she's Arika's mom?

soundchazer

11-13-2005, 06:57 AM

Episode 6:

THis is the equivalent of the panty thief episode in Mai Hime, only more perverted. Those who dislike tentacle monsters, yuri scenes or girls in swimsuits, please avoid.

I found it funny, but not original. I seriously hope this type of comedy will not keep reappearing later on.

w0lfW00ds_gh0st

11-13-2005, 07:36 AM

i think this kind of comedy barely worked with Mai HiME b/c the girls were a lot older, or atleast seemed a lot older, but i mean Arika and all seem like theyre 12, they may actually be 12, but yuri with 12 y/o is quite the turnoff for me, so if that continues i may just stop watching.
but the panty thief ep from Mai HiME was one of the best i hurt myself laughing =P

Shadowmage

11-13-2005, 10:30 AM

Episode 6

I've come up with a title for this episode "Nina Gets Raped... Twice."

While not as funny as the panty thief episode, it was still quite amusing...

etane

11-13-2005, 11:46 AM

Episode 6

I've come up with a title for this episode "Nina Gets Raped... Twice."

While not as funny as the panty thief episode, it was still quite amusing...

I think the word "tentacle" belongs somewhere in the title.

Also...

Nina=Souske
Arika=Naruto

Kinda sorta...

Just add "j", and Nina becomes Ninja...

Gigadi

11-14-2005, 01:13 PM

One word. LAME!

Fanservice (while nice), with no development what so ever. A waste of 22 minutes.
This show needs to pick up, and in a hurry.

soundchazer

11-14-2005, 01:15 PM

Come on... it wasn't THAT bad. As long as they keep it to one episode per series, that is OK. Now if you pull a Love Hina and have several fan service moments per episode, then that is another matter altogether.

etane

11-14-2005, 01:39 PM

I think it's pretty LaMe too considering how "high quality" mai hime is. However, I am having new appreciation for Nina. She's so cute with her hair down... can you see me drooling?

soundchazer

11-14-2005, 01:41 PM

I think it's pretty LaMe too considering how "high quality" mai hime is.

Excuse me? Panty thief episode? The Hitchhiking routine? Those were part of Mai Hime.

etane

11-14-2005, 01:42 PM

Excuse me? Panty thief episode? The Hitchhiking routine? Those were part of Mai Hime.

You're right. Panty thief>Tentacle rape. SC Win. Etane Pwned.

Gigadi

11-14-2005, 05:07 PM

You're right. Panty thief>Tentacle rape. SC Win. Etane Pwned.
I was kinda like "WTF?!", b ut I didn't say anything.

Tyrdium

11-14-2005, 09:11 PM

Tentacles!

*cough*

Anyway, this episode was reasonably amusing (although they could've toned down the ecchi a bit), but I'd rather not see another one. I'll take my anime clean, thankyouverymuch.

Now then, stuff they did right:

No nudity! A good start.
Plot! Yes, this episode actually advanced the plot. It wasn't entirely filler, although it came closer than the other episodes.
Comedic. I'm wondering if they were trying to parody tentacle monsters or something.

Akuhei

11-15-2005, 05:08 AM

i don't think it was a parody of a tentacle monster, it WAS a tentacle monster. It went a little over the edge but as you said there was no nudity... just a slight overdose of ecchi stuff >_>. Especially the look on Nina's face when they tickle her... it doesn't look very much like a smile.

MirMir

11-15-2005, 10:12 AM

Ahaha yeah that's pretty, ah......interesting. Where do they come up with this? sounds great tho.

Sorrow-kun

11-15-2005, 07:11 PM

So, here I was, trying to sit down to a quiet breakfast and what is this that appears on my screen? Loli ecchi swimsuit tentacle rape. Why, I never!

I don't think I can ever remember a time that a single episode of something has ever sent 4chan /a/ into the frenzy that this episode did, and now that I've seen it, I can understand why. 'Twas the most brilliant thing I've seen to date in my short lifetime.

OMG @ Shiho. My reaction to her in episode 2 was "Hmm... it appears she's gone quite batty". That's now changed to "Holy crap, she's completely batshit insane". I am interesting in knowing exactly why she holds a vendetta against Nina and Arika such that she desires to "spiral" them with invisible eels that combine into a giant tentacle monster in the presence of sugar that she summoned with her rotating phallic object (wow, when I put it that way, it almost sounds sane), but at the moment, I think I'm ok with chalking it up to "Holy crap, she's completely batshit insane".

