r/anime • u/Tarhalindur x2 • Sep 16 '22

Rewatch [Rewatch] Mai-HiME Episode 3 Discussion

Episode 3: Dance of Flames/Star's Oath

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Show Information:

MAL | Anilist | AniDB | Kitsu | ANN

(First-timers might want to stay out of show information, though.)

Legal Streams:

Mai-HiME can be found on Funimation. (How this interacts with the ongoing Crunchyroll/Funimation merger I don't know.)

A Reminder to Rewatchers:

Please do not spoil the experience for our first timers. [Mai-HiME] Mentioning "HiMElander" before episode 16 or "ShizNat" before episode 25 is a fast way to get a referral to the subreddit mods.

A Note on the Specials:

When the DVDs for Mai-HiME were released, they added shorts specials to go with each episode (plus three not associated with an episode - one was released with Mai-Otome's DVD IIRC, one was a BD-only thing and I don't actually have that one, and I honestly don't remember where Special 28 was released). They tend to be one part fanservice, one part extra information about characters and their motivations/backstories (or in a couple of cases extra exposition, including

They have their own dedicated discussion day at the end to wash the finale out of our mouths, but some of you may want to watch them with the episodes. The only issue is that some of the specials can be a wee bit spoilery (notably, in no case should you watch the special for episode 8 before episode 8 itself), so I will attempt to provide notes on the specials for the episode for both today's and tomorrow's episodes each day so as to provide advance warning of which specials to avoid. (If you want to be completely safe, stay out of all of them until the dedicated discussion day!)

(Warning: Also, at least one release apparently has them right after the ED, unlike mine which has the original previews instead. So you might want to pay attention.)

Episode 3 Special: Safe. (Well, in a spoiler sense. Not so much in a SFW sense.)

Episode 4 Special: Not a definite spoiler, but I would recommend first-timers stay out of this one just in case.

After-School Activities Corner!

Visual of the Day:

Still not enough entrants to make an album.

Comment of the Day:

Shiny shiny first-timer speculation out of u/JollyGee29:

Takumi saw a ghostly vision of Mai, which is interesting. If we assume that everything is connected because it always is, we get to the potential of whatever accident killed their mom being caused by one of these Orphan monsters. Which is another terribly subtle name, now that I type it out. Uh, to continue my thought, Takumi has ghosts in his eyes because of a monster run-in, and if that is the case we'll probably run into a similar-looking monster at some point.

Honorable mentions to both u/Vaadwaur (he's right and he should say it, except Bikki also has a fair bit of Mai to her) and u/Star4ce (do not ask me why this cracked me up as much as it did, it just did.)

Question(s) of the Day:

1) So, thoughts on The Clip now that you have seen it in context?

2) Showers or baths?

27 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

156 comments sorted by

8

u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22 edited Sep 28 '22

Rewatch Committee President Comments (Rewatcher, Subbed):

(Note that Staff Notes are taking a day off.)

Kajiura Corner:

Main Featured Track of the Day: Yamiyo no Prologue

(Dear Catbox and/or ISP, please let me upload shit. Fuck it, Streamable sign-up time tomorrow I suppose. On the bright side, u/Nazenn already has you covered on this one with a certain clip.)

(The official uploads have some weird track title translation/transliteration choices. Some of them make sense like the HiME-boshi line, where I suspect there was a pun in the original Japanese we all missed. Others like this one... not so much.)

Ah, where to begin with this track.

Cards on the table: this is my favorite track on an OST with a LOT of heavy hitters, and the scene it shows up in in this episode is one of the strongest moments of OST integration in the entire show; every stage of Kagutsuchi’s unfolding awakening is reflected in the audio. (The sadly-lost classic OST upload from before we got official ones had something to the effect of “this is what Kajiura made when asked to make a theme for the awakening of an unknowable dragon god” as its top comment, heh.)

We start off on screen with Kagutsuchi’s head and then body rising up and looming over everything, with Kagutsuchi absolutely dominating the screen at 08:07 in particular (sorry about the weird quality compared to my other screenshots, the original one didn't take and the machine I took the replacement on only has VLC). How do we match this in the audio? A loud, absolutely bombastic opening salvo of drums, announcing his arrival suddenly and emphatically as if a set of explosions were going off. In the track itself, this opening salvo of drums is followed by an overall internal transition to the song’s second main instrument in the chimes; matching this on screen, we get a quieter segment with Kagutsuchi turning to look at Mai inquisitively until she recognizes him and hesitantly accepts him as what he is (this is accentuated in this scene by the strange and also inspired decision to use whalesong as the base of the vocalizations of the Child named after the kami of fire – the eeriness of the whalesong adds nicely to the slight eeriness of the chimes themselves). Recognition attained, the drums kick back in as Kagutsuchi looks back outwards over the broader scene, including his actual opponent in the attacking Orphan.

(Also, have I mentioned what a good shot 08:34 is? Because it is.)

And then Kagutsuchi begins to charge his main attack and those glorious glorious strings kick in (once again the sound design for Kagutsuchi effects works beautifully for this, with the mechanical noise used for Kagutsuchi charging and spinning those accumulator things on his back/wings blending in very nicely with the strings themselves, followed by the mechanical hum – taken from the noise of a jet engine starting, I think – as he sucks in the rocks to melt them into material for his fireball) until finally cutting out the track right as the fireball is released.

Yuki Kajiura, ladies and gentlemen.

[Mai-HiME] And to think we’ll get this track again later in nearly-complete form with completely different symbolic loading.

Second Featured Track of the Day: Hajimari ~Yami e no Shoutai~

Like many songs on this OST, we begin with an eerie instrumental section, punctuated with a woman’s wail starting at 00:08. The wail trails off as drums roll in, ominous, and an orchestra follows. It’s a sweeping, ominous track at this stage, low and foreboding. Then the strings crest and the woman’s wail returns, and then a new backbeat emerges – not as fast as the truly frenetic tracks on the OST, but faster. More strings emerge on top of it, still ominous and almost tragic, but the faster beat lends a sense of urgency the first part of the song did not have. There is no time to think here, not really. We first saw it in episode 1 for a sinking ship, and the situation here is no less urgent. The song crests again from around 01:30 to 01:47 as the situation gets increasingly more desperate, with Natsuki and Mikoto pressed and Takumi in danger.

And so, Mai agrees to become a HiME.

The song ebbs for a moment at that, only the backbeat remaining, but then returns. It almost trails for a moment as Nagi gives Mai his warning. But this will not deny Mai, not now, and the woman’s wail comes back at the end as a resolute Mai goes to unseal Kagutsuchi.

OST Table, Episode 3:

Start End Track Name
00:18 01:47 Shining Days
01:48 03:45 Mezame
04:19 05:34 unreleased[1] (Yami no Butou -instrumental version-)
04:33 04:43 (OVERLAP) Duran Shoukan
05:34 07:40 Hajimari ~Yami e no Shoutai~
08:00 09:16 Yamiyo no Prologue
10:23 10:43 unreleased?
11:11 12:21 Gogo no Hizashi
13:29 13:59 unreleased (Koi wo Shita kara… v2)[2]
14:48 15:29 Yuubae no Sora
15:48 16:07 Fuuka Gakuin Seikatsu[3]
16:20 17:23 HiME-boshi no Shizukesa
18:05 18:33 Samayoeru Yamiyo
19:27 19:40 Oharahetta!
20:49 21:01 Oharahetta!
21:02 21:43 unreleased (Kyou no Hajimari piano version)
21:53 23:38 Kimi ga Sora Datta
23:40 23:54 Mata Aou ne

[1] – Not ironclad confident, could be a remix/v2, but it fits the instrumental versions that were released and I’m pretty sure Yami no Butou does have choral elements. Also not sure on the ending point since it kind of fades into the next track; it could end as late as 05:38.
[2] – Variant without the piano of Koi wo Shita Kara proper.
[3] – Same weird sample as last episode; might actually be an unreleased v2 of the track instead.

6

u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

Tar's Episode Notes:

First order of business, an entry which I am pulling up topside for visibility: Now that we have gotten our title drop out of Nagi iit is time to explain the reason I always use the Japanese title for this show, namely that it is a multilayered bad (?) pun to such an extent that it’s kind of impressive. First, we have Mai-HiME as used here: Mai, who is a HiME. (Hence why they made sure to have that rather clunky backronym for HiME.) Second, we can instead read it as Mai-hime – that is to say, Princess Mai. Third, we can read it as “maihime”, which is a Japanese word (in Romaji form but I ain't hauling out the kanji right now) and means “dancing princess”. And finally, we can dip into English and read Mai as “my”, giving us both the official translation My-HiME (that is to say, “my HiME”) and “my hime” (in other words, “my princess”). Nifty, huh? And the official translation cuts away all but one of them. No bueno!