OMG @ Nao. Like I said before, I'm seriously hoping she plays a bigger role this time round then she did last time, and, the way she's been presented here (as the tentacle-monster-kicking cool yet caring senpai) suggests that I might get what I'm hoping for. Good stuff. Interesting some of the comments she made about the role of the Otome, and the possibility of a preparation for war later on. Pretty much points out that uselessness of the military and how much could potentially be riding on some of the fights later on (ie, the fate of nations). It does put the role of the Otome in a new light.

OMG @ Nina. I'm sure deep down she enjoyed that. Extremely interesting thatshe's adopted.Certainly poses some interesting questions concerning the main mystery and Sergey's role in everything that happened ~14 years ago.

My only criticism of this episode was that it was a fanservice episode and Natsuki wasn't majorly involved in it. Disappointing. Highly anticipating the next episode though. Definitely looks like something big is about to happen.

PerfectDeath

11-16-2005, 12:18 PM

Okay i'm back after watching a few episodes. Now i think that sunrise is trying to rush into the good stuff by throwing in the HimeLander segment. Which i shall call "SURVIOVOR OTOME!!!11111"
:P
why do i call it this? only how many otome can become a mieser and pearls so you have that green haired chick using the timid brown haird girl to try and eliminate their competition. And not my tenticle rapeing them... oh no. Unlike in Mai Hime, the Himes were kinda buddies they didn't know about the himelander, but they introduced it a lot quicker. The characters are kinda forming alliances etc, etc and instead of voting them off they just make them lose face.
Also i think that major scarhead is the one sponsoring anty.

Though i don't like how some of the characters are really... childish... makes the fanservice less effective cause i feel like a lolicon for watching it.

You can make their boobs bigger, but that doesn't make them any older <_<

Tyrdium

11-20-2005, 07:43 PM

Episode 7 - ZOMG! Background! Plot! Strife! Character advancement! Organ of DOOOOOOM!

Without a doubt, the best episode of Mai Otome yet. If it keeps going in this direction, I'll be very happy!

PerfectDeath

11-20-2005, 08:50 PM

Though i was dissapointed with the fancy uber powerful lance sword finishing move... she jsut floated there then WSSSSHING she's on the otehr side and BOOOM penis cannon down... wait this one didn't have a penis cannon... maybe that's why it was owned :D

Anyway should be interesting to see how anty keeps her jewl a secret... well the next ep kinda shows her taping it... how original :D
if all else fails... paint it.

soundchazer

11-22-2005, 12:54 AM

Episode 7:

Now we are finally starting to get somewhere. It seems they are now past most of the initial "get to know your characters" and they are moving towards plot development.

Again, they seem to be doing a better job at it than with the initial series. It remains to be seen if they are able to capture the same dramatic impact of the second half of the series like the Mai Hime did.

etane

11-22-2005, 01:04 AM

7 didn't do it for me. I blame it on Tyridium. He built it up so much in his previous post that it got my expectations too high.

Plus, I still don't like the idea that Otome's can't have sex. So oppressive. Why not just call it Mai Nunnery. Even that nun in Mai Hime retained her powers after she got date raped.

soundchazer

11-22-2005, 01:10 AM

Do I need to spell it out for you?

Y.U.R.I.

etane

11-22-2005, 01:12 AM

Who's Yuri? I am still in that "get to know the characters" stage. I only know Arika and Nina by name. I've forgotten everyone's names in Mai Hime already too.

I just googled... Yuri is lesbo action?

It just occured to me that Otomes CAN have sex. It isn't the act of sex that deactivates the bug or whatever it is that is the source of the otome's power rather it's the milky liquid that results from the act that deactivates them? So any sex not involving the milky white stuff will be ok?

soundchazer

11-22-2005, 01:19 AM

Since I don't know whether you are saying this for real, or just as sarcasm, here you go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_(animation)

Tyrdium

11-22-2005, 04:11 AM

7 didn't do it for me. I blame it on Tyridium. He built it up so much in his previous post that it got my expectations too high.Hehe... Boys and girls, this is why you should wait a day before posting your thoughts on an episode.

Note to self: wait a bit so you can think about what you're posting. :D

Gigadi

11-22-2005, 08:16 AM

Well that was...................LAME. I had flashbacks of Power Rangers, Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z all at the same time due to this series.
Maybe it's just because I hate Mashiro. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Tremolo

11-22-2005, 08:29 AM

When the first episode emerged, I hated it. Really hated it.