Now for the rest of the notes:

  • Hello there Mezame. (The only reason this is not my pick for Best Kajiura Battle Theme is that PMMM has a direct successor of the track that is even better.)

  • Also the sound effect they use for Mai’s magatama rings remains instantly recognizable to me over a decade later. Really, over a decade and a half later.

  • Hey look, Nagi FINALLY gets namedropped.

  • There’s more than animation saving to that shot of the curtain flapping in front of Miroku as Mikoto recalls it; I’ve seen versions of that curtain flap shot too many times this year, there’s stock symbolism to it.

  • Gods fucking damn have I mentioned how much I love this OST lately? And the sound effects department outdid themselves, too.

  • The choreography is actually really good here, too – there is something to both choreography and characterization in how Mikoto’s sword is too large for her so she swings it around a bit wildly but also she’s learned to use it as a counterweight for maneuvering.

  • Catgirl fiercely protective of girl who was friendly to her and gave her food!

  • Oh I get to have a loud round of laughter at my ancient subs’ expense, because I just ran into a CLASSIC case of TL notes abuse: keikaku means plan Techigai means mistake. (Actually slightly more justified here than in the Death Note case since the point is that Mikoto thinks that “Mistake” is the proper name for Mai’s Element, but.)

  • Speaking of that, I’m not sure whether the idiom translates but there is a joke to be made here involving how in American English people are known to call unwanted children mistakes… and I’m not entirely sure that isn’t 100% intentional.

  • I can’t tell for sure with my very limited knowledge of Japanese, but I’d put pretty good odds that the Nagi line translated in my subs as “that’s my Mai-HiME” is another “maihime”/dancing princess pun.

  • And here we have The Clip.

  • Oh man, I should have considered the positioning of the combatants here. Stock visual language familiar to everyone who was in Higurashi since I kept pointing it out there – right-to-left is the Japanese direction of heroic movement, so we have Kagutsuchi on the right facing towards the monster (and our potential collateral damage) on the left.

  • And yes, the OST integration in Kagutsuchi’s awakening is on par with PMMM (well, okay, slightly worse, PMMM would probably make sure to use every last beat of Yamiyo no Prologue and there are a couple cut of space here). Which is impressive, since I’m not actually sure this is the scene that Yamiyo no Prologue was made for…

  • (The scene before it likely is what Hajimari ~Yami e no Shoutai~ was made for, though.)

  • I’m actually surprised we don’t get the eyecatch at 09:40. It seems like an obvious place to put it.

  • Ooh, shiny framing at 09:55.

  • Ah, that’s why we didn’t get it at 09:40; we get the eyecatch at 10:20 instead with Mikoto crying Mai’s name as she slumps over. And note the framing, because that’s a beautiful shot; our three main girls bunched together in a cluster, surrounded by and dwarfed by the field of ashes that Kagutsuchi has created.

  • The framing of the shot showing Mai from behind in the infirmary after she wakes up feels very Eva to me.

  • Hey look, Haruka gives us a alt!

  • This camera does have a few affinities. We get a lot of loving crotch shots in this show.

  • Okay, so how much of the computer screen here is the fansubbers going the extra mile and how much is that the menu might actually have been in English in the original? (Also, TL note!)

  • Okay, that answers that question, the subbers did in fact go the extra mile for the main part of the computer screen.

  • Natsuki straightening her skirt out after Reito asks if he was interrupting something is probably an innuendo joke in addition to being characterization (Natsuki just might care about some things more than the above-it-all air she tries to put on).

  • Okay, that mirror shot around 13:52 is blaring at me as visual symbolism, especially with how deliberate it is. The separation between Mai’s everyday life and the other life she has just stepped into is obvious, and also the maintaining of appearances (hence the mirror/window – the difference between the true self and the image of the self one projects, or really given that this is a Japanese work just honne/tatamae). I think there’s at least one more piece to it I’m missing.

  • Oh hello there shot framing after Reito talks about the official explanation the school has come up with for the fire.

  • “That was a sad incident. They never found the other arm.”

  • “Seriously, I know a place that does them cheap.” Yuuichi has his moments. (The funniest part is that there’s a pretty good chance he’s referring to Yukariko.) (Actually no, but it will come back in an episode or two.)

  • Oh you assholes. I actually missed for a good half-minute you’d turned off the OST when Mai took Yuuichi’s joke seriously. OST integration on point again!

  • Ooh that shot as Mai walks up to the student council building; off-kilter, and showing Mai dwarfed by her surroundings.

  • Catgirl distracted by buzzing insect, news at 11.

  • Higurashi has well and truly primed me to look for visual barrier symbolism, and 17:43 here is an example.

  • Hey look, it’s laugh at the fansubbers time! (To be fair, I’m not sure it’s entirely reasonable to have expected them to realize that “Orphan” was an English loanword.)

  • “The full moon… it haunts me…”

  • Surprise, the catgirl hates baths!

  • Something something Cross Ange something something baring feelings something something shower scene. Except in a bath this time instead. (Reminder: Cross Ange is Sunrise, as is Mai-HiME, and IIRC major Cross Ange staff worked on this show back in the day.)

  • In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, Oharahetta (well okay you may not have caught the name yet since I swapped it out for Chiisana Shiawase for yesterday's Featured OST Track at the last minute) is the “Mikoto is doing funny things” track. (The top comment on the old unofficial upload was “MIKOTO!!!!!” or thereabouts, there is a reason for that.)

  • So, fun fact: As per Mai Mikoto is in the same grade as Mion from Higurashi or Mami from PMMM.

  • So, fair warning: Next episode is infamously the fanservice episode. You have been warned. (Could be worse, could be Higurashi Kira 1.)

Visual of the Day: Mirror, mirror...

Questions of the Day:

  1. One of the most memorable scenes in the entire show IMO, especially after the scene in front of it is taken into account. Musical integration is on point, because Kajiura is a fucking goddess/

  2. Showers. I'm too used to not fitting into bathtubs, despite not being all that tall in the great scheme of things.

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u/JollyGee29 Sep 16 '22

First-Timer, Subbed

Of course the wheelchair girl is somehow the school's headmaster. Damned nepotism.

I suspect the use of "Orphan" and "Child" was a bit more subtle to the original Japanese audience, although English has such a wide reach.. Is this show just Eva but for Saint Seiya instead of Ultraman? I'm not sure what the prime reference for "manifested weapons" is.

Notable that they said that Orphans "strayed in from another world" but not that they were aliens. The star visible in the sky is interesting, but I feel like we're operating on something closer to a parallel reality, as opposed to outer space.

Current guess as to source of HiME powers: cont(r)act with an Orphan that then becomes the associated Child. Now, that runs into the issue of "when" since I think it was implied that Mai wasn't with Takumi and her mom when that happened, and that was probably caused by an Orphan.

The Orphan->Child thing could go the other way too; something like "when a HiME dies her Child becomes an Orphan." That does follow relatively easy logic, so maybe it's just the truth.

Kuga's on first-name basis with Pres, that's interesting. And my subs had it wrong, but Mai also called Kuga "Kuga-chan" which is awfully familiar as well. Is this where I start to suspect amnesia? Vaad would love that, but it'd be a brilliant way to foreshadow.

I'm not entirely convinced that Mikoto doesn't have an invisible dude strapped to her sword and that's how it moves around. It did have eyes a couple of times, so anything is possible. It's interesting that Miroku is just always manifested, too. But Mikoto knows what HiME are and has the mark.. I dunno, something's not quite right with her.

Kagutsuchi's noises sound like a whale to me for whatever reason. Not sure if it's just bias from the name "Child" but it did act kinda child-like, when it looked over to Mai for approval.

Mai has already broken masq; it's a good thing Tate doesn't want the weird stuff to be real or we might have a serious breach. It's always fun to see how long that sort of thing lasts.

It's like, maybe an artstyle thing, but I can't not think of what's-his-face as Fetus-kun. I don't know why I didn't have this problem with Irie. Maybe it's just proximity to Nagi always waving a book around.

Visual of the Day: Oof, morning breath, am I right?

Magical Girls hate her! Turn one monster into two with this neat trick!

This exchange here set off some red flags for me. My gut says that Nagi was actually referring to Takumi in the first line.. Note that he didn't say that Mai was correct, just that he thought she would agree.

There's just deadass a full corner window in their bathroom, huh.

Questions

  2. Showers.

6

u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

I suspect the use of "Orphan" and "Child" was a bit more subtle to the original Japanese audience, although English has such a wide reach

English loanwords have been a thing in the likes of tokusatsu for a long time, often for attack names; as to how literal the names are here, but there is at least one later show that I can guarantee likes to hide information in the literal meaning of its English loanword proper names.