Then a few days ago, I watched it again to see if I'd overreacted. I had. The main bone of contention was Arika's voice, which fortunately got toned down after the first episode. Lame, I know - but it really rubbed me up the wrong way.

So, I'm now six episodes down and really enjoying this. I still prefer HiME, but this is very entertaining stuff so far and I'm waiting it anticipation for the drama to really hit later on. I'm glad it still has the same atmosphere as HiME (although the animation does seem slightly less fluid - there hasn't been anything like the fight in episode one of that so far, although I'm holding out hope) and the same lovely character designs and music.

Hardly the best new show of the season so far (Mushishi gets that acolade), but it could well develop into something special yet.

soundchazer

11-22-2005, 08:35 AM

We also have to consider the fact that not all anime are meant to be homeruns, but it shouldn't detract from the enojoyment factor. I even said as much with the Mai Hime review.

Lurker

11-22-2005, 10:51 PM

Plus, I still don't like the idea that Otome's can't have sex. So oppressive.

Who says it isn't exactly just that? It seems to be that the "no sex with men" thing is either a way of controlling the girls, a way of preventing something amazing / dangerous from happening, or the whole reason why the men are the enemy (as in, they're all men to purposely prevent the girls from becoming Mai Star Otome; rape anyone?).

Recall, it seems as though Nao is having no problem running about galavanting with people of the opposite sex. And it appears as though Akane has a special relationship with Kazuya-kun again.

etane

11-22-2005, 11:28 PM

Sorry, I am kinda having a hard time understanding what you're saying/advocating.

Either "no sex with men" is a way of controlling, or the men are the enemy? Either sleeping with the enemy or no sleeping with the enemy? Either straight sex or lesbo sex? *scratches head*

Lurker

11-23-2005, 01:04 AM

Sorry, I am kinda having a hard time understanding what you're saying/advocating.

It is either:

1) A way of controlling / manipulating the girls.
2) A way of preventing a male / female coupling which would result in something either amazing, like making an all powerful good Otome, or disasterous, like making an all powerful evil Otome. Or both.
3) A reason why it seems that the enemies have been men.

etane

11-23-2005, 01:31 AM

It is either:

1) A way of controlling / manipulating the girls.
2) A way of preventing a male / female coupling which would result in something either amazing, like making an all powerful good Otome, or disasterous, like making an all powerful evil Otome. Or both.
3) A reason why it seems that the enemies have been men.

Ahhh I see what you're saying now. Sorta sounds like that movie... underword? darkword? You know.. the mix blood of werewolf and vampires were forbidden... later onto find out it's because the head vamp is afraid of a more evolved higher food chain monster would take over.

Who knows.. something wonderful might result from tentacle rape too, but we really don't know the gender of that "fish". It maybe female.... hence SC's Yuri scenario might be more possible.

Lurker

11-23-2005, 03:30 AM

It maybe female.... hence SC's Yuri scenario might be more possible.

SC's yuri theory is just as sound, because he knows anime, he's seen this before, and knows what sells.

PerfectDeath

11-23-2005, 11:29 AM

Okay PD's guide to defeating an Otome:
step1: with your diabolical labratory of EVIL!!!, refine the Y chromosome into a solution.
step2: place Y chromosome solution into a tranquilizer dart.
step3: hope you hit.
warnings: please do not spit, bleed, or ejaculate into the solution... that's just gross <_< Do this SCIENTIFICALY!!
Inno maybe i'm too smart...

But my belife for the only enemies being men is that maybe their Y chromosome activates the summoning of a Slave so the Black whatever just choses the males of their population or sumthin. Or there is some hidden reason that will provide an interesting plot device ~_~

But my question is... how could anty have an Otome as a mother... without the mother losing her powers... or maybe she did lose them. Hence why she gets owned and anty inherits her jewel. Which then cancels anty out of being the princes, unless there was an affair O_o!!

holy crap i'm on a role here o_O!!