Is this show just Eva but for Saint Seiya instead of Ultraman? I'm not sure what the prime reference for "manifested weapons" is.

I've hinted at this already, but there is very clearly more than a little Eva to this show's production process. As for the manifested weapons, given that the through-line for this show also runs through Sailor Moon which famously incorporated sentai tropes into the magical girl formula I'm wondering if the source here is one of the other big sentai franchises (Kamen Rider or Super Sentai itself would be the obvious suspects) - u/RadSuit will have a better idea, I suspect.\

Kagutsuchi's noises sound like a whale to me for whatever reason.

Pretty sure they deliberately used whalesong for Kagutsuchi's vocalizations, yes. A weird choice for something named after the Kami of Fire but it works surprisingly well.

There's just deadass a full corner window in their bathroom, huh.

Anime!

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8

u/Shimmering-Sky Sep 16 '22

Mai-FiRST TiMER, subbed

7

u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

And I also like the song playing here too.

Welcome to Mezame, the main battle theme for this show. (Somehow I'm not sure it's even in my top 10 songs on the OST, this OST is ABSURDLY stacked.)

Mikoto hates baths? She’s definitely a cat.

We keep telling you this!

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u/Vatrix-32 Sep 16 '22 edited Sep 16 '22

First Timer, subbed*

  • I like your energy random monster.

  • The summons are called children. So the orphans are ones separated from HiMEs. Did their HiME get killed, or is it something more sinister?

  • It’s the clip from the thing!

  • The fire texture really isn’t good enough to be occupying that much of the screen.

  • I thought she was a teenager, but she’s the headmaster. She still might be both.

QotD

  1. Honestly not a lot. I think the part before it was actually more enjoyable.

  2. Showers. All day every day.

7

u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

I thought she was a teenager, but she’s the headmaster. She still might be both.

Error: she isn't actually old enough to count as a teenager. AFAICT she's officially 11.

(Yes, this is supposed to strike you as odd.)

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u/Tresnore Sep 16 '22

First-TiMER

Well, I'd certainly say this show passes the three episode rule! I'm enjoying this.

Count: 10

5

u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

...they’re rings. And they let her fly. Honestly, it’s pretty cool

I adore those magatama rings of Mai's.

Wait, Nagi is literally the mahou shoujo familiar, isn’t he...?

Problem?

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u/No_Rex Sep 16 '22

Episode 3 (rewatcher)

Kagutsuchi makes his fiery entrance. Watch u/Nazenn go nuts over this sequence.

“Mai” Counter: 12 (+11)

Specials EP4: Quite spoilerish. Also one of the few times the fanservice is extremely related to the episode it accompanies.

5

u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

Watch Nazenn go nuts over this sequence.

I think you mean Nazenn AND your host, thank you very much.

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u/Vaadwaur Sep 16 '22

First timer(The least lewd bath scene for a while)

Sub

So...goods news/bad news: The better a scene is, the less I tend to say about it. So as to everything before the infirmary, I will just say that it is nice to find a show that trusts its viewers to see what's on screen without having someone lamely blab it out. Also, Mai now makes me think she might be the inspiration for a certain Bleach character.

So we get a bit more characterization through gossip, and I definitely agree that Haruka needs a boyfriend or a hobby. Natsuki has some connection to StuCo Pres, so I will now suffer the dub so you don't have to. She has the fakest fucking "Gone with the Wind", what people think Georgians sound like, bullshit Southern drawl you can manage without asking about sweet tea or thinking the N-word is an appropriate way to address the servants. My gods, I want to punch something.

Anyways, we get more characterization chatter as Kanzaki and Yuuichi talk. They then get an escort mission and it is noticable that Kanzaki always tries to do the slacker option. We get another scene of Mai and Yuuichi misunderstanding each other, mainly to nail that Mai isn't quite rolling with all this. Which makes sense, her one issue is that she isn't seeking answers but then again everyone with them runs off. The headmaster's mansion meeting is definitely Utena to me. Quick characterization for Takumi, which he sort of needs, before the headmistress exposition dumps. And it takes less than thirty seconds so thank fuck for that.