Shadowmage

11-23-2005, 12:57 PM

Episode 7

For some reason this show is reminding me of a standard RPG. It seems that we will eventually see an adult version of Mikoto sometime in the future. Anyways, the story is progressing smoothly, but the costumes still irk me. The creators are making the show far to predictable. While I'm sure that a lot of the spoilers are intentional, I wish they'd do a better job at originality.

etane

11-23-2005, 01:33 PM

Lurker

11-23-2005, 10:39 PM

But my question is... how could anty have an Otome as a mother... without the mother losing her powers... or maybe she did lose them. Hence why she gets owned and anty inherits her jewel. Which then cancels anty out of being the princes, unless there was an affair O_o!!

holy crap i'm on a role here o_O!!

This is the whole problem: Arika's mom. Whether we are to believe that Arika's mom was truly an Otome is up in the air. Because of that vague possibility, I have to believe the "no sex with men" is a sham. It's an old literary plot device that nothing ever gets mentioned and potentially contradicted without it having some sort of meaning.

Maybe the male enemies should charm the otomes into bed in order to defeat them like Nina's foster dad did to Antsy's mom (speculation ofcourse).

We'd have to change this from Mai-Z-OTOME to Mai-H-OTOME if they did that.

etane

11-24-2005, 02:21 AM

We'd have to change this from Mai-Z-OTOME to Mai-H-OTOME if they did that.

H as in Hentai?

soundchazer

11-24-2005, 05:11 AM

This is the whole problem: Arika's mom. Whether we are to believe that Arika's mom was truly an Otome is up in the air. Because of that vague possibility, I have to believe the "no sex with men" is a sham. It's an old literary plot device that nothing ever gets mentioned and potentially contradicted without it having some sort of meaning.

This is the Oracle speaking...
Antsy will end up being the true princess, and the gems were passed to her by the Otome that guarded her family and who fled with her when she was an infant

Shadowmage

11-24-2005, 07:24 AM

This is the Oracle speaking...
Antsy will end up being the true princess, and the gems were passed to her by the Otome that guarded her family and who fled with her when she was an infant
Wait this was a secret? I figured that around episode 1...

Geez people, read more books.

Sorrow-kun

11-24-2005, 07:32 AM

Yeah, that's been one of the more popular theories floating around.

soundchazer

11-24-2005, 10:07 AM

Wait this was a secret? I figured that around episode 1...

Geez people, read more books.

Nah... I also did figure it out then. How they execute this theory is the interesting part of the equation. But it does beg the question:

How can you be queen, when you are supposed to marry and have kids, and also be an Otome, who is supposed NOT to marry or come in contact with men?

Shadowmage

11-24-2005, 10:13 AM

Nah... I also did figure it out then. How they execute this theory is the interesting part of the equation. But it does beg the question:

How can you be queen, when you are supposed to marry and have kids, and also be an Otome, who is supposed NOT to marry or come in contact with men?
Pfft... Just annul your vow of chastity. You're the queen, and you can do whatever you want.

Tyrdium

11-24-2005, 10:17 AM

How can you be queen, when you are supposed to marry and have kids, and also be an Otome, who is supposed NOT to marry or come in contact with men?Virgin birth! Antsy's a Christ figure!
:D

etane

11-24-2005, 11:39 AM

Yah only the queen can give birth... turns out all the otomes are bees and the male enemies are lizard people.

Shadowmage

11-24-2005, 11:46 AM

...and the male enemies are lizard people.
That would describe the tentacles...
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Shadowmage_Shin/vlcsnap-190333.png

etane

11-24-2005, 02:41 PM

That would describe the tentacles...
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Shadowmage_Shin/vlcsnap-190333.png

This would describe the "H"?

PerfectDeath

11-24-2005, 06:27 PM

That sounds like biological warfare and is banned by Geneva Convention. Maybe the male enemies should charm the otomes into bed in order to defeat them like Nina's foster dad did to Antsy's mom (speculation ofcourse).

This is another planet with weird tenticle growing eel and space ships. But yet they got FMA style vehicles.

This would describe the "H"?

No the "H" describes the Z :D

This is the Oracle speaking...

the logicaly logical does not effect me, my 60 of wisers gives me 90% resistance to logic.:cookie:

PerfectDeath

11-24-2005, 06:28 PM

Tyrdium

11-26-2005, 09:06 PM

Episode 8 - Another good one! Parts of it made it feel like a filler episode, but overall it wound up adding a good chunk to the backstory and plot. It feels like the story's going to start moving a bit more quickly now. Anybody know how many episodes Mai Otome's set for?

Ah, and [censored] started using "Meister" instead of "Mai Star", which is nice.