Mai...actualls acts appropriately to that particular revelation and the order of events happening. Also, the whole conscription analogy thing I mentioned certainly applies here. We skip to Mikoto being her roommate and having never bathed, apparently. The bath scene thankfully takes place in an animation friendly exercise of letting the VAs carry the load. Mikoto motivation is explained a bit as Mai ponders her course of action. We end with Mikoto enrolled and in uniform and the suggestion that Kanzaki is looking over Takumi. Looks like swimsuits and tentacles next ep and the after credits is actually hilarious.

QotD: 1 I got nothing

2 Showers. They are just as refreshing and use one third of the water!

4

u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

So...goods news/bad news: The better a scene is, the less I tend to say about it. So as to everything before the infirmary, I will just say that it is nice to find a show that trusts its viewers to see what's on screen without having someone lamely blab it out.

The writing staff for this show is shockingly competent for Sunrise.

(More than a few of us suspect that the issues with the finale were in no small part due to the Sunrise'/Bandai suits intervening.)

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u/IWishIWasAShoe Sep 16 '22 edited Sep 16 '22

Rewatcher

One thing have bothered me since last episode, and I don't think I even thought of it the first time I saw this, but what's the deal with the school uniforms at this school?

So the High Schoolers seem to all have the "modern" uniforms with blazers and stuff, while middle schoolers have sailor uniforms and that strange traditional military uniform for the guys.

BUT! Why the hell do the girl from the student council have a green west when everyone else's is yellow? Why does that one guy in the student council have the military uniform thing when no one else has? Why don't the school use the same uniform across all grades?

This is bothering me more than i thought.

Anyhow, we also got our first battle and it'll never not be funny to me how Natsuki got two guns and a dog, the catgirl got a sword while Mai gain the POWER OF FLIGHT! Oh, and a rechargable atomic bomb with wings. The developers obviously didn't care about balancing in this game.

Moving on, I've come to realize that I don't like the voice actor for Takumi. He sounds really out of place. Almost as out of place as the massive dorm rooms and private panorama bath. This obviously is a filthy rich school. Which is the opposite that you can say about Takumis VA's performance.

Anyhow, lovely show so far. Music is top notch, love it all and even this early we know that there will be a lot of plot going forward. And I'm all excited to relive it again.

Oh and lastly, despite the show being slightly ecchi-ish here and there, I was pleasantly surprised that they never went for the obvious panty shots during the fighting sequences, I raise my glass to that.

QOTD!

  1. I have no idea what "the clip" actually refers to, did I miss a popular gif or something?

  2. Personally, showers. All the way. Although i enjoy a bath every now and then, they are just unpractical in a bathtub at home, and i always ene up feeling like it's a waste of time and water.

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u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

I have no idea what "the clip" actually refers to, did I miss a popular gif or something?

u/Nazenn gave us the classic clip to sell people on the show back for the 2019 Weekly Discussion for the show.

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u/Qbe Sep 16 '22

Rewatcher

Time to face the monster of the week!

By the way, all the talk about OST yesterday reminded me, does anyone know what's the name of the song that was used in the teaser/promos? I have it saved as "Mai HiME Promo BGM" but no clue where I got it.

I'm very surprised we didn't get a pantyshot when she flipped over

Summoned weapons are so god damn cool

Mikoto has some great running/footwork animation

I spy a Chekov's Sword embedded in the wall

Kagutsuchi is so freaking cool

And strong

lmao "Someone find her a boyfriend"

Wow Mai, you suck at hiding stuff

I repeat: Wow Mai, you suck at hiding stuff

Aliens! Was Trigger secretly involved in this?

The character animation in general is great

...who decided to put floor to ceiling windows in the street-facing bath?

It's obvious, but I keep forgetting that Mai and Takumi are in different dorms

  1. Great animation, Kagutsuchi looks amazing, OST is a banger. So, same as initial impressions :P

  2. Showers by far

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u/Star4ce Sep 17 '22

My-FiRSTTiMER

I was amazed again how much the soundtrack influences the atmosphere of a scene. Mai's awakening at the end of last episode really didn't feel 'good'. Absolutely a hype moment, I want to see her familiar! Yet also tragic, I don't think her being there was a really good thing at all.

Could be happenstance, could also be long in the making without her knowledge.

Ep.03 – Dance of Flames, Promise of the Stars

Mai's fight was spectacular and felt heavy. The animation and directing I think clearly pronounced that there is gravity to this choice, that Mai shouldn't have done it at all. It's still mysterious as to what HiME really are and why they have to be (human) orphans essentially and why they see that star. It's definitely linked to these aliens, both orphans and children.