Gigadi

11-26-2005, 10:31 PM

I beleive that it's scheduled for 24. But in regards to this episode, I didn't like it. I think I'm losing intrest in this series all together. It's not the type of series I would normaly watch, buy you guys have got me hyped for it.

The next few episodes seems as though they will pick up though.

etane

11-26-2005, 11:12 PM

It's too obivous when miyu said to mashiro:

I will not allow you to debase arika.

Lurker

11-26-2005, 11:20 PM

Ah, and [censored] started using "Meister" instead of "Mai Star", which is nice.

Why is that nice? "Mai Star' Maid / Otome makes a lot more sense then "Meister" Maid / Otome. After all, the HiME star existed in the first one, here is a blue star in this one which I believe was referred to as the Mai Star. Unnecessary fumbling with translations?

PerfectDeath

11-28-2005, 11:47 PM

well at least we know that they came from another world :D
or sumthin...
anyway this episode basicaly said they'd end up killing eachother. Not really a curve ball that would suddenly make us say "WTF!! O_o"

Sorrow-kun

11-29-2005, 05:07 AM

POSTING IN AN OTOME THREAD!

Just watched episode 7. Is it just me, or did Mikoto propel the entire plot in this episode? She lead Arika to Mashiro, pushed them both through the entry to the secret passage, and then lead both of them to the secret organ. It almost seemed like a plot device until human Mikoto appeared momentarily. Now it looks like another interesting element to enter into the equation. What that equation is at this stage, it's still too early to tell, in my opinion.

As far as the story's concerned, we're not really told a lot we didn't know already, particularly regarding the 14-year-ago-mystery. But, I suppose we did learn a few things about Queen Windbloom. And we saw Otome Arika in full flight for the first time. Also, Miyu makes her first (fleeting) appearance. Pacing's still fine, considering the massive amount of time this series has yet to play with (unlike a certain other series I'm following).

Lurker

11-30-2005, 02:54 AM

Why is that nice? "Mai Star' Maid / Otome makes a lot more sense then "Meister" Maid / Otome. After all, the HiME star existed in the first one, here is a blue star in this one which I believe was referred to as the Mai Star. Unnecessary fumbling with translations?

Just realized why they did that.

If you pause it on the screen shot of the graves, the writing uses the term "Meister" instead of "Mai Star". Stupid Sunrise and their intentional double meanings. First it was Mai / My - HiME / hime and now this.

Sorrow-kun

12-01-2005, 02:53 AM

POSTING IN AN OTOME THREAD.... again!

Episode 8. So it appears we've confirmed Miss Black Hood is Midori (as most people suspected). A lot of the fun in this is still spotting characters from the old series. John Smith makes an appearance in this episode, as well as Natsuki's contact in the first series. More importantly, though, Miyu appears. Interesting is exactly what relationship Miyu had with Arika in the past. More interesting is that Miyu sees Arika as a bright light - hinting (in a fairly unsubtle way) that Miyu sees Arika in a similar way that the old Miyu saw Allysa in the old series.

A few more subtle hints that Arika is the real princess (sardines, anyone). Still no huge movements in the plot (although the pacing is about as one expects at this stage of the series), but this episode serves well to push the point that the Otome will have to fight one another in times of war. And the pieces seem to be slowly moving into place in a fashion very reminiscent to that of last time.

Next episode will be good though, if for no other reason than this:

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2780/capture6ic.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2780/capture6ic.jpg)

Wasn't episode 9 the beach episode in the old series as well?

Edit: Another popular theory is that everything is a big lie, and Shizuru's just using the whole Otome concept as an excuse to build one giant harem. Oh well, fine by me.

Frog

12-01-2005, 05:12 PM

Next episode will be good though, if for no other reason than this:

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2780/capture6ic.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2780/capture6ic.jpg)

.
I wonder whos getting more enjoyment out of that...

Anyway with the second half almost upon us i suspect the story will take a major turn for the better.

Shadowmage

12-03-2005, 01:04 PM

Episode 8

Hmmm... It seems that the characters will have to fight amongst one another once again. While I still think Mai Hime is better, I think that Mai Otome has a good chance to become a great anime.

Tyrdium

12-03-2005, 09:19 PM

Episode 9 - The plot thickens... A pretty good episode. Some fillerish stuff towards the beginning, but they advance the plot a bit. Everything's still fairly mysterious, though.

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/7681/vlcsnap121185801jg.th.jpg (http://img203.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap121185801jg.jpg)

Hehehe...

soundchazer

12-03-2005, 11:39 PM

Lies... at this point in My Hime, everyone still thought it was a subpar series, while Otome has already shown a better grasp of keeping people guessing who are the bad guys and what exactly do they want.

We are comparing a full series to 9 episodes. That seems a bit unfair to me. Otome, however, has one big disadvantage: we would no longer be surprised if it turns out to have a very dramatic second half, so they better make sure that they have a better story.

etane

12-04-2005, 05:12 PM

Arika shoulders all the camping gear... I think Arika's character shoulders the entire show. Without her tomboy personality shouldering the lack of a good plot or good supporting casts, the show is kinda going no where through 9. Bring back the tickling Nina scenes please.

I never complained about such things in Hime, and it only got better midway through.

Moe

12-04-2005, 06:42 PM

happy mushrooms, thats all i can say about episode 9...

Gigadi

12-04-2005, 06:58 PM

soundchazer

12-04-2005, 08:01 PM

I don't think it lacks a plot. It is just not evident where they are going with this.

The thing I do agree with is that aside from Arika, none of the other characters has been fleshed out to a point of making them interesting.

PerfectDeath

12-10-2005, 08:00 PM

Mai Hime lacked plot untill episode 12ish <_<

At least there is plot already. though they did a pretty shitty job with this
that green haired girl's intentions to hinder Antie's progress and get her out of the school. Now if it was a mistery of who it was, then it would have been a really cool twist. But now it is just some obviouse twist that seems to predictable now. So i hope they arn't going to be throwing away trumph cards like mad. Well they have one last card to throw, Since Nina is whitey's future Otome she is probably going to end up fighting Arika.

Shadowmage

12-10-2005, 08:17 PM

Episode 9

Fanservice made this episode interesting... Nothing else.

Okay, I honestly like where the plot is going. While the robe designs still scare me, the show has gotten better as of late. I just hope that we don't have to deal with the "villain of the week" scheme any time soon.

Tyrdium

12-10-2005, 09:32 PM

Episode 10 - Meh, the most fanservice I saw was Arika's naked back. (I see lack of fanservice as a good thing.) Purty summoning effect, good battle music as usual. I kinda like the robe and suit designs. Some plot advancement and minor hints at backstory. Overall a decent episode, but nothing too spectacular. I'd really like to see the backstory get developed more with this series.

Lurker

12-11-2005, 03:35 AM

For those who may not have figured this out, Tyrdium is speaking of episode 10. And I agree with his sentiments, although for some odd reason I found the scene between Tat... Sergey and Arika to be more cute then disturbing. There seems to be more to the mystery then we've been given. The biggest mystery is still how all this ties to Mai-HiME as a sequel. I guess we'll find out.

soundchazer

12-11-2005, 05:32 AM

Meh, the most fanservice I saw was Arika's naked back. (I see lack of fanservice as a good thing.) Purty summoning effect, good battle music as usual. I kinda like the robe and suit designs. Some plot advancement and minor hints at backstory. Overall a decent episode, but nothing too spectacular. I'd really like to see the backstory get developed more with this series.

If the first series (Mai Hime) showed us something, it is that we can probably expect the drama to unfold on the second half of the season.

Tyrdium

12-11-2005, 08:15 AM

For those who may not have figured this out, Tyrdium is speaking of episode 10.Heh, whoops. I didn't notice that Shadowmage was talking about episode 9.

If the first series (Mai Hime) showed us something, it is that we can probably expect the drama to unfold on the second half of the season.That would be great. I haven't seen Mai Hime, so I don't really have anything to compare it to.

Lurker

12-11-2005, 09:52 PM

That would be great. I haven't seen Mai Hime, so I don't really have anything to compare it to.

Part of me wants to tell you to go watch Mai HiME now before you see anymore. Part of me envies you for going into this series completely fresh. Since a perspective on this series alone would be a lot more profound then ones from those of us who have seen the previous series, I think I'll propose the latter option.

Sorrow-kun

12-11-2005, 10:03 PM

Episode 9 certainly wasn't the beach episode I thought it was going to be. But, this was fine too.

I remember it was about this time in HiME that the plot began revolving around Allyssa and Miyu. In a sense, they were a sort of "prelude" bad-guy. I suppose this time it's Midori and her gang of hooded badasses that are doing that job. I'm looking forward to seeing how this pans out, and if it will parallel the events of HiME in any way.