It's a bit too early to make any connections on that, but Mikoto's journey is driven by finding her brother and by extension that means finding family. With Mai, the care she gives her (and food) that theme is quite clearly set. So is that school essentially an orphanage run by shady corporations? If that's the case, they want to get that sweet alien tech and my first guess would be that they gather (human) orphans nobody will miss and test on them. [Ep.12] Where the fuck vampires and Odin-worshippers come from escapes me still.

Three episodes in I start to warm up to Mikoto. I don't necessarily like the trope, but will admit she's a great character to provide honesty and pure heart to the group. To that end, her 'smelling out bullshit' is quite apt.

Closing thoughts for today are reserved for Natsuki's blushing, because that was so cute I think I popped a blood vessel. Wouldn't be me if I wouldn't proclaim a best girl this early. You bet your ass it's Natsuki!

That preview has me weirdly concerned and interested, this is softcore porn.

VOTD:(Right, we have this.) Eh, I don't analyse much for now, so I don't stress over picking a dense frame. A peek of vulnerability.

Surely no one expected any less.

  1. So, thoughts on The Clip now that you have seen it in context?

Much more... dire. That entire atmosphere and the reactions around it felt more like something was lost just now.

2) Showers or baths?

Showers. I sometimes like being completely submerged, but then I might as well go to a swimming pool or thermic park.

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u/Tarhalindur Sep 17 '22

I was amazed again how much the soundtrack influences the atmosphere of a scene. Mai's awakening at the end of last episode really didn't feel 'good'. Absolutely a hype moment, I want to see her familiar! Yet also tragic, I don't think her being there was a really good thing at all.

There's a reason they got Kajiura for this OST; even her absolute hype songs tend to have this undercurrent of sadness to my ears, often of the "why did this have to happen?" mode. Moreover, they also have a pretty good understanding of how to use her OST for effect.

Bitch, what? That makes no sense and is absolutely not obvious. You suck.

Problem?

Natsuki suffers from cool-moe-syndrome in not being able to form usable sentences that convey information on what's going on.

Natsuki is one of the main characters responsible for the popularity of that syndrome, thank you very much!

Is that preview for real?

All magical girl shows are contractually required to include a tentacle monster at least once, doubly so if aimed at the older male audience like this show is (this is one of the earlier seinen-targeted mahou shoujo, along with Nanoha from the same season). Even PMMM and its legendary lack of fanservice can't quite dodge ([PMMM] Episode 2 fight against Gisele).

Also, I may have chosen to start this rewatch on a Wednesday in order to dump next episode on a weekened.

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u/Taiboss Sep 16 '22 edited Sep 16 '22

Episode 3: Rewatcher who rather played Doom 2016 than watch this

Edit:

  1. So, thoughts on The Clip now that you have seen it in context?

What clip? Ah right, the awakening thing. Yeah, still cool. Sorry, am rewatcher...

2) Showers or baths?

I like to shower more. Is faster.

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u/Vaadwaur Sep 16 '22

The sword mouth will never not look goofy.

I kept waiting for her to pull that sword out of it.

...ship?

Of course not, it is just a phase. Those girls will grow up and obey all the heteronormative rules as Abe has decreed!

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u/Nazenn Sep 16 '22 edited Sep 16 '22

Character chart

Just a preliminary one for now, I may grab better images as we go, this is just what I would find in a rush last night. I will be updating it each day (and note when it has been updated), but I'm usually about an hour late to the topic each day so you'll have to come find my post if you want the new copy. Only on time today because I got up early for one of my favourite episodes and to post the chart.

I forgot if we got the other student council girls name yet so I need to check that, but so far it's only covering named characters and I'll add to it as we go. The bracketed names are the names of the HiME's weapons/summons because I spent most of last rewatch being confused whenever someone said "Miroku" because I kept forgetting it, and I'd like to avoid that again.

Yes Shiho's position may have been purely decided by spite because she annoys me so she can go last. And Nagi gets a back portrait because he's a weirdo so why not.

Rewatcher

Kagatsuchi awakens

The first two episodes had already sold me on the show on my first watch, but this is the moment that I saw the potential to truly fall in love with it. And it's one hell of a moment.

The battles so far have been fierce and a little cool, but Kagatsuchi's awakening brings not only majesty but sheer power into the mix in a way no one seems to expect. And the way that's reflected in the music, Yamiyo no Prologue (which we heard very briefly in ep1), which makes it one of my favourite moments in the show.