AstralLionheart

12-13-2005, 03:47 AM

Nina looks so depressed after Arika called Sergei by his first name and clung onto him when he was hit by a wave of pain : PPPP

And OMG, Midori dual wielding katanas that sheath INTO each other. So cool xDxDxD. Chibi Reito and Midori lolol.

Tyrdium

12-18-2005, 09:28 PM

Episode 11 - Aww, this one made me feel all warm and fuzzy near the end. :o

Sorta fillerish, but we do get some more backstory for Nina.

Lurker

12-18-2005, 09:36 PM

Even the filler episodes seem very transitive. We're moving from one thing to the next rather smoothly. Well sort of.

They seem to be moving along at such a smooth pace that they're forgetting about minor details and sideplots that possibly could have developped. Or, perhaps they're just sweeping them under the rug for a bit until they need them again.

In any event, this next episode is going to be ruined for a lot of us who've seen the original series. We know who Akira is, so no surprises here for us.

PerfectDeath

12-19-2005, 10:18 PM

i wouldn't call these episodes "filler" because the episodes reinforce the character's original personalities so the dramatic segment can be greatly contrasted to the so called "filler"

Anyway Sergy had better not get in with Arika... EWWWW ~_~

EWWW >_<

Anyway Tyrdium your blessed to not have seen Mai Hime. Episode 12 will b a surprise for you. But not for the people who have seen Mai Hime.
So no one spoil him <_<

teh spoils burn >_<
Plus the fan service isn't effective in this series unless your watchin the older characters... not the teachers >_<
EWWWW >_<

Sorrow-kun

12-25-2005, 08:55 AM

Episode 10. Holy crap, that was the best next-episode preview since Sachiko's "Marimite rap".

The pacing's been great, as many have said so far, but the flow from episode to episode has also been really good as well, in my opinion. Plenty of well placed plot points in this episode. Gakutenou looks to have gotten a monster upgrade. Interesting the direction the relationship between Arika and Sergay is taking.Especially since I have suspicions that she's his real daughter, and that Nina's the real princess.

Edit: Comments on episode 11 soon, since I'm in the midst of "acquiring"

Sorrow-kun

12-26-2005, 04:17 AM

Episode 11. I'm slightly more convinced my suspicion from the last episode about Arika and Nina is right.

A wild Takumi appears... and drags an unconscious Mashiro into a dark side alley for who knows what. The ultimate anti-trap is back as well in the form of Prince(ss) Akira. Less a plot so far as it is a series of events, but the way they flow has been excellent. I think this is the sort of the series that'd almost be more enjoyable marathoned.

Lurker

12-26-2005, 11:26 PM

Episode 12:

With Takumi comes Mai and we finally get some mention of our former heroine. Meanwhile, things kind of remain the same. We just seem to be moving along here, and like Mai-HiME things aren't "monster of the week" and episodic but seem to all make sense together.

My only problem so far is that we're halfway through this and there's almost too many damn characters to keep track of. Mai HiME had a big cast, but now we have Mai HiME's cast plus a large dose of Mai OTOME cast. I think Sunrise might have finally reached their limit on how many characters they can throw in one show and keep it interesting.

etane

01-03-2006, 01:46 PM

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but Arika makes a cameo appearance in Mai-Hime in the last episode for like 1 second. I just saw it this morning.

PerfectDeath

01-03-2006, 04:29 PM

Mai's reference supports the rumors about her being evil... well crazy.
I hope that we don't get swamped by mai's past developing those characters instead of the main trio.

Akuhei

01-08-2006, 10:34 AM

Episode 13:
Well apparently any thoughts of Mai being evil have been defeated :O. A slightly happier "ending" to Akane/Kazu thingy. The ending of the episode and some of the events that transpired during the episode indicate that we should start seeing some real action and plot development now. I can't wait for episode 14 x_x.

PerfectDeath

01-08-2006, 10:26 PM

yea they defeated them pretty fast O_o
one thing that i gotta agree with is akane's "no way"
Get an younger love relations for the main character... that's just disturbing ~_~

But episode 14 looks to be pretty sweet.

Lurker

01-09-2006, 02:06 AM

Well apparently any thoughts of Mai being evil have been defeated :O

What makes you think that? The way that Natsuki is acting when she thinks of Mai and the "tragic story" about the Fire Star lead me to believe that Mai isn't exactly Miss Congeniality right now.