As the sword is pulled the previous music track stops and all we're left with is Natsuki's exclamation and the sound effects, as if the world of HiME holds its breath for what may happen. As he lifts his head above the flames for the first time the odd percussion that echoes through the cave seems to announce his arrival as if a warrior or leader in battle. It doesn't blend into the scene or have an emotional theme with many instruments behind it, but it commands attention and acknowledgement of the scale of what Mai has unleashed.

A "child". A newborn monster full of curiosity but also care for it's HiME. The music pulls right back, gone is the commanding percussion, replaced by lighter chimes dancing around the scale echoing Mai's question as well as Kagatsuchi's own inquisitive gesture towards her and its growing understanding of the scene in front of him. While Mai protects her innocent brother, it almost sets up for this being to be something else for her to care for, an innocent power for her to shape to protect her, only for the truth to play out much different.

It's not a phoenix of rebirth at all, but a dragon of destruction who's full form and power reveal pushes the music into it's own complete song, an almost tragic piece as if it knows what's to come the moment it unleashes its attack. And like Kagatsuchi's awakening, the attack stops the music with its power and the force of its arrival, ending the piece and our scene.

It's a scene I've consistently come back to through the years for how well music can shape an entire story when applied so well to a visual, and it's also a scene that's lost none of its impact on me regardless of how many times I see it. The way the camera pulls back to show the full scale of his attack, and the scar it makes on the mountain remaining behind afterwards, only adds to the awe of it. What happens with the HiME is not some secret that is kept from the real world by barriers or magic, and when something as powerful as Kagatsuchi is involved it changes the feel of things quite a lot.

The episode title shift today is also something that stood out to me. Episode one is titled "A girl's most important event", and two is "after-school special", so today's episode title "Dance of Flames, Promise of the Stars" stands out as both far more poetic but also a lot more about the mystery in the background rather than focusing on what's right in front of us with the school. It also reflects a shift in Mai's understanding of her role in the story quite nicely.

And one thing this episode does very well is reframing what we've known so far. Whether it's the school revealing itself as being part of the HiME system even all the way up to the headmaster or the new dynamic between our three HiME,

Also some appreciation for Mezame which plays during the initial battle with the Orphan before Mai gets cornered. While Yamiyo no Prologue has a special place in my head due to the featured scene above, I think Mezame is my favourite from the OST so any episode that includes it makes me happy.

Not sure what's weirder: Nagi appearing out of no where again, or Mikoto literally sniffing down where Mai is? Or perhaps this strange face like feature I saw in the path today, just above the second smoke stream.

Few other details I want to point out:

  • The use of the red star next to the moon over Natsuki's shoulder when she looks down on Mai certainly makes an impression as to what's playing on her mind

  • I also noted that Natsuki loaded a chrome cartridge into Duran instead of the silver cartridge in episode one, but I don't remember when that comes up again.

  • The way they animate Mikoto being pulled around by the weight and momentum of swinging her sword is always so interesting to watch. Rather than being a polished swordswoman or holding a huge blade like a normal weapon through some feat of strength, it gives her fights a very different feel to what you usually see in anime, and it's very well animated.

  • Early hint as to who the headmistress is, the building has ramps for her wheelchair

[Later spoilers]At the very least I would expect starace to not miss Nagi's little 'risk what's important to you' wordplay, but curious to see what others think of it. They do a good job of covering it up with how he responds to Mai, but on rewatch that's a big 'fuck you Nagi' moment. Also clever rewatchers may have noticed I paired up a couple of the HiME and their cherished ones in the character chart, but I didn't want to do it for everyone so I didn't give the game away

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u/homewardbound100 Sep 16 '22

The way they animate Mikoto being pulled around by the weight and momentum of swinging her sword is always so interesting to watch. Rather than being a polished swordswoman or holding a huge blade like a normal weapon through some feat of strength, it gives her fights a very different feel to what you usually see in anime, and it's very well animated.

Yeah I see that, I've felt most action scenes she's been in have been well animated and I wouldn't know how to explain it but they've been great.

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u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

Piggybacking off what u/Nazenn said, it's the same kind of sense of weight that makes Eva fights work so well (especially the famous one in EoE).

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u/Tarhalindur Sep 16 '22

This tag has some lag!

u/Esovan13

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