I knew that Mai's character would have something to do with the anti-man attitude from Guard Robe Academy, now the question is "what is the answer that she found when she went searching through the woods?".

Akuhei

01-09-2006, 06:16 AM

Well I think it's safe to assume that we're going to be seeing Mai some time soon, whether she's alive or just a ghost is up to how they want to play that little story out. I don't see how she could really be evil... she went to the forest because she was sad, and then that picture of her, she didn't seem the "evil" type. I suppose we'll have to wait a little longer to be able to truthfully say whether or not Mai is/was evil, but I don't think they plan on going in that direction.

Lurker

01-09-2006, 08:02 PM

Evil is too strong a word. I just think Mai's going to end up being the main villain is all. Villains aren't necessarily "evil".

PerfectDeath

01-10-2006, 09:25 PM

u mean antagonist not villan, villan kinda means evil to some as well :D

anyway i hope that Mai's relations was with the major so then we won't have to worry about any pedifilia <_<

Sorrow-kun

01-13-2006, 07:59 AM

My only problem so far is that we're halfway through this and there's almost too many damn characters to keep track of. Mai HiME had a big cast, but now we have Mai HiME's cast plus a large dose of Mai OTOME cast. I think Sunrise might have finally reached their limit on how many characters they can throw in one show and keep it interesting.I certainly won't argue that HiME maintained its enormous cast amazingly well. But, it wasn't something I really noticed until the dramatic events of HiMElander. Only then did I realize that the characters and relationships were all given exactly the right amount of attention required to make the drama work. Which is why I still think it's a tad too early to pass judgement on Otome's cast. It's obvious they're building to something, but what, we don't know yet. Whether Otome's cast is the right size and whether each cast member is given the attention and development they need/deserve, only time will tell.

Anyway, finally saw episode 12. And a long time coming, since it's been two and a half weeks since episode 11. Damn slow subbers. But I was just happy to finally get to watch the episode.

A lot of the fun in this are still the throwbacks to HiME. Chie's glasses, Takumi and Akira swapping names, the "emblem" on Zipangu's clothing etc, etc. And, holy crap, Arika is ten times cuter with her hair down. The big plot point to come out of this episode is Mai. How she fits into the plot is obviously one of the more intriguing mysteries, and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how that in particular rolls out. I also did find Takumi's conversation with Natsuki interesting, particularly how we brought up those that covet the Otome's power. I think it's almost inevitable this will be a big theme in the coming events.

<3 Nao. Seriously, if Nao doesn't get a role in the story more than plot device, I will be very disappointed. OH GOD NATSUKI IS HOT!

Bring on the Otome, [Censored]-Subs!

Tyrdium

01-13-2006, 03:36 PM

Anyway, finally saw episode 12. And a long time coming, since it's been two and a half weeks since episode 11. Damn slow subbers. But I was just happy to finally get to watch the episode.Heh, you're following the slower group. [Censored]-Fansubs has had episode 12 out since December 24th. And episode 13 out since January 7th.

Sorrow-kun

01-13-2006, 10:30 PM

Yeah, but I'm a stupid stubborn bastard when it comes to things like fansub groups.

Moe

01-15-2006, 10:00 AM

episode 14: RAPE!!!!!

Lurker

01-15-2006, 01:26 PM

Episode 14:

They finally re-employ a certain character's malicious manipulation of other characters and apparent hatred of Arika. We get handed to us on a silver platter the identity of the real Princess (to which the entire Internet went "duh"). And someone finally tells Arika about that gem she has.

Oh and Arika sets up the cliche' "save me from being raped by generic anime delinquents" schtick. I mean, seriously, it doesn't seem to matter that we're in an alternate universe / futuristic setting / whatever... the street thugs in every anime show HAVE to look the same! Sheesh.

Ninja Realist

01-18-2006, 05:06 PM

Just saw Episode 14. I have this weird feeling now that maybe, just maybe, the plotline from the first show and the second show might actually turn out to be linked, and this may not be as much of an Alternate Universe as we are made to think it is. It's just a though, but I think there could be a big twist waiting for us down the road.

EDIT

I just had another major epiphany. Because:

Arika is the true Princess, I think that Nina is most likely Rena Sayers actual Daughter and this would also explain Sergay's devotion to her